Optoelectronic component and method for controlling tunneling electron currents by means of photons

US7421177B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• UNIVERSITÄT DUISBURG-ESSEN · DE

Inventors

• Günter Schmid · Hemhofen, DE
• Ulrich Simon · Kahla, DE
• Gunter Schon · Essen, DE
• Birgit Mellis · Mülheim an der Ruhr, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Sep 19, 2005
• Grant date: Sep 2, 2008
• Expiry date: Sep 19, 2025

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H10N99/00
• WIPO field: Micro-structural and nano-technology
• WIPO sector: Chemistry

Abstract

An optoelectronic component with a photonic crystal, which also has an electronic band gap, and a method for controlling tunneling electron currents by means of photons are proposed. Essentially loss-free and very fast switching is enabled in that a photonic crystal has a defect mode in its photonic band gap for photons with such an energy that electron transitions, especially in the form of single-electron tunneling processes between adjacent ligand-stabilized metal clusters, can be induced by the irradiation of corresponding photons due to at least one defect site.