US 12,230,677 B2
Quantum structure getter for radiation hardened transistors
Timothy Allen Morgan, Ellettsville, IN (US); Matthew J Gadlage, Bloomington, IN (US); Kevin Goodman, Ellettsville, IN (US); Morgan E Ware, Fayetteville, AR (US); and Pijush Kanti Ghosh, Dallas, TX (US)
Assigned to The United States of America, as Represented by the Secretary of the Navy, Washington, DC (US)
Filed by The United States of America, as represented by the Secretary of the Navy, Crane, IN (US)
Filed on Dec. 16, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/553,038.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/126,960, filed on Dec. 17, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2022/0285499 A1, Sep. 8, 2022
Int. Cl. H01L 29/15 (2006.01); H01L 27/085 (2006.01); H01L 29/20 (2006.01); H01L 29/205 (2006.01); H01L 29/66 (2006.01); H01L 29/778 (2006.01)
CPC H01L 29/155 (2013.01) [H01L 29/205 (2013.01); H01L 29/66462 (2013.01); H01L 29/7786 (2013.01); H01L 27/085 (2013.01); H01L 29/2003 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A radiation hardened microelectronic device comprising:
a transistor comprising a conductive channel;
a material stack comprising:
a capping layer;
one or more barrier layers comprising a high band gap;
one or more quantum structures comprising a small band gap; and
a substrate;
wherein said one or more quantum structures are positioned in close proximity to said transistor conductive channel to form a quantum well charge getter structure comprising a low energy area beneath said transistor;
wherein said quantum well charge getter structure getters ionizing radiation by trapping and confining electron-hole pair wave functions produced from said ionizing radiation within said low energy areas, which causes said wave functions to overlap, recombine, and produce light emission, thereby reducing the amount of said ionizing radiation that reaches said conductive channel of said transistor and hardening said microelectronic device.