Skip header and go to main content

Classification Resources
 

 [Search a list of Patent Appplications for class 257]   CLASS 257,ACTIVE SOLID-STATE DEVICES (E.G.,TRANSISTORS, SOLID-STATE DIODES)
Click here for a printable version of this file

SECTION I - CLASS DEFINITION

This class provides for active solid-state electronic devices, that is, electronic devices or components that are made up primarily of solid materials, usually semiconductors, which operate by the movement of charge carriers - electrons or holes - which undergo energy level changes within the material and can modify an input voltage to achieve rectification, amplification, or switching action, and are not classified elsewhere.

SCOPE OF THE CLASS

Active solid-state electronic devices include diodes, transistors, thyristors, etc., but exclude pure resistors, capacitors, inductors, or combinations solely thereof. The latter class of devices is characterized as passive.

The subject matter to be found here includes only active solid-state devices, per se. It may include one or more such devices combined with contacts or leads, or structures configured to be tested on a semiconductor chip, or merely semiconductor material without contacts or leads where the sole disclosed use is an active solid-state device. This subject matter does not include active solid-state devices combined with significant circuits.

Claims reciting an integrated circuit nominally with significant metallization will be classified in Class 257, whereas otherwise, nominal recitation of an integrated circuit (i.e., without significant active solid-state device recitation) will not be sufficient to permit the device to be classified in Class 257.

KEY CONCEPTS

See Subclass References to the Current Class, below, for references that relate to key concepts and terms found in Class 257. An indication that a particular concept or term occurs in one or more subclasses does not mean that the indicated subclass or subclasses are the only places that subject matter may be found. That subject matter may possibly be found elsewhere in Class 257 listed under a related term or concept that may be broader or narrower or of the same scope.

OTHER CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS

Each subclass definition may contain an OTHER CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS listing that is to be used for informational purposes only. These classification listings may change at any time after their publication and are therefore not guaranteed to be current. In addition, the classification listing does not necessarily indicate the sole relationship between the U.S. Patent Classification System and foreign classifications. Even where a single classification is listed for a single U.S. subclass, a one-to-one correlation should not be inferred. As a result, information contained therein is considered to be only a guide to related subject matter.

SECTION II - LINES WITH OTHER CLASSES AND WITHIN THIS CLASS

A. Classes related to Class 257 subject matter in the sense that they employ active solid-state devices in electronic circuits and the relationship of these classes to Class 257 is mainly that of a combination to a subcombination or of a genus to a specie. See References to Other Classes, below, referencing this section.

B. Classes related to Class 257 subject matter in the sense that they employ active solid-state devices in electronic circuits and the use of active solid-state electronic devices primarily as a perfecting feature. See References to Other Classes, below, referencing this section.

C. See References to Other Classes below for classes that provide for materials used in active solid-state electronic devices.

D. See References to Other Classes, below, for classes related to Class 257 because they provide for methods of making, cleaning, coating, etc., active solid-state devices, e.g., Class 438, Semiconductor Device Manufacturing: Process.

E. See References to Other Classes, below, for Classes related to Class 257 because they provide for active solid-state electronic devices structures with a specified use, e.g., Class 136, Batteries: Thermoelectric and Photoelectric.

F. See References to Other Classes, below, for classes providing for provide for subcombination subject matter that can be used as component part of active solid-state electronic devices (e.g., lead frames) or perfect the device (e.g., a heat sink).

G. Classes which provide for passive solid-state electronic devices with names that may refer to either active or passive solid-state electronic devices, e.g., coherers, varistors, varactors. luminescent or electroluminescent devices. The devices may be part of the main subject matter of the class or may be used as circuit elements in circuits or control or measuring systems which form the main subject matter of the class.

See References to Other Classes, below, referencing this section.

SECTION III - SUBCLASS REFERENCES TO THE CURRENT CLASS

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

1,through 8, for bulk effect device.
2,- 5, 16, 52-63, and 646, for amorphous semiconductor material.
4,72, 91, 144, 150, 151, 175-177, 181, 182, 207-211, 246-250, 276, 309, 317, 401, 448, 457, 459, 503, 508, 573, 584, 587, 602, 621, 625, 666-676, and 692-697, for configuration of electrode, contact, lead or pad.
4,32, 33, 81, 91, 99, 144, 150-153, 177-179, 181, 182, 203, 207-211, 276, 377, 382-385, 459, 503, 522, 554, 573, 576, 584, 602, 621, 625, 661-677, 690-700, and 734-786, for electrical contact or lead.
6,through 8, for Gunn effect (intervalley transfer).
7,for intervalley transfer (e.g., Gunn) device in integrated circuit.
10,through 11, and 407, for controlled work function material.
10,and 11, for electron emissive layer.
10,through 27, and 104-106, for heterojunction involving quantum-mechanical tunneling.
10,and 11, for photocathode.
10,54, 73, 155, 192-195, 217, 260, 267, 269, 275-277, 280-284, 449-457, 471-486, and 928, for Schottky barrier.
10,11, 30-39, and 314-326, for tunneling-insulator layer.
10,11, and 407, for work function of material, controlled, e.g., low.
13,76, 78, 85, 90, and 94-97, for heterojunction light emitter.
13,79-103, and 918, for light emitting device.
13,through 25, for quantum well device.
15,through 22, and 28, for superlattice.
16,55, 63, and 65, for heterojunction in non-single-crystal material.
18,19, and 190, for mismatched or strained lattice.
18,19, and 190, for mismatch of lattice constant.
18,and 19, for strained layer superlattice heterojunction.
19,76, 78, 103, 200-201, and 613-616, for alloy of two different semiconductors (e.g., GaxIn1-xAs).
20,24, 27, 57-61, 66-72, 133-145, 192-195, 202-211, 213, and 252-413, for field effect devices.
20,24, and 194, for HEMT (High electron mobility transistor).
20,27, 187, and 192-195, for heterojunction FETs.
21,85, 184-189, for heterojunction in light responsive device.
21,for light responsive or activated device (superlattice quantum well heterojunction).
21,53-56, 59, 72, 80-85, 113-118, 184-189, 222, 223, 225-234, 257, 258, 290-294, 325, 428-466, 680, 681, and 749, for radiation responsive.
21,and 187, for light responsive heterojunction transistor.
21,187, 443, and 462, for photosensitive bipolar transistor.
26,27, and 29, for ballistic transport device.
26,27, and 29, for ballistic transport transistor.
31,through 36, for Josephson device.
31,through 36, and 661-663, for superconductive element/device.
31,through 36, 468, and 661-663, for thermal device operated at cryogenic temperature.
33,for high temperature (30 K) Josephson device.
40,for organic semiconductor material.
41,for point contact device.
42,for Selenium (elemental).
44,through 47, for alloyed junction.
45,for thermal gradient zone melting (TGZM).
46,104, and 105, for Esaki diode.
46,and 104-106, for p-n junction type (Esaki type) tunneling.
47,197, 205, 273, 350, 361, 370, 378, 423, 462, 477 though 479, 511, 512, 517, 518, 525, 526, 539-543, and 552-593, for bipolar transistor structure.
47,for alloyed junction bipolar transistor.
48,and 797, for calibration or test structure.5, for array of bulk effect amorphous switches.
48,for test structures.
49,through 75, for non-single crystal, as active layer.
49,through 51, 64-75, 359, 377, 380-382, 385, 412, 505, 518, 520, 524-527, 538, 554, 576, 581, 588, and 754-757, for polycrystalline semiconductor material.
49,through 51, and 64-75, for polycrystalline active junction material.
49,through 51, and 64-75, for recrystallized active semiconductor layer.
50,and 530, for anti-fuse component or element.
50,530, and 928, for shorted devices, in general, e.g., anti-fuse elements.
53,through 56, for amorphous semiconductor material device.
53,through 56, 108, 225, 252, and 414, for responsiveness to nonelectric signal.
55,and 63, for alloy of amorphous semiconductor materials.
55,63, and 65, and 646, for silicon nitride to increase band gap of amorphous or polycrystalline silicon.
56,58, 62, and 65, for for dangling bond.
56,58, 62, and 68, for passivation of dangling bonds in nonsingle crystal semiconductor.
57,through 61, 66-72, and 368-401, for insulated gate FET in integrated circuit.
57,through 61, and 66-72, for FET in non-single crystal or recrystallized semiconductor material (e.g., amorphous or polycrystalline semiconductor as channel).
59,72, and 88-93, for array as imager, or with transparent electrode, or as display (with plural light emitters).
59,72, 449-457, and 749, for electrical contact or lead transparent to light.
59,72, and 293, for photoresistor combined with accessing FET.
59,72, 453, and 749, for transparent electrode.
60,135, 136, 263-267, 302, and 328-334, for vertical channel field effect device.
64,255, 521, 627, and 628, for crystal axis or plane.
65,for alloy of polycrystalline semiconductor materials.
66,67, 69, 379-381, 903, and 904, for static memory cell using FET.
67,through 70, for stacked FETs.
67,69, 70, and 74, for stacked FETs.
68,through 71, 296-313, 296, 298, 300, 906, and 908, for capacitance combined with insulated gate device. (e.g., DRAM).
68,71, and 295-313, for insulated gate device (capacitor or combined with capacitor).
68,71, 296-313, and 905-908, for memory device component involving a capacitor (e.g., dynamic memory cell).
68,71, 303, and 306-309, for stacked capacitors in DRAM cell.
68,and 301-305, for capacitor in trench.
68,283, 284, 330-334, 374, 397, 513, 514, 622, 647, and 648, for vertical walled groove in semiconductor.
69,195, 204, 206, 338, 350, 351, 357-359, and 365-377, for CMOS.
69,195, 204, 206, 274, 338, 350, 351, 357-359, and 369-377, for complementary field effect transistors.
74,and 278, for three-dimensional integrated circuit.
76,through 78, and 183-201, for heterojunction, generally.
76,through 78, for wide band gap semiconductor material other than GaAsP or GaAlAs.
80,through 85, for light responsive or activated device combined with light emitting device.
81,99, 177-181, 584, 625, 675, 688, 689, 705, 707, 712-722, and 796, for heat sink.
81,82, and 99, for housing or package for light emitter.
81,and 82, for housing or package for light emitter combined with light receiver.
81,82, 433, 434, 680, 681, for housing or package for light responsive device.
81,99, and 666-677, for lead frame.
83,for light coupled transistor structure.
86,and 87 for indirect band gap active layer - light emitter.
87,131, 156, 439, 523, 590, and 608-612, for deep level dopant/impurity.
87,126, 131, 156, 523, 590, 609-612, and 617, for recombination centers.
91,98, 151, 175, 176, 249, 250, 276, 282-284, 309, 317, 401, 418, 435, 448, 457, 459, 503, 508, 534, 573, 587, 602, 621, 662, and 664, for shape(d) contact, electrode, conductor, or terminal.
91,98, 294, 323, 435, and 659, for optical shield.
93,for plural light emitters in integrated circuit.
93,374, 446, 499 and 564, for electrical isolation of components in integrated circuit.
95,117, 118, 127, 170, 244, 283, 284, 301-305, 330-334, 418, 419, 447, 460, 466, 496, 534, 571, 586, and 618-628, for grooves, generally.
95,170, 171, 452, 466, 496, 571, 586, 594, 600, 618, and 623-626, for mesa structure.
95,for shaped contact, electrode, etc., external of heterojunction light emitter.
98,116, 117, 294, and 432, for light fiber, guide, or pipe.
98,for luminescent material used with light emitter.
98,181, 418, 688, 710, 711, 728, and 730, for shaped housing or package.
98,99, 116, 434, 680, and 681, for window (optical) for housing.
100,433, 434, 667, 687, 767-and 796, for encapsulated.
101,194, 219-221, 264, 269, 285, 335-345, 404, 430, 450, 458, 463, 492, 493, 497, 498, 543, 545, 548, 558, 583, 591, 592, 596, 597, 605, 606, 655-657, 927, and 929, for dopant/impurity concentration, incl., graded profile.
102,227, 439, and 607-612, for specified, generally (e.g., photoionizable).
106,for reverse conducting diode (tunnel diode).
106,for Zener diode.
107,through 182, and 918, for regenerative switching device.
108,252, and 421-427, for magnetic field responsive.
108,225, 254, and 415 and-419, for device responsive to pressure.
108,222, 225, 254, and 417-419, for strain sensor.
108,225, 252, and 467-470, for passivating device responsive to temperature.
109,for Shockley diode.
110,and 119-131, for bidirectional device (diac, rectifier).
113,through 118, for regenerative-type switching device.
115,123, and 157-161, for amplified gate in thyristor.
121,for reverse conducting thyristor.
121,for Static Induction Transistor (SIT) - Bipolar transistor as reverse path of bidirectional conducting thyristor.
122,141, 146, and 162, for lateral structure in regenerative device.
124,125, and 133-145, for FET in or combined with thyristor.
125,137, 138, 143, and 149, for shunt, regenerative device.
125,137, 138, 143, 149, and 154, for shorted emitter, anode or cathode, in thyristor.
127,446, 510-522, 571, 577, and 594, for groove to define plural devices.
127,170, 339, 372-376, 394-400, 409, 452, 484, 490, 493-495, and 605, for guard ring or region.
131,156, 376, 424, 523, 590, and 617, for crystal damage.
133,145, 195, 205, 273, 337, 350, 361, 362, 370, and 378, for field effect combined with bipolar type (including regenerative type) device.
134,through 136, 217, 256-287, and 504, for JFET.
136,205, 264, 268, 269, 392, for enhancement mode.
139,through 145, and 212, for conductivity modulated transistor.
139,through 145, 147-153, for extended latching current device.
139,through 145, 147-153, and 372-376, for means to prevent latchup.
139,through 145, and 211, for conductivity modulated transistor.
142,148, 376, 553, and 583, for doping for gain reduction.
146,476-479, and 499-564, for structure with elec. isolated components.
150,151, 177-181, for housing or package for regenerative type switching device.
154,169, 194, 195, 218, 264, 523, 646, and 656, for high resistivity semiconductor region - see, also, intrinsic material; PIN device.
154,350, 358, 359, 363, 379-381, 516, 533, 536-543, 571, 572, 577, 580-582, and 904, for resistive element (resistor) (passive device).
164,and 580-582, for ballasting of current (e.g., by resistors).
164,through 166, 560-561, 563, and 579- 581, for multiple/plural emitter.
170,for edge, beveled - preventing breakdown.
171,496, 586, and 618+, for bevel.
171,452, 483, and 484, for protection against edge breakdown.
171,and 496, for reverse bevels.
173,174, 328, 355-363, 487-496, and 546, for protection against overcurrent or overvoltage.
173,529, 665, and 910, for fuse/fusible link.
173,for overvoltage protection means in thyristor.
177,through 181, 467, 468, 573, 625, 675, 688, 705-707, and 712-722, for cooling.
178,179, and 746-748, for stress avoidance between electrode and semiconductor.
178,through 179, 633, 747, and 748, for thermal expansion matching or compensation.
180,and 733, for stud-type mount for housing.
180,and 733, for stud mount.
181,182, 688, 689, 726, 727, and 785 for press contact of electrode and semiconductor.
183.1, 193,215-251, and 912, for charge transfer device.
184,through 189, for heterojunction.
185,and 191, for graded band gap.
185,for staircase (light responsive heterojunction).
187,197, and 198, for heterojunction bipolar transistor.
198,for wide band gap emitter heterojunction bipolar transistor.
199,481, 482, 551, and 603-606, for avalanche diode.
199,482, and 604, for IMPATT.
199,259, 275-277, 482, 523, 604, 624, 625, 659, 662, 664, and 728, for for microwave device component.
202+,and 909, for master slice (gate array).
202+,and 909, for gate arrays.
202,through 211, and 909, for gate arrays.
205,273, 350, 361, 370, and 378, for bipolar combined with field effect type device.
205,273, 350, 361, 370, and 378, for bipolar transistor structure combined with FET.
206,208, 210, and 211, for configuration of elements in gate array.
209,for gate array with programmable signal paths.
210,and 758-760, for multi-level metallization.
212,for double-base diode (unijunction transistor).
212,for Static Induction Transistor (SIT) - Unijunction transistor.
212,for unijunction transistor.
214,for charge injection device.
215,218, and 225-251, for surface channel charge transfer device.
216+,for bulk channel device.
216,and 285, for buried channel.
219,through 221, for nonuniform channel doping in buried channel CCD.
223,230, and 445, for antiblooming.
223,230, and 445, for suppression of blooming in light imager.
224,and 243, for channel confinement.
225,253, and 414, for chemical sensor.
225,for CCD with fixed pattern memory as ROM.
228,447, 460, for backside illumination.
239,for floating diffusion as CCD Output Tap.
239,261, and 315-323, for floating gate.
240,for nonuniform channel thickness in CCD.
241,for parallel channels in CCD.
245,364, and 489, for resistive electrode.
246,through 248, for nonuniform channel doping in CCD, for directionality.
249,317, 359, 363, 364, 377, 380-382, 384, 385, 387, 407, 412, 413, 489, 505, 518, 520, 524-527, 538, 554, 576, 581, 588, 646, 754-756, 904, and 914, for polycrystalline material (including polysilicon contacts) other than active junction material.
251,for bucket-brigade device.
254,and 416, for acoustic energy detector.
256,and 257, for light responsive PIN device combined with JFET.
257,and 258, for JFET.
227,and 439, for photoionization.
258,291-294, 443-448, and 911, for array of electrode field effect devices.
260,and 262, in or combined with a JFET device.
260,and 261, for memory device component involving a JFET (e.g., taper isolated or floating pn junction gate type).
265,for vertical current path JFET in integrated circuit.
266,267, and 287, for parallel channels in JFET.
269,and 285, for nonuniform channel doping in JFET.
272,through 278, for JFET in integrated circuit.
275,through 278, 662, and 664, for stripline lead.
276,for air bridge electrical lead.
276,for air bridge contact.
283,and 284, for groove alignment of Schottky gate to source region in MESFET.
283,through 284, 330-334, for gate electrode of FET formed in groove.
286,for nonuniform channel thickness in JFET.
290,and 294, for IGFET.
291,through 294, 326, 334, 337, 338, 347-363, and 368-401, for insulated gate device (IGFET in integrated circuit).
294,297, 340, 409, 435, 488-490, 503, 508, 630, 659-660, and 662, for shield electrode.
295,298, and 314-326, for EPROM/EEPROM.
295,298, 314, and 324-326, for MNOS insulated gate-type memory device component.
297,349, 547, and 620, for means to prevent charge leakage or leakage current.
297,349, 354, 372-376, 503, 547, and 620, for means to prevent leakage current or charge leakage.
297,660, and 921, for protection against radiation (e.g., alpha particles).
297,660, and 921, for radiation protection.
297,422, and 659-660, for ionizing radiation shield, charged particles, electric or magnetic fields.
298,and 315-326, for insulated gate device (floating gate memory device).
298,and 315-323, for floating insulated gate memory-type memory device component.
299,for substrate bias (electrical generator.
301,through 305, 534, and 599, for groove involving a capacitor.
305,354, 376, 398-400, 519, 620, 648, and 652, for channel stop.
305,333, 374, 389, 395-399, 510-521, and 632-651, for field oxide.
312,480, and 595-602, for voltage variable capacitance device.
314,through 326 for variable threshold insulated gate device (e.g., EEPROM, non-volatile memory MOSFET).
322,for programming of floating gate MISFET (avalanche breakdown).
323,680, and 681, for light erasure of EPROM.
325,for oxynitride as insulator in MNOS memory IGFET.
327,through 346, for short channel.
328,and 355-363, for overvoltage protection means in IGFET.
328,and 355-363, for MOSFET gate protection.
331,341, 342, and 401, for parallel channels in IGFET.
332,346, 387, 388, 412, and 413, for self-aligned MOSFET gate.
333,340, and 386-389, for reduction of gate capacitance (FET).
333,346, 387, and 388, for overlap of gate electrode with source or drain in IGFET.
334,337, and 338, for VMOS or DMOS short channel IGFET in integrated circuit.
336,344, 408, and 900, for LDD (lightly doped drain) device.
339,409, 483, 484, and 487-496, for preventing avalanche breakdown.
339,409, and 488-490, for field relief electrode.
339,409, 490, and 495, for floating pn junction guard region.
340,394, and 630, for field shield electrode.
345,and 404, for nonuniform channel doping in IGFET. depletion mode.
347,through 354, and 507, for insulating substrate integrated circuit.
347,through 354, and 507, for single crystal insulating substrate.
347,through 354, and 507, for single crystal semiconductor layer on insulating substrate (SOI).
348,391, 392, and 402-407, for depletion mode Insulated Gate FET.
349,354, 372-376, 503, and 547, for controlling, reducing, etc. parasitics.
350,511, 512, 525, and 555-562, for lateral bipolar transistor in integrated circuit.
354,through 374, 395-399, 501, and 506-527, for dielectric isolation.
355,through 363, for gate insulator breakdown protection in IGFET integrated circuit.
360,and 367, for insulated gate device (controlling pn junction breakdown).
361,362, and 497-499, for punch-device.
366,for overlap of plural gate electrodes in IGFET.
368,through 401, for PN junction isolation in MOSFET integrated circuit.
374,394-398, 626, 631-651, and 758-760, for insulating/passivating coating.
374,396-398, 510-521, 647, and 648, for groove (dielectric isolation means).
377,382-385, 388, 412, 413, 454-458, 486, 518, 554, 576, 588, 747, 748, 754-757, 761, 763-764, and 768-770, for refractory electrode material.
377,382-384, 388, 412, 413, 454-456, 485, 486, 576, 587, 751, 754-757, and 768-770, for silicide.
379,through 381, and 903-904, for static RAM arrangement.
379,through 381, 516, 528-543, 903, 904, 919, and 924, for passive components in integrated circuits.
382,through 384, 576, 757, 768, and 769, for metal or silicide of platinum group metal, as ohmic contact.
383,388, 412, 485, 486, 763, 764, and 770, for pure or alloyed titanium.
388,407, 412, and 413, for metal or silicide of platinum group metal, as MOSFET gate.
390,and 391, for array of IGFETs.
390,and 391, for nonerasable (e.g., ROM).
390,and 391, for mask-programmed MOSFET ROM.
401,for nonuniform channel thickness in IGFET.
410,411, 639-641, 649, and 760, for silicon nitride.
411,and 760, for composite insulator material.
411,for oxynitride as gate insulator in IGFET, in general.
422,and 659, for magnetic field shielding
423,511, 512, 525, 526, 556, 557-562, 575, and 576, for lateral bipolar transistor structure.
423,for magnetic field sensing bipolar transistor.
426,and 469, for passivating means to reduce temperature sensitivity.
427,for magnetic field sensor in integrated circuit.
430,and 458, for light or radiation responsive PIN device, in general.
431,466, for light responsive or activated device generally.
437,for anti-reflection coating.
444,for matrix or array of light sensor elements overlying active switching elements in integrated circuit.
446,for matrix or array of light sensors with specific isolation means in integrated circuit.
449,through 457, for Schottky barrier.
453,through 455, 485, and 486, for metal or silicide of platinum group metal, as Schottky barrier material.
458,523, 538, and 656, for intrinsic material or region.
458,for PIN diode.
459,676, and 786, for bonding flag or pad
465,592, 599, 653, and 654, for configuration of junction geometry.
466,496, 571, 586, 594, 599, 600, and 618-628, for configuration of external portion of active device.
474,for bipolar transistor with Schottky barrier transistor as emitter-base or base-collector junction.
474,through 479, 512, 525, 555, 556, and 574-576, for integrated injection logic.
477,through 479, for bipolar transistor in integrated circuit with Schottky barrier diode.
479,and 570, for anti-saturation diode.
479,for baker clamp.
486,740, 751, and 767, for diffusion barrier.
491,and 492, for means to increase breakdown voltage in integrated circuit.
492,and 493, for RESURF device.
494,for reverse biased (electrical) pn junction guard region.
494,for reverse biased guard ring to prevent breakdown.
497,and 498, for punchthrough transistor.
504,for JFET isolation in integrated circuit (i.e., pinched-off region used for integrated circuit isolation).
509,through 521, 544-556, and 929, for isolated PN junction.
509,through 521, for PN junction isolation in integrated circuit combined with dielectric isolation.
511,512, 525, 555, 556, 569, and 574-576, for complementary bipolar transistor structure.
511,512, 525, 555, 556, 569, and 574-576, for complementary bipolar transistors.
511,512, 514, 515, 517, 518, 525, 526, 539-543, and 552-563, for bipolar transistors in integrated circuit.
511,512, 514, 517, 518, and 552-556, for bipolar transistors with pn junction isolation.
512,569, and 574-576, for bipolar transistor structure with common active region.
512,569, and 574-576, for complementary bipolar transistors with common active region.
512,555, 556, and 574-576, for logic device (superintegrated) using Integrated Injection Logic (I2L).
514,and 515, for walled emitter bipolar transistor.
522,for air isolation of integrated circuit.
531,for inductance in integrated circuit.
532,through 535, for capacitance as passive component in non-FET I.C.
540,for dynamic isolation pocket bias (electrical).
541,for pinch resistor.
544,through 556, for PN junction isolation in integrated circuit in general.
545,for reduction of isolation junction capacitance.
546,for overvoltage protection means in pn junction isolated integrated circuit.
546,for reverse voltage polarity protection, in pn junction isolated integrated circuit.
549,for collector diffused type isolation.
559,lateral transistor formed along groove.
560,through 564, for multiple/plural collectors.
560,563, and 579-581, for plural emitters in bipolar transistor.
562,for logic device (superintegrated) using Current Hogging Logic (CHL).
565,through 593, for bipolar transistor structure, in general.
571,for groove resistor in Darlington bipolar device.
573,and 584, for housing or package for bipolar transistor devices.
592,for configuration of bipolar transistor base region.
602,for housing or package for voltage-variable capacitance device.
607,and 917, for plural dopants of same conductivity type.
610,for platinum (as deep level dopant).
620,for scribe line or region.
624,for prevention of skin effect, microwave device, by low resistance ohmic contact along mesa surface.
626,and 629-652, for passivation of semiconductor surface.
634,for passivating glass with ingredient to adjust softening or melting temperature.
639,and 649, for oxynitride as passivating insulating layer.
642,643, and 759, for organic insulating material or layer.
643,759, and 788, for polyamide.
643,759, and 792, for polyimide.
653,654, for shaped PN junction.
655,for reverse doping concentration gradient profile.
656,for PIN device in general.
657,for stepped profile.
657,for stepped dopant concentration profile.
660,for housing or package for radiation shielded device.
662,and 664, for transmission line lead.
663,for superconductive contact or lead on integrated circuit.
669,670, 673, 674, 676, 688, 689, 692-697, 728, 735-739, 752, 758, 773-776, and 780-786, for shaped contact, electrode, etc.
669,for lead frame having stress relief.
676,for die bonding flag.
676,for lead frame-type mount for chip.
678,through 733, for housing or package, generally.
679,and 922, for smart card (e.g., "credit card" integrated circuit package).
686,for stacked housings.
700,701, and 703-707, for ceramic housing or package material.
705,for high thermal conductivity ceramic for package.
711,for metal housing with mount for chip.
713,for cooling of housing or contents for integrated circuit.
714,through 716, for liquid coolant.
719,for press contact of heat sink and semiconductor.
720,for high thermal conductivity insert in heat sink.
731,for mount for housing.
732,for flanged type mount for housing.
735,through 739, 746, 758-760, 773-776, 780-781, 786, 920, 923, 926, for configuration of electrode, etc.
738,780, and 781, for ball-shaped leads, contacts or bonds.
740,for prevention of spiking of contact metal.
741,through 745, and 751, for gold (deep level dopant as contact or electrode).
742,and 743, for dopant/impurity conductivity type in electrical contact material.
746,for composite electrode material.
746,for electrode material.
749,for electrode transparent to light.
751,767, and 915, for titanium nitride.
758,through 760, for multiple metallization layers separated by insulating layer on integrated circuit.
760,for oxynitride between metal levels in integrated circuit.
764,765, and 768-771, for alloy of materials forming electrical contacts.
767,for electromigration prevention or reduction.
777,for chip on chip mount for chip.
778,for flip chip mount for chip.
779,and 780-784, for die or lead bond.
782,and 783, for die bond.
900,for MOSFET type gate sidewall insulating spacer.
901,for MOSFET substrate bias (electrical).
901,for MOSFET substrate bias.
902,for FET with metal source region.
903,and 904, for configuration of FETs for Static Memory Cell (SRAM).
905,through 908, for configuration of Dynamic Memory (DRAM).
905,for trench shared by plural DRAM cells.
906,Electrode use for accessing capacitance, in DRAM.
910,for array of diodes.
911,for vidicon array (cross-reference collection).
915,for titanium nitride.
919,for parallel electrical connections to average out manufacturing variations.
920,for parallel electrical connections to reduce resistance.
922,for anti-tamper device.
922,for diode arrays.
922,for anti-tamper or inspection means for
923,for conductor aspect ratio.
925,for bridge rectifier module.
927,for shaped depletion layer.
930,for Peltier cooling (cross-reference collection).

SECTION IV - REFERENCES TO OTHER CLASSES

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

29Metal Working,   subclasses 25.01+ for process and apparatus for making barrier layer or semiconductor devices not elsewhere classified; subclass 25.35 for piezoelectric device making not elsewhere classified; subclasses 25.41+ for electric condenser making not elsewhere classified; subclasses 592.1+ for process of mechanical manufacture of electrical devices, not elsewhere classified; and subclasses 825+ for electrical conductor manufacturing processes, including subclass 827 regarding beam lead frames and beam leads. (class providing for methods of making, cleaning, coating, etc., active solid-state devices, See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, D).
29Metal Working,   subclass 612 for making thermally variable resistors. (See G, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above).
29Metal Working,   appropriate subclasses for manufacturing methods of beam lead frame or beam lead devices. (Class providing for subcombination subject matter used as component part of active solid-state electronic devices. See Lines with Other Clases and Within This Class, F, above).
40Card, Picture, or Sign Exhibiting,   subclass 544 for electroluminescent signs. (See B, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above.)
62Refrigeration,   subclasses 3.2+ for thermoelectric, e.g., Peltier effect cooling processes and apparatus. (See B, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above.)
65Glass Manufacturing,   subclasses 138+ for Electronic envelope header, terminal, or stem making means and subclass 155 for electronic device making involving fusion bonding. (Class providing for methods of making, cleaning, coating, etc., active solid-state devices, See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, D).
73Measuring and Testing,   subclass 31.06 for gas analysis semiconductor detector details; subclass 777 for semiconductor stress sensor structure; and subclass 754 for semiconductor type fluid pressure gauges. (Class employing active solid-state devices in electronic circuits. See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, A, above).
84Music,   subclasses 676 and 678 for transistorized analog oscillator circuits. (See B, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above.)
102Ammunition and Explosives,   subclass 202.4 for semiconductor voltage variable resistance shunts in devices used to prevent accidental fuse ignition. (See G, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above)
102Ammunition and Explosives,   subclass 202.4 for semiconductor fuse shunts and subclass 220 for silicon controlled rectifier ignition or detonation switch devices. (See B, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above.)
116Signals and Indicators,   digest 35 for electroluminescent dials. (See B, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above.)
117Single-Crystal, Oriented-Crystal, and Epitaxy Growth Processes; Non-Coating Apparatus Therefor,   for processes and non-coating apparatus for growing therein-defined single-crystal of all types of materials, including those which may be suitable as or to produce an active solid-state device. Class 118 generally provides for coating apparatus, including single-crystal (e.g., epitaxy) coating means. (Class providing for methods of making, cleaning, coating, etc., active solid-state devices, See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, D).
118Coating Apparatus,   subclass 900 for semiconductor vapor doping. (Class providing for methods of making, cleaning, coating, etc., active solid-state devices, See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, D)
123Internal-Combustion Engines,   subclasses 650+ for ignition systems with power supplies having diode and transistor features. (See B, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above.)
134Cleaning and Liquid Contact With Solids,   subclasses 1.2 , 1.3, and 902 for semiconductor wafer cleaning. (Class providing for methods of making, cleaning, coating, etc., active solid-state devices, See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, D, above).
136Batteries: Thermoelectric and Photoelectric,   subclasses 203+ for Peltier effect device; subclasses 200+ for batteries which generate electricity under the action of heat (thermoelectric); and subclasses 243+ for batteries which generate electricity under the action of light, such as photovoltaic batteries, some of these batteries utilize potential barrier layers. (class providing for active solid-state electronic devices structures with a specified use.)
148Metal Treatment,   subclasses 33+ for PN type barrier layer stock material treatment and numerous digests concerning treatment of semiconductor materials, dopants, and active solid-state electronic devices. (Class providing for methods of making, cleaning, coating, etc., active solid-state devices, See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, D, above).
148Metal Treatment,   digest 171 for metal treatment involving varistors. (See G, Lines With Other Classes, above).
165Heat Exchange,   subclasses 80.2+ and 104.33 for electrical device or component heat exchangers. (Class providing for subcombination subject matter used as component part of active solid-state electronic devices. See Lines with Other Clases and Within This Class, F, above).
174Electricity: Conductors and Insulators,   subclasses 15.1 through 16.3for fluid cooling of electrical conductors or insulator; subclasses 250-268 for printed circuit devices; and subclasses 520-64 for housings with electric devices or mounting means. (Class employing active solid-state devices in electronic circuits. See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, A, above).
178Telegraphy,   subclass 117 for coherer type AC systems. (See B, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above.)
178Telegraphy,   subclass 117 for coherer type AC systems. (See G, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above).
194Check-Actuated Control Mechanisms,   subclasses 216+ for value accumulator having solid-state circuitry. (See B, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above.)
204Chemistry: Electrical and Wave Energy,   subclasses 400+ for active solid-state devices used in measuring and testing involving electrolytic analysis. (Class employing active solid-state devices in electronic circuits. See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, A, above).
204Chemistry: Electrical and Wave Energy,   subclass 192.25 for semiconductor coating, forming, or etching by sputtering. (Class providing for methods of making, cleaning, coating, etc., active solid-state devices, See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, D, above)
216Etching a Substrate: Processes,   subclass 16 for active solid state devices involved in an etching process. (Class providing for methods of making, cleaning, coating, etc., active solid-state devices, See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, D, above).
219Electric Heating,   subclass 501 for automatic regulation or control means for heating devices which include semiconductor, e.g., transistor, means. (See B, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above.)
228Metal Fusion Bonding,   subclass 123 for processes of bonding metal to semiconductor-type material and subclasses 179+ for processes of bonding electrical device (e.g., semiconductor) joints. (Class providing for methods of making, cleaning, coating, etc., active solid-state devices, See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, D, above).
250Radiant Energy,   subclass 492.2 for irradiation of semiconductor devices. (Class providing for methods of making, cleaning, coating, etc., active solid-state devices, See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, D, above).
250Radiant Energy,   subclass 338.4 for infrared responsive semiconductor devices, subclasses 370.01-370.15 for invisible radiant energy responsive semiconductor devices; subclass 371 for invisible radiant energy responsive methods using semiconductor devices; subclass 492.2 for irradiation of semiconductor devices; subclasses 552 and 553 for photocell circuits and apparatus involving solid-state light sources; subclasses 211 for photocells including photosensitive junctions; and subclasses 208.1-208.6 for plural photosensitive elements, including arrays. (Class employing active solid-state devices in electronic circuits. See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, A, above).
264Plastic and Nonmetallic Article Shaping or Treating: Processes,   subclass 272.11 for electrical component encapsulating processes, including subclass 272.17 for encapsulating semiconductor or barrier layer device. (Class providing for methods of making, cleaning, coating, etc., active solid-state devices, See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, D, above).
252Compositions,   subclass 62.3 for barrier layer device compositions, e.g., N-material, P-material and, subclasses 500+ for electrically conductive or emissive compositions. (Class providing for materials used in active solid-state devices, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, C, above).
273Amusement Devices: Games,   digest 24 for luminescent devices. (See B, Lines With Other Classes, above.)
307Electrical Transmission or Interconnection Systems,   subclasses 401+ for nonlinear reactor systems which typically employ active solid-state devices; subclass 91 for magnetic or electrostatic field shielding; and subclasses 109+ for systems involving capacitors.
310Electrical Generator or Motor Structure,   subclass 303 for energy conversion devices employing pn semiconductor junction devices, and digest 3 for Hall effect generators and converters. (See B, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above.)
313Electric Lamp and Discharge Devices,   subclasses 498+ for electric lamp and discharge devices having solid-state luminescent materials, including nominally recited luminescent semiconductor type materials; subclasses 329 and 367+ for mosaic electrodes; subclasses 366+ for semiconductor depletion layer type image pickup tubes; subclass 463 for electroluminescent cathode­ray tube screens; subclasses 346 and 346 for photoemissive cathodes; and subclass 504 for solid-state organic phosphor material luminescent devices. (Class employing active solid-state devices in electronic circuits. See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, A, above).
315Electric Lamp and Discharge Devices: Systems,   subclass 12.1 for secondary emissive stage in a cathode­ray tube; subclass 407 for a deflection coil circuit including a diode; subclass 408 for deflection coil circuits including a solid-state switch; and digest 7 for starting and control circuits using transistors. (Class employing active solid-state devices in electronic circuits. See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, A, above).
323Electricity: Power Supply or Regulation Systems,   subclasses 229+ for power supply or regulation systems using a diode in shunt with a source or load; subclasses 237+, 254, 257, 258, 263, 265+, and 292 for output level devices employing three or more terminal semiconductor devices; subclass 300 for input level devices or systems employing three or more terminal semiconductor devices; subclasses 311+ for self-regulating systems employing three or more terminal semiconductor devices; subclasses 325+, 339, 343, and 349+ for external or operator controlled systems employing three or more terminal semiconductor devices; subclass 360 for superconductor type transformers or inductors; digest 902 for device with optical coupling to a semiconductor; and digest 907 for temperature compensation of a semiconductor. (Class employing active solid-state devices in electronic circuits. See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, A, above).
318Electricity: Motive Power Systems,   subclass 681 for positional servomechanisms using solid-state servo amplifiers. (see B, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above.)
315Electric Lamp and Discharge Devices: Systems,   subclass 311 for variable impedance device in automatic regulator in supply circuit of an electric lamp or discharge device. (See G, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above).
318Electricity: Motive Power Systems,   subclass 662 for variable capacitor type positional servo systems and subclasses 788 and 792 for variable temperature impedance (e.g., resistor) elements in induction motor systems. (See G, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above).
320Electricity: Battery or Capacitor Charging or Discharging,   appropriate subclass for an active solid-state device included in a charging or discharging circuit for a battery or capacitor. (See B, Lines With Other Classes, above.)
322Electricity: Single Generator Systems,   digest 5 for Hall effect elements. (see B, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above.)
323Electricity: Power Supply or Regulation Systems,   subclass 298 for output level responsive devices including a variable resistor. (See G, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above).
324Electricity: Measuring and Testing,   subclasses 762.01 through 762.1for testing semiconductor devices, SCR and transistor testing and subclasses 244+ for magnetometers many of which employ active solid-state devices, e.g., subclasses 248 (thin film), 251 (Hall plate) and 252 (semiconductor type solid-state or magneto resistive). (Class employing active solid-state devices in electronic circuits. See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, A, above).
327Miscellaneous Active Electrical Nonlinear Devices, Circuits, and Systems,   appropriate subclasses for miscellaneous nonlinear circuits utilizing an active device. (Class employing active solid-state devices in electronic circuits. See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, A, above).
327Miscellaneous Active Electrical Nonlinear Devices, Circuits, and Systems,   subclasses 185+ for a stable state circuit utilizing an electron tube and a transistor and subclasses 568+ for a miscellaneous negative resistance circuit. (See B, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above.)
329Demodulators,   subclass 370 for diode demodulators and subclass 371 for coherer type demodulators. (See B, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above.)
329Demodulators,   subclass 370 for diode demodulators and subclass 371 for coherer type demodulators. (See G, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above).
330Amplifiers,   subclass 145 for diode type variable impedances for signal channel controlled by a separate control path and subclasses 282+ for semiconductor amplifier devices with gain control means and feedback means acting as a variable impedance.
330Amplifiers,   subclass 4.9 for semiconductor type parametric amplifiers; subclass 183 for DC interstage coupling with as nonlinear device; and subclasses 250+ for semiconductor amplifying devices. (Class employing active solid-state devices in electronic circuits. See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, A, above).
331Oscillators,   subclass 51 for semiconductor type cascade or tandem connected oscillators and subclasses 107-117 for solid-state active element oscillators. (Class employing active solid-state devices in electronic circuits. See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, A, above).
331Oscillators,   subclasses 36+ for AFC devices using particular frequency control means, including reactance devices (e.g., variable capacitors) and subclass 177 for voltage sensitive capacitor type frequency adjusting means. (See G, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above).
332Modulators,   subclasses 105 , 116, 135+, 146, 152, 168, and 178 for modulators with discrete semiconductor devices (subclass 136 includes varactors). (See B, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above.)
332Modulators,   subclasses 105 , 116, 135+, 146, 152, 168, and 178 for modulators with discrete semiconductor devices (subclass 136 includes varactors). (See G, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above).
333Wave Transmission Lines and Networks,   subclass 263 for variable impedance devices connected in circuit with a long line element or component. (See G, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above).
333Wave Transmission Lines and NetWorks,   subclasses 103 and 104 for branched circuits with switching means having semiconductor operating means; subclass 165 for frequency or time domain filters using charge transfer devices; subclasses 216 and 217 for negative impedance devices; subclass 247 for semiconductor mounts for strip type long line elements; and subclass 99 for super conductive devices. (class employing active solid-state devices in electronic circuits. See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, A, above)
334Tuners,   subclasses 66 and 69 for series tuned circuits with variable impedance elements.
334Tuners,   subclass 15 for semiconductor reactance tuning circuits. (See B, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above.)
338Electrical Resistors,   subclass 1 for coherer type resistors, subclass 22 for semiconductor type thermistors, and subclass 32 for magnetic field responsive devices, including Hall effect types and super conductive types. (Class employing active solid-state devices in electronic circuits. See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, A, above).
338Electrical Resistors,   subclass 1 for coherer type resistors; subclass 22 for semiconductor type thermistors; and subclass 32 for magnetic field responsive devices, including Hall effect types and superconductive types. (See G, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above).
343Communications: Radio Wave Antennas,   subclass 745 for antennas with variable reactance tuning; subclass 750 for adjustable lumped reactance antenna tuning; and subclass 861 for adjustable impedance matching network leadins. (See G, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above).
340Communications: Electrical,   subclass 598 for barrier layer thermal sensors in condition responsive device; subclass 815.03 for a visual indicator using a light emitting diode; subclasses 2.2-2.31 for a channel selecting matrix; and subclasses 14.1-14.69 for a decoder matrix.
341Coded Data Generation or Conversion,   subclasses 133+ for analog-to-digital conversion with particular solid-state devices; subclass 150 for digital to analog conversion using charge coupled devices or switched capacitances; and subclass 172 for analog to digital conversion using charge transfer devices. (See B, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above.)
345Computer Graphics Processing and Selective Visual Display Systems,   subclasses 30+ for selective visual display systems which may employ active solid-state device light sources, including subclasses 44 and 82 for visual display systems having solid-state light emitters. (class employing active solid-state devices in electronic circuits. See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, A, above).
348Television,   subclasses 272+ and 294+ for solid-state image sensors in television cameras and subclasses 800+ for electroluminescent video display with solid-state scanned matrix. (class employing active solid-state devices in electronic circuits. See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, A, above).
358Facsimile and Static Presentation Processing,   subclasses 482 and 483 solid-state picture generators, including charge coupled devices. (Class employing active solid-state devices in electronic circuits. See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, A, above).
359Optical: Systems and Elements,   subclass 248 for semiconductor polarization type light modulators and subclasses 321+ for modulators having significant chemical composition or structure. (Class employing active solid-state devices in electronic circuits. See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, A, above).
361Electricity: Electrical Systems and Devices,   subclass 2 for solid-state switch type arc suppressors; subclasses 98, 100, and 101 for current fault responsive sensors involving semiconductor active solid-state devices; subclasses 196+ for semiconductor time delay devices; subclass 205 for threshold devices including SCR thyratrons; subclasses 275.1+ for electrical, e.g., fuse element for electrolytic capacitors; subclasses 277+ for variable capacitor not involving active solid-state devices; subclasses 525 for solid electrolytic capacitors with significant semiconductor; subclasses 679.01-679.61 for cooling devices, housings, supports, electrical contacts, etc., for diverse electrical components; subclass 421 for lead frames; and subclasses 523+ for solid electrolytic capacitors. (class employing active solid-state devices in electronic circuits. See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, A, above)
361Electricity: Electrical Systems and Devices,   subclass 188 for variable impedance condition responsive devices for relay or solenoid safety or protection; and subclasses 277+ for variable electrostatic capacitors. (See G, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above)
361Electricity: Electrical Systems and Devices,   subclass 421 for lead frames. (Class providing for subcombination subject matter used as component part of active solid-state electronic devices. See Lines with Other Clases and Within This Class, F, above)
362Illumination,   subclass 84 for light source or light source support and luminescent material and subclass 800 (cross-reference art collection) for light emitting diode light sources. (See B, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above.)
363Electric Power Conversion Systems,   subclasses 10+ for combined phase and frequency conversion using a semiconductor device converter, and subclasses 13-147 for current conversion devices many of which explicitly call for semiconductor active solid-state devices, and subclasses 159-163 for frequency conversion using semiconductor type devices. (See B, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above.)
365Static Information Storage and Retrieval,   subclasses 52+ for hardware, including shields, for storage elements; subclass 71 for negative resistance; and subclass 72 for transistor or diode interconnection arrangement; subclass 96 for fusible link storage elements; subclasses 103-105 for semiconductive semipermanent read only systems; subclasses 106+ for systems involving radiant energy, including subclasses 109-115 for photoconductive, electroluminescent, amorphous, semiconductive and diode devices; subclasses 129+ for systems using a particular element, including subclasses 154-188 for systems using particular elements including active solid-state devices; subclasses 185.01+ for floating gate memory storage (e.g., flash memory); and subclasses 208 and 212 for semiconductive differential (e.g., thermal) noise suppression means in read/write circuits. (Class employing active solid-state devices in electronic circuits. See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, A, above).
367Communications, Electrical: Acoustic Wave Systems and Devices,   subclasses 140+ for signal transducers which may be active solid-state devices, and including support structures, diaphragm, and pressure compensation means. (See B, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above.)
368Horology: Time Measuring Systems or Devices,   subclass 83 for solid body light emitters, e.g., diodes; subclasses 86 and 87 for transistorized pulse transforming means; subclasses 56+ for solid-state oscillating time base circuits; and subclasses 239+ for optical display devices, including subclass 241 for solid-state, e.g., LED light emitting displays. (See B, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above.)
369Dynamic Information Storage or Retrieval,   subclass 44.12 for optical servo systems having solid-state optical elements; subclasses 121+ for light sources, including solid-state light source; subclass 145 for semiconductive information handling transducers. (class employing active solid-state devices in electronic circuits. See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, A, above)
372Coherent Light Generator,   subclasses 43 through 50for semiconductor layers and subclass 75 for semiconductor optical laser pump devices. (class employing active solid-state devices in electronic circuits. See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, A, above).
374Thermal Measuring and Testing,   subclass 178 for barrier layer (e.g., semiconductor junction) heat sensors and subclasses 183+ for current modifying sensors. (Class employing active solid-state devices in electronic circuits. See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, A, above).
377Electrical Pulse Counters, Pulse Dividers, or Shift Registers: Circuits and Systems,   subclasses 57 through 63for charge transfer device systems; subclass 74 for input circuits involving field-effect transistors; subclass 79 and 117 for transfer means including a field effect transistor; and subclass 93 for superconductive elements. (class employing active solid-state devices in electronic circuits. See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, A, above)
378X-Ray or Gamma Ray Systems or Devices,   subclass 104 for X-ray source power supplies with specified rectifier. (See B, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above.)
379Telephonic Communications,   subclass 294 for semiconductor line finders. (See B, Lines With Other Classes, above.)
381Electrical Audio Signal Processing Systems and Devices,   subclass 100 for crossover filters with active devices and subclass 175 for semiconductor junction microphones. (see B, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above.)
388Electricity: Motor Control Systems,   subclasses 917 through 920for thyristor or SCR devices or control circuit elements and subclass 926 for a specific feedback control or device which controls a solid-state device in a motor circuit.
388Electricity: Motor Control Systems,   subclass 807 for variable impedance type field control circuits and subclasses 855+ for selectable or variable impedance armature control devices. (see G, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above)
427Coating Processes,   subclasses 58 through 126.6, especially subclasses 62 and 63, 66, 74-76, 79-81, 96.1-99.5, 100, and 101-103 for coating processes to make an electrical product (for methods of making, cleaning, coating, etc., active solid-state devices, see Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, D., above).
428Stock Material or Miscellaneous Articles,   subclass 620 for composite metallic stock having a semiconductor component, subclasses 690 and 691 for fluorescent, phosphorescent or luminescent inorganic layer composites; subclasses 917 for electroluminescent material; and subclasses 928-931 for materials with special properties, including magnetic properties, electrical contact features and superconductivity. (Class providing for materials used in active solid-state devices, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, C, above).
430Radiation Imagery Chemistry: Process, Composition, or Product Thereof,   subclasses 56 through 96for radiation sensitive compositions or products; subclass 139 for luminescent imaging process, composition or product; and subclass 900 for donor-acceptor complex photoconductors. (Class providing for materials used in active solid-state devices, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, C, above)
430Radiation Imagery Chemistry: Process, Composition, or Product Thereof,   subclasses 56 through 96for radiation sensitive compositions or products; subclass 139 for luminescent imaging process, composition or product; and subclass 900 for donor-acceptor complex photoconductors. (Class providing for methods of making, cleaning, coating, etc., active solid-state devices, See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, D, above).
438Semiconductor Device Manufacturing: Process,   for (a) combined operations (steps) for producing a semiconductor substrate having a junction, usually between p-type and n-type material or (b) a unit operation involving semiconductor material, not elsewhere provided; see the search notes therein. (class providing for methods of making, cleaning, coating, etc., active solid-state devices, See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, D, above).
439Electrical Connectors,   appropriate subclasses for features related or analogous to electrical contact or housing features of active solid-state devices, e.g., subclasses 271+ for sealing elements, or subclasses 449+ for stress relief means for conductor to terminal joint. (class employing active solid-state devices in electronic circuits. See Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, A, above).
455Telecommunications,   subclass 253.1 for semiconductor gain, level or volume control; subclass 291 for receivers having a wave collector with coupling to a stage of the receiver using an active device, and subclass 333 for transistorized or integrated circuit type frequency conversion structure or circuitry. (see B, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above.)
455Telecommunications,   subclasses 261 and 262 for variable reactance, e.g., variable capacitance type automatic local oscillator control devices. (see G, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above)
505Superconductor Technology: Apparatus, Material, Process,   subclasses 150+ for high temperature (Tc > 30 K) superconducting devices, and particularly subclasses 161 and 162 for bolometers or SQUIDs, subclasses 190+ for Josephson junctions, per se, and subclasses 191+ for other thin film solid-state devices; and pertinent cross-reference art collections, including subclasses 831+, for static information storage and retrieval system or device; subclasses 857+ for nonlinear solid-state device, system, or circuit; subclasses 873+ for active solid-state devices; subclass 883 for housing and mounting assemblies with plural diverse electrical components; subclasses 884+ for conductors; and subclasses 900+ for heat exchangers. (see B, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above.)
505Superconductor Technology: Apparatus, Material, Process,   subclasses 150+ for high temperature (Tc > 30 K) superconducting devices, and particularly subclasses 161 and 162 for bolometers or SQUIDs, subclasses 190+ for Josephson junctions, per se, and subclasses 191+ for other thin film solid-state devices; and pertinent cross-reference art collections, including subclasses 831+, for static information storage and retrieval system or device; subclasses 857+ for nonlinear solid-state device, system, or circuit; subclasses 873+ for active solid-state devices; subclass 883 for housing and mounting assemblies with plural diverse electrical components; subclasses 884+ for conductors; and subclasses 900+ for heat exchangers. (Class providing for materials used in active solid-state devices, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, C, above)
600Surgery,   subclasses 486+ and 505 for active solid-state devices inserted inside a body and used for measuring and testing. (class employing active solid-state devices in electronic circuits. See Lines With Other Classes, A, above)
708Electrical Computers: Arithmetic Processing and Calculating,   subclass 190 for integrated circuit type digital computers.
716Computer-Aided Design and Analysis of Circuits and Semiconductor Masks,   subclasses 50 through 56for design and analysis of a semiconductor mask or reticle and subclasses 100 through 139 for the design and analysis of circuit systems and integrated circuit structure by data processing and computer programming techniques.
902Electronic Funds Transfer,   subclass 26 for identification, means with a semiconductor chip, e.g., a smart card. (see B, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above.)
D10Measuring, Testing or Signalling Instruments,   subclass 77 for transistor testers. (see B, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above.)
D13Equipment for Production, Distribution or Transformation of Energy,   appropriate subclass for semiconductor, transistor or integrated circuit energy conversion or transformation. (see B, Lines With Other Classes and Within This Class, above.)

SECTION V - GLOSSARY

ACCEPTOR IMPURITY

An atom or ion different from or foreign to, but present in, a semiconductor material and which has insufficient valence electrons to complete the normal bonding arrangement in the semiconductor crystal structure. An acceptor impurity accepts an electron from an adjacent atom to create a hole. Acceptor impurities are also referred to as p-type impurities. Common acceptor impurities in silicon or germanium are boron, gallium, and indium.

ACTINIDES

Ac, Th, Pa, U, Np, Pu, Am, Cm, Bk, Cf, E, Fm, Mv, No, Lw.

ALKALI METALS

Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, Fr.

ALKALINE-EARTH METALS

Ca, Sr, Ba, Ra.

ACTIVE solid-state ELECTRONIC DEVICE

An electronic device or component that is made up primarily of solid materials, usually semiconductors, which operates by the movement of charge carriers - electrons or holes - which undergo energy level changes within the material and can modify an input voltage to achieve rectification, amplification, or switching action. Active solid-state electronic devices include diodes, transistors, thyristors, etc., but exclude pure resistors, capacitors, inductors, or combinations solely thereof. The latter class of devices is characterized as passive.

ALLOY JUNCTION

A fused junction produced by combining one or more elemental impurity metals with a semiconductor. Typical alloyed junctions include indium- germanium and aluminum-silicon.

ALLOY TRANSISTOR

A transistor in which the emitter-base and collector-base junctions are alloy junctions.

AVALANCHE BREAKDOWN

A sudden change from high dynamic electrical resistance to very low dynamic resistance in a reverse biased semiconductor device, e.g., a reverse biased junction between p-type and n-type semiconductor materials, wherein current carriers are created by electrons or holes which have gained sufficient speed to dislodge valence electrons. Avalanche breakdown can cause structural damage to a semiconductor device.

AXIAL LEAD

A wire lead coming from the end of and along the axis of a resistor, capacitor, or other component.

BACK BONDED

The bonding of active chips to a substrate using the back of the chip opposite the side containing active solid-state devices.

BALL BOND

A bond formed by a round, ball-shaped lead on a semiconductor device.

BALLISTIC TRANSPORT DEVICE

An active solid-state electronic device in which an active layer is present through which carriers* pass, wherein the active layer is thinner than the mean free path of the carriers* in the material in that layer, so that carriers* can pass through the layer without scattering. Carriers* are typically injected into the ballistic transport layer as "hot" carriers*, having an energy, in the case of electrons, substantially greater than the minimum of the conduction band*, or in the case of holes, substantially lower than the maximum of the valence band. Ballistic electron injectors include heterojunctions, tunnel barriers, and punchthrough (e.g., planar doped or camel) barriers.

BAND GAP

The difference between the energy levels of electrons bound to their nuclei (valence electrons) and the energy levels that allow electrons to migrate freely (conduction electrons). The band gap depends on the particular semiconductor involved.

BARRIER REGION OR LAYER

A region which extends on both sides of a semiconductor junction in which all carriers are swept away from the junction region. The region is depleted of carriers. This is also referred to as a depletion region.

BARRITT DIODE

Barrier injection transit time diode. A bipolar or device in which a type of breakdown known as punchthrough occurs and wherein the punchthrough structure device is operable at microwave frequencies. In bipolar transistors a direct current path is formed from emitter to collector due to the formation of a depletion region throughout the base region and charge carriers from the emitter punch through to the collector. Carriers flowing from the emitter to the collector take a controlled time to pass through the depletion layer, leading to a controlled delay in current after a voltage is applied, and effective negative impedance.

BASE REGION

The region between the emitter and collector of a bipolar transistor into which minority carriers are injected by the emitter.

BASE CURRENT

The electrical current that flows in the base terminal of a bipolar transistor.

BEAM LEADS

Flat, metallic leads which extend beyond the edges of a chip component like wooden beams extend from a roof overhang. Beam leads are used to interconnect a component to film circuitry.

BIAS

A direct current or voltage applied to an active solid-state device that establishes certain operating characteristics of the device.

BI-FET

An active solid-state electronic device that contains both bipolar and field effect transistors.

BILATERAL

A characteristic of an active solid-state electronic device that permits it to support current flow in opposite directions.

BINARY COMPOUND

A substance that always contains the same two elements in a fixed atomic ratio.

BIPOLAR

An active solid-state electronic device in which both positive and negative current carriers are used to support current flow.

BIPOLAR TRANSISTOR

An active solid-state electronic device with a base electrode and two or more junction electrodes in which both positive and negative current carriers are used to support current flow.

BLOCH WAVELENGTH

The effective wavelength of electrons in a semiconductor crystal, sometimes referred to as a wave packet or wave function. It can be an order of magnitude larger than the de broglie wavelength of electrons having the same energy.

BONDING AREA

The area, defined by the extent of a metallization land or the top surface of a terminal, to which a lead is or is to be bonded.

BONDING PAD

A metallized area to which an electrical connection is to be made. It is also called a bonding island or a controlled collapse chip connection.

BONDING WIRE

Fine wire for making electrical connections in hybrid circuits between various bonding pads on the semiconductor device substrate and device terminals or substrate lands.

BREAKDOWN

A sudden change from high dynamic electrical resistance to a very low dynamic resistance in a reverse biased semiconductor device, e.g., a reverse biased junction between p-type and n-type semiconductor materials, wherein reverse current increases rapidly for a small increase in reverse applied voltage, and the device behaves as if it had negative electrical resistance.

BREAKDOWN POINT/VOLTAGE

The voltage value at which breakdown occurs.

BREAKOVER

The start of current flow in a silicon controlled rectifier.

BUCKET BRIGADE DEVICE

A charge transfer device in which only a portion of the charge carriers (electrons or holes) at each storage site are transferred to the next storage site.

BUMP CONTACT

A term used to describe, typically, solder bumps on a chip or substrate which are found on only one side of the chip or substrate as, for example, on a flip-chip.

BULK-CHANNEL CCD

A charge coupled device in which charge is stored and transferred below the surface of the device.

BULK-EFFECT DEVICE

An active solid-state device made up of a semiconductor material whose electrical characteristics and electronic properties are exhibited throughout the entire body of the material, rather than in just a localized region thereof, e.g., the surface.

BURIED CHANNEL CCD

See BULK-CHANNEL CCD.

CB JUNCTION

The collector-base junction of a bipolar transistor.

CAPACITOR

A component used in electrical and electronic circuits which stores a charge of electricity, usually for very brief periods of time, with the ability to rapidly charge and discharge. A capacitor is usually considered a passive component since it does not rectify, amplify, or switch and because charge carriers do not undergo energy level changes therein, although some active solid-state devices function as voltage variable capacitors.

CARRIER

A mobile free electron or hole.

CARRIER CONCENTRATION

The number of electrical charge carriers in a given volume, usually a cubic centimeter, of semiconductor material.

CELL

An individual integrated circuit element located on a large, or master chip of, semiconductor material.

CHANNEL

A path for conducting current between a source and drain of a field effect transistor.

CHANNEL LENGTH EFFECTS

Operating characteristics of FETs which depend on the length (distance between source and drain) of the channel regions. Such effects include switching speed change and threshold voltage change with channel length change.

CHANNEL WIDTH EFFECTS

Operating characteristics of FETs which depend on the width (horizontal distance perpendicular to channel length and parallel to upper surface of device) of the channel. Such effects include conductance and threshold voltage change with channel width change.

CHANNEL STOP

Means for limiting channel formation in a semiconductor device by surrounding the affected area with a ring of highly doped, low resistivity semiconductor material. In a field effect transistor, it is a region of highly doped material of the same type as the lightly doped substrate used to prevent leakage paths along the chip surface from developing. Also referred to as "chanstop."

CHANNEL PINCH-OFF REGION

The location in a current channel portion of a field effect transistor (FET) where the current is reduced to a minimum value due to its diameter being reduced to a minimum.

CHARACTERISTIC CURVE

A graph showing the relationship between two or more changing parameters, e.g., current and voltage of an electronic device.

CHARGE CARRIER

A mobile conduction electron or hole in a semiconductor.

CHARGE CONFINEMENT

Restriction of electrical charge carriers, e.g., electrons or holes, to specified locations, e.g., by quantum wells, gate electrode potentials, etc.

CHARGE-COUPLED DEVICE

A charge transfer device in which all carriers (electrons or holes) are transferred from one storage site to the next upon application of a shifting voltage.

CHARGE INJECTION DEVICE

A field effect device in which storage sites for packets of electric charge are induced at or below the surface of an active solid-state device by an electric field applied to the device and wherein carrier potential energy per unit charge minima are established at a given storage site and such charge packets are injected into the device substrate or into a data bus. This type device differs from a charge transfer device in that, in the latter, charge is transferred to adjacent charge storage sites in a serial manner, whereas, in a charge injection device, the charge is injected in a non-serial manner to the device substrate or to a data bus.

CHARGE TRANSFER DEVICE

A semiconductor device in which discrete packets of electrical charge are transferred from one location to another. Examples of charge transfer devices include charge-coupled devices (CCDs) and bucket-brigade devices (BBDs).

CHIP

A single crystal substrate of semiconductor material on which one or more active or passive solid-state electronic devices are formed. A chip may contain an integrated circuit. A chip is not normally ready for use until packaged and provided with external connectors.

CHIP CARRIER

A package with terminals, for solid-state electronic devices, including chips which facilitates handling of the chip during assembly of the chip to other electronic elements.

CHIP COMPONENT

A circuit element (active or passive) for use in microelectronics. Besides integrated circuits, the term includes diodes, transistors, resistors, and capacitors.

CIRCUIT

A number of devices interconnected in a one or more closed paths to perform a desired electrical or electronic function.

CLADDING BARRIER

A higher band gap material which encases a lower band gap material that defines the walls of a quantum well.

CMOS

See COMPLEMENTARY METAL OXIDE SEMICONDUCTOR.

COHERENCE LENGTH

The typical distance an electron can travel before it is scattered (e.g., by a phonon, a defect, or an impurity).

COHERER

A term which encompasses both active and passive type devices, the passive type being a resistor whose resistance decreases when subjected to a high frequency signal, and the active type being a rectifier which is made up of active solid-state particles which conduct and rectify current when connected into a cohesive element but which loses that characteristic when the particles are separated (e.g., by shaking a container in which the particles are located).

COLLECTOR

That end region of a bipolar transistor which forms one of the main current regions and which is reverse biased in operation with respect to the base region.

COLLECTOR CURRENT

The current which flows through the terminal of the collector region of a bipolar transistor.

COLLECTOR DIFFUSION ISOLATION (CDI)

An electrical isolation technology used for bipolar devices which employs an epitaxial layer, which forms transistor base regions, laid on a substrate of the same conductivity type (p or n) as the epitaxial layer, with an opposite conductivity type region, more heavily doped than the epitaxial base layer and located between the layer and the substrate, forming the collector and isolating the transistor from the substrate.

COMMON-BASE CONFIGURATION

A bipolar transistor in which the base region is common to both the input and output circuit. This is also known as a grounded-base bipolar transistor circuit.

COMMON-COLLECTOR CONFIGURATION

A bipolar transistor in which the collector region is common to both the input and output circuit. It is also known as an emitter-follower bipolar transistor circuit.

COMMON-DRAIN CONFIGURATION

A unipolar transistor in which the drain region is common to both the input and output circuit.

COMMON-EMITTER CONFIGURATION

A bipolar transistor in which the emitter region is common to both the input and output circuit. It is also known as a grounded-emitter bipolar transistor circuit.

COMMON- or GATE-CONFIGURATION

A unipolar transistor in which the gate region is common to both input and output circuits.

COMPLEMENTARY METAL OXIDE SEMICONDUCTOR (CMOS)

Both n-type and p-type metal oxide semiconductor devices, e.g., transistors, formed on the same substrate.

COMPONENT

An electronic device - active or passive - which has distinct electrical characteristics and has terminals for connection to other components to form a circuit.

COMPOUND

A homogeneous material which has definite proportions of chemically combined atoms or ions.

CONCENTRATION GRADIENT

A difference in dopant concentration (p- or n-type) from one position to another in a semiconductor.

CONDUCTION BAND

A partially filled energy band in which electrons can move freely, permitting a material to carry electric current where electrons are the current carriers.

CONDUCTION ELECTRONS

In a conductor or n-type semiconductor, outer shell electrons that are bound so loosely that they can move freely in the conduction band of a solid material under the influence of an electric field.

CONDUCTIVITY

The ability of a material to conduct electric current. Its converse is resistivity.

CONDUCTOR

A material which offers comparatively little resistance to the flow of current.

CONDUCTOR SPACING

The distance between adjacent edges (not centerline to centerline) of isolated conductive patterns in a conductor layer.

CONNECTOR AREA

That portion of metallized conductors used for providing external electrical connections from a component to a chip or other component.

CONTACT

The parts of a conductor designed to touch or be touched by other such parts of an electrical conductor to carry current to or from the conductor.

CONTACT WINDOW

An opening in an insulating layer to expose an underlying conductor to permit electrical contact thereto. It is also called a via hole.

COVALENT BONDING

The sharing of electrons by atoms in which each atom contributes one of a pair of electrons shared by another atom and forming a bond between those two atoms.

CRYOSAR

An active solid-state device which operates at cryogenic temperatures, i.e., at temperatures at or below 77 degrees Kelvin, by avalanche breakdown caused by impact ionization of device impurities.

CRYSTAL

A solid substance whose atoms are arranged with periodic geometric regularity, called a lattice.

CRYSTAL DEFECT

Any nonuniformity in a crystal lattice. There are four categories of crystal defects: (1) point defects, (2) line defects, (3) area defects, and (4) volume defects. Point defects include any foreign atom at a regular lattice site (substitutional site) or between lattice sites (interstitial site), anti-site defects in compound semiconductors, e.g., Ga in As or As in Ga, missing lattice atoms, and host atoms located between lattice sites and adjacent to a vacant site (Frenkel defects). Line defects, also called edge dislocations, include extra planes of atoms in a lattice. Area defects include twins or twinning (a change in crystal orientation across a lattice) and grain boundaries (a transition between crystals having no particular positional orientation to one another. Volume defects include precipitates of impurity or dopant atoms caused by volume mismatch between a host lattice and precipitates.

CUTOFF

A minimum value of voltage or current applied to an active device which stops the device from operating in a particular manner.

DE BROGLIE WAVELENGTH

The wavelength of a particle, based on L.V. de Broglie"s theory that particles exhibit wavelike characteristics.

DEEP DEPLETION

The condition in which a depletion layer formed in a MOS active device due to voltage applied to the gate electrode of the device, is deeper than the maximum depth at which inversion would normally be expected to occur at room temperature in a semiconductor device at the surface closest to the gate electrode, without formation of an inversion layer.

DEEP GROOVE ISOLATION

Electrical isolation of adjacent devices in a single monolithic semiconductor chip by grooves extending deeply into and below the surface of the chip between the devices.

DEEP-LEVEL CENTERS

Energy levels that can act as traps located in the forbidden band of a semiconductor material that are not near the conduction or valence band edges.

DEGENERATION

Doping of a semiconductor to such an extent that the Fermi level lies within the conduction band (N+ semiconductor) or within the valence band (P+ semiconductor). Also, in circuit applications, negative feedback between two or more active solid-state devices.

DEPLETION LAYER

See DEPLETION REGION.

DEPLETION MODE

The operation of a field-effect transistor having appreciable channel conductivity for zero gate- source voltage and whose channel conductivity may be increased or decreased according to the polarity of the applied gate-source voltage, by changing the gate-to-source voltage from zero to a finite value, resulting in a decrease in the magnitude of the drain current.

DEPLETION REGION

The region extending on both sides of a reverse biased semiconductor junction in which free carriers are removed from the vicinity of the junction. It is also called a space charge region, a barrier region, or an intrinsic semiconductor region.

DEVICE (ACTIVE)

The physical realization of an individual electrical element in a physically independent body which cannot be further divided without destroying its stated function. Examples are transistors, pnpn structures, and tunnel diodes.

DIE

A tiny piece of semiconductor material, separated from a semiconductor slice, on which one or more active electronic components are formed. Sometimes called a chip.

DIE BOND

Attachment of a semiconductor chip to a substrate or chip carrier or package, usually with an epoxy, eutectic, or solder alloy.

DIFFUSED JUNCTION

A junction between two different conductivity regions within a semiconductor and which is formed by diffusion of appropriate impurity atoms into the material.

DIFFUSED TRANSISTOR

A transistor in which the emitter and collector junctions are formed by diffusion of dopant atoms into the semiconductor material.

DIFFUSION

(1) The movement of carriers from a region of concentration to one of lower concentration; (2) a process of adding impurities to a semiconductor material to change its electrical characteristics.

DIFFUSION BARRIER

An obstacle to the diffusion of charge carriers in an active solid-state device.

DIFFUSION CURRENT

Current caused by charge carriers diffusing from a volume of high carrier concentration to a volume of lower carrier concentration in a solid-state material.

DIFFUSION LENGTH

In a homogeneous semiconductor material, the average distance minority carriers move during their lifetime (i.e., between generation and recombination).

DIODE

An electronic device which has two terminals and an asymmetrical or nonlinear voltage-current characteristic.

DIODE ISOLATION

A technique in which a high electrical resistance between an integrated circuit element and its substrate is achieved by surrounding the element with a reverse biased pn junction.

DIP (DUAL-IN-LINE PACKAGE)

A chip carrier or package consisting of a plastic or ceramic body with two rows of vertical leads in which a semiconductor integrated circuit is assembled and sealed. The leads are typically inserted into a circuit board and secured by soldering.

DIRECT BAND GAP SEMICONDUCTOR

A semiconductor material in which an electron transition from the conduction to the valence band, or vice versa, does not require a change in crystal momentum for the electron. Gallium arsenide is a direct band gap semiconductor material.

DISCRETE CIRCUIT

A circuit which has an individual identity and which is fabricated prior to installation, or is separately packaged and is not part of an integrated circuit.

DISLOCATION

A region in a crystal in which the atoms are not arranged in a perfect lattice-like structure. See CRYSTAL DEFECT for examples of crystal defects/dislocations.

DMOSFET

Depletion type metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor. Such devices are normally in the on condition with no applied gate voltage.

DONOR IMPURITY

An element which when added to a semiconductor provides unbound or free electrons to the semiconductor which may serve as current carriers. Typically, donors are atoms which have more valence electrons than the atoms of the semiconductor material into which they are introduced in small quantities as an impurity or dopant. Since such donor impurities have more valence electrons than the semiconductor, a semiconductor doped with donor impurities is an n-type semiconductor.

DOPANT

An impurity added to a semiconductor material to change its electrical conductivity or other characteristics. N-type (negative) dopants, such as phosphorus, for a group IV semiconductor such as silicon typically come from group V of the periodic table. When added to silicon n-type dopants create a material that contains conduction electrons. P-type (positive) dopants, such as boron, for a group IV semiconductor such as silicon, typically come from group III and result in holes.

DOPING PROFILE

The point to point concentration throughout a semiconductor of an impurity atom doped into the semiconductor.

DOUBLE-DIFFUSED MOS (DMOS)

A metal oxide semiconductor having diffused junctions in which successive diffusions of different impurity types are made in the same well-defined region of the semiconductor.

DRAIN

The electrode of a field effect transistor which receives charge carriers which pass through the transistor channel from the source electrode.

DRAIN CURRENT

The flow of charge carriers in the drain region of a field effect transistor.

DRAIN-SOURCE SATURATION CURRENT

The maximum amount of current carried by the drain of a field-effect transistor when the gate- source voltage equals zero volts.

DRIFT CURRENT

Current produced in a solid-state electronic device by charge carriers (e.g., holes or electrons) drifting in the direction of an applied electric field.

DUAL GUARD-BAND ISOLATION

A type of electrical isolation of functional elements of an integrated circuit comprised of two distinct unused areas of chip surface area adjacent to the elements desired to be electrically isolated.

DUAL-IN-LINE (DIP)

See DIP.

DYNAMIC RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY (DRAM)

solid-state memory in which the information decays over time and needs to be periodically refreshed.

EB JUNCTION

Emitter base junction in a bipolar transistor.

ELECTRON

The negatively charged particle in an atom that orbits the nucleus in specific energy levels.

ELECTRON FLOW

Movement of electrons from a source of negative potential to a positive potential.

ELECTRON-HOLE PAIR

A positive charge carrier (i.e., hole) and a negative charge carrier (i.e., electron) considered together as being created or destroyed as part of one and the same event.

EMITTER

The region of a bipolar junction transistor from which charge carriers flow through the emitter-base junction into the base region of the device.

EMITTER CURRENT

The amount of current flowing from the emitter across the emitter-base junction into the base region of the device.

E-MOSFET

Enhancement mode metal oxide semiconductor device. See ENHANCEMENT MODE and MOSFET.

ENERGY LEVELS

The possible energy values that an atom or molecule or subatomic particle (e.g., an electron) can have.

ENHANCEMENT MODE

The operation of a field effect transistor which has a channel formed therein between its source and drain regions and which normally does not conduct current through its channel with zero voltage applied to its gate electrode. Voltage of the correct polarity will accumulate minority carriers in the channel to permit conduction of current in the channel, thus turning on the transistor.

EPITAXY

The growth of a crystal of one substance on the surface of a crystal of the same or another substance so that the crystal lattice of the base substance controls the orientation of the atoms in the grown crystal.

EPITAXIAL LAYER

An added layer of crystal that takes on the same crystalline orientation as the substrate crystal.

ESAKI DIODE

A heavily doped pn junction diode where conduction occurs through the junction potential barrier due to a quantum mechanical effect even though the carriers which tunnel through the potential barrier do not have enough energy to overcome the potential barrier. Esaki tunneling involves a tunneling barrier formed by a macroscopic depletion layer between n-type and p-type regions. It does not involve a resonant tunneling barrier using controlled quantum confinement, a layer located between junctions, nor a thin superlattice layer.

EXCESS CARRIERS

Charge carriers present in a semiconductor in excess of those present in thermal equilibrium.

EXTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTOR

A semiconductor whose charge carrier concentration and, therefore, electrical properties depend on impurity, atoms introduced therein.

FACE BONDED

A chip mounting technique wherein semiconductor chips are provided with small mounting pads, turned face down, and bonded directly to conductors on a substrate.

FANNED LEADS

Leads placed through a package wall at closer intervals than normal and radiated (fanned) out on the exterior of the package until a desired center-to-center lead spacing is achieved.

FET

Acronym for field effect transistor.

FIELD EFFECT TRANSISTOR

A unipolar transistor in which current carriers are injected at a source terminal and pass to a drain terminal through a channel of semiconductor material whose conductivity depends largely on an electric field applied to the semiconductor from a control electrode. There are two main types of FET, a junction FET and an insulated-gate FET. In the junction FET, the gate is isolated from the channel by a pn junction. In an insulated-gate FET, the gate is isolated from the channel by an insulating layer, so that the gate and channel form a capacitor with the insulating layer as the capacitor dielectric.

FIELD OXIDE

A thin (on a macroscopic scale) film made up of an oxide of a material which overlies a device substrate to reduce parasitic capacitive coupling between conductors overlying the oxide and the substrate or devices below the oxide layer (e.g., in the substrate).

FLAT PACK

An integrated circuit package with leads extending from it in the same plane as that of the package. It has a low profile.

FLIP-CHIP

A term which describes the situation wherein a semiconductor device which has all terminations on one side thereof in the form of bump contacts, has a passivated surface and has been flipped over and attached to a matching substrate.

FLOATING DIFFUSION

A region of a semiconductor device in which impurity atoms have been doped and which is electrically floating, that is, has no direct electrical connection.

FLOATING GATE

A gate electrode that is electrically floating, that is, has no direct electrical connection.

FOOTPRINT

Also called a land pattern. It is a combination of lands used to mount a surface mount component. Metal pads on a substrate surface are arranged in the same pattern as the leads or pads on the component itself.

FORBIDDEN ENERGY BAND/REGION/GAP

The energy band of a material which is located between a solid material"s conduction and valence bands. It is defined by the amount of energy that is needed to release an electron from its valence band to its conduction band. Electrons cannot exist in this gap. They are either below it, and bound to an atom, or above it, and able to move freely.

FORWARD BIAS

An external voltage applied in the conducting direction of a pn junction. A positive potential is connected to the p-type material and a negative potential to the n-type semiconductor material.

FORWARD BREAKOVER POTENTIAL

The value of positive terminal voltage at which a regenerative device (e.g., a silicon controlled rectifier), with its gate circuit open, becomes conductive.

FORWARD CURRENT

The current which flows across a semiconductor junction when a forward bias is applied across the junction.

FOUR-LAYER DIODE

A semiconductor diode with three junctions and only two terminals connected to the outer layers forming the junctions. This includes two terminal pnpn thyristors.

FOUR-PHASE CCD

A charge coupled device having four electrode sets and four gate voltages.

FOUR-SIDE LEAD LAYOUT

The situation wherein there are leads through all four sides of an integrated circuit package.

FRAME TRANSFER CCD

A charge coupled device area imager array with a separate image area, storage area, and read-out register area, the storage area being located between the image area and the readout area. This is distinguished from an interline-transfer CCD in which the sensing and storage/readout function areas are located next to each other.

FREE ELECTRON

An electron not bound to a particular atom, but free to circulate among the atoms of a solid material.

GAIN

The ratio of the magnitude of the electrical output of a device to the magnitude of its electrical input.

GALLIUM ARSENIDE

A semiconducting chemical compound which is often used in active solid-state devices.

GATE

The control electrode or region of a field effect transistor, located between the source and drain electrodes, and regions thereof.

GATE ARRAY

A repeating geometric arrangement of groups of active solid-state devices, each group being connectable into a logic circuit, in one integrated, monolithic semiconductor chip.

GATE CHARGE

The electrical charge on a gate electrode.

GATE CONTROLLED DIODE

A three terminal semiconductor diode with the ability to be turned on or off by a pulse applied to its gate electrode.

GATE TRIGGER CURRENT

The amount of current needed to commence gate current flow in a four layer semiconductor device (e.g., a thyristor).

GATE TRIGGER VOLTAGE

The amount of voltage needed to begin gate current flow in a four layer semiconductor device (e.g., a silicon controlled rectifier).

GERMANIUM

A semiconductor material used in active solid-state devices.

GULL-WING

The name given to lead configurations of some surface mounted devices. Gull wings extend from the side of a component package and have an L-shaped bend at component ends, which extend down to the substrate surface and away from the component.

GUNN DIODE

A diode in which electrons under the influence of sufficiently high electric fields are transferred between energy valleys of different momentum in the conduction band of the active semiconductor device material or holes under the influence of sufficiently high electric fields are transferred between energy valleys of different momentum in the valence band of the active semiconductor device material. A Gunn diode does not normally have a pn junction and cannot be used as a rectifier.

GUNN EFFECT

An inter valley transfer effect wherein electrons under the influence of sufficiently high electric fields are transferred between energy valleys of different momentum in the conduction band of the active semiconductor device material, or holes under the influence of sufficiently high electric fields are transferred between energy valleys of different momentum in the valence band of the active semiconductor device material.

HALL EFFECT DEVICE

An active solid-state device in which a current is flowing and is in a magnetic field perpendicular to the current, and in which a voltage is produced that is perpendicular to both the current flow direction and the magnetic field direction.

HALOGENS

F, Cl, Br, I, At.

HEADER

A slab-like or flat plug-in base for a package that is designed to be used with a cover or lid.

HEAT SINK

Devices used to absorb or transfer heat away from heat sensitive devices or device components.

HEAVY METALS

Metals other than light metals - see LIGHT METALS.

HETEROJUNCTION /HETEROINTERFACE

An interface between two dissimilar semiconductor materials. For example, one material may by InAs and the other may be InAlAs, or one material may be GaAs and the other material may be GaAlAs.

HETEROSTRUCTURE

See HETEROJUNCTION.

HIGH ELECTRON (HOLE) MOBILITY TRANSISTOR (HEMT)

A heterojunction field effect transistor with impurity ions located on the side of the hetero junction with lower affinity for the charge carriers (holes or electrons) injected at the source that pass to the drain via a channel adjacent the hetero junction.

HOLDING CURRENT

The minimum current needed to maintain a generative type active solid-state device (e.g., a thyristor) in an "on" or conducting condition.

HOLE

An empty energy level in the valence band of a semiconductor crystal which exhibits properties of a real particle and can act as a mobile positive charge carrier.

HOLE FLOW

The current in a semiconductor material due to the movement of holes therein.

HOMOJUNCTION

An interface between regions of opposite polarity in the same semiconductor material.

HOT CARRIER DIODE

A diode in which electrons (or holes) have energies greater than those that are in thermal equilibrium with the material of at least one of the regions forming the diode. Schottky barrier diodes typically have "hot carriers" (hot electrons) injected into the metal from the semiconductor.

HOT ELECTRONS

See HOT CARRIER DIODE.

HYBRID CIRCUIT

A small printed circuit having miniature components, which may include passive components (resistors, capacitors, and inductors, deposited on a printed circuit board. A "hybrid circuit" is NOT an integrated circuit, and is not classifiable in this class.

IMPURITY

A foreign material present in a semiconductor crystal, such as boron or arsenic in silicon, which is added to the semiconductor to produce either p-type or n-type semiconductor material, or to otherwise result in material whose electrical characteristics depend on the impurity dopant atoms.

INDIRECT BAND GAP SEMICONDUCTOR

A semiconductor material in which a change in semiconductor crystal momentum for an electron is required when it moves from the conduction band to the valence band and vice versa. Silicon is an indirect band gap semiconductor.

INSULATED-GATE FIELD EFFECT TRANSISTOR (IGFET)

A unipolar transistor with source, gate, and drain regions and electrodes, in which conduction takes place in a channel controlled by action of the voltage applied to the gate electrode of the device, in which the gate electrode is separated from the channel by an insulator layer.

INSULATOR

A material which has a high resistance to the flow of electric current. It has such low electrical conductivity that the flow of current therethrough can usually be neglected.

INTEGRATED CIRCUIT

See MONOLITHIC DEVICE (e.g., IC) as contrasted to HYBRID CIRCUIT.

INTRINSIC CONCENTRATION

The number of minority carriers in a semiconductor due to thermal generation of electron-hole pairs.

INTRINSIC SEMICONDUCTOR

A pure semiconductor, i.e., one with no impurity atoms introduced therein.

INVERSION

A condition in a semiconductor material in which the concentration of minority carriers exceeds the concentration of majority carriers.

INVERSION LAYER/CHANNEL

A region in a semiconductor material in which the concentration of minority carriers exceeds the concentration of majority carriers.

IRON GROUP METALS

Fe, Co, Ni.

ISOLATION

Prevention of the flow of electric current between electronic component parts of a solid-state electronic device.

ISOPLANAR CMOS

A semiconductor device in which relatively thick regions of silicon dioxide, recessed into the semiconductor surface, are used to electrically isolate device areas and prevent parasitic device formation. More commonly called LOCOS CMOS.

ISOPLANAR ISOLATION

A type of electric isolation in which relatively thick regions of silicon dioxide, recessed into the semiconductor surface, are used to electrically isolate device areas and prevent parasitic device formation. More commonly called LOCOS ISOLATION.

J-LEAD

A rolled-under, J-shaped configuration of some surface mounted component leads.

JUNCTION

A joining of two different semiconductors or of a semiconductor and a metal at an interface. Types of junctions include HETEROJUNCTIONS, SCHOTTKY BARRIER JUNCTIONS, and PN JUNCTIONS.

JUNCTION BARRIER

The opposition to the diffusion of majority carriers across a pn junction due to the charge of the fixed donor and acceptor ions.

JUNCTION CAPACITANCE

The capacitance across a pn junction. It depends on the width of the depletion layer, which increases with increased reverse bias voltage across the junction.

JUNCTION GATE FIELD EFFECT TRANSISTOR (JFET)

See FIELD EFFECT TRANSISTOR.

JUNCTION ISOLATION

Electrical isolation of devices on a monolithic integrated circuit chip using a reverse biased junction diode to establish a depletion layer that forms the electrical isolation between devices.

JUNCTION RESISTANCE

The electrical resistance across a semiconductor PN junction.

LAND

The conductive areas, normally metal patterns, on a semiconductor integrated circuit, which form part of the contacts and interconnections between components on the integrated circuit.

LAND PATTERN

A combination of lands on an integrated circuit.

LANTHANIDE ELEMENTS

La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho,Er, Tm, Yb, Lu.

LATCHING/LATCHED/LATCHUP

The state or condition of a regenerative feedback device, e.g., a thyristor, in which the device remains ON when the initializing signal is removed.

LCCC

An abbreviation for a leadless ceramic chip carrier which is a hermetically-sealable ceramic package in which an integrated chip can be placed to create a surface mounted component. It has pads around its perimeter for connection to a substrate.

LEAD

The conductor brought out from a component.

LEAD FRAME

A metal frame which provides support for an integrated circuit chip or die as well as electrical leads to interconnect the integrated circuit on the die or chip to other electrical components or contacts.

LEAKAGE CURRENT

Unwanted current flow.

LIFETIME

The average time interval between the introduction of and recombination of minority charge carriers in a semiconductor.

LIGHT EMITTING DIODE (LED)

Junction diodes which give off light when energized.

LIGHT METALS

Alkali metals, alkaline-earth metals, Be, Al, Mg.

LINE DEFECT

A planar crystal defect (e.g., an extra plane of atoms in a crystal). It is also called an edge dislocation.

LOCAL OXIDE CMOS (LOCMOS)

Local oxide complementary metal oxide semiconductor structure which features oxide isolation which is recessed into the semiconductor surface.

LOCOS

(Local Oxidation of Silicon) Patterns of oxide isolation which are recessed into the semiconductor surface. Sometimes also called isoplanar, ROX (Recessed Oxide Isolation), or planox.

LUMINESCENCE

Emission of light by directly converting some other type of energy. Types include thermoluminescence, photoluminescence, cathodoluminescence, and electroluminescence. It includes fluorescence and phosphorescence. Active solid-state luminescent devices are semiconductors which operate via injection luminescence. Active devices include pn junctions (including heterojunctions), Schottky barrier junctions, metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) structures, and high speed traveling domains, e.g., Gunn domain and acoustoelectric wave generated domains; whereas passive solid-state electroluminescent devices (phosphors) are insulators which operate in an intrinsic luminescence phenomena, i.e., where an applied electric field generates free carriers (there being no free carriers in an insulator to be accelerated by an applied field unless the field also generates them) to initiate the light emission mechanism.

MAJORITY CARRIER

The predominant charge carrier in a semiconductor. Electrons are majority carriers in n-type semiconductors. Holes are majority carriers in p-type semiconductors.

MAJORITY CURRENT

Current caused by the flow of majority carriers.

MASTERSLICE ARRAY/MASTERCHIP

A substrate that contains active and passive electronic components in a predetermined pattern which may be connected into different logic or analog circuits.

MBM JUNCTION

Active solid-state devices having metal-barrier-metal layer junctions.

METAL-OXIDE SEMICONDUCTOR FIELD EFFECT TRANSISTOR (MOSFET)

See INSULATED GATE FIELD EFFECT TRANSISTOR.

METAL-GATE FET

A field effect transistor having a gate conductor made of metal, rather than polycrystalline semiconductor material.

METALLIZATION

A single or multilayer film pattern of electrically conductive material deposited on a substrate to interconnect electronic components, or the metal film on the bonding area of a substrate which becomes part of the bond and performs both an electrical and a mechanical function.

METALS

Elements other than non-metals. See NON-METALS.

MIM DIODE

A junction diode with a thin insulating layer of material sandwiched between two metallic surface layers which operates as a tunneling (direct or Fowler-Nordheim type) diode.

MINORITY CARRIER

The less predominant charge carrier in a semiconductor. In a p-type semiconductor, minority carriers are electrons, whereas in n-type semiconductor material, minority carriers are holes.

MINORITY CURRENT

The current caused by flowing minority carriers.

MIS

Acronym for metal-insulator-semiconductor. Typically active solid-state devices with MIS technology have a silicon dioxide layer formed on a single crystal silicon substrate. A polysilicon conductor layer is formed on the oxide.

MOBILITY

The facility with which carriers move through a semiconductor when subjected to an applied electric field. Electrons and holes typically have different mobilities in the same semiconductor.

MODFET

Acronym for a modulation doped field effect transistor. A high speed semiconductor FET in which dopant atom containing semiconductor layers alternate with non-doped semiconductor layers, so that the carriers (electrons or holes) resulting from the dopant atoms can travel in the undoped material, so that there is little scattering of carriers from dopant atoms. Typically, the dopant atoms are in semiconductor material having a lower carrier affinity than the undoped layers, to facilitate carrier spill over into the undoped layers. Such a structure may typically constitute a superlattice. See also HIGH ELECTRON MOBILITY TRANSISTOR (HEMT).

MODULATION DOPING

Spatial modulation of dopant atoms in a semiconductor crystal.

MONOLITHIC DEVICE (e.g., IC)

A device in which all components are fabricated on a single chip of silicon. Interconnections among components are provided by means of metallization patterns on the surface of the chip structure, and the individual parts are not separable from the complete circuit. External connecting wires are taken out to terminal pins or leads.

MSM

Acronym for metal-semiconductor-metal semiconductors. Active solid-state semiconductor devices having a semiconductor layer sandwiched between two layers of metal.

MULTILAYER METALLIZATION

Two or more layers of interconnecting metallization patterns in a monolithic integrated circuit separated by insulator material except in interconnection areas.

N-TYPE SEMICONDUCTOR

An extrinsic semiconductor in which electron density exceeds hole density.

NDM

Negative differential mobility (e.g., Gunn effect) intervalley active semiconductor devices wherein an applied electric field imparts energy to electrons or holes to permit them to jump to higher quantum electronic intervalley energy levels in which electrons have lowered electron mobility.

NEGATIVE RESISTANCE REGION

An operating region of an active solid-state electronic device in which an increase in applied voltage results in a decrease in output current.

NEGATIVE TEMPERATURE COEFFICIENT

The amount of reduction in a device parameter, such as capacitance or resistance, for each degree of device operating temperature.

NMOS

N-channel metal oxide semiconductor devices which use electrons as majority carriers.

NOBLE GASES

He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, Rn.

NON-METALS

H, B, C, Si, N, P, O, S, Se, Te, noble gases, halogens.

NPN TRANSISTOR

A transistor in which the base is made of p-type material and both source and drain are made of n-type semiconductor material.

N-CHANNEL FET

A field effect transistor that has an n-type conduction channel.

N-TYPE SEMICONDUCTOR

An extrinsic semiconductor having n-type dopant atoms, e.g., atoms with one more valence electron than the host atoms.

ORGANIC SEMICONDUCTOR

A semiconductor compound in which the molecule is characterized by two or more carbon atoms bonded together, one atom of carbon bonded to at least one atom of hydrogen or halogen (i.e., chlorine, fluorine, bromine, iodine) or one atom of carbon bonded to at least one atom of nitrogen by a single or double bond.

(1) Note. Exceptions to thisrule include HCN, CN-CN, HNCO, HNCS, cyanogen halides, cyanamide, fulminic acid, and metal carbides. These are not regarded as organic semiconductor materials. Also, note that graphite and diamond are not regarded as organic semiconductors since they are not compounds; silicon carbide is not regarded as organic.

OXIDE ISOLATION

Electrical isolation of semiconductor electronic devices in a monolithic integrated circuit by an oxide (e.g., silicon oxide).

PACKAGE

A container, case, or enclosure for protecting a solid-state electronic device from the environment.

PAD

(1) The portion of a conductive pattern on a solid-state electronic device for making external connection thereto; (2) the portion of a conductive pattern on a chip or a printed circuit board designed for mounting or attaching a substrate or solid-state active electronic device.

PARASITIC CURRENT

Unintended current which flows between devices in an integrated circuit, or which flows between device regions and isolation regions.

PARASITIC DEVICES/CHANNELS

Junctions forming unintended active solid-state devices which interconnect intended active solid-state devices, which unintended devices are not designed to carry current flow.

PARASITIC THYRISTOR ACTION

Unwanted active solid-state device formation in which four adjacent complementary doped regions not designed to act as an active solid-state device, lack sufficient isolation therebetween and act as a thyristor. Parasitic thyristor action is typically a problem encountered in CMOS integrated circuits.

PARASITIC TRANSISTOR ACTION

Unwanted transistor formation in an integrated circuit structure.

PASSIVE DEVICE

A solid-state electronic device or component in which charge carriers do not change their energy levels and that does not provide rectification, amplification, or switching, but which does react to voltage and current. Examples are pure resistors, capacitors, and inductors.

P-CHANNEL

A conduction path, made of p-type semiconductor material, located between the source and drain of a field effect device.

PERISTALTIC CCD

See BULK CHANNEL CCD.

PERMISSIBLE ENERGY LEVEL

An energy level in a conduction or valence band which a charge carrier (electron or hole) may have.

PHOTODIODE

A diode in which charge carriers are created by light which illuminates the diode junction. It is a photovoltaic as well as a photoconductive device.

PHOTOTRANSISTOR

A transistor having no base terminal and in which charge carriers are created by light which illuminates its collector-base junction.

PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL

An active solid-state device with a pn junction that generates a voltage in response to light impinging on the junction.

PINCH-EFFECT RESISTOR

A monolithic integrated circuit resistor having a layer of one conductivity type, typically a P-layer formed at the same time as integrated circuit bipolar transistor base regions, which is thinned by an inset region of opposite conductivity type, typically an N-layer formed at the same time as integrated circuit bipolar transistor emitter regions.

PINCH-OFF

The condition in a depletion mode field effect transistor wherein the conducting channel is depleted of majority carriers and is thereby pinched off, no path remaining for the source-to-drain majority carrier (e.g., electron) flow.

PIN DIODE/DEVICE

A diode having an intrinsic semiconductor (i.e., one with no dopants) sandwiched between a p-type layer and an n-type layer. The depletion region (the intrinsic semiconductor layer) thickness can be tailored to optimize quantum efficiency for use as a photo diode or frequency response for use as a microwave diode.

PIN-GRID ARRAY

A semiconductor chip package having leads in the form of pins arranged in columns and rows.

PLANAR TRANSISTOR

A bipolar transistor in which the emitter base and collector regions terminate at the same plane surface without indentations in or protrusions from the surface. Hence, the emitter and base regions form dish shaped portions extending into the semiconductor from the common surface.

PLUG-IN PACKAGE

An electronic package for an active solid-state device in which the lead pins are perpendicular to the mounting area of the substrate, as contrasted with a flat package in which the leads are in the same plane as the substrate.

P-MOSFET

A metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor having p-type source and drain regions and a p-type conduction channel which may be formed by a p type doped region (depletion mode) or induced by a voltage on the gate (enhancement mode).

PN-JUNCTION

The interface and region of transition between p-type and n-type semiconductors.

PN-JUNCTION DIODE

A semiconductor device having two terminals connected to opposite type semiconductor materials with a junction therebetween and exhibiting a non-linear voltage-current characteristic, usually used for switching or rectification.

PNP TRANSISTOR

A bipolar transistor with a p type emitter, an n-type base and a p-type collector.

POINT DEFECT

A crystal defect occurring at a point in a crystal. Examples include, (1) a foreign atom incorporated into the crystal lattice at either a substitutional (regular lattice) site or interstitial (between regular lattice sites) site, (2) a missing atom in the lattice, or (3) a host atom located between regular lattice sites and adjacent to a vacancy (called a Frenkel defect).

POLYCRYSTALLINE

A material composed of more than one crystal.

POLYSILICON

A polycrystalline form of silicon.

POSITIVE CARRIER

A charge carrier which has a net positive charge (e.g., a hole).

POSITIVE IONS

Atoms which are missing a valence shell electron.

POTENTIAL BARRIER

The difference in electrical potential across a pn junction in a semiconductor.

POTENTIAL HILL

See POTENTIAL BARRIER.

POTTING

An embedding process in which an electronic component is placed in a can, shell, or other container and buried in a liquid dielectric polymer which subsequently changes to a solid material. The container is not removed from the finished part, and a release agent is not used. This process differs from casting - which involves a removable mold.

PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD

A structure formed on one or more layers of electrically insulating material having electrical terminals and conductive material deposited thereon, in continuous paths, from terminal to terminal, to form circuits for electronic apparatus such as chips or substrates.

P-TYPE CONDUCTIVITY

Electrical conductivity associated with positive charge carriers (holes) in a semiconductor material.

P-TYPE SEMICONDUCTOR

An extrinsic semiconductor in which the hole density exceeds the conduction electron density.

PUNCHTHROUGH

Expansion of a depletion region* from one junction to another junction in an active solid-state device.

PURPLE PLAGUE

A brittle, inter metallic electrically conductive compound which has a purplish color and is formed when aluminum and gold, used as electrical contact materials in semiconductor electronic devices, contact each other and interact. It is usually considered undesirable because it breaks easily, reduces device reliability, and lowers product yield.

QUANTIZED STATES

Discrete energy levels due to the quantum mechanical properties of a material.

QUANTUM TRANSISTOR

Transistors whose operation is based on the properties of electrons confined in quantum wells - semiconductor films only a hundred or so angstroms thick sandwiched between high confining walls made of a second semiconductor material.

QUANTUM WELL

Semiconductor films only a hundred or so angstroms thick sandwiched between high confining walls made of a second material.

RARE EARTHS

Sc, Y, Lanthanides.

READ-OUT REGISTER

Gated semiconductor devices which receive and accumulate charges and make them available to an output device.

RECOMBINATION

The process by which excess holes and electrons in a semiconductor crystal recombine and and no longer function as charge carriers in the semiconductor. Basic recombination processes are band-to-band recombination which occurs when an electron in the conduction band recombines with a hole in the valence band, and trapping recombination which occurs when an electron or hole is captured by a deep energy level, such as produced by a deep level dopant, before recombining with an opposite conductivity type carrier.

REFRACTORY METALS

Ti, V, Cr, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, W.

RESISTIVITY

A measure of the resistance of a material to electric current. Resistivity is a bulk material property, measured in ohm-cm.

RESONANT TUNNELLING DEVICE

A device that works on the principle of resonant electron (or hole) tunneling through a pair of matched potential barriers. This occurs when the energy of the electrons (or holes) matches that of a quantum energy level in the quantum well formed between the barriers.

REVERSE BIAS

A voltage applied across a semiconductor junction in the reverse direction, i.e., wherein a positive potential is connected to the n-type semiconductor and a negative potential is applied to the p-type semiconductor.

REVERSE BREAKDOWN VOLTAGE

The reverse bias voltage value at which electrical resistance drops appreciably and operating current sharply increases.

REVERSE CURRENT

The current flowing through a rectifying junction with a reverse voltage thereacross.

SATURATION

The current between the base and collector of a bipolar transistor when an increase in emitter to base voltage causes no further increase in the collector current.

SCATTERING CENTERS

The impurities (dopants) in semiconductors that cause electrons or holes flowing through the semiconductor to scatter. These reduce carrier mobility and represent a problem in quantum devices because they affect electron coherence length.

SCHOTTKY BARRIER

A metal to semiconductor interface in which the carrier affinity and doping level of the semiconductor are such that a rectifying junction is formed. Usually, minority carriers in the semiconductor do not significantly contribute to the current flowing in a device with such a barrier.

SCHOTTKY DIODE

A diode with a Schottky barrier.

SEMICONDUCTOR

A material whose electrical resistivity is between that of insulators and conductors. The resistivity is commonly changed by light, heat, electric, or magnetic fields incident on the material. Current flow is achieved by transfer of positive holes as well as by movement of electrons.

SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE

A device in which current conduction takes place within a semiconductor.

SEMICONDUCTOR LASER

A light emitting diode that uses stimulated emission of radiation to produce coherent light output.

SILICON BILATERAL SWITCH (SBS)

A silicon controlled switch that can conduct current in both directions.

SILICON CONTROLLED RECTIFIER (SCR)

A four layer pnpn device that, when in a normal state, blocks applied voltage in either direction. Application of a correct voltage to a gate terminal permits the device to conduct in a forward direction.

SILICON CONTROLLED SWITCH (SCS)

A four layer pnpn semiconductor switching device that can be triggered into conduction by applying either positive or negative pulses.

SILICON-GATE FET

A field effect transistor which has a gate electrode made of silicon.

SILICON ON INSULATOR (SOI)

A semiconductor structure using an insulating substrate, instead of silicon as a substrate material, with an overlying active layer of single crystal silicon containing active solid-state devices. The substrate may typically be of the form of an insulating layer which is itself formed on a single crystal substrate.

SILICON ON SAPPHIRE (S0S) CMOS

A complementary metal oxide semiconductor device (e.g., a transistor) wherein single crystal silicon is grown on a passive insulating base of sapphire (single crystal alpha phase aluminum oxide) with complementary MOS transistors formed in the silicon in one or more island portions.

SILICON TRANSISTOR

A transistor which uses silicon as the semiconductor material.

SINGLE-IN-LINE PACKAGE

A plug-in semiconductor device package with one row of pins with specified spacings therebetween.

SINGLE CRYSTAL

A body of material having atoms regularly located at periodic lattice sites throughout.

SINKER

A buried electrically conductive, low resistance path in an integrated circuit which connects an electrical contact to a conductive region buried in the integrated circuit. It may be made up of a heavily doped impurity region.

SIS

An MIS structure (Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor) in which the "metal" layer is made of semiconductor material, typically polycrystalline silicon.

SOLAR CELL

A photovoltaic cell in the form of a semiconductor diode, usually made of silicon, that generates electricity directly from sunlight impingent on the cell.

SOLID-STATE DEVICE

An electronic device or component that uses current flow through solid (as opposed to liquid), gas, or vacuum materials. solid-state devices may be active or passive.

SOURCE

In a field effect transistor, the electrode to which the source of charge carriers is connected.

SPACE CHARGE REGION

The region around a pn junction in which holes and electrons recombine to leave no mobile charge carriers and a net charge density due to the residual dopant ions.

STEP RECOVERY DIODE

A pn junction active solid-state device in which a forward bias voltage injects charge carriers across the junction but prior to recombination of the carriers, a reverse voltage is applied to return the charge carriers to their source as a group.

SUBSTRATE

The supporting material on or in which the components of an integrated circuit are fabricated or attached.

SUBSTRATE BIAS

The electric potential applied to a substrate, which typically serves as the reference potential against which other voltages are measured. Also, in a MISFET, a voltage applied to the substrate with respect to the source region.

SUPERLATTICE

A periodic sequence of variations in carrier potential energy in a semiconductor, of such magnitude and spacing that the current carrier wave function is spread out over many periods, so that carrier energy and other properties are determined in part by the periodic variations. The variation may be in chemical composition of the material, as in a sequence of heterojunctions, or in impurity concentration, forming a doping superlattice, or both.

SURFACE-CHANNEL CCD

A charge coupled device in which charge resides at the semiconductor surface.

SURFACE MOUNT DEVICES

Active or passive solid-state devices which are structured and configured to be mounted directly to a printed circuit board surface. This type of mounting is distinguished from "through-hole" mounting which involves the electrical and physical connection of devices to a printed circuit board using drilled and plated holes through the conductive pattern of the board.

SURFACE RESISTIVITY

The resistance of a material between two opposite sides of a unit square of its surface. Also called Sheet Resistance. Measured in ohms, often written as "ohms per square" in this case.

TEST PROBES

Mechanical points of contact used for electrical measurement.

THERMISTOR

A semiconductor device whose electrical resistance varies with temperature. Its temperature coefficient of resistance is high, nonlinear, and usually negative.

THICK-FILM DEVICES

Printed thin-film circuits. Silk screen printing techniques are used to make the desired circuit patterns on a ceramic substrate. Active devices may be added thereto as separate devices (see HYBRID CIRCUIT).

THIN-FILM DEVICES

solid-state electronic devices which are constructed by depositing films of conducting material on the surface of electrically insulating bases.

THYRISTOR

A four layer p-n-p-n bistable switching device that changes from an off or blocking state to an on or conducting state which uses both electron and hole type carrier transport.

THRESHOLD VOLTAGE

The voltage at which a pn junction begins to conduct current.

THROUGH-HOLE MOUNTING

The electrical and physical connection of components to the surface of a conductive pattern using drilled and plated holes through the conductive and insulating layers of a printed circuit board.

TRANSFERRED ELECTRON DEVICE

See GUNN EFFECT. In such devices, advantage is taken of the negative differential mobility of electrons or holes in certain semiconducting compounds, particularly GaAs or InP.

TRANSISTOR

An active solid-state semiconductor device having three or more electrodes in which the current flowing between two specified electrodes is modulated by the voltage or current applied to one or more specified electrodes, and is capable of performing switching or amplification.

TRANSITION ELEMENTS

Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Y, Zr, Nb, Mo, Te, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag, Cd, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, Hf, Ta, W, Re, Os, Ir, Pt, Au, Hg, Ac, Th, Pa, U, Np, Pu, Am, Cm, Bk, Cf, E, Fm, Mv, No, Lw.

TRAPATT DEVICE

An acronym for trapped plasma avalanche triggered transit diodes, which are biased into avalanche condition. As the diode breaks down, a highly conducting electron-hole plasma quickly fills the entire n-type region, and the voltage across the diode drops to a low value. The plasma is then extracted from the diode by the low residual electric field, thus causing a large current flow even though the voltage is low. Once extraction of the plasma is completed, the current drops and the voltage rises.

TRENCH ISOLATION

Electrical isolation of electronic components in a monolithic integrated circuit by the use of holes or other indentations in the surface of the device filled with dielectric material.

TUNNEL DIODE

A semiconductor diode in which the electrons penetrate a quantum barrier that is impenetrable in terms of classical physics, but which is penetrable in terms of quantum physics due to the quantum mechanical uncertainty in position of current carriers.

TUNNEL EFFECT/TUNNELLING

See TUNNEL DIODE and RESONANT TUNNELING DEVICE.

TWIN-TUB STRUCTURE

CMOS device structure in which both p-type and n-type deep wells are formed into a substrate for the n-channel and p-channel device (e.g., a transistor), respectively.

TWO-DIMENSIONAL ELECTRON GAS

A description of the motion of electrons which are confined in only one direction, such as electrons in the conducting channel of a MOSFET. In an electron gas, the electrons move around without apparent restriction. The behavior of electrons in conducting metals (e.g., copper) is an example of a three-dimensional electron gas. In a two dimensional electron gas, motion is restricted to a single plane (two dimensions).

UNIPOLAR

An active solid-state electronic device in which only one type of charge carrier, positive or negative, is used to support current flow.

UNIPOLAR TRANSISTOR

A transistor in which the source to drain current involves only one type of charge carrier.

VARACTOR

A semiconductor diode that changes capacitance with a change in applied voltage, comprising a two terminal active device using the voltage variable capacitance of a pn junction or a Schottky junction.

VARISTOR

A term applied to both passive and active solid-state devices. A varistor is a two-electrode semiconductor device with a voltage dependent nonlinear resistance which falls significantly as the voltage is increased. In an active device, the non-linear property is due to the presence of one or more potential barriers, whereas, in a passive type varistor, it is due to electrical heating of the material due to current flow therethrough. Varistors are to be contrasted with passive variable resistors such as rheostats or potentiometers.

VERTICAL JUNCTION

A junction of finite width which has a vertical axis. The materials which form it lie on either horizontal side thereof.

VIA

A metallized or plated-through hole, in an insulating layer, e.g., a substrate, chip or a printed circuit board which forms a conduction path itself and is not designed to have a wire or lead inserted therethrough.

WAFER

A thin slice of semiconductor material with parallel faces used as the substrate for active solid-state devices in discrete or monolithic integrated circuit form.

WIRE BOND

Attachment of a tiny wire, as by thermocompression bonding, to a bonding pad on a semiconductor chip.

WIRING CHANNEL

An area on an integrated circuit, such as a gate array, which is left free of active devices and in which interconnection metallization patterns are formed.

WORK FUNCTION

The minimum energy required to remove an electron from the Fermi level of a material and liberate it to free space outside the solid.

ZENER CURRENT

The current generated by a Zener diode when its reverse voltage is increased above the Zener breakdown value.

ZENER DIODE

A single pn junction, two terminal semiconductor diode reversed biased into breakdown caused by the Zener effect, i.e., by field emission of charge carriers in the device"s depletion layer. NOTE: True Zener breakdown occurs in silicon at values below 6 volts. It is to be distinguished from the avalanche breakdown mechanism that occurs in reverse biased diodes at higher (about 6 volts) voltages.

SUBCLASSES

[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 1]    1BULK EFFECT DEVICE:
 This subclass is indented under the class definition.  Subject matter in which the active device is made up of a semiconductor material whose electrical characteristics are due to the electronic properties of the semiconductor material, which are exhibited throughout the entire body of material rather than in just a localized region thereof (e.g., the surface).
(1) Note. Excluded from this subclass are semiconductive devices whose nonlinear characteristic is due to a junction rather than to the bulk properties of the semiconductor, whether they are homojunctions (i.e., made up of the same semiconductor material with different dopant ions on opposite sides of a junction) or heterojunctions (i.e., made up of different materials on either side of a junction).

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

289,for insulated electrode devices having significant semiconductor compound in bulk crystal.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

438Semiconductor Device Manufacturing: Process,   subclass 900 for methods of making a bulk effect semiconductor device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 2]    2Bulk effect switching in amorphous material:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 1.  Subject matter wherein the bulk material is an amorphous material, i.e., one in which active solid material is non-crystalline in the sense that (1) there is either complete disorder in the arrangement of atoms/mole or molecules of the material or (2) there is an absence of any long range structural order that is detectable by electron or X-ray diffraction patterns of the material and the device is used as an electronic switch.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 3]    3With means to localize region of conduction (e.g., "pore" structure):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 2.  Subject matter wherein means (e.g., a porous structure) is provided to confine the operating current to a particular region of the bulk effect amorphous material.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 4]    4With specified electrode composition or configuration:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 2.  Subject matter wherein the amorphous material bulk effect switching device has electrodes which have a particular chemical constituency or shape.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 5]    5In array:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 2.  Subject matter in which the amorphous bulk effect switch has a group of individual switch elements with a predetermined (often regular) spacing extended in one or more directions.
(1) Note. The elements often extend in two dimensions to form two-dimensional arrays.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 6]    6Intervalley transfer (e.g., Gunn effect):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 1.  Subject matter wherein electrons under the influence of sufficiently high electric fields are transferred between energy minima having different momentum in the conduction band of the active semiconductor material, or holes under the influence of sufficiently high electric fields are transferred between energy minima having different momentum in the valence band of the active semiconductor material.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

331Oscillators,   subclass 107 for Gunn-type bulk effect device oscillators.
341Coded Data Generation or Conversion,   subclass 133 for analog to or from digital conversion with particular solid-state devices (e.g., Gunn effect devices).
365Static Information Storage and Retrieval,   subclass 169 for systems using a Gunn effect device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 7]    7In monolithic integrated circuit:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 6.  Subject matter wherein the intervalley transfer devices are integrally combined with one or more other active (e.g., diode or transistor) or passive (e.g., resistor or capacitor) devices in a single solid-state electronic device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 8]    8Three or more terminal device:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 6.  Subject matter wherein an intervalley transfer device contains three or more electrical terminals.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 9]    9THIN ACTIVE PHYSICAL LAYER WHICH IS (1) AN ACTIVE POTENTIAL WELL LAYER THIN ENOUGH TO ESTABLISH DISCRETE QUANTUM ENERGY LEVELS OR (2) AN ACTIVE BARRIER LAYER THIN ENOUGH TO PERMIT QUANTUM MECHANICAL TUNNELING OR (3) AN ACTIVE LAYER THIN ENOUGH TO PERMIT CARRIER TRANSMISSION WITH SUBSTANTIALLY NO SCATTERING (E.G., SUPERLATTICE QUANTUM WELL, OR BALLISTIC TRANSPORT DEVICE):
 This subclass is indented under the class definition.  Subject matter wherein the active material is a thin physical layer of material located between materials which have different electrical properties than the thin layer and wherein the thin active physical layer is (1) a potential well layer thin enough to establish discrete quantum energy levels or (2) a potential barrier layer thin enough to permit quantum mechanical tunneling or (3) a layer thin enough to permit carrier transmission therethrough with substantially no scattering of the carriers.
(1) Note. Examples of such devices are superlattice, quantum well, and ballistic transport devices.
(2) Note. Esaki tunneling is not the type of tunneling which this subclass and those indented thereunder contemplate. Esaki tunneling, while being quantum mechanical in nature, merely involves a tunneling barrier formed by a macroscopic depletion layer between n-type and p-type regions, but which neither a resonant tunneling barrier using controlled quantum mechanical charge confinement, a layer located between junctions, a thin layer as defined above. Esaki tunneling devices are found classified below, in subclasses 104+.
(3) Note. Active junction devices may employ a plurality of barrier junctions forming layers of material therebetween, but those layers are only classified in this subclass if they are thin enough to have the properties set forth in the definition. If those layers do not meet the definition, then the devices are classified below.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

372Coherent Light Generators,   subclasses 43.01+ for semiconductor lasers which may contain thin layer devices of this type for producing coherent light.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 10]    10Low workfunction layer for electron emission (e.g., photocathode electron emissive layer):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 9.  Subject matter wherein a layer of material from which electrons are emitted with less input energy than that necessary to emit them from adjacent material is provided.
(1) Note. The adjacent material and the low workfunction layer form either a heterojunction or a Schottky barrier, depending on whether both materials are semiconductors or one of the materials is a metal.
(2) Note. Typical low workfunction layer devices include cold cathode emitters in electron tubes.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

313Electric Lamp and Discharge Devices,   subclasses 346+ and 373+ for photoemissive cathodes and subclasses 527, 530, 541, and 542+ for photocathodes in general.
438Semiconductor Device Manufacturing: Process,   subclass 20 for processes of making an electron emissive device utilizing a semiconductor substrate.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 11]    11Combined with a heterojunction involving a III-V compound:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 10.  Subject matter in which the thin active layer and low workfunction layer for electron emission are combined with a heterojunction, i.e., a transition region between two materials with different energy band gaps, one material of which is a III-V compound, i.e., a compound wherein one material is found in group III of the periodic table and another material is found in group V of the periodic table.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 12]    12Heterojunction:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 9.  Subject matter wherein the device includes at least two adjacent active layers, one of which is made of a substance that differs from that of the other.
(1) Note. See the illustration of a heterojunction device, in subclass 183.

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

194,for heterojunction FETs having doping on the side of the heterojunction with lower carrier affinity.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 13]    13Incoherent light emitter:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 12.  Subject matter wherein the device emits incoherent light.
(1) Note. Coherent light generators are explicitly excluded from this subclass. This means that cross-references from Class 372, Coherent Light Generators, are not to be placed in this subclass. It is not desired to create a duplicate set of heterostructure lasers in this subclass.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

372Coherent Light Generators,   subclasses 43.01+ for coherent semiconductor light generators.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 14]    14Quantum well:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 12.  Subject matter wherein at least two heterojunctions are formed with a thin active layer of material having a relatively large carrier affinity between two materials with smaller carrier affinities, resulting in a quantum mechanical energy well located in the thin active layer with the relatively large carrier affinity.
(1) Note. Quantum well devices appear in many forms, including (a) heterostructures; (b) only those high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) which use a quantum well or a plurality of quantum wells; (c) superlattices which comprise many quantum wells so tightly coupled that the individual wells are not distinguishable, but rather the wells become analogous to atoms in a lattice and superlattice devices may behave more like new types of materials rather than as groups of coupled quantum wells; and (d) resonant tunneling devices - which exhibit quantum coupling, charge confinement and resonant tunneling.
(2) Note. See the illustration, below, for a graphic example of a quantum well device.

Image 1 for class 257 subclass 14

  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 15]    15Superlattice:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 14.  Subject matter wherein a large number of quantum wells are present, the quantum wells being sufficiently close to each other that carrier quantum wave functions are spread out over plural quantum wells and the intervening barriers formed by the boundaries between adjacent layers having different carrier affinities.
(1) Note. Thicknesses of both the quantum well layers and the barrier layers are typically a few angstroms to a few hundred angstroms (10-10 meter) thick.
(2) Note. See the illustration, below, for energy level diagrams showing band edge energy discontinuities at four types of superlattice heterointerfaces.

Image 1 for class 257 subclass 15

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

148Metal Treatment,   digest 160 for superlattice treatment.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 16]    16Of amorphous semiconductor material:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 15.  Subject matter wherein a superlattice active layer is made of a semiconductor crystal with no regular crystalline structure.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 17]    17With particular barrier dimension:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 15.  Subject matter wherein the superlattice has a specific quantum electronic potential barrier dimension (e.g., height or width).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 18]    18Strained layer superlattice:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 15.  Subject matter wherein the crystalline lattice characteristics of adjacent thin active superlattice layers are mismatched so that alternate layers are in elastic tension or compression.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 19]    19SixGe1-x:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 18.  Subject matter wherein at least one of the strained superlattice materials is a silicon-germanium alloy.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 20]    20Field effect device:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 15.  Subject matter wherein the superlattice active layer forms the conduction channel of a field effect device (i.e., one which has two or more terminals denoted as source and gate with a conduction channel therebetween, and in which the current through the conducting channel is controlled by an electric field coming from a voltage which is applied between the gate and source terminals thereof).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 21]    21Light responsive structure:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 15.  Subject matter wherein absorption of light (ultraviolet, visible, or infrared) by a superlattice active layer or junction causes a change in the current-voltage characteristic of the device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 22]    22With specified semiconductor materials:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 15.  Subject matter wherein the superlattice is formed of specified materials.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 23]    23Current flow across well:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 14.  Subject matter wherein the device operation involves flow of carriers (electrons or holes) across the quantum well (as contrasted with tunneling through the well).
(1) Note. Current flow is considered to be "across" the well if the carriers have sufficient energy to pass over the barrier layers confining the quantum well, as contrasted to passing through the barriers by quantum mechanical tunneling.

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

25,for devices which operate by resonant tunneling through the barriers, rather than over them.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 24]    24Field effect device:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 14.  Subject matter wherein the quantum well device is a field effect device, i.e., one which has two or more terminals denoted as source and gate, with a conduction channel therebetween, and in which the current through the conducting channel is controlled by an electric field coming from a voltage which is applied between the gate and source terminals thereof.
(1) Note. See illustration under subclass 213 for various field effect devices.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 25]    25Employing resonant tunneling:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 14.  Subject matter wherein the operation of the device depends not only on carrier charge confinement by the quantum well, but the quantum well layer also acts as an intermediate layer through which carriers pass by resonantly tunneling through both confining barriers and the well.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 26]    26Ballistic transport device:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 12.  Subject matter in which an active layer is present through which carriers pass, wherein the active layer is thinner than the mean free path of the carriers in the material in that layer, so that carriers can pass through the layer without scattering.
(1) Note. Carriers are typically injected into the ballistic transport layer as "hot" carriers, having an energy, in the case of electrons, substantially greater than the minimum of the conduction band, or in the case of holes, substantially lower than the maximum of the valence band.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 27]    27Field effect transistor:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 26.  Subject matter wherein the ballistic transport device is a field effect transistor, i.e., one which has two or more terminals denoted as source and gate with a conduction channel therebetween, and in which the current through the conducting channel is controlled by an electric field coming from a voltage which is applied between the gate and source terminals thereof.
(1) Note. See illustration, below, of various field effect devices under subclass 213.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 28]    28Non-heterojunction superlattice (e.g., doping superlattice or alternating metal and insulator layers):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 9.  Subject matter wherein there are a plurality of active layers and barrier regions, the active layers being sufficiently close to each other that carrier quantum wave functions are spread out over plural active layers and the intervening barriers, and wherein the active layers and barrier regions do not form heterojunctions between different semiconductor materials.
(1) Note. Typically the active layers and barrier layers may be doped with opposite conductivity type dopants. Thicknesses of both the active layers and the barrier layers are typically a few angstroms to a few hundred angstroms (10-10 meter) thick.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 29]    29Ballistic transport device (e.g., hot electron transistor):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 9.  Subject matter in which an active layer is present through which carriers pass, which active layer is thinner than the mean free path of the carriers in the material in that layer, so that carriers can pass through the layer without scattering.
(1) Note. Carriers are typically injected into the ballistic transport layer as "hot" carriers, having an energy, in the case of electrons, substantially greater than the minimum of the conduction band, or in the case of holes, substantially lower than the maximum of the valence band.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 30]    30Tunneling through region of reduced conductivity:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 9.  Subject matter wherein the active layer through which carrier tunnelling occurs has lower electrical conductivity than the material adjacent thereto.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

29Metal Working,   subclass 25.01 for methods of making barrier layer devices of the metal-insulator-metal type.
331Oscillators,   subclass 107 for superconductive element and tunneling element oscillators.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 31]    31Josephson:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 30.  Subject matter wherein the device is of the form of a pair of superconductive electrodes separated by a thin, less conductive, portion, through which superconductive tunneling may occur.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

29Metal Working,   subclass 25.01 for methods of making barrier layer devices possessing a Josephson junction.
216Etching a Substrate: Processes,   subclass 3 for Josephson Junction device manufacture involving etching.
505Superconductor Technology: Apparatus, Material, Process,   subclass 1 for high temperature superconductor Josephson devices with particular electrode materials and pertinent cross-reference art collections, including subclasses 857+ for nonlinear solid-state device, system, or circuit; and subclasses 873+ active solid-state devices.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 32]    32Particular electrode material:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 31.  Subject matter wherein the electrode material is specified.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 33]    33High temperature (i.e., >30° Kelvin):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 32.  Subject matter wherein the device can operate at temperatures above 30 degrees on the Kelvin temperature scale.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

505Superconductor Technology: Apparatus, Material, Process,   subclass 1 for high temperature superconductor materials and devices.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 34]    34Weak link (e.g., narrowed portion of superconductive line):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 31.  Subject matter wherein the active layer is a superconductive material of lower current capacity than the pair of superconductive electrodes.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 35]    35Particular barrier material:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 31.  Subject matter wherein the active layer material is specified.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 36]    36With additional electrode to control conductive state of Josephson junction:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 31.  Subject matter wherein a specific electrode in addition to the pair of superconductive electrodes forming the Josephson junction is used to control the conductive state of the junction.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 37]    37At least one electrode layer of semiconductor material:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 30.  Subject matter wherein the tunneling device has at least one electrode layer comprised of a semiconductive material.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 38]    38Three or more electrode device:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 37.  Subject matter wherein the tunneling device has three or more electrodes, at least one of which is made of a semiconductive material.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 39]    39Three or more electrode device:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 30.  Subject matter wherein the tunneling device has three or more electrodes.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 40]    40ORGANIC SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIAL:
 This subclass is indented under the class definition.  Subject matter comprising a semiconductor compound that includes an organic material characterized by two or more carbon atoms bonded together, one atom of carbon bonded to at least one atom of hydrogen or halogen (i.e., chlorine, fluorine, bromine, iodine), or one atom of carbon bonded to at least one atom of nitrogen by a single or double bond.
(1) Note. Certain compounds are exceptions to this rule, i.e., HCN, CN-CN, HNCO, HNCS, cyanogen halides, cyanamide, fulminic acid, and metal carbides. These are not regarded as organic materials.
(2) Note. Graphite and diamond are not regarded as organic, since they are not compounds; silicon carbide is not regarded as organic. Active solid-state devices using silicon carbide or diamond as the semiconductor are in subclass 77 of this class.
(3) Note. Organic insulating materials, as opposed to semiconducting materials, do not go in this subclass.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

136Batteries: Thermoelectric and Photoelectric,   subclass 263 for photoelectric cells containing organic active material.
260Chemistry of Carbon Compounds,   and other classes which form integral parts of Class 260, appropriate subclasses for organic materials
313Electric Lamp and Discharge Devices,   subclass 504 for solid-state organic phosphor material luminescent devices.
361Electricity: Electrical Systems and Devices,   subclass 527 for solid electrolytic capacitors containing an organic salt.
438Semiconductor Device Manufacturing: Process,   subclass 82 for processes of making a light responsive device utilizing an organic semiconductor, and subclass 99 for methods of making an electrical device utilizing as a semiconductor component an organic semiconductor.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 41]    41POINT CONTACT DEVICE:
 This subclass is indented under the class definition.  Subject matter including a junction between a semiconductor and a metallic element (e.g., wire) at a single point of contact therebetween.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 42]    42SEMICONDUCTOR IS SELENIUM OR TELLURIUM IN ELEMENTAL FORM:
 This subclass is indented under the class definition.  Subject matter including a semiconductor material comprised of selenium or tellurium in elemental form (i.e., not in a compound).

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

430Radiation Imagery Chemistry: Process, Composition or Product,   subclass 57.8 for electrophotographic plates containing selenium or a selenium alloy.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 43]    43SEMICONDUCTOR IS AN OXIDE OF A METAL (E.G., CuO, ZnO) OR COPPER SULFIDE:
 This subclass is indented under the class definition.  Subject matter wherein a semiconductor material includes a metal oxide or copper sulfide.
(1) Note. Those variable resistors known as "coherers" which are active solid-state devices, and are made of a metal oxide, are found in this subclass.

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

798,for other active solid-state device type coherers.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

338Electrical Resistors,   subclasses 1 and 223+ for passive solid-state coherers.
438Semiconductor Device Manufacturing: Process,   subclass 85 for processes of making a light responsive device utilizing as the semiconductive component a metal oxide or copper sulfide and subclasses 104 for methods of forming an electrical device utilizing as a semiconductive component a metal oxide or copper sulfide.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 44]    44WITH METAL CONTACT ALLOYED TO ELEMENTAL SEMICONDUCTOR TYPE PN JUNCTION IN NONREGENERATIVE STRUCTURE:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 107.  Subject matter under the class definition wherein the active solid-state device has a pn junction formed by alloying one or more impurity metal contacts to an elemental semiconductor, and wherein the active solid-state device is not a regenerative device of this class.
(1) Note. The impurity metal contact alloys with a semiconductor material to form a p-region or n-region, depending on the impurity used.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 45]    45Elongated alloyed region (e.g., thermal gradient zone melting, TGZM):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 44.  Subject matter wherein the alloyed region has at least one dimension substantially larger than another.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 46]    46In pn junction tunnel diode (Esaki diode):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 44.  Subject matter wherein the alloyed pn junction device is a tunnel diode, i.e., wherein the active solid-state device includes a heavily doped pn junction wherein conduction occurs through the junction potential barrier due to a quantum mechanical effect even though the carriers which tunnel through the potential barrier do not have enough energy to overcome the barrier potential.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 47]    47In bipolar transistor structure:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 44.  Subject matter wherein the alloyed pn junction device is a bipolar transistor, i.e., a transistor structure whose working current passes through semiconductor material of both polarities (p and n).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 48]    48TEST OR CALIBRATION STRUCTURE:
 This subclass is indented under the class definition.  Subject matter in which structures are provided on active solid-state devices to permit or facilitate the measurement, test, or calibration of the characteristics of the devices.
(1) Note. Active solid-state device standards are also included herein.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

324Electricity: Measuring and Testing,   subclass 158 for semiconductor device test apparatus and methods.
438Semiconductor Device Manufacturing: Process,   particularly subclass 18 for methods under the class definition having combined therewith a step of measuring an electrical condition utilizing a test element.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 49]    49NON-SINGLE CRYSTAL, OR RECRYSTALLIZED, SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIAL FORMS PART OF ACTIVE JUNCTION (INCLUDING FIELD-INDUCED ACTIVE JUNCTION):
 This subclass is indented under the class definition.  Subject matter wherein there is an active junction (e.g., a junction between dissimilar materials, or a junction induced by an applied electric field, which exhibits non-linear current-voltage characteristics) and at least part of the active junction is formed by a semiconductor material in polycrystalline or amorphous form.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

136Batteries: Thermoelectric and Photoelectric,   subclass 258 for photoelectric cells with polycrystalline or amorphous semiconductor material.
438Semiconductor Device Manufacturing: Process,   particularly subclass 96 and 482+ for methods of depositing amorphous semiconductive material functioning as an active region for an electrical device and subclasses 97 and 488+ for methods of depositing polycrystalline semiconductive material functioning as an active region for an electrical device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 50]    50Non-single crystal, or recrystallized, active junction adapted to be electrically shorted (e.g., "anti-fuse" element):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 49.  Subject matter wherein the active junction is structured or arranged to form an electrical short circuit between the electrical terminals of the active device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 51]    51Non-single crystal, or recrystallized, material forms active junction with single crystal material (e.g., monocrystal to polycrystal pn junction or heterojunction):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 49.  Subject matter wherein the active junction is formed by both non-single crystal material and single crystal material.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 52]    52Amorphous semiconductor material:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 49.  Subject matter wherein the non-single crystal semiconductor material is amorphous, i.e., non-crystalline in the sense that (1) there is either complete disorder in the arrangement of atoms or molecules of the material or (2) there is an absence of any long range structural order that is detectable by electron or X-ray diffraction patterns of the material.

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

2,through 5, for bulk effect switching in amorphous material.
16,for superlattice quantum well heterojunction devices of amorphous semiconductor material.
646,for amorphous semiconductor material coating to control surface effects.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

136Batteries: Thermoelectric and Photoelectric,   subclass 258 for photoelectric cells with polycrystalline or amorphous semiconductor material.
438Semiconductor Device Manufacturing: Process,   particularly subclasses 482+ for methods for depositing amorphous semiconductor.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 53]    53Responsive to nonelectrical external signals (e.g., light):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 52.  Subject matter wherein the amorphous semiconductor active junction generates an electrical signal when subjected to non-electrical (e.g., optical, thermal, or vibratory) signals.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

430Radiation Imagery Chemistry: Process, Composition or Product,   subclass 57.4 for electrophotographic plates containing amorphous silicon.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 54]    54With Schottky barrier to amorphous material:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 53.  Subject matter wherein the amorphous semiconductor active junction is formed with a metal, thereby forming a Schottky barrier.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 55]    55Amorphous semiconductor is alloy or contains material to change band gap (e.g., SixGe1-x, SiNy):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 53.  Subject matter wherein the amorphous semiconductor is an alloy or contains material to change the band gap of the amorphous semiconductor material (e.g., SixGe1-xsee below, SiNy).

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

63,for this subject matter except in a device which is not responsive to nonelectrical external signals.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 56]    56With impurity other than hydrogen to passivate dangling bonds (e.g., halide):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 53.  Subject matter wherein the amorphous semiconductor material is doped with an impurity other than hydrogen (e.g., a halide) for providing electrical stability by completing chemical bonds between semiconductor atoms which were not completed due to the amorphous nature of the semiconductor active layer material.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 57]    57Field effect device in amorphous semiconductor material:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 52.  Subject matter wherein the amorphous semiconductor active junction is a field effect device, i.e., one which has a conducting channel and two or more electrodes, one of which is denoted a source and the other a drain electrode, and in which the current through the conducting channel is controlled by an electric field coming from a voltage which is applied between the gate and source terminals thereof.
(1) Note. See illustration under subclass 213 for various field effect devices.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

438Semiconductor Device Manufacturing: Process,   particularly subclasses 149+ for methods of forming a field effect transistor on an insulating substrate or layer (e.g., SOS, SOI, etc.).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 58]    58With impurity other than hydrogen to passivate dangling bonds (e.g., halide):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 57.  Subject matter wherein the semiconductor active junction amorphous field effect device is doped with an impurity other than hydrogen (e.g., a halide) for providing electrical stability by completing chemical bonds between semiconductor atoms which were not completed due to the amorphous nature of the semiconductor active layer material.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 59]    59In array having structure for use as imager or display, or with transparent electrode:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 57.  Subject matter wherein a plurality of semiconductor active junction amorphous field effect devices are interconnected in a monolithic chip device for generating an image of an object, light from which is incident on the device, or for displaying signals applied to the device, or having an electrode that transmits optical radiation in the infrared, visible, or ultraviolet wavelength bands.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 60]    60With field electrode under or on a side edge of amorphous semiconductor material (e.g., vertical current path):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 57.  Subject matter wherein the semiconductor active junction amorphous field effect device has an electrode located under or on a side edge of the device to affect the current path through the device (e.g., providing a vertical current path).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 61]    61With heavily doped regions contacting amorphous semiconductor material (e.g., heavily doped source and drain):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 57.  Subject matter wherein the semiconductor active junction amorphous field effect device has regions in contact with the amorphous material which contain dopant ions with relatively heavy concentrations (e.g., 1018 to 1021 dopant atoms per cubic centimeter).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 62]    62With impurity other than hydrogen to passivate dangling bonds (e.g., halide):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 52.  Subject matter wherein the semiconductor active junction amorphous field effect device is doped with an impurity other than hydrogen (e.g., a halide) for providing electrical stability by completing chemical bonds between semiconductor atoms which were not completed due to the amorphous nature of the semiconductor active layer material.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 63]    63Amorphous semiconductor is alloy or contains material to change band gap (e.g., SixGe1-x, SiNy):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 52.  Subject matter wherein the amorphous semiconductor material is an alloy or contains material to change the energy gap between the valence and conduction bands.

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

55,for this subject matter in a device which is responsive to nonelectrical external signals.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 64]    64Non-single crystal, or recrystallized, material with specified crystal structure (e.g., specified crystal size or orientation):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 49.  Subject matter wherein the non-single crystal semiconductor material has a specified crystal structure, such as a specified grain size, a preferred crystallos:graphic axis, or orientation; polycrystalline material in the form of elongated crystallites; or particular configuration of grain boundaries.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 65]    65Non-single crystal, or recrystallized, material containing non-dopant additive, or alloy of semiconductor materials (e.g., GexSi1-x, polycrystalline silicon with dangling bond modifier):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 49.  Subject matter wherein the non-single crystal semiconductor is an alloy or contains an additive other than an electrically active dopant, such as a dangling bond passivator or an additive to change the band gap of the amorphous semiconductor material (e.g., SixGe1-x, SiNy).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 66]    66Field effect device in non-single crystal, or recrystallized, Semiconductor material:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 49.  Subject matter wherein the active solid-state device is a field effect device, i.e., one which operates with the application of a voltage across electrical terminals thereof.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

438Semiconductor Device Manufacturing: Process,   particularly subclasses 149+ for methods of forming a field effect transistor on an insulating substrate or layer (e.g., SOS, SOI, etc.).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 67]    67In combination with device formed in single crystal semiconductor material (e.g., stacked FETs):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 66.  Subject matter wherein the field effect device is combined with an active or passive solid-state device located in a single crystal semiconductor material (i.e., one in which atoms are arranged in a regular three dimensional array).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 68]    68Capacitor element in single crystal semiconductor (e.g., DRAM):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 67.  Subject matter wherein the device is a capacitor element in single crystal material.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 69]    69Field effect transistor in single crystal material, complementary to that in non-single crystal, or recrystallized, material (e.g., CMOS):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 67.  Subject matter wherein there is a field effect transistor in single crystal material complementary in polarity to the field effect device in the non-single crystal, or recrystallized, material (e.g., a CMOS device).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 70]    70Recrystallized semiconductor material:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 67.  Subject matter wherein the combined device contains a non-single semiconductor region of recrystallized material.
(1) Note. Recrystallized semiconductor material has been processed, typically by heat or laser irradiation to cause growth of large regions of substantially single crystal material to obtain properties approximating those of completely single crystal material.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 71]    71In combination with capacitor element (e.g., DRAM):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 66.  Subject matter wherein the field effect device in the non-single crystal, or recrystallized, semiconductor material is combined with a capacitor element.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 72]    72In array having structure for use as imager or display, or with transparent electrode:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 66.  Subject matter wherein a plurality of field effect devices in non-single crystal, or recrystallized, semiconductor material are interconnected in a monolithic chip device for generating an image of an object, light from which is incident on the device, or for displaying signals applied to the device, or having an electrode that transmits optical radiation in the infrared, visible, or ultraviolet wavelength bands.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 73]    73Schottky barrier to polycrystalline semiconductor material:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 49.  Subject matter wherein the device contains a non-ohmic, rectifying metal-to-polycrystalline bulk material electrical contact.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 74]    74Plural recrystallized semiconductor layers (e.g., "3-dimensional integrated circuit"):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 49.  Subject matter wherein the recrystallized material comprises more than one layer of recrystallized semiconductor material.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 75]    75Recrystallized semiconductor material:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 49.  Subject matter wherein the device contains a non-single crystal semiconductor material whose amorphous nature is due to recrystallization.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 76]    76SPECIFIED WIDE BAND GAP (1.5eV) SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIAL OTHER THAN GaAsP or GaAlAs:
 This subclass is indented under the class definition.  Subject matter including a semiconductor material with a band gap (between its valance and conduction bands) greater that 1.5 electron volts which is not gallium arsenide phosphide or gallium aluminum arsenide.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 77]    77Diamond or silicon carbide:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 76.  Subject matter wherein the specified wide band gap material is diamond or silicon carbide.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 78]    78II-VI compound:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 76.  Subject matter wherein the specified wide band gap material is a compound, one element of which comes from group II, and the other element of which comes from group VI of the periodic table of elements.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 79]    79INCOHERENT LIGHT EMITTER STRUCTURE:
 This subclass is indented under the class definition.  Subject matter wherein the active solid-state device generates incoherent light when subjected to an appropriate input signal.
(1) Note. Lasers (coherent light generators) are classified in Class 372, and patents directed to lasers are not to be cross-referenced in this or indented subclasses unless such patent contains disclosure of a light emitting semiconductor device which is NOT a laser or coherent light generator.

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

13,for incoherent thin physical layer light emitter devices with operating principles as specified therein.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

250Radiant Energy,   subclasses 552+ for solid-state light source circuits.
313Electric Lamp and Discharge Devices,   subclasses 498+ for electric lamp and discharge devices having solid-state luminescent materials, including nominally recited luminescent semiconductor type materials; and subclass 504 for solid-state organic phosphor material luminescent devices.
340Communications: Electrical,   subclasses 760+ and 766+ for solid-state light emitting arrays and array elements.
362Illumination,   subclass 84 for light source or light source support and luminescent material and subclass 800 (cross-reference art collection) for light emitting diode light sources.
438Semiconductor Device Manufacturing: Process,   particularly subclasses 22+ for methods of forming a semiconductor device which may be emissive of either coherent or incoherent radiation.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 80]    80In combination with or also constituting light responsive device:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 79.  Subject matter wherein the light emitting active semiconductor device is combined with a separate device which generates an electrical signal when light impinges upon it or the active device both emits light when stimulated and generates an electrical signal in response to light impingent thereupon.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

250Radiant Energy,   subclass 551 for signal isolators involving a light source and photodetector.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 81]    81With specific housing or contact structure:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 80.  Subject matter wherein the combined light emitting and light responsive device is provided with a particular housing or electrical contact structure.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 82]    82Discrete light emitting and light responsive devices:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 81.  Subject matter wherein the device with a specific housing or contact structure contains separate light emitting and light responsive elements.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 83]    83Light coupled transistor structure:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 80.  Subject matter wherein the active solid-state device has a pair of rectifying junctions, a first of which when forward biased produces light which, when absorbed in the depletion region of the second junction when reverse biased, produces a current through the second junction, with the first junction functioning similarly to the emitter-base junction, and the second junction functioning similarly to the base-collector junction, of an ordinary bipolar transistor.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

250Radiant Energy,   subclass 551 for signal isolator for optically coupled light emitter and light detector combinations wherein the devices are used to isolate electrical signals.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 84]    84Combined in integrated structure:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 80.  Subject matter wherein the light emitting and light responsive devices are combined in a single crystal monolithic structure.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 85]    85With heterojunction:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 84.  Subject matter wherein the device contains a heterojunction, i.e., wherein the junction separates semiconductor materials of different chemical composition.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 86]    86Active layer of indirect band gap semiconductor:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 79.  Subject matter wherein the light emitting active region is in or between semiconductor materials in which direct transitions of electrons from conduction to valance bands do not take place.
(1) Note. Transitions may take place in steps due to trapping levels located in the forbidden band between the conduction and valance bands.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 87]    87With means to facilitate electron-hole recombination (e.g., isoelectronic traps such as nitrogen in GaP):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 86.  Subject matter wherein the light emitting active region with an indirect band gap layer has means to facilitate electron-hole recombination (e.g., isoelectronic traps such as nitrogen in gallium phosphide).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 88]    88Plural light emitting devices (e.g., matrix, 7-segment array):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 79.  Subject matter wherein the light emitting active semiconductor device contains more than one light emitting active junction.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

340Communications: Electrical,   subclasses 760+ and 766+ for solid-state light emitting arrays and array elements.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 89]    89Multi-color emission:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 88.  Subject matter wherein different light emitting devices emit light of different hues.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 90]    90With heterojunction:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 89.  Subject matter wherein there is at least one heterojunction, i.e., wherein the junction separates semiconductor materials of different chemical composition.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 91]    91With shaped contacts or opaque masking:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 88.  Subject matter wherein the plural light emitting devices have electrical contacts with specific shapes or are combined with optical elements which are impervious to light emitted by the devices and are placed in the path of light emitted by the devices.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 92]    92Alphanumeric segmented array:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 88.  Subject matter wherein the plural light emitting devices are structured and arranged in segments of Arabic numerals or alphabet letters.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

340Communications: Electrical,   subclasses 760+ and 766+ for solid-state light emitting arrays and array elements.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 93]    93With electrical isolation means in integrated circuit structure:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 88.  Subject matter wherein means to provide electrical isolation, i.e., to prevent electrical short circuits, with respect to each light emitting device, are provided in a single, monolithic chip structure.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 94]    94With heterojunction:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 79.  Subject matter wherein there is at least one junction between semiconductor materials of different chemical compositions.
(1) Note. See the illustration of a heterojunction device in subclass 183.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 95]    95With contoured external surface (e.g., dome shape to facilitate light emission):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 94.  Subject matter wherein the light emitting device has an external surface with a particular geometric shape, for example, a dome shape to facilitate emission of light from the light emitting device, in spite of it being made of semiconductor material of relatively high index of refraction.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 96]    96Plural heterojunctions in same device:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 94.  Subject matter wherein the heterojunction light emitting device has more than one heterojunction.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 97]    97More than two heterojunctions in same device:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 96.  Subject matter wherein the light emitting device has more than two heterojunctions.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 98]    98With reflector, opaque mask, or optical element (e.g., lens, optical fiber, index of refraction matching layer, luminescent material layer, filter) integral with device or device enclosure or package:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 79.  Subject matter wherein the light emitting active junction device is combined with one or more optical elements (e.g., to transmit or shape or otherwise affect light emitted by the device); and the optical element is an integral part of the device or of the housing, encapsulant, or other device enclosure or package.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 99]    99With housing or contact structure:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 79.  Subject matter wherein the light emitting active junction device is combined with a housing or electrical contact structure.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 100]    100Encapsulated:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 79.  Subject matter wherein the light emitting active junction device is embedded in a protective coating.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

174Electricity: Conductors and Insulators,   subclass 521 for potted or encapsulated electrical devices.
439Electrical Connectors,   subclass 936 for potting material or coating for electrical conductors.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 101]    101With particular dopant concentration or concentration profile (e.g., graded junction):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 79.  Subject matter wherein the light emitting active junction has a particular concentration of dopant ions or profile in a given direction or cross sectional area or volume.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 102]    102With particular dopant material (e.g., zinc as dopant in GaAs):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 79.  Subject matter wherein the dopant material of the active junction is specified.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 103]    103With particular semiconductor material:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 79.  Subject matter wherein the active junction is in or between semiconductor material whose composition is specified.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 104]    104TUNNELING PN JUNCTION (E.G., ESAKI DIODE) DEVICE:
 This subclass is indented under the class definition.  Subject matter wherein the active solid-state device includes a heavily doped pn junction where conduction occurs through the junction potential barrier due to a quantum mechanical effect even though the carriers which tunnel through the potential barrier do not have enough energy to overcome the barrier potential.
(1) Note. PN Junction tunnel diodes operated under forward bias are often referred to as Esaki diodes.

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

46,for an Esaki diode having a metal contact alloyed to elemental semiconductor type pn junction in a non-regenerative structure.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

326Electronic Digital Logic Circuitry,   subclass 134 for a digital logic device which includes a tunnel diode.
327Miscellaneous Active Electrical Nonlinear Devices, Circuits, and Systems,   subclass 195 for stable state circuits utilizing a tunnel diode; subclass 326 for limiting, clipping, or clamping using a tunnel diode; subclass 402 for a delay controlled switch with tunnel diode; subclasses 420 and 499 for gating circuits utilizing transistors or diodes respectively which use tunnel diodes; and subclass 570 for miscellaneous tunnel diode circuits.
331Oscillators,   subclass 107 for tunnel diode oscillators.
361Electricity: Electrical Systems and Devices,   subclass 100 for tunnel diode current responsive fault sensors.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 105]    105In three or more terminal device:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 104.  Subject matter wherein the tunnel junction is part of an active solid-state electronic device which has three or more electrical terminals (e.g., transistors or thyristors).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 106]    106Reverse bias tunneling structure (e.g., "backward" diode, true Zener diode):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 104.  Subject matter wherein the tunnel junction is structured to permit quantum mechanical tunneling of carriers in a reverse bias mode, i.e., when the p-side of the junction is connected to a negative voltage source and the n-side of the junction is connected to a positive voltage source.
(1) Note. In silicon, such conduction occurs when the junction breakdown voltage is less than approximately 5.6 volts.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

148Metal Treatment,   digest 174 for treatment of Zener diodes.
323Electricity: Power Supply or Regulation Systems,   subclass 231 for systems using a Zener diode and being in shunt with a load.
327Miscellaneous Active Electrical Nonlinear Devices, Circuits, and Systems,   subclasses 194 and 195 for stable state circuits with a zener or back diode respectively; subclass 326 for limiting, clipping, or clamping utilizing a zener diode; subclass 421 for gating circuits having a transistor which utilizes a zener effect; subclass 502 for a gating circuit with zener diode; and subclass 584 for a miscellaneous circuit utilizing a zener diode.
361Electricity: Electrical Systems and Devices,   subclass 197 , for relay time delay safety or protection devices including, for example, a Zener diode.
377Electrical Pulse Counters, Pulse Dividers, or Shift Registers: Circuits and Systems,   subclass 128 for pulse counting or dividing chains which include bi-stable semiconductor devices with only two electrodes, e.g., tunnel diodes.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 107]    107REGENERATIVE TYPE SWITCHING DEVICE (E.G., SCR, COMFET, THYRISTOR):
 This subclass is indented under the class definition.  Subject matter wherein the active solid-state device acts as if it has two or more active emitter junctions each of which is associated with a separate, equivalent transistor having an individual gain and, when initiated by a base region current, the equivalent transistors mutually drive each other in a regenerative manner to lower the voltage drop between the emitters.
(1) Note. If the current is above a level IH, called the "holding current", then the device will remain ON when the triggering signal is removed by the regenerative feedback therebetween, and is then said to be "latched".

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

123Internal-Combustion Engines,   subclass 648 for circuits employing silicon controlled rectifiers (SCRs).
327Miscellaneous Active Electrical Nonlinear Devices, Circuits, and Systems,   subclasses 199+ for a bistable circuit which includes diverse solid-state devices such as an SCR, subclasses 392+ for a delay controlled switch which may include an SCR, and subclasses 438+ for gating circuits which may use a thyristor or SCR.
361Electricity: Electrical Systems and Devices,   subclasses 100+ and 205 for circuits employing thyristors (e.g., silicon controlled rectifiers (SCRs)).
363Electric Power Conversion Systems,   subclasses 27+ , 54, 57+, 68, 85+, 96+, 128+, 135+, and 160+ for circuits employing thyristors (e.g., silicon controlled rectifiers (SCRs)).
388Electricity: Motor Control Systems,   subclasses 917+ for circuits employing thyristors (e.g., silicon controlled rectifiers (SCRs)).
438Semiconductor Device Manufacturing: Process,   particularly subclasses 133+ for methods of forming a regenerative type switching device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 108]    108Controlled by nonelectrical, nonoptical external signal (e.g., magnetic field, pressure, thermal):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 107.  Subject matter wherein the regenerative switching device is controlled by an input signal other than an optical or electrical signal (e.g., by a magnetic field) or by mechanical stress.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 109]    109Having only two terminals and no control electrode (gate), e.g., Shockley diode:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 107.  Subject matter wherein the regenerative switching device has only two electrical terminals, neither one of which is a control electrode (e.g., gate or base electrode).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 110]    110More than four semiconductor layers of alternating conductivity types (e.g., pnpnpn structure, 5 layer bidirectional diacs, etc.):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 109.  Subject matter wherein the two terminal device with no control electrode has more than four layers of semiconductor material, each layer having an electrical conductivity type (e.g., p-type or n-type) which differs from that of each adjacent layer.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 111]    111Triggered by VBO overvoltage means:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 109.  Subject matter wherein the two terminal device with no control electrode includes means to apply a voltage larger than the breakover voltage VBO to initiate operation of the device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 112]    112With highly-doped breakdown diode trigger:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 109.  Subject matter wherein the two terminal device with no control electrode includes a diode portion which is heavily doped to decrease its breakdown voltage to trigger the device into operation.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 113]    113With light activation:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 107.  Subject matter wherein the regenerative switching device is activated (e.g., turned on and/or off) by light impinging on a light sensitive portion of the device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 114]    114With separate light detector integrated on chip with regenerative switching device:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 113.  Subject matter wherein the light sensitive portion is separate from the regenerative switching device, and is contained in a physically separated area of a single, monolithic chip with the regenerative switching device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 115]    115With electrical trigger signal amplification means (e.g., amplified gate, "pilot thyristor", etc.):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 113.  Subject matter wherein means are provided to amplify the electrical signal generated by the light sensitive portion, in order to trigger the regenerative switching device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 116]    116With light conductor means (e.g., light fiber or light pipe) integral with device or device enclosure or package:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 113.  Subject matter wherein the active semiconductor device is provided with means to conduct light (e.g., as light fiber or light pipe) to the light sensitive portion, and the light conductor means is an integral part of the device or of the housing, encapsulant or other device enclosure, or package.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 117]    117In groove or with thinned semiconductor portion:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 116.  Subject matter wherein the light sensitive portion is located in a groove in the device or wherein it is covered by a relatively thin portion of semiconductor material.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 118]    118With groove or thinned light sensitive portion:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 113.  Subject matter wherein the light sensitive portion is located in a groove in the surface of the device or is located close to the surface of the device in a thinned region of the device so that only a relatively thin portion of the device has to be traversed by light.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 119]    119Bidirectional rectifier with control electrode (gate) (e.g., Triac):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 107.  Subject matter wherein the regenerative switching device has a control electrode, can conduct in both forward and reverse directions, and can be triggered into conduction by a pulse applied to its control electrode.

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

110,for bidirectional rectifiers with no control electrode.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

323Electricity: Power Supply or Regulation Systems,   subclasses 240 and 325 for circuit having unidirectional elements with bidirectional pass.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 120]    120Six or more semiconductor layers of alternating conductivity types (e.g., npnpnpn structure):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 119.  Subject matter wherein the bidirectional rectifier with control electrode contains six or more layers of semiconductor material, each of which has a different conductivity type, (e.g., n-type or p-type) which differs from that of each adjacent layer.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 121]    121With diode or transistor in reverse path:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 119.  Subject matter wherein a diode (i.e., a device which passes current in only one direction) is connected to conduct current in one direction, with a regenerative switching device with a control electrode connected to conduct current in the other direction to produce a bi-directionally conducting regenerative switching device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 122]    122Lateral:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 119.  Subject matter wherein the bidirectional rectifier with control electrode is of the lateral type, i.e., when viewed in cross section, the two main electrodes (e.g., anode and cathode) are arranged horizontally, side-by-side in the same surface of the semiconductor body.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 123]    123With trigger signal amplification (e.g., amplified gate):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 119.  Subject matter wherein the bidirectional rectifier with control electrode is combined with means to amplify the electrical signal applied to the control electrode to trigger the device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 124]    124Combined with field effect transistor structure:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 119.  Subject matter wherein the bidirectional rectifier with control electrode includes or is combined with a field effect transistor structure, i.e., a transistor in which the current through a conducting channel is controlled by an electric field coming from a voltage which is applied between the gate and source terminals thereof.
(1) Note. See illustration under subclass 213 for various field effect devices.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 125]    125Controllable emitter shunting:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 124.  Subject matter wherein the field effect transistor structure is connected to shunt one of the emitter-base junctions of the regenerative structure under control of the voltage applied to the gate of the field effect transistor.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 126]    126With means to separate a device into sections having different conductive polarity:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 119.  Subject matter wherein the bidirectional rectifier with control electrode has means separating portions thereof which have different conductive polarity.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 127]    127Guard ring or groove:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 126.  Subject matter wherein the means to separate portions of the device having different conductive polarity is or includes a groove, or a guard ring, i.e., a pn junction region in the body of the device located and/or configured to reduce electric field strength at a given applied voltage.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 128]    128Having overlapping sections of different conductive polarity:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 119.  Subject matter wherein the bidirectional rectifier with control electrode has outer emitter regions which overlap one another in at least one portion.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 129]    129With means to increase reverse breakdown voltage:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 119.  Subject matter wherein the bidirectional rectifier with control electrode has means associated therewith to increase the reverse voltage which may be applied without causing electrical breakdown.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 130]    130Switching speed enhancement means:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 119.  Subject matter wherein the bidirectional rectifier with control electrode includes or is combined with means to increase the speed at which the device switches.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 131]    131Recombination centers or deep level dopants:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 130.  Subject matter wherein the switching speed enhancement means include (1) centers wherein excess holes and electrons recombine and are removed as charge carriers in the device or (2) dopant ions with energy levels that are located in the forbidden band of the active semiconductor material of the device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 132]    132Five or more layer unidirectional structure:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 107.  Subject matter wherein the regenerative active solid-state device has five or more layers of semiconductor material producing at least four active junctions, and is operable in a single electrical direction.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 133]    133Combined with field effect transistor:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 107.  Subject matter wherein the regenerative device includes or is combined with a field effect transistor, i.e., a transistor in which the current through a conducting channel is controlled by an electric field coming from a voltage which is applied between the gate and source terminals thereof.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 134]    134J-FET (junction field effect transistor):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 133.  Subject matter wherein the field effect transistor combined with the regenerative action junction type switching device is a junction field effect transistor, i.e., a field effect transistor wherein the gate region is isolated from the conducting channel by a rectifying pn junction or Schottky barrier junction.

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

287,for power JFET devices.
504,for JFET type isolation.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 135]    135Vertical (i.e., where the source is located above the drain or vice versa):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 134.  Subject matter wherein the operating current path of the JFET is perpendicular to the plane of its main surface.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 136]    136Enhancement mode (e.g., so-called SITs):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 135.  Subject matter in which no current flows except for leakage current, when the gate to source voltage is zero.
(1) Note. Conduction does not begin until the gate voltage reaches a finite threshold value.
(2) Note. Compare this with depletion mode J-FETS in which maximum current is passed by the transistor at a zero gate potential and current decreases as the gate voltage increases.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 137]    137Having controllable emitter shunt:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 133.  Subject matter wherein the regenerative switching device is combined with a junction field effect transistor that is connected across an emitter-base junction of the regenerative device to controllably divert current from the emitter-base junction.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 138]    138Having gate turn off (GTO) feature:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 137.  Subject matter wherein the regenerative switch is configured to permit application of sufficient gate current to switch the regenerative switch to the OFF state.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 139]    139With extended latchup current level (e.g., COMFET device):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 133.  Subject matter wherein the regenerative active junction type switching device (e.g., a conductivity modulated FET) includes means to provide regenerative action without latchup over an extended current range of the device (i.e., by increasing IH).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 140]    140Combined with other solid-state active device in integrated structure:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 139.  Subject matter wherein the extended latchup current level device is combined with another solid-state active device in a monolithic single crystal chip structure.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 141]    141Lateral structure, i.e., current flow parallel to main device surface:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 139.  Subject matter wherein the extended latchup current level device is structured so that operating current flows parallel to the main device surface (i.e., horizontally or laterally).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 142]    142Having impurity doping for gain reduction:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 139.  Subject matter wherein the extended latchup current level device has impurity dopant to reduce device regenerative gain, i.e., the gain or amplification of one or more of the active junction portions connected in regenerative fashion.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 143]    143Having anode shunt means:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 139.  Subject matter wherein the extended latchup current level device has means connected across the emitter-base junction of the PNP transistor portion of the regenerative device to controllably divert current from the emitter-base junction.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 144]    144Cathode emitter or cathode electrode feature:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 139.  Subject matter wherein the extended latchup current level device has a particular cathode emitter or cathode electrode feature.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 145]    145Low impedance channel contact extends below surface:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 139.  Subject matter wherein the extended latchup current level device has an electrical contact extending from the device surface into the body of the device which is connected to the channel of the field effect transistor portion and wherein the contact has a relatively low electrical impedance.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 146]    146Combined with other solid-state active device in integrated structure:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 107.  Subject matter wherein the regenerative active junction type switching device is combined with one or more active or passive electronic solid-state devices in a unitary, monolithic, integrated structure.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 147]    147With extended latchup current level (e.g., gate turn off "GTO" device):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 107.  Subject matter wherein the regenerative switching device includes means to provide regenerative action without latchup over an extended current range of the device, i.e., extends IH as defined in subclass 107.
(1) Note. Another name for this device is a gate controlled switch.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 148]    148Having impurity doping for gain reduction:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 147.  Subject matter wherein the regenerative switching device has impurity dopant to reduce device gain of one of the equivalent transistors.

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

142,for this subject matter in a COMFET device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 149]    149Having anode shunt means:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 147.  Subject matter wherein the regenerative switching device has means connected across the emitter-base junction of the PNP transistor section of the regenerative device to divert current from the emitter-base junction.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 150]    150With specified housing or external terminal:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 147.  Subject matter wherein the regenerative switching device is provided with means to enclose it or a terminal means located external to an enclosure for the device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 151]    151External gate terminal structure or composition:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 150.  Subject matter wherein the external electrical terminal structural features or material composition is specified.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 152]    152Cathode emitter or cathode electrode feature:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 147.  Subject matter wherein the extended latchup current level device has a particular cathode emitter or cathode electrode feature.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 153]    153Gate region or electrode feature:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 147.  Subject matter wherein the extended latchup current level device has a particular gate (control) electrode feature.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 154]    154With resistive region connecting separate sections of device:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 107.  Subject matter wherein the regenerative active junction type switching device has a resistive region or portion connecting discrete regions of the device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 155]    155With switching speed enhancement means (e.g., Schottky contact):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 107.  Subject matter wherein the regenerative active junction type switching device is provided with means to increase its switching speed.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 156]    156Having deep level dopants or recombination centers:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 155.  Subject matter wherein the regenerative device has deep level dopants or electron-hole recombination centers with energy levels that are within the forbidden energy band and widely spaced from the conduction and valence bands of the semiconductor device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 157]    157With integrated trigger signal amplification means (e.g., amplified gate, "pilot thyristor", etc.):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 107.  Subject matter wherein the regenerative switching device has means to amplify the control current of the device, which is physically integrated with the regenerative switching device.

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

115,for light activated regenerative devices with trigger signal amplification.
123,for bidirectional regenerative devices with trigger signal amplification.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

330Amplifiers,   subclasses 250+ for semiconductor amplifying devices (e.g., transistors
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 158]    158Three or more amplification stages:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 157.  Subject matter wherein the amplification means has three or more stages of amplification.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 159]    159Transistor as amplifier:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 157.  Subject matter wherein the amplification means is a transistor (i.e., an active semiconductor device having three or more electrodes).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 160]    160With distributed amplified current:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 157.  Subject matter wherein the regenerative device with amplification means produces amplified current which is distributed by electrodes to other portions of the device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 161]    161With a turn-off diode:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 157.  Subject matter wherein the regenerative device with amplification means is integrally provided with a diode, i.e., a solid-state active rectifying two terminal device, to bypass the amplifying stage(s), in order to switch OFF the regenerative device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 162]    162Lateral structure:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 107.  Subject matter wherein the regenerative active junction type switching device has a lateral structure, i.e., one in which the active junctions are arranged so that electric current flows from side to side, rather than from top to bottom of the device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 163]    163Emitter region feature:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 107.  Subject matter wherein the active emitter junction region of the regenerative device has a particular characteristic.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 164]    164Multi-emitter region (e.g., emitter geometry or emitter ballast resistor):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 163.  Subject matter wherein the regenerative switching device has more than one emitter region.

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

580+,for bipolar transistors with emitter ballast resistors.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 165]    165Laterally symmetric regions:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 164.  Subject matter wherein the plural emitters are located in regions of the device which are symmetrical in a horizontal direction.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 166]    166Radially symmetric regions:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 164.  Subject matter wherein the plural emitters are located in regions of the device which are symmetrical extending radially in a horizontal direction from a predetermined emitter location.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 167]    167Having at least four external electrodes:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 107.  Subject matter wherein the regenerative active junction switching device has at least four electrodes connected to the outside of the device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 168]    168With means to increase breakdown voltage:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 107.  Subject matter wherein the regenerative active junction type switching device includes means to increase the reverse voltage which the device can sustain without breaking down.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 169]    169High resistivity base layer:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 168.  Subject matter wherein the means for increasing breakdown voltage includes a base (as contrasted with emitter or collector) layer which has a relatively high electrical resistivity.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 170]    170Surface feature (e.g., guard ring, groove, mesa, etc.):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 168.  Subject matter wherein the means for increasing breakdown voltage includes a surface feature (e.g., a guard ring or groove or mesa).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 171]    171Edge feature (e.g., beveled edge):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 170.  Subject matter wherein the surface feature for increasing breakdown voltage is an edge feature (e.g., a beveled) as contrasted with a right angled edge.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 172]    172With means to lower "ON" voltage drop:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 107.  Subject matter wherein the regenerative active junction type switching device comprises means to lower the voltage drop across the main terminals when the switch is operated in the ON mode.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 173]    173Device protection (e.g., from overvoltage):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 107.  Subject matter wherein the regenerative active junction type switching device includes means for protecting the device from destructive overloads (e.g., from operating voltage above a particular threshold level).

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

361Electricity: Electrical Systems and Devices,   subclasses 91.1+ for overvoltage protection in safety and protection of systems and devices.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 174]    174Rate of rise of current (e.g., dI/dt):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 173.  Subject matter wherein the parameter for which protection means is provided is the rate of rise of operating current in the device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 175]    175With means to control triggering (e.g., gate electrode configuration, Zener diode firing, dV/Dt control, transient control by ferrite bead, etc.):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 107.  Subject matter wherein the regenerative active junction type switching device includes means for controlling device turn-on.
(1) Note. Transient electrical phenomena, e.g., damped oscillations or surges in operation current or voltage following a sudden change in the applied voltage or current to the device, may be controlled, for example, by use of ferrite bead or capacitive input means.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 176]    176Located in an emitter-gate region:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 175.  Subject matter wherein the signal control mechanism is a transistor emitter junction with the gate region, and is used as the gate input.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 177]    177With housing or external electrode:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 107.  Subject matter wherein the regenerative active junction type switching device includes a structure in which to place the device.

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

81,and 82, for a light emitting device in combination with or constituting a light responsive device, with specific housing structure.
99,for light emitting device with specific housing structure.
433,and 434, for light responsive device with housing or encapsulation means.
573,for Darlington configuration bipolar transistor structure with housing or contact structure.
584,for enlarged emitter device bipolar transistor means having housing or contact.
602,for a voltage variable capacitance device with specified housing or contact.
660,for means to shield a device contained in a housing.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 178]    178With means to avoid stress between electrode and active device (e.g., thermal expansion matching of electrode to semiconductor):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 177.  Subject matter wherein the device has electrode means connected to its terminals and is further provided with means to avoid creation of stress between the active device and the electrode means.
(1) Note. The means to avoid such stress may include means to thermally match the electrode to the semiconductor.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

439Electrical Connectors,   subclasses 449+ for stress relief means for a conductor-to-terminal joint.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 179]    179With malleable electrode (e.g., silver electrode layer):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 178.  Subject matter wherein the electrode means is soft and pliable.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 180]    180Stud mount:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 177.  Subject matter wherein the housing is provided with a threaded or serrated insert or post used for connecting heat sinks or terminals to the device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 181]    181With large area flexible electrodes in press contact with opposite sides of active semiconductor chip and surrounded by an insulating element, (e.g., ring):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 177.  Subject matter wherein the housing is provided with large area flexible electrodes in press contact with opposite sides of active semiconductor chip and surrounded by an insulating element (e.g., ring).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 182]    182With lead feedthrough means on side of housing:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 181.  Subject matter wherein means are provided on a side of the housing through which electrical leads extending to or from the device can be located.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 183]    183HETEROJUNCTION DEVICE:
 This subclass is indented under the class definition.  Subject matter wherein the active solid-state device contains a heterojunction, i.e., a boundary between different regions, one of which is made of a material that differs from that of the other region.
(1) Note. See illustration, below, for an example of a heterojunction bipolar transistor.

Image 1 for class 257 subclass 183

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

10,and 11, for a heterojunction involving a low workfunction layer for electron emission.
12,through 27, for heterojunction devices which involve quantum well, superlattice or ballistic (hot carrier) transport devices.
51,for a non-single crystal material/monocrystal heterojunction device.
85,for a light emitting structure device combined with a light responsive device in an integrated structure wherein the light responsive device has a heterojunction.
90,for plural light emitting heterojunction devices.
94,through 97, for heterojunction light emitter structures.
183.1,for a heterojunction charge transfer device.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

372Coherent Light Generators,   subclasses 43 through 50for semiconductor lasers which may contain heterojunctions.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 183.1]    183.1Charge transfer device:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 183.  Subject matter in which storage sites for packets of electric charge are induced at or below the surface of the active solid-state (semiconductor) device by an electric field applied to the device and wherein carrier potential energy per unit charge minima is established at a given storage site and such minima is transferred to one or more adjacent storage sites in a serial manner and which contains a junction between two semiconductor materials of different chemical compositions each different composition having a different carrier affinity.
(1) Note. Typically, heterojunctions are between materials which additionally have different band gaps, but that is not true of all heterojunctions.

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

215,for charge transfer devices which do not involve heterojunctions.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 184]    184Light responsive structure:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 183.  Subject matter wherein the heterojunction generates an electrical output when light impinges on it.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 185]    185Staircase (including graded composition) device:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 184.  Subject matter wherein the active region contains a number of layers forming plural heterojunctions and the carrier (i.e., electron or hole) affinities of each layer incrementally increase or decrease progressively across the active region thickness, so that the energy level diagram of the active region, when under electrical bias, resembles a staircase.
(1) Note. Staircase effect devices may also be provided with a graded composition, i.e., wherein the chemical composition of the semiconductor forming the heterojunction varies in a direction either perpendicular or parallel to the junction.
(2) Note. See illustration, below, for an example of a staircase bandgap.

Image 1 for class 257 subclass 185

  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 186]    186Avalanche photodetection structure:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 184.  Subject matter wherein carriers generated in the active region of the device in response to light incident thereupon, achieve enough kinetic energy to knock further carriers from the crystalline lattice of the active region producing an avalanche or snowball increase in operating current level.
(1) Note. Avalanche photodetector devices may have bipolar transistor structure, i.e., wherein the heterojunction device has three terminals - an emitter, a collector and a base, the operating current comprising both positive and negative electrical charges.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 187]    187Having transistor structure:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 184.  Subject matter wherein the light responsive heterojunction device has three terminals - an emitter, collector, and a base; a source, drain, and gate; or a hybrid combination of each, which can provide gain or can be used as a switch.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 188]    188Having narrow energy band gap (<<1eV) layer (e.g., PbSnTe, HgCdTe, etc.):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 184.  Subject matter wherein the light responsive device contains a narrow energy band gap (<<1eV) layer (e.g., PbSnTe or HgCdTe).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 189]    189Layer is a group III-V semiconductor compound:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 188.  Subject matter wherein the narrow energy band gap layer is a semiconductor compound made of one element taken from periodic table group III elements and another element taken from periodic table group V elements.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 190]    190With lattice constant mismatch (e.g., with buffer layer to accommodate mismatch):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 183.  Subject matter wherein at least one of the materials that form the heterojunction has a crystalline lattice constant which is made to differ from the lattice constant of the other material which forms the heterojunction.
(1) Note. Typically, lattice mismatches are sought to be avoided. However, sometimes they are desired, as for example, when the resulting strain favorably affects the properties of the strained semiconductor.
(2) Note. A buffer layer may be provided to accommodate a lattice mismatch, i.e., a layer of material which mechanically separates the layers which have different lattice constants.

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

18,for strained layer heterojunctions in a superlattice.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 191]    191Having graded composition:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 183.  Subject matter wherein the chemical composition of the semiconductor forming the heterojunction varies continuously in a direction either perpendicular or parallel to the junction.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 192]    192Field effect transistor:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 183.  Subject matter wherein the heterojunction is part of a field effect transistor, i.e., wherein the current through the active heterojunction is controlled by a voltage applied between gate and source terminals of the device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 194]    194Doping on side of heterojunction with lower carrier affinity (e.g., high electron mobility transistor (HEMT)):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 192.  Subject matter wherein the heterojunction field effect transistor has impurity dopant on the side of the heterojunction with lower affinity for the charge carriers (holes or electrons) supplied by the dopant, so that the charge carriers spill over the heterojunction into the side with higher carrier affinity.
(1) Note. Typically, the spilled over charge carriers constitute the conductive channel connecting the source and drain electrodes.
(2) Note. Such devices may be provided with a channel layer of semiconductor material other than group III-V compound semiconductor (e.g., IV-VI compound semiconductor, germanium semiconductor, etc.).

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

12,through 27, for other closely related quantum well and ballistic transport field effect devices.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 195]    195Combined with diverse type device:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 194.  Subject matter wherein the heterojunction field effect transistor with impurity dopant on the side of the heterojunction with lower affinity for the charge carriers supplied by the dopant is combined with another electronic device.
(1) Note. Typical diverse devises include complementary field effect transistors, i.e., a field effect transistor of opposite conductivity type to the heterojunction field effect transistor; and field effect transistors of different threshold voltages (e.g., enhancement and depletion HEMTs in same integrated circuit).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 196]    196Both semiconductors of the heterojunction are the same conductivity type (i.e., either n or p):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 183.  Subject matter wherein the semiconductor materials which define the heterojunction are of the same conductivity type (e.g., both p or both n).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 197]    197Bipolar transistor:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 183.  Subject matter wherein the heterojunction is part of a bipolar transistor, i.e., a transistor structure whose working current passes through semiconductor material of both polarities (p and n) which form a heterojunction portion of the transistor.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

438Semiconductor Device Manufacturing: Process,   particularly subclasses 312+ for methods of forming a heterojunction bipolar transistor.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 198]    198Wide band gap emitter:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 197.  Subject matter wherein the bipolar transistor with an active heterojunction region involves a charge carrier emitter region made of a semiconductor material having an energy gap between its conduction and valence bands which is greater than the energy gap of the base region forming a heterojunction therewith.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 199]    199Avalanche diode (e.g., so-called "Zener" diode having breakdown voltage greater than 6 volts, including heterojunction IMPATT type microwave diodes):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 183.  Subject matter wherein the heterojunction device is a diode in which conduction under reverse bias conditions is caused by avalanche breakdown at an applied voltage greater than 6 volts.
(1) Note. One example of such a device is a microwave transit time device (e.g., IMPATT diode).

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

481,for a Schottky barrier avalanche diode.
551,for an avalanche diode used as a voltage reference element combined with pn junction isolation means in an integrated circuit.
603,through 606, for avalanche diodes not classified above those subclasses in this schedule, i.e., not involving a heterojunction in a non-charge transfer device, or a Schottky barrier, or one used as a voltage reference element with pn junction isolation means in an integrated circuit.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

331Oscillators,   subclasses 107+ for solid-state active element oscillators.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 200]    200Heterojunction formed between semiconductor materials which differ in that they belong to different periodic table groups (e.g., Ge (group IV) - GaAs (group III-V) or InP (group III-V) - CdTe (group II-VI)):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 183.  Subject matter wherein the heterojunction is formed between semiconductor materials which differ in that they belong to different periodic table groups (e.g., Ge (group IV) - GaAs (group III-V) or InP (group III-V) - CdTe (group II-VI)).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 201]    201Between different group IV-VI or II-VI or III-V compounds other than GaAs/GaAlAs:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 183.  Subject matter wherein the heterojunction forms a boundary between different group IV-VI or group II-VI or group III-V compounds other than GaAs/GaAlAs.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 202]    202GATE ARRAYS:
 This subclass is indented under the class definition.  Subject matter comprising a repeating geometric arrangement of individual structural units of solid-state devices, the solid-state devices of each individual structural unit being connectable into various different types of logic circuits in one integrated, monolithic chip.
(1) Note. The significant distinction between a "gate array" and other arrays of active solid state devices, such as read-only memories (ROMs), and programmable logic arrays (PLAs), is that the solid-state devices of each individual structural of a "gate array" can be connected into various different types of logic circuits, whereas in a ROM or PLA, each of the individual structural units is configured so that they must be connected into the same type of logic circuit (e.g., wherein all individual structural units are connected as NOR gates).

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

438Semiconductor Device Manufacturing: Process,   particularly subclasses 128+ for methods of forming an array of devices upon a semiconductor substrate and selectively interconnecting the same.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 203]    203With particular chip input/output means:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 202.  Subject matter wherein the gate array integrated circuit is provided with specific means to input and output electrical signals to operate the device.
(1) Note. Examples of particular chip input/output means include (a) interface circuits, i.e., circuits that connect the chip to another device or to a circuit and which produces necessary current and voltage characteristics for the interconnected devices and circuits to function properly, with particular active solid-state devices used in the interface circuits; (b) structure permitting electrical interconnection to either receive an input signal or to output an output signal; or (c) specific bonding pad or electrode configurations (i.e., wherein the input/output means includes a particular electrically conductive surface to which electrical interconnecting element (e.g., electrical leads) can be connected, or has a specified electrode configuration such as a power supply bus for the input/output means separate from those used to power the gate array devices.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 204]    204Having specific type of active device (e.g., CMOS):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 202.  Subject matter wherein the gate array is adapted to use a particular type of solid-state electronic device, e.g., complementary metal oxide semiconductor device (CMOS).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 205]    205With bipolar transistors or with FETs of only one channel conductivity type (e.g., enhancement-depletion FETs):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 202.  Subject matter wherein the specific type of active device comprises bipolar transistors or FETs of only one channel conductivity type (i.e, field effect transistors that can be used in the enhancement or depletion mode of operation, e.g., IGFETS).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 206]    206Particular layout of complementary FETs with regard to each other:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 204.  Subject matter wherein the CMOS device includes a plurality of CMOS field effect transistors specifically arranged with regard to each other.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 207]    207With particular power supply distribution means:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 202.  Subject matter wherein the gate array is provided with specific means to provide electrical power to the array.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 208]    208With particular signal path connections:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 202.  Subject matter wherein the gate array is provided with specific signal path connections.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 209]    209Programmable signal paths (e.g., with fuse elements, laser programmable, etc):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 208.  Subject matter wherein the gate array is provided with means (e.g., fuse elements or laser beam irradiation) to program the selection of signal paths in the array.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 210]    210With wiring channel area:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 208.  Subject matter wherein the signal paths in the array are located in an area separate from the active devices forming the elements of the array.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 211]    211Multi-level metallization:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 208.  Subject matter wherein the particular signal path connections include more than one layer of conductive metal deposited on a substrate.
(1) Note. The multilayer metallization may include a layer of material made up of silicon in polycrystalline form or a silicide compound.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 212]    212CONDUCTIVITY MODULATION DEVICE (E.G., UNIJUNCTION TRANSISTOR, DOUBLE-BASE DIODE, CONDUCTIVITY-MODULATED TRANSISTOR):
 This subclass is indented under the class definition.  Subject matter wherein the active solid-state device has a high resistivity semiconductor region of one conductivity type having a region of opposite conductivity type forming a pn junction with a central portion of the high resistivity layer, with structural means provided to forward bias the pn junction to inject minority carriers into the high resistivity region to increase its conductivity through conductivity modulation.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

327Miscellaneous Active Electrical Nonlinear Devices, Circuits, and Systems,   subclasses 397 and 402 for a delay controlled switch using a unijunction transistor and having a variable or fixed delay respectively; subclasses 438+ for gating circuits utilizing a unijunction transistor, and subclass 569 for a miscellaneous circuit which utilizes a unijunction transistor.
361Electricity: Electrical Systems and Devices,   subclass 91.3 for overvoltage protection with time delay, and subclass 198 for time delay with unijunction devices.
388Electricity: Motor Control Systems,   subclass 919 for unijunction transistor circuit trigger control means.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 213]    213FIELD EFFECT DEVICE:
 This subclass is indented under the class definition.  Subject matter comprising a field effect transistor, in which the density of electrical charge (electrons or holes) in a semiconductor region is controlled by a voltage applied to an adjacent region or electrode which in operation is prevented from conducting direct electrical current to or from the semiconductor region by an insulator or barrier region.
(1) Note. The conduction of current in a field effect device is along a path called a channel.
(2) Note. See Illustration, below, for various types of field effect devices.

Image 1 for class 257 subclass 213

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

331Oscillators,   subclasses 116 and 117 for field effect transistor oscillator active elements.
341Coded Data Generation or Conversion,   subclass 136 for analog to or from digital conversion devices with a field effect transistor.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 214]    214Charge injection device:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 213.  Subject matter wherein the field effect device is a device in which storage sites for packets of electric charge are induced at or below the surface of the active solid-state (semiconductor) device by an electric field applied to the device and wherein carrier potential energy per unit charge minima are established at a given storage site and such charge packets are injected into the device substrate or into a data bus.
(1) Note. This type device differs from a charge transfer device in that, in the latter, charge is transferred to adjacent charge storage sites in a serial manner whereas in the former, the charge is injected in a non-serial manner to the device substrate or a data bus.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 215]    215Charge transfer device:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 213.  Subject matter in which storage sites for packets of electric charge are induced at or below the surface of the active solid-state (semiconductor) device by an electric field applied to the device and wherein carrier potential energy per unit charge minima are established at a given storage site and such minima are transferred to one or more adjacent storage sites in a serial manner.

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

183.1,for heterojunction type charge transfer devices.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

438Semiconductor Device Manufacturing: Process,   subclass 60 for methods of making a photo-responsive semiconductor integrated circuit having a charge transfer device combined with another electrical device, subclasses 75+ for methods of making a photoresponsive charge transfer device, and subclasses 144+ for methods of making a charge transfer device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 216]    216Majority signal carrier (e.g., buried or bulk channel, or peristaltic):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 215.  Subject matter wherein the transfer is by majority carriers of the semiconductor material, i.e., by electrons in n-type semiconductor material, and is by holes in p-type semiconductor material.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 217]    217Having a conductive means in direct contact with channel (e.g., non-insulated gate):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 216.  Subject matter wherein an electrical conductor (e.g., electrode) directly contacts the channel region of the charge transfer device (e.g., a non-insulated gate (control) electrode).
(1) Note. The conductive means in direct contact with the channel may be directly connected to the substrate.
(2) Note. The conductive means in direct contact with the channel may be made of metal, forming a Schottky contact with the semiconductor channel material, i.e., a metal-semiconductor junction.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 218]    218High resistivity channel (e.g., accumulation mode) or surface channel (e.g., transfer of signal charge occurs at the surface of the semiconductor) or minority carriers at input (i.e., surface channel input):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 216.  Subject matter wherein the majority signal carrier charge transfer device has a channel made of relatively high electrical resistivity material, or where the transfer of signal charge takes place at the surface of the semiconductor, or where minority charge carriers are input into a surface channel, but majority carriers are input into the bulk or buried channel portion of the device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 219]    219Impurity concentration variation:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 216.  Subject matter wherein the majority signal carrier charge transfer device contains impurity dopant ions which vary in terms of concentration in all or part of the channel of the device.
(1) Note. The impurity dopant ion concentration may vary across the channel and channel substrate interface.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 220]    220Vertically within channel (e.g., profiled):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 219.  Subject matter wherein the impurity dopant ion concentration in the channel of the device varies across the channel in a direction perpendicular to a main surface of the device, regardless of the orientation of the channel (e.g., parallel or perpendicular to a main surface of the device).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 221]    221Along the length of the channel (e.g., doping variations for transfer directionality):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 219.  Subject matter wherein the impurity dopant ion concentration in the channel of the device varies along the length of the channel, whether the channel is horizontally or vertically oriented.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 222]    222Responsive to non-electrical external signal (e.g., imager):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 216.  Subject matter wherein the majority signal carrier charge transfer device transfers charge from one charge storage device to another in response to a non-electric signal (e.g., light, pressure, etc.).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 223]    223Having structure to improve output signal (e.g., antiblooming drain):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 222.  Subject matter wherein the non-external signal responsive device includes structural means, e.g., a drain element which reduces or eliminates optical blooming to improve the signal generated by the device in response to the non-electrical input signal.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 224]    224Channel confinement:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 216.  Subject matter wherein the majority carrier charge transfer device has means to restrict the dimensions of the thin semiconductor conductive path region (charge transfer channel) between the source and drain of the device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 225]    225Non-electrical input responsive (e.g., light responsive imager, input programmed by size of storage sites for use as a read-only memory, etc.):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 215.  Subject matter wherein the means that creates charge to be transferred is non-electrical (e.g., light).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 226]    226Sensor element and charge transfer device are of different materials or on different substrates (e.g., "hybrid"):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 225.  Subject matter wherein charge carriers generated in response to the non-electrical input are generated in material which is different than, or is located on a different substrate than, the semiconductor material that contains the charge carrier storage sites.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 227]    227With specified dopant (e.g., photoionizable, "extrinsic" detectors for infrared):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 225.  Subject matter wherein the non-electrical responsive device contains specific impurity dopants.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 228]    228Light responsive, back illuminated:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 225.  Subject matter wherein the non-electrical input responsive device has two major opposed surfaces, the channel containing the charge carrier storage sites being at or below one surface, and wherein the device is responsive to light which is incident on the other major surface.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 229]    229Having structure to improve output signal (e.g., exposure control structure):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 225.  Subject matter wherein the non-electrical input responsive device contains structural means to improve the electrical signal it generates in response to the non-electrical input signal.
(1) Note. The structural means to improve the output signal may control the amount of charge generated by light incident on the device which is transferred as output signal charge.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 230]    230With blooming suppression structure:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 229.  Subject matter wherein the structural means to improve the output signal prevents spill over of a large amount of signal charge generated at a storage site which receives a non-electrical input signal of very high intensity to adjacent storage sites.
(1) Note. The antiblooming suppression structure may include a drain structure for removing charge from storage sites.
(2) Note. The antiblooming drain structure may be located in the device beneath storage sites rather than on its surface.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 231]    2312-dimensional area architecture:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 225.  Subject matter wherein the device has a plurality of non-electrical input responsive means spread out over a two dimensional area, e.g., a matrix or array of such means.
(1) Note. One 2-dimensional architecture area may be provided for light imaging elements and a separate 2-dimensional architecture area may be provided for electrical signal storage elements.
(2) Note. The imaging element sites may also be charge transfer storage sites (e.g., frame transfer imaging device).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 232]    232Having alternating strips of sensor structures and register structures (e.g., interline imager):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 231.  Subject matter wherein the 2-dimensional area architecture has alternate strips of sensor structures and charge transfer channels.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 233]    233Sensors not overlaid by electrode (e.g., photodiodes):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 232.  Subject matter wherein the light responsive sensor elements do not have an electrode overlying them.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 234]    234Single strip of sensors (e.g., linear imager):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 225.  Subject matter wherein the non-electrical input responsive device is in the form of a line of individual sensors.
(1) Note. The single strip of sensors may be combined with a structure forming readout registers, i.e., short term storage devices for accumulating charge packets generated by the sensors and for transferring charge packets to an amplifier or output device, and wherein the sensors are placed adjacent to the readout register structure.
(2) Note. The device may have plural readout register structures.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 235]    235Electrical input:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 215.  Subject matter wherein the input to the charge transfer device to create the charge to be transferred is an electrical signal.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 236]    236Signal applied to field effect electrode:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 235.  Subject matter wherein means is provided to apply an electrical signal to an electrode which has an electrical potential barrier between the electrode and the semiconductor material of the device (e.g., a MOS dielectric or Schottky contact or reverse-biased junction), as contrasted with an ohmic electrical contact to the semiconductor.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 237]    237Charge-presetting/linear input type (e.g., fill and spill):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 236.  Subject matter wherein means is provided for the input signal to form a potential well, overfill it, drain away the excess charge and input the preset charge in the potential well into the channel.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 238]    238Input signal responsive to signal charge in charge transfer device (e.g., regeneration or feedback):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 235.  Subject matter wherein means is provided to take charge from the output of a charge transfer device and put it back into the input electrode thereof or into the input electrode of a second charge transfer device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 239]    239Signal charge detection type (e.g., floating diffusion or floating gate non-destructive output):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 215.  Subject matter wherein means is provided to detect the amount of charge being transferred in the device.
(1) Note. The charge being transferred may be measured without destroying the charge, i.e., the charge packet remains intact.
(2) Note. The charge transfer device may have a region diffused with impurity ions not electrically connected to ground to detect the magnitude of charge being transferred in the device and to output a signal proportional to that sensed charge. This is known as a floating diffusion output device. One example of such a device is a floating diffusion amplifier (FDA).
(3) Note. The charge transfer device may have a control electrode not electrically connected to ground to detect the magnitude of charge being transferred in the device and to output a signal proportional to that sensed charge. This type device is known as a floating gate output device. One example of such a device is a floating gate amplifier (FGA). Devices with plural floating gate outputs include distributed floating gate amplifiers (DFGA).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 240]    240Changing width or direction of channel (e.g., meandering channel):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 215.  Subject matter wherein the charge transfer path region changes its width or direction throughout all or part of the distance from source to drain electrode.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 241]    241Multiple channels (e.g., converging or diverging or parallel channels):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 215.  Subject matter wherein the charge transfer device contains more than one channel for charge transfer path.
(1) Note. The channels may converge or diverge, i.e., they are not parallel to each other, but change direction either toward or away from each other along their length.
(2) Note. In such devices, the charge transfer path may lie in two different (e.g., orthogonal) directions.
(3) Note. The device may include two or more parallel channels (e.g., serial- parallel-serial) wherein the charge transfer takes place in different directions, but the device includes charge transfer paths that are parallel to each other.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 242]    242Vertical charge transfer:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 215.  Subject matter wherein the charge transfer device is provided with structure for vertical charge transfer perpendicular to a main device surface.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 243]    243Channel confinement:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 215.  Subject matter containing means (e.g., pn junctions or dielectric layers) to restrict the boundaries of the charge transfer path through the device.
(1) Note. Typical channel confinement means include use of (a) an electrically insulating medium; (b) a layer of silicon polymer material (polysilicon) used to reduce electric field interaction with charge to be transferred via the channel; or (c) an impurity ion located in the device substrate, i.e., in the material on which the device is fabricated (e.g., an implanted channel stop).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 244]    244Comprising a groove:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 215.  Subject matter wherein a surface of the device includes an elongated indentation.
(1) Note. The location of the groove relative to the charge storage sites of the device is deliberately not specified in this definition.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 245]    245Structure for applying electric field into device (e.g., resistive electrode, acoustic traveling wave in channel):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 215.  Subject matter including structure (e.g., electrodes) for applying electrical energy into the device.
(1) Note. Structure for applying electrical energy into the device is typically an electrode with a relatively high electrical resistance value.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 246]    246Phase structure (e.g., doping variations to provide asymmetry for 2-phase operation; more than four phases or "electrode per bit"):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 245.  Subject matter including a plurality of gate regions or doping variation regions to permit unidirectional charge packet transfer by symmetrical or unsymmetrically phased electrical control signals applied to the device gate or gates.
(1) Note. The phase structure may be multiphase (e.g., 3-phase or 4-phase), i.e., with three sets or four sets of electrodes, respectively.
(2) Note. Search subclass 249, below, for 2-phase structure devices.
(3) Note. Means may also be provided to generate a traveling wave of non-electrical energy (e.g., acoustic energy) in the device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 247]    247Uniphase or virtual phase structure:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 246.  Subject matter wherein the device has one set of gates (control electrodes) or virtual phase structure.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 248]    2482-phase:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 246.  Subject matter wherein the device has two sets of gate electrodes.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 249]    249Electrode structures or materials:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 245.  Subject matter wherein the charge transfer device is provided with specified electrode structures or materials to apply electric field into the device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 250]    250Plural gate levels:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 249.  Subject matter wherein the electrode structures include more than one level of gate electrodes relative to a main surface of the device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 251]    251Substantially incomplete signal charge transfer (e.g., bucket brigade):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 215.  Subject matter wherein the charge transferred is less than the entire charge stored in the storage site from which it originates.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 252]    252Responsive to non-optical, non-electrical signal:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 213.  Subject matter which produces an electrical output in response to an input which is other than optical or electrical.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 253]    253Chemical (e.g., ISFET, CHEMFET):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 252.  Subject matter wherein the input is a chemical reaction or the presence of a particular chemical in close proximity to the field effect device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 254]    254Physical deformation (e.g., strain sensor, acoustic wave detector):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 252.  Subject matter wherein the input is a physical deformation.

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

416,for acoustic wave responsive devices, generally.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 255]    255With current flow along specified crystal axis (e.g., axis of maximum carrier mobility):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 213.  Subject matter wherein the field effect device employs current flow along a specified crystal axis, such as a (100) axis or a (311) axis.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 256]    256Junction field effect transistor (unipolar transistor):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 213.  Subject matter wherein the field effect device is a junction field effect transistor, i.e., in which current flow through a thin channel of semiconductor material is controlled by an electric field applied to a control region or electrode in rectifying contact (i.e., a pn junction or Schottky barrier junction) with the semiconductor material of the channel, so that the depletion region extending into the channel from the rectifying contact reduces the thickness of the undepleted portion of the channel to reduce the current flow through the channel.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

438Semiconductor Device Manufacturing: Process,   particularly subclasses 167+ for methods of forming a Schottky gate field effect device and subclasses 186+ for methods of forming a junction gate field effect device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 257]    257Light responsive or combined with light responsive device:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 256.  Subject matter wherein the JFET generates an electrical signal when light energy is incident upon it or is combined with a light responsive device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 258]    258In imaging array:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 257.  Subject matter wherein a plurality of light responsive JFETs or JFETs combined with a light responsive device are in the form of a one or two dimensional array (e.g., line or area array) for forming an image of an object, light from which is incident upon the array.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 259]    259Elongated active region acts as transmission line or distributed active element (e.g., "transmission line" field effect transistor):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 256.  Subject matter including at least one elongated active region (source, gate, or drain) which transmits or distributes charge carriers.
(1) Note. When the impedance of an element at the operating frequency is due primarily to the parameters of the element itself, and in considering the inductance, capacitance, and resistance of the element they must be considered as mixed together and spread out along the element rather than being considered as separate discrete lumps or components as in the case of simple series and parallel circuits, the element may be said to have distributed parameters.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

333Wave Transmission Lines and Networks,   appropriate subclasses for transmission lines or distributed elements, per se.
438Semiconductor Device Manufacturing: Process,   particularly subclasses 167+ for methods of forming a Schottky gate field effect device and subclasses 186+ for methods of forming a junction gate field effect device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 260]    260Same channel controlled by both junction and insulated gate electrodes, or by both Schottky barrier and pn junction gates (e.g., "taper isolated" memory cell):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 256.  Subject matter including plural gate electrodes or regions, at least one of which is isolated from the channel by a rectifying junction and at least another of which is isolated from the channel by an insulating layer therebetween, or wherein one rectifying junction may be a metal-to-semiconductor (Schottky) type and the other a pn junction.
(1) Note. In such devices, the junction gate region may be free of direct electrical connection (e.g., "taper isolated" memory cell), i.e., wherein the JFET has at least one gate electrode region which is isolated from the channel by a rectifying junction and is not directly provided with an electrical connection or terminal.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 261]    261Junction gate region free of direct electrical connection (e.g., floating junction gate memory cell structure):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 256.  Subject matter including at least one gate electrode region which is isolated from the channel by a rectifying junction and is not directly provided with an electrical connection or terminal.
(1) Note. This type of gate is a floating junction gate, as contrasted with a floating insulated gate.
(2) Note. See this class, subclass 315, for floating insulated gate field effect devices.
(3) Note. The floating gate region may capacitively store electrical charge and be used as a memory element.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 262]    262Combined with insulated gate field effect transistor (IGFET):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 256.  Subject matter including a field effect transistor having a gate (control) electrode which is electrically insulated from the channel and other electrodes of the transistor.
(1) Note. The combined JFET and IGFET may be electrically connected so that the source or drain electrode of one FET is connected to the gate electrode of the other FET.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 263]    263Vertical controlled current path:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 256.  Subject matter wherein the operating current of the JFET has a path perpendicular to a main surface of the JFET and is controlled by the gate electrode of the device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 264]    264Enhancement mode or with high resistivity channel (e.g., doping of 1015cm-3 or less):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 263.  Subject matter wherein an increase in the magnitude of the gate bias voltage increases the operating current, only leakage current flows when the gate voltage is zero, and conduction does not begin until the gate voltage reaches a threshold value; or the JFET has a channel made of relatively high electrical resistivity, e.g., due to doping with impurity ions of 1015 cm-3or less.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 265]    265In integrated circuit:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 263.  Subject matter in a single monolithic semiconductor chip with other active and/or passive devices.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 266]    266With multiple parallel current paths (e.g., grid gate):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 263.  Subject matter having plural paths for operating current flow, each of which is parallel with the other paths (e.g., having a gate electrode in the form of a matrix or grid).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 267]    267With Schottky barrier gate:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 266.  Subject matter including a gate which is formed by a metal to semiconductor rectifying junction.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 268]    268Enhancement mode:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 256.  Subject matter wherein an increase in the magnitude of the gate bias voltage increases the operating current, only leakage current flows when the gate voltage is zero, and conduction does not begin until the gate voltage reaches a threshold value.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 269]    269With means to adjust barrier height (e.g., doping profile):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 268.  Subject matter including means to adjust the electronic height of the Schottky barrier gate junction, e.g., a profiled impurity dopant concentration.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 270]    270Plural, separately connected, gates control same channel region:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 256.  Subject matter including more than one gate region or portion to control the same channel region, the regions being provided with separate electrical connections.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 271]    271Load element or constant current source (e.g., with source to gate connection):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 256.  Subject matter structured to function as an electrical load element or a source of constant current, e.g., with a source to gate electrical connection.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 272]    272Junction field effect transistor in integrated circuit:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 256.  Subject matter located in a single monolithic semiconductor chip with other active and/or passive devices.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 273]    273With bipolar device:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 272.  Subject matter located in an integrated circuit with a device which operates using both positive and negative charge carriers.
(1) Note. An active solid-state electronic device that contains both bipolar and field effect transistors may be referred to as a BI-FET device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 274]    274Complementary junction field effect transistors:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 272.  Subject matter which is located in and integrated with an opposite conductivity type JFET, i.e., an N channel JFET together with a P channel JFET.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 275]    275Microwave integrated circuit (e.g., microstrip type):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 272.  Subject matter structured to operate at microwave frequencies in an integrated circuit containing microwave components (e.g., microstrip transmission lines).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 276]    276With contact or heat sink extending through hole in semiconductor substrate, or with electrode suspended over substrate (e.g., air bridge):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 275.  Subject matter containing a hole in the semiconductor substrate and an electrical contact or a heat dissipation means extending through the hole.

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

522,for integrated circuit devices employing air isolation.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 277]    277With capacitive or inductive elements:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 275.  Subject matter having passive elements with electrical inductance or capacitance.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 278]    278With devices vertically spaced in different layers of semiconductor material (e.g., "3-dimensional" integrated circuit):
 Subject matter under 272 wherein the JFET and other active and/or passive devices in that chip are located in mutually perpendicular planes in different layers of semiconductor device material.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 279]    279Pn junction gate in compound semiconductor material (e.g., GaAs):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 256.  Subject matter including a pn junction gate formed in a semiconductor material that is a compound, e.g., GaAs, as contrasted to an elemental semiconductor such as silicon or germanium.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 280]    280With Schottky gate:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 256.  Subject matter including a metal to semiconductor rectifying (i.e., Schottky barrier) gate electrode.
(1) Note. A Schottky barrier gate JFET is referred to commonly as a MESFET (MEtal-Semiconductor field effect transistor).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 281]    281Schottky gate to silicon semiconductor:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 280.  Subject matter wherein the semiconductor material contacting the gate electrode material is made of silicon.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 282]    282Gate closely aligned to source region:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 280.  Subject matter wherein the gate region is closely aligned with the source region.

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

332,346, 387, and 797, for other self-aligned gate devices.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 283]    283With groove or overhang for alignment:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 282.  Subject matter wherein the device has a groove or overhang for alignment of the gate and source regions.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 284]    284Schottky gate in groove:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 280.  Subject matter wherein the MESFET has a groove in at least one of its surfaces and the Schottky gate is located therein.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 285]    285With profiled channel dopant concentration or profiled gate region dopant concentration (e.g., maximum dopant concentration below surface):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 256.  Subject matter wherein the JFET has a variable impurity atom dopant concentration in the channel or gate region, e.g., wherein the maximum dopant concentration is located below the surface of the device, in either the channel or gate region.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 286]    286With non-uniform channel thickness or width:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 256.  Subject matter wherein the channel has a non-uniform width or thickness (which lies in a plane perpendicular to both the channel length and width).
(1) Note. Channel length is measured along a line connecting the source and drain, while channel width is measured perpendicular to the length. Both length and width lie in a plane, parallel to the device surface. See the illustration, below.

Image 1 for class 257 subclass 286

  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 287]    287With multiple channels or channel segments connected in parallel, or with channel much wider than length between source and drain (e.g., power JFET):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 256.  Subject matter including more than one channel or channel segments/portions which are electrically connected in parallel, or wherein the device has a channel whose width is much wider than the channel length, the channel length being the distance between the source and drain of the JFET.

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

134+,for JFET devices, in general.
504,for JFET type isolation.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 288]    288Having insulated electrode (e.g., MOSFET, MOS diode):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 213.  Subject matter including an electrode which is electrically insulated from the active semiconductor region of the device (e.g., a metal oxide semiconductor insulated electrode).
(1) Note. Typically the insulated electrode is the control or gate electrode.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

438Semiconductor Device Manufacturing: Process,   particularly subclasses 197+ for methods of forming an insulated gate field effect device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 289]    289Significant semiconductor chemical compound in bulk crystal (e.g., GaAs):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 288.  Subject matter wherein the insulated electrode field effect device contains a significant semiconductor chemical compound in a bulk (as contrasted with thin film) crystal (e.g., GaAs).

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

1+,for bulk effect devices.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 290]    290Light responsive or combined with light responsive device:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 288.  Subject matter which generates an electrical signal when light is incident on it or is combined with a light responsive device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 291]    291Imaging array:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 290.  Subject matter comprising a one or more dimensional array of light responsive devices which generate an electronic image of light from an object incident thereupon.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 292]    292Photodiodes accessed by FETs:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 291.  Subject matter comprising light responsive diodes electrically coupled to field effect transistors.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 293]    293Photoresistors accessed by FETs, or photodetectors separate from FET chip:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 291.  Subject matter comprising light responsive resistors coupled to field effect transistors.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 294]    294With shield, filter, or lens:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 291.  Subject matter including means to shield the array from unwanted light, to filter light incident on the array, or to refract light incident on the array (e.g., to focus an image of an object on the array).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 295]    295With ferroelectric material layer:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 288.  Subject matter including a layer of material which exhibits a spontaneous dipole moment.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 296]    296Insulated gate capacitor or insulated gate transistor combined with capacitor (e.g., dynamic memory cell):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 288.  Subject matter wherein the device gate acts as a capacitor (i.e., wherein a positive potential placed on the gate electrode creates a negative charge on the other side of the insulator in the semiconductor material of the device, and vice versa) or the device is a transistor and it is combined with a capacitor.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

438Semiconductor Device Manufacturing: Process,   particularly subclasses 239+ for methods of forming an insulated gate field effect transistor combined with a capacitor and subclasses 386 through 399 for manufacture of a capacitors, per se, utilizing a semiconductor substrate.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 297]    297With means for preventing charge leakage due to minority carrier generation (e.g., alpha generated soft error protection or "dark current" leakage protection):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 296.  Subject matter wherein the device further includes means (1) to prevent electrical charge in the capacitor or capacitive type insulated gate region of the transistor to leak therefrom, or (2) to prevent excess leakage currents across pn junctions due to generation of minority carriers in the device for example (a) alpha particles incident on the device or (b) thermal generation of electron-hole pairs, or (c) minority carriers injected into the semiconductor substrate by other devices in the same substrate.
(1) Note. Junctions across which excess leakage is sought to be prevented typically include (a) the source or drain junction of an insulated gate field effect transistor or (b) a connecting BIT line of a memory array which is isolated by a pn junction from a semiconductor substrate.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 298]    298Capacitor for signal storage in combination with non-volatile storage means:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 296.  Subject matter including a capacitor to store an electrical signal in combination with charge storage means that can retain the charge even in the absence of operating power.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 299]    299Structure configured for voltage converter (e.g., charge pump, substrate bias generator):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 296.  Subject matter including structure for use as a voltage converter (e.g., a device for changing AC to DC or vice versa, or for producing a negative DC voltage relative to a reference potential from a positive DC voltage relative to that reference potential).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 300]    300Capacitor coupled to, or forms gate of, insulated gate field effect transistor (e.g., non-destructive readout dynamic memory cell structure):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 296.  Subject matter wherein the capacitor is electrically connected to or forms the gate of an insulated gate field effect transistor (IGFET), e.g., a non-destructive readout dynamic memory cell structure in which the charge state of the capacitor may be read out or determined by the conduction state of the field effect transistor, without discharging the capacitor in the readout process.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 301]    301Capacitor in trench:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 296.  Subject matter wherein the capacitor is located in a recess in the semiconductor substrate.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 302]    302Vertical transistor:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 301.  Subject matter combined with a vertical transistor (i.e., one in which the operating current flow is perpendicular to a main surface of the device).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 303]    303Stacked capacitor:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 301.  Subject matter wherein the trench capacitor device contains a number of capacitor electrode regions stacked vertically above each other or wherein the capacitor and the transistor are located such that one overlies the other.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 304]    304Storage node isolated by dielectric from semiconductor substrate:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 301.  Subject matter including an electrode upon which the charge varies as an indication of the memory state of the device (e.g., memory cell), and wherein the electrode is electrically isolated by a dielectric material from the semiconductor substrate of the device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 305]    305With means to insulate adjacent storage nodes (e.g., channel stops or field oxide):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 301.  Subject matter including means for electrically insulating an electrode upon which the charge varies as an indication of the memory state of the device (e.g., a memory cell).
(1) Note. The insulating means may, for example, comprise a channel stop or a field oxide.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 306]    306Stacked capacitor:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 296.  Subject matter wherein the capacitor device contains a number of capacitor electrode regions overlying each other or where the capacitor and the transistor are located such that one overlies the other.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 307]    307Parallel interleaved capacitor electrode pairs (e.g., interdigitized):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 306.  Subject matter wherein the number of overlying capacitor electrodes is more than one and the overlapping region of each capacitor electrode pair is made up of electrodes from one capacitor interleaved with the electrodes of another capacitor.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 308]    308With capacitor electrodes connection portion located centrally thereof (e.g., fin electrodes with central post):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 307.  Subject matter wherein the capacitor electrodes are connected together at a centrally located portion thereof, e.g., by a center post.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 309]    309With increased effective electrode surface area (e.g., tortuous path, corrugated, or textured electrodes):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 306.  Subject matter wherein a capacitor electrode has an increased effective surface relative to a flat capacitor plate, because of twists, turns, curves, corrugations, windings or other surface area increasing features of a capacitor electrode.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 310]    310With high dielectric constant insulator (e.g., Ta2O5):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 296.  Subject matter wherein the capacitor device includes an insulating element which has a dielectric constant (e.g., Ta2O5) greater than 7.5, the dielectric constant of Si3N4.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 311]    311Storage Node isolated by dielectric from semiconductor substrate:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 296.  Subject matter wherein the device has an electrode upon which the charge varies as an indication of the memory state of the device (e.g., memory cell) which electrode is electrically isolated by a dielectric material from the semiconductor substrate of the device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 312]    312Voltage variable capacitor (i. e., capacitance varies with applied voltage):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 296.  Subject matter wherein the device changes its capacitance depending on the amount of voltage applied thereto.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 313]    313Inversion layer capacitor:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 296.  Subject matter wherein one plate of the capacitor device is a layer of minority carriers opposite in conductivity type to the doping of the semiconductor which are induced by applied voltage.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 314]    314Variable threshold (e.g., floating gate memory device):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 288.  Subject matter wherein the device has a threshold voltage for current conduction which may be varied (e.g., by storage of charge in an insulator layer adjacent the channel in response to an electrical "write" signal).

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

239,for a floating gate signal charge detection type charge transfer device.
261,for a floating gate JFET.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

365Static Information Storage and Retrieval,   appropriate subclass for read/write static storage systems, and subclasses 185.01+ for predominate structure of floating gate memory storage (e.g., flash memory), particularly subclass 185.24 for threshold setting (e.g., conditioning).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 315]    315With floating gate electrode:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 314.  Subject matter including a gate electrode which is free of direct electrical connection.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

365Static Information Storage and Retrieval,   appropriate subclass for read/write static storage systems, and subclasses 185.01+ for predominate structure of floating gate memory storage (e.g., flash memory), particularly subclass 185.24 for threshold setting (e.g., conditioning).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 316]    316With additional contacted control electrode:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 315.  Subject matter including an additional control (gate) electrode that has a direct electrical contact thereto.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 317]    317With irregularities on electrode to facilitate charging or discharging of floating electrode:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 316.  Subject matter wherein the floating or additional control (gate) electrode has physical surface irregularities to facilitate charging or discharging of the floating gate electrode.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 318]    318Additional control electrode is doped region in semiconductor substrate:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 316.  Subject matter wherein the additional control (gate) electrode is a specific region in the semiconductor substrate which is doped with impurity ions.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 319]    319Plural additional contacted control electrodes:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 316.  Subject matter including more than one additional control (gate) electrode.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 320]    320Separate control electrodes for charging and for discharging floating electrode:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 319.  Subject matter wherein the device has separate control (gate) electrodes for charging and discharging a floating electrode.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 321]    321With thin insulator region for charging or discharging floating electrode by quantum mechanical tunneling:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 316.  Subject matter including a thin insulator region for charging of discharging a floating electrode by means of quantum mechanical tunneling of charge carriers.

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

9,through 25, 28, and 30 through 39, for active solid-state devices involving this discrete layer type of quantum mechanical tunneling.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 322]    322With charging or discharging by control voltage applied to source or drain region (e.g., by avalanche breakdown of drain junction):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 316.  Subject matter wherein the variable threshold device is structured to charge or discharge a floating gate electrode by a control voltage applied to source or drain region (e.g., by avalanche breakdown of drain junction).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 323]    323With means to facilitate light erasure:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 315.  Subject matter including means to make erasure of the electrical charge content of the device by light easier (e.g., by providing an ultraviolet light window layer over the floating gate electrode to reduce absorption of erasing light).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 324]    324Multiple insulator layers (e.g., MNOS structure):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 314.  Subject matter including more than one layer of electrically insulating material (e.g., metal-nitride-oxide (MNOS) semiconductor).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 325]    325Non-homogeneous composition insulator layer (e.g., graded composition layer or layer with inclusions):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 324.  Subject matter wherein at least one layer has a non-homogeneous composition (e.g., a layer which varies in composition along at least one dimension thereof, or has inclusions of foreign material therein).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 326]    326With additional, non-memory control electrode or channel portion (e.g., accessing field effect transistor structure):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 324.  Subject matter wherein the multiple insulator layer device has an additional, non-memory control electrode or channel portion, for example, for forming an accessing field effect transistor structure.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 327]    327Short channel insulated gate field effect transistor:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 288.  Subject matter wherein the field effect device is an insulated gate field effect transistor with a short channel (i.e., one wherein the length of the channel is sufficiently short that the threshold voltage of the transistor depends on the length of the channel, or where the channel is specified to be less than 2 micrometers in length).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 328]    328Vertical channel or double diffused insulated gate field effect device provided with means to protect against excess voltage (e.g., gate protection diode):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 327.  Subject matter wherein the short channel IGFET has a vertical current channel structure or the short channel IGFETs active channel region has a graded dopant concentration decreasing with distance from source region (e.g., double diffused, DMOS transistor) and wherein means are provided to protect the short channel against overvoltages (e.g., a gate insulator protection diode).
(1) Note. Gate protection diodes in IGFETs in general may be found in this class, subclass 355, and indented subclasses.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 329]    329Gate controls vertical charge flow portion of channel (e.g., VMOS device):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 327.  Subject matter wherein the short channel IGFET has a channel portion in which charge flows in a substantially vertical direction and wherein the charge flowing therein is controlled by the gate electrode.
(1) Note. An IGFET"s short channel may have horizontal as well as vertical charge flow portions. This subclass provides for those devices in which the vertical charge flow portion, i.e., the portion of the channel in which charge is flowing substantially in a vertical direction, of the channel is controlled by the gate.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 330]    330Gate electrode in groove:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 329.  Subject matter wherein the gate controlled vertical channel device has a groove located therein and a gate electrode located in the groove.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 331]    331Plural gate electrodes or grid shaped gate electrode:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 330.  Subject matter wherein there is more than one gate electrode located in a groove or wherein the gate electrode has a grid or mesh type shape.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 332]    332Gate electrode self-aligned with groove:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 330.  Subject matter wherein the gate electrode is self-aligned with the groove.

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

282,283, 346, 387, and 797, for other self-aligned gate devices.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 333]    333With thick insulator to reduce gate capacitance in non-channel areas (e.g., thick oxide over source or drain region):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 330.  Subject matter wherein the device with a gate electrode in a groove is provided with a thick insulator material layer to reduce gate capacitance in non-channel areas, e.g., a thick layer of oxide located over the source or drain region.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 334]    334In integrated circuit structure:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 330.  Subject matter wherein the device is located in an integrated circuit structure.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 335]    335Active channel region has a graded dopant concentration decreasing with distance from source region (e.g., double diffused device, DMOS transistor):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 327.  Subject matter wherein the short channel IGFET"s active channel region has a graded dopant concentration decreasing with distance from source region, e.g., double diffused device or a DMOS transistor.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 336]    336With lightly doped portion of drain region adjacent channel (e.g., LDD structure):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 335.  Subject matter wherein the graded channel doping short channel IGFET has a relatively light concentration of dopant in the portion of the drain region which lies adjacent to the current conducting channel.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 337]    337In integrated circuit structure:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 335.  Subject matter wherein the graded channel doping short channel IGFET is contained in a single monolithic chip with other active or passive solid-state electronic devices.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 338]    338With complementary field effect transistor:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 337.  Subject matter wherein the graded channel doping short channel IGFET is contained in a single monolithic chip with a field effect transistor with a polarity type opposite to that of the graded channel doping short channel IGFET.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 339]    339With means to increase breakdown voltage:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 335.  Subject matter wherein the graded channel doping short channel IGFET includes means to increase the voltage that may be applied to the device without electrical breakdown of the device occurring.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 340]    340With means (other than self-alignment of the gate electrode) to decrease gate capacitance (e.g., shield electrode):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 335.  Subject matter wherein the graded channel doping short channel IGFET has means (other than self-alignment of the gate electrode) (e.g., an shielding electrode) to decrease the capacitance of the gate electrode.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 341]    341Plural sections connected in parallel (e.g., power MOSFET):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 335.  Subject matter wherein the graded channel doping short channel IGFET has more than one section and a plurality of those sections are connected electrically in parallel (e.g., to form a power MOSFET).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 342]    342With means to reduce ON resistance:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 341.  Subject matter wherein the device further contains means to reduce the resistance of the device when it is conducting electricity, i.e., in the ON condition.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 343]    343All contacts on same surface (e.g., lateral structure):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 335.  Subject matter wherein all electrical contacts of the device are located on the same external surface of the device, e.g., a lateral structure device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 344]    344With lightly doped portion of drain region adjacent channel (e.g., LDD structure):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 327.  Subject matter wherein the short channel IGFET has a lightly doped portion of the drain region adjacent channel (e.g., a lightly doped drain structure).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 345]    345With means to prevent sub-surface currents, or with non-uniform channel doping:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 327.  Subject matter wherein the short channel IGFET contains means to prevent current from flowing below the surface of the device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 346]    346Gate electrode overlaps the source or drain by no more than depth of source or drain (e.g., self-aligned gate):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 327.  Subject matter wherein the short channel IGFET has a gate electrode which overlaps the source or drain or both by no more than the thickness of the depth of the source or drain (e.g., a self-aligned gate).
(1) Note. A self-aligned gate is one which is aligned between the source and drain via a masking process which uses the gate material itself to achieve the alignment.

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

282,283, 332, 387, and 797, for other self-aligned gate devices.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 347]    347Single crystal semiconductor layer on insulating substrate (SOI):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 288.  Subject matter wherein the field effect device has a single crystal semiconductor layer located on a substrate made of electrically insulating material.
(1) Note. See this class, subclass 49, for active solid-state devices in non-single crystalline layers which may be on insulating substrates. See this class, subclass 506, for active devices in single crystal layers which are dielectrically isolated, but do not include field effect devices.
(2) Note. Material deposited as polycrystalline or amorphous and then recrystallized, as by a scanning laser beam, is considered to be non-single crystalline for purposes of determining classification between this subclass and subclass 49, since such recrystallization typically leaves residual grain boundaries and is thus large grained polycrystalline material, rather than true single crystal material.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

438Semiconductor Device Manufacturing: Process,   particularly subclasses 149+ for methods of forming a field effect transistor on an insulating substrate or layer (e.g., SOS, SOI, etc.).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 348]    348Depletion mode field effect transistor:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 347.  Subject matter wherein the SOI device is a field effect transistor which operates in the depletion mode, i.e., a FET which passes maximum operating current with the gate to source biased to zero volts.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 349]    349With means (e.g., a buried channel stop layer) to prevent leakage current along the interface of the semiconductor layer and the insulating substrate:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 347.  Subject matter wherein the SOI device includes means to prevent undesirable stray current to flow along the interface between the semiconductor layer and the insulating substrate.
(1) Note. The means to prevent this stray current may be, for example, a thin layer of doped semiconductor material for trapping charge /which would otherwise flow through a channel in the device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 350]    350Insulated electrode device is combined with diverse type device (e.g., complementary MOSFETs, FET with resistor, etc.):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 347.  Subject matter wherein the SOI device is combined with a different solid-state active or passive device, e.g., to form complementary MOSFETs or a FET combined with a resistor, etc.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 351]    351Complementary field effect transistor structures only (i.e., not including bipolar transistors, resistors, or other components):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 350.  Subject matter wherein the field effect transistor and the diverse type device are field effect transistors which are complementary in conductivity type to each other (e.g., provide a CMOS structure).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 352]    352Substrate is single crystal insulator (e.g., sapphire or spinel):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 347.  Subject matter wherein the SOI substrate is a single crystal insulator (e.g., sapphire or spinel).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 353]    353Single crystal islands of semiconductor layer containing only one active device:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 352.  Subject matter wherein the single crystal insulator SOI substrate contains single crystal islands of semiconductor material, each island containing only one active solid-state device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 354]    354Including means to eliminate island edge effects (e.g., insulating filling between islands, or ions in island edges):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 353.  Subject matter wherein means are provided to eliminate deleterious effects caused by the edges of each island, such means including, for example, electrically insulating filling between islands, or channel stop regions located in the edges of islands.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 355]    355With overvoltage protective means:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 288.  Subject matter wherein the device has means to protect it against applied voltage which exceeds that which the device can tolerate before being damaged.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 356]    356For protecting against gate insulator breakdown:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 355.  Subject matter wherein the overvoltage protection means is structured to protect against electrical breakdown (shorting) of the gate insulator.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 357]    357In complementary field effect transistor integrated circuit:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 356.  Subject matter wherein the device includes complementary field effect transistors located in a single monolithic chip.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 358]    358Including resistor element:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 357.  Subject matter wherein the device includes an electrical resistor.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 359]    359As thin film structure (e.g., polysilicon resistor):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 358.  Subject matter wherein the resistor is in the form of a thin film resistor (e.g., a polysilicon resistor).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 360]    360Protection device includes insulated gate transistor structure (e.g., combined with resistor element):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 356.  Subject matter wherein the means for protecting against insulator breakdown is an insulated gate transistor structure.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 361]    361For operation as bipolar or punchthrough element:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 360.  Subject matter wherein the insulated gate transistor structure protection device is configured to operate as a bipolar transistor or to conduct by punchthrough of a depletion region from one pn junction to another pn junction upon application of an overvoltage.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 362]    362Punchthrough or bipolar element:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 356.  Subject matter wherein the means for protecting against insulator breakdown is a bipolar device or is configured to conduct by punchthrough of a depletion region from one pn junction to another pn junction upon application of an overvoltage.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 363]    363Including resistor element:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 356.  Subject matter including an electrical resistive element.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 364]    364With resistive gate electrode:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 288.  Subject matter including a gate (control) electrode which has high electrical resistivity.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 365]    365With plural, separately connected, gate electrodes in same device:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 288.  Subject matter wherein the device has more than one gate (control) electrode, in the same device, with separate electrical connections to the plural gate (control) electrodes.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 366]    366Overlapping gate electrodes:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 365.  Subject matter wherein at least one of the plural gate electrodes overlaps another gate electrode.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 367]    367Insulated gate controlled breakdown of pn junction (e.g., field plate diode):
 Subject matter under 288 including an electrically insulated gate electrode which is used to control the voltage applied to the device to cause breakdown of the pn junction.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 368]    368Insulated gate field effect transistor in integrated circuit:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 288.  Subject matter wherein the device is an insulated gate field effect transistor located in a single monolithic semiconductor chip circuit.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 369]    369Complementary insulated gate field effect transistors:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 368.  Subject matter wherein the device is made up of IGFETs that have opposite conductivity channels (p-type and n-type).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 370]    370Combined with bipolar transistor:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 369.  Subject matter including at least one bipolar transistor.
(1) Note. An active solid-state electronic device that contains both bipolar and field effect transistors may be referred to as a BI-FET device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 371]    371Complementary transistors in wells of opposite conductivity types more heavily doped than the substrate region in which they are formed, e.g., twin wells:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 369.  Subject matter wherein the complementary IGFETs are located in wells of semiconductor material with electrical conductivity opposite to that of the respective transistors and wherein the wells contain a higher concentration of dopant ions than the semiconductor substrate in which they are located (e.g., twin wells).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 372]    372With means to prevent latchup or parasitic conduction channels:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 369.  Subject matter including means to prevent conduction between regions of complementary IGFETs which form a (parasitic) regenerative structure which remains ON in the absence of a triggering signal.
(1) Note. For a definition of the regenerative structure of this subclass type, see subclass 107.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 373]    373With pn junction to collect injected minority carriers to prevent parasitic bipolar transistor action:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 372.  Subject matter wherein the means for preventing latchup includes a pn junction for collecting minority carriers injected into the device to prevent operation of parasitic bipolar transistors which are otherwise capable of forming part of a parasitic regenerative switching structure.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 374]    374Dielectric isolation means (e.g., dielectric layer in vertical grooves):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 372.  Subject matter wherein the means to prevent latchup includes means to dielectrically isolate the individual IGFETs from each other.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 375]    375With means to reduce substrate spreading resistance (e.g., heavily doped substrate):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 372.  Subject matter wherein the means to prevent latchup includes means to reduce the electrical resistance of the substrate to reduce voltage differences between different parts of the substrate due to currents flowing therethrough.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 376]    376With barrier region of reduced minority carrier lifetime (e.g., heavily doped P+ region to reduce electron minority carrier lifetime, or containing deep level impurity or crystal damage), or with region of high threshold voltage (e.g., heavily doped channel stop region):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 372.  Subject matter wherein the means to prevent latchup includes an electrical barrier region whose minority carrier lifetime is reduced from its normal value (e.g., by employing heavily doped P+ region to reduce electron minority carrier lifetime, or contains a deep level impurity or crystal damage) or has a region of high threshold voltage (e.g., a heavily doped channel stop region).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 377]    377With polysilicon interconnections to source or drain regions (e.g., polysilicon laminated with silicide):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 369.  Subject matter wherein the device contains electrical interconnections to the source and/or drain regions of the IGFETs which are made of polycrystalline silicon (e.g., polysilicon laminated with a silicide).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 378]    378Combined with bipolar transistor:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 368.  Subject matter wherein the IGFET is combined with a bipolar transistor in a single semiconductor chip.
(1) Note. An active solid-state electronic device that contains both bipolar and field effect transistors may be referred to as a BI-FET device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 379]    379Combined with passive components (e.g., resistors):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 368.  Subject matter wherein the IGFET is combined with passive electronic solid-state devices (e.g., resistors, inductors, transmission lines, etc.) in the integrated circuit.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 380]    380Polysilicon resistor:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 379.  Subject matter wherein the device is combined with a resistor made of a polycrystalline form of silicon.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 381]    381With multiple levels of polycrystalline silicon:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 380.  Subject matter wherein the integrated circuit has more than one layer of polycrystalline silicon.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 382]    382With contact to source or drain region of refractory material (e.g., polysilicon, tungsten, or silicide):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 368.  Subject matter wherein the device has an electrical contact to its source region or drain region wherein the contact is made of a refractory or platinum group metal, or of other material which has a melting point above that of the iron group of metals and which is resistant to heat (e.g., of polysilicon, tungsten or silicide).
(1) Note. Refractory materials include refractory metals and platinum group metals which include metals found in groups IVA, VA, VIA, or VIIIA (other than iron (Fe), nickel (Ni) or cobalt (Co)) of the periodic table of the elements.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 383]    383Contact of refractory or platinum group metal (e.g., molybdenum, tungsten, or titanium):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 382.  Subject matter wherein the contact to the source or drain region is made of a refractory or platinum group metal (e.g., molybdenum, tungsten, or titanium).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 384]    384Including silicide:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 382.  Subject matter wherein the contacts are made of a silicide.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 385]    385Multiple polysilicon layers:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 382.  Subject matter wherein the refractory material contact to source or drain region includes more than one layer of polysilicon.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 386]    386With means to reduce parasitic capacitance:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 368.  Subject matter wherein the device contains means to reduce unwanted capacitance between elements of the field effect transistor.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 387]    387Gate electrode overlaps at least one of source or drain by no more than depth of source or drain (e.g., self-aligned gate):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 386.  Subject matter wherein the gate electrode overlaps at least one source or drain by no more than the depth of the source or the drain (e.g., self-aligned gate).

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

282,283, 328, 342, and 794, for other self-aligned gate devices.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 388]    388Gate electrode consists of refractory or platinum group metal or silicide:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 387.  Subject matter wherein the gate electrode contains only refractory or platinum group metal (e.g., molybdenum, titanium or tungsten, or a silicide).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 389]    389With thick insulator over source or drain region:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 386.  Subject matter wherein the means to reduce the parasitic capacitance is a thick insulating material layer located over the source or drain region.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 390]    390Matrix or array of field effect transistors (e.g., array of FETs only some of which are completed, or structure for mask programmed read-only memory (ROM)):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 368.  Subject matter wherein the integrated circuit contains a two dimensional array of IGFETs, only some of which are completed devices, or the integrated circuit contains structure for a mask programmed read-only memory device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 391]    391Selected groups of complete field effect devices having different threshold voltages (e.g., different channel dopant concentrations):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 390.  Subject matter wherein selected groups of complete IGFETs have different threshold voltages above which the IGFETs will operate (e.g., different IGFETs have different current carrying channel impurity dopant concentrations).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 392]    392Insulated gate field effect transistors of different threshold voltages in same integrated circuit (e.g., enhancement and depletion mode):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 368.  Subject matter wherein the IGFETs have different threshold voltages in the same integrated circuit (e.g., both enhancement and depletion mode IGFETs in the same integrated circuit).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 393]    393Insulated gate field effect transistor adapted to function as load element for switching insulated gate field effect transistor:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 368.  Subject matter wherein the device is configured to function as a load element for another IGFET which is switched OFF and ON by signals applied thereto.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 394]    394With means to prevent parasitic conduction channels:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 368.  Subject matter wherein the device includes means to prevent the formation of unwanted parasitic field effect transistor elements.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 395]    395Thick insulator portion:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 394.  Subject matter wherein the means to prevent parasitic conduction channels from forming includes a thick insulator portion.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 396]    396Recessed into semiconductor surface:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 395.  Subject matter wherein the thick insulator portion is recessed into the semiconductor device surface.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 397]    397In vertical-walled groove:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 396.  Subject matter wherein the recessed thick isolator portion is in a groove in the surface of the overall device which extends perpendicular to the surface of the overall device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 398]    398Combined with heavily doped channel stop portion:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 396.  Subject matter wherein the device is combined with regions of heavy doping concentration.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 399]    399Combined with heavily doped channel stop portion:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 395.  Subject matter wherein the device is combined with regions of heavy doping concentration.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 400]    400With heavily doped channel stop portion:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 394.  Subject matter wherein the means to prevent parasitic conduction channels from forming comprises a region of heavy doping concentration.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 401]    401With specified physical layout (e.g., ring gate, source/drain regions shared between plural FETs, plural sections connected in parallel to form power MOSFET):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 368.  Subject matter wherein the device has a specific physical configuration or layout (e.g., ring gate).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 402]    402With permanent threshold adjustment (e.g., depletion mode):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 288.  Subject matter wherein the device includes means for permanently adjusting the threshold voltage at which the device conducts (e.g., depletion mode IGFETs).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 403]    403With channel conductivity dopant same type as that of source and drain:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 402.  Subject matter wherein the device has a channel which is doped with impurity dopant to be the same conductivity type (n or p) as the source and drain.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 404]    404Non-uniform channel doping:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 403.  Subject matter wherein the dopant concentration varies along at least one dimension of the channel.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 405]    405With gate insulator containing specified permanent charge:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 402.  Subject matter wherein the device has a gate insulator with a specified permanent electrostatic charge therein.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 406]    406Plural gate insulator layers:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 405.  Subject matter wherein the gate insulator is made up of a plurality of gate insulator layers.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 407]    407With gate electrode of controlled workfunction material (e.g., low workfunction gate material):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 402.  Subject matter wherein the device has a gate electrode selected to have a controlled amount of minimum energy needed to be applied thereto to liberate an electron from its Fermi-level and send it into free space.

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

10,and 11, for low workfunction material layer used for electron emission.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 408]    408Including lightly doped drain portion adjacent channel (e.g., lightly doped drain, LDD device):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 288.  Subject matter wherein the device includes a drain portion adjacent the current channel which is lightly doped with impurities.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 409]    409With means to increase breakdown voltage (e.g., field shield electrode, guard ring, etc.):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 288.  Subject matter wherein the device has means to increase the voltage that can be applied to the device without causing electrical breakdown of the device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 410]    410Gate insulator includes material (including air or vacuum) other than SiO2:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 288.  Subject matter wherein the gate electrode insulator includes material other than silicon dioxide.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 411]    411Composite or layered gate insulator (e.g., mixture such as silicon oxynitride):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 410.  Subject matter wherein the gate insulator is made of a composite material or layers of different materials.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 412]    412Gate electrode of refractory material (e.g., polysilicon or a silicide of a refractory or platinum group metal):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 288.  Subject matter wherein the device has a gate electrode which is made of a refractory material (e.g., polysilicon or a silicide of a metal found in groups IVA, VA, VIA, or VIIIA (other than iron (Fe), nickel (Ni) or cobalt (Co)) of the periodic table of the elements.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 413]    413Polysilicon laminated with silicide:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 412.  Subject matter wherein the refractory material is a laminate comprising at least one layer of polysilicon and one layer of a silicide.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 414]    414RESPONSIVE TO NON-ELECTRICAL SIGNAL (E.G., CHEMICAL, STRESS, LIGHT, OR MAGNETIC FIELD SENSORS):
 This subclass is indented under the class definition.  Subject matter wherein the device generates an electrical signal in response to a non-electrical signal (e.g., light, heat, pressure) incident thereon.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 415]    415Physical deformation:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 414.  Subject matter wherein the non-electrical signal incident upon the active solid-state device is a force which physically deforms the device.

SEE OR SEARCH CLASS:

438Semiconductor Device Manufacturing: Process,   particularly subclasses 50+ for methods of forming semiconductor devices which are responsive to physical deformation.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 416]    416Acoustic wave:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 415.  Subject matter wherein the physically deforming force is in the form of a traveling vibration made up of sound energy.

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

254,for field effect acoustic wave responsive devices.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 417]    417Strain sensors:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 415.  Subject matter wherein the physically deforming force is that of an applied stress.

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

254,for field effect strain sensor devices.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 418]    418With means to concentrate stress:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 417.  Subject matter wherein the active solid-state device has means to concentrate the physically deforming stress.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 419]    419With thinned central active portion of semiconductor surrounded by thick insensitive portion (e.g. diaphragm type strain gauge):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 418.  Subject matter wherein the means to concentrate the physically deforming stress is a thinned central active portion of semiconductor surrounded by a thick insensitive portion (e.g., a diaphragm type strain gauge).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 420]    420Means to reduce sensitivity to physical deformation:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 415.  Subject matter wherein the device contains means to reduce the change in electrical output signal in response to physical deformation of the active junction.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 421]    421Magnetic field:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 414.  Subject matter wherein the non-electrical signal to which the active solid-state device responds, is a magnetic field.

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

108,for regenerative type magnetic field responsive devices
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 422]    422With magnetic field directing means (e.g., shield, pole piece, etc.):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 421.  Subject matter wherein means is provided for directing a magnetic field to the active solid-state device.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 423]    423Bipolar transistor magnetic field sensor (e.g., lateral bipolar transistor):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 421.  Subject matter wherein the active solid-state device includes a bipolar transistor as the magnetic field sensor.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 424]    424Sensor with region of high carrier recombination (e.g., magnetodiode with carriers deflected to recombination region by magnetic field):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 421.  Subject matter wherein the device has a region of high carrier recombination, e.g., a magnetodiode with carriers deflected to the recombination region by the magnetic field.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 425]    425Magnetic field detector using compound semiconductor material (e.g., GaAs, InSb, etc.):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 421.  Subject matter wherein the device is made of a compound semiconductor material (e.g., GaAs, InSb, etc.).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 426]    426Differential output (e.g., with offset adjustment means or with means to reduce temperature sensitivity):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 421.  Subject matter wherein the device has two output terminals and the electrical signal generated by the active solid-state device is the electrical signal difference between the outputs.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 427]    427Magnetic field sensor in integrated circuit (e.g., in bipolar transistor integrated circuit):
 This subclass is indented under subclass 421.  Subject matter wherein the device is located in an integrated circuit (i.e., a solid monolithic semiconductor chip).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 428]    428Electromagnetic or particle radiation:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 414.  Subject matter wherein the electrical signal is generated by the device in response to radiant energy in the electromagnetic energy spectrum or in the form of neutral or charged particles (e.g., alpha or beta particles).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 429]    429Charged or elementary particles:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 428.  Subject matter wherein the particle energy is in the form of electrically charged or elementary particles (e.g., alpha or beta particles).
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 430]    430With active region having effective impurity concentration less than 1012 atoms/cm3:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 429.  Subject matter wherein the active region of the device has an effective impurity ion dopant concentration less than 1012 atoms/cm3.
  
[List of Patents for class 257 subclass 431]    431Light:
 This subclass is indented under subclass 428.  Subject matter wherein the non-electrical signal to which the device responds is electromagnetic energy in the light frequency/wavelength range (i.e., from infrared (except where the response is mainly due to thermal heating due to the infrared radiation) to visible and ultraviolet).

SEE OR SEARCH THIS CLASS, SUBCLASS:

21,