Monolithic Radiation Detector with Enclosed Gate Electrode
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current radiation detectors for the terahertz frequency range suffer from narrow bandwidth and suboptimal performance due to the need for electrical supply lines, which cause line losses and require antenna adaptation to transistors, limiting their sensitivity and integration density.
Innovation Solution
A monolithically integrated radiation detector structure featuring a field effect transistor (FET) with an antenna structure where the gate electrode completely encloses the source or drain electrode, forming a capacitor and eliminating the need for electrical supply lines, thereby creating a closed RF environment for enhanced sensitivity and bandwidth.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If electrical supply lines are used to connect antenna to transistor, then the detector can be manufactured with separate components, but line losses increase and antenna adaptation becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the antenna structure and FET structure into a single monolithic device fabricated on the same semiconductor substrate. The antenna is directly integrated with the FET, eliminating the need for separate electrical supply lines and reducing energy losses. This combining approach resolves the contradiction by achieving both manufacturability (through standard semiconductor processes) and low loss (through direct integration).
2Ease of operation
If antenna is adapted to transistor with supply lines, then connection is established, but bandwidth is limited and sensitivity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
By merging the antenna and FET into a monolithic structure, the patent eliminates the need for external adaptation circuits and supply lines. The direct integration allows the antenna to be optimally coupled to the FET active area, maximizing bandwidth and sensitivity across a wide frequency range while maintaining ease of operation through standard semiconductor fabrication.
3Ease of manufacture
If separate antenna and transistor structures are used, then manufacturing is simplified, but integration density is low
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple functional elements (antenna, FET, and interconnections) into a single monolithic semiconductor device. This merging approach achieves high integration density while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through standard semiconductor fabrication processes, resolving the contradiction between ease of manufacture and device complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration reduces line losses, enables high sensitivity and large bandwidth, and allows for high integration density, making the detector suitable for mass market applications in the terahertz range without the need for additional line losses.
Implementation Method 1
an antenna structure (10), placed on a substrate (70), which forms a radiation detector ([inferred: radiation detector])
Implementation Method 2
two mechanisms lead to the fact that such transistors can be used in the THz spectrum. These are on the one hand a resistive mixture in the active area of the transistor and on the other hand plasmonic effects in the active area of the transistor
Implementation Method 3
two mechanisms lead to the fact that such transistors can be used in the THz spectrum. These are on the one hand a resistive mixture in the active area of the transistor and on the other hand plasmonic effects in the active area of the transistor, which can be described by the Dyakonov-Shur theory
Implementation Method 4
an electrically insulating region for forming a capacitor with a metal-insulator-metal structure (MIM structure) is arranged between the regions of the gate electrode structure overlapped by the enclosed electrode structure
Data Source
AI summary
A radiation detector comprises an antenna structure; and a field effect transistor structure having a source region, a gate region, and a drain region, arranged on a substrate and forming mutually independent electrically conductive electrode structures through metallization, wherein the gate electrode structure completely encloses the source electrode structure or the drain electrode structure in a first plane; the enclosed electrode structure extends up to above the gate electrode structure and there overlaps the enclosure in a second plane above the first plane at least in sections in a planar manner; wherein an electrically insulating region for forming a capacitor with a metal-insulator-metal structure is arranged between the regions of the gate electrode structure overlapped by the enclosed electrode structure.