Appeal No. 96-2120
Application 08/300,097
DECISION ON APPEAL
This is a decision on the appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134 from the examiner’s rejection
of claims 15, 20 and 21. Claims 1-14, 17, 19 and 22 have been allowed by the examiner.
Claims 16, 18 and 23-26 have been cancelled.
The disclosed invention pertains to a semiconductor device for detecting
electromagnetic radiation. More particularly, the device consists of a plurality of doped
quantum well layers, each of which has a bound ground energy state and one of a plurality
of different bound excited energy states. A plurality of superlattice barrier layers are
interleaved with the quantum well layers. The plurality of bound excited energy states of the
quantum well layers are arranged in a predetermined pattern to detect desired
electromagnetic radiation.
Representative claim 15 is reproduced as follows:
15. A semiconductor device for detecting electromagnetic radiation, comprising:
a plurality of doped quantum well layers, each doped quantum well layer comprising
a bound ground energy state and one of a plurality of different bound excited energy states;
a plurality of superlattice barrier layers interleaved with the quantum well layers,
each superlattice layer having a miniband of energy states in resonance with the excited
energy states of its adjacent quantum well layers and strongly coupled to other minibands,
said plurality of bound excited energy states of the quantum well layers being arranged in a
predetermined pattern within the minibands of energy states of said superlattice barrier
layers;
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