Integration of electromagnetic detector on integrated chip

Abstract

A device includes an integrated circuit (IC) and at least one ultra-small resonant structure and a detection mechanism are formed on said IC. At least the ultra-small resonant structure portion of the device is vacuum packaged. The ultra-small resonant structure includes a plasmon detector having a transmission line. The detector mechanism includes a generator mechanism constructed and adapted to generate a beam of charged particles along a path adjacent to the transmission line; and a detector microcircuit disposed along said path, at a location after said beam has gone past said line, wherein the generator mechanism and the detector microcircuit are disposed adjacent transmission line and wherein a beam of charged particles from the generator mechanism to the detector microcircuit electrically couples a plasmon wave traveling along the metal transmission line to the microcircuit. The detector mechanism may be electrically connected to the underlying IC.

Description

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FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This relates to ultra-small electronic devices, and, more particularly, integrating such devices with integrated circuits and chips.

Introduction

Integrated circuits (ICs) are ubiquitous. While it is desirable to increase the functionality (such as inter-chip optical communications) of existing ICs, this is typically done through external devices and connections.

Various ultra-small resonant structures have been described in the related applications to perform a variety of functions, including optical data transfer functions. These ultra-small resonant devices are functionally compatible with standard ICs.

Related U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/400,280, entitled “Resonant Detector for Optical Signals,” filed Apr. 10, 2006, and which has been incorporated herein by reference, describes various ultra-small resonant detectors for optical signals. Related U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/______, entitled “Integration of Vacuum Microelectronic Device with Integrated Circuit,” filed on even date herewith [Atty. Docket No. 2549-0048], which has also been incorporated herein by reference, describes integrating ultra-small resonant structures with ICs. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/______, entitled “Coupling energy in a plasmon wave to an electron beam,” filed on even date herewith [Atty. Docket No. 2549-0072], which has also been incorporated herein by reference, describes coupling energy in a plasmon wave to an electron beam using ultra-small resonant structures.

As noted in application Ser. No. 11/______, [Atty. Docket No. 2549-0048], any of the devices described in applications Ser. Nos. 11/400,280 and/or 11/______, [Atty. Docket No. 2549-0072] may be integrated with an IC.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following description, given with respect to the attached drawings, may be better understood with reference to the non-limiting examples of the drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1-2 show ICs integrated with ultra-small electromagnetic (“EM”) detector structures.

THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The Figure shows an integrated structure in which IC 100 is integrated with a structure consisting of a source of charged particles (e.g., cathode 102), anode and focusing deflector plates 104 and a detector system 106. The cathode emits a beam of charged particles 105 towards the detector system 106.

An ultra-small resonant structure (“URS”), e.g., transmission line, 108 (preferably a metal line) is disposed/formed on the IC 100. The URS 108 may be a line as described in related application Ser. No. 11/______ [Atty. Docket No. 2549-0072], which has been incorporated herein by reference. The end (denoted 110 in the drawing) of the transmission line 108 is preferably pointed. The transmission line 108 may be straight or curved.

The source of charged particles 102 and corresponding detector 106 are positioned so that the beam of charged particles (denoted 105in the drawing) generated by the source 102 is disrupted or deflected by a change in the magnetic and/or electric field surrounding the end 110 of the transmission line 108. Preferably the source of charged particles 102 and the corresponding detector are positioned near the end 110 of the transmission line 108. In some cases the beam 102 may be substantially perpendicular to a central axis of the transmission line 108.

The detector 106 is constructed and adapted to detect breaks or deflections of the beam 105. Those skilled in the art will realize, upon reading this description and the related U.S. application Ser. No. 11/400,280, that the detector 106 can provide a signal indicative of the detected plasmon waves to other circuitry (not shown). In particular, the detector 106 may provide such a signal to circuitry within the IC, e.g., in a manner described in related application Ser. No. 11/______ [Atty. docket no. 2549-0048].

The detector system 106 may be any detector system such as described in related application Ser. No. 11/400,280, which has been incorporated herein by reference, or it may be any other detector system.

Plasmon waves on the transmission line 108 travel in the direction of the end 110. As the waves reach the end 110, they cause disruption of a magnetic and/or electric field around the point which, in turn, deflects the particle beam 102. The detector 106 detects the deflection and thereby recognizes the presence and duration of the plasmon waves. Plasmon waves will travel along the side surface of the transmission line 108 and along its top surface.

Plasmon waves may travel in the transmission line 108 for a variety of reasons, e.g., because of a light wave (W) incident on the transmission line. However, this system contemplates using a plasmon wave detector described herein, regardless of the source or cause of the wave. The plasmon wave may contain or be indicative of a data signal.

Although the transmission line is preferably metal, those skilled in the art will realize, upon reading this description, that the transmission line may be formed of other non-metallic substances or of a combination of metallic and non-metallic substances. For example, the transmission line may comprise silver (Ag).

The IC 100 may be any IC formed, e.g., with conventional semiconductor processing. The IC 100 may be, e.g., silicon or a compound such as GaAs, GaN, ImP, etc.

Those skilled in the art will realize upon reading this description that the end of the transmission line does not have to have a pointed end. Further, the detector does not have to be at an end of the line, although such embodiments are presently considered to increase the field strength and thus make detection easier. For example, the emitter and detector are on opposite sides of the line, and the particle beam is deflected so that it passes adjacent to (in this case over), the transmission line.

The charged particle beam can include ions (positive or negative), electrons, protons and the like. The beam may be produced by any source, including, e.g., without limitation an ion gun, a thermionic filament, a tungsten filament, a cathode, a field-emission cathode, a planar vacuum triode, an electron-impact ionizer, a laser ionizer, a chemical ionizer, a thermal ionizer, or an ion-impact ionizer.

The structures described here can be formed on any external surface of the IC.

Since the particle beam emitted by the source of charged particles may be deflected by any electric or magnetic field, one or more shields or shielding structure(s) [not shown in the drawings] may be added to block out unwanted fields. Such shield(s) and/or shielding structure(s) may be formed on the same substrate as the source of charged particles and/or the transmission line so that only fields from the transmission line will interact with the particle beam.

Those skilled in the art will realize, upon reading this description, that the light wave W may encode data. The light wave may be generated by any source, including using ultra-small light-emitting resonant structures such as, e.g., disclosed in the related applications. In cases where the light wave W encodes data, the detector 106 may provide signals indicative of those data, e.g., to circuitry in the IC 100. In this manner, the URS 108 may be used to detect data encoded in a light wave W and to provide those data to other circuitry, e.g., in the IC.

Filters may be incorporated into the structure or added on top of the structure in order to filter the incoming EMR. Additionally, a reflective cavity may be constructed below the device to increase the absorption of incoming EMR. In some cases, the depth of the reflective cavity may be ¼ λ, where λ is the wavelength of the EMR to be detected.

Although only one ultra-small resonant EM detection structure is shown herein, those skilled in the art will realize, upon reading this description and the related U.S. application Ser. No. 11/400,280, that more than one ultra-small resonant structure may be formed on an IC.

The ultra-small resonant structures may be made, e.g., using techniques such as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/917,511, entitled “Patterning Thin Metal Film by Dry Reactive Ion Etching” and/or U.S. application Ser. No. 11/203,407, entitled “Method Of Patterning Ultra-Small Structures,” both of which have been incorporated herein by reference.

The ultra-small resonant structures described are preferably under vacuum conditions during operation. Accordingly, in each of the exemplary embodiments described herein, the entire integrated package/circuit (which includes the IC and ultra-small resonant structures) may be vacuum packaged. Alternatively, the portion of the package containing at least the ultra-small resonant structure(s) should be vacuum packaged. Our invention does not require any particular kind of evacuation structure. Many known hermetic sealing techniques can be employed to ensure the vacuum condition remains during a reasonable lifespan of operation. We anticipate that the devices can be operated in a pressure up to atmospheric pressure if the mean free path of the electrons is longer than the device length at the operating pressure.

While certain configurations of structures have been illustrated for the purposes of presenting the basic structures of the present invention, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other variations are possible which would still fall within the scope of the appended claims. While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method of making a device comprising: obtaining an integrated circuit (IC); forming one or more ultra-small resonant structures on an external surface of the IC, wherein the ultra-small resonant structures are constructed and adapted to respond to data encoded in an electromagnetic radiation (EMR) beam; forming a detection mechanism on said IC; and vacuum packaging at least said ultra-small resonant structure and said detection mechanism.

2. A method as in claim 1 wherein the one or more ultra-small resonant structures comprise a transmission line; and wherein the detection mechanism comprises: a generator mechanism constructed and adapted to generate a beam of charged particles along a path adjacent to the transmission line; and a detector microcircuit disposed along said path, at a location after said beam has gone past said line, wherein the generator mechanism and the detector microcircuit are disposed adjacent the transmission line and wherein a beam of charged particles from the generator mechanism to the detector microcircuit electrically couples a plasmon wave traveling along the metal transmission line to the detector microcircuit.

3. A method as in claim 1 wherein said step of vacuum packaging comprises: hermetically sealing at least said ultra-small resonant structure and said detection mechanism.

4. A method as in any one of claims 1-3 wherein said one or more ultra-small resonant structures are constructed and adapted to detect electromagnetic radiation (EMR).

5. A method as in any one of claims 1-3 wherein said detection mechanism includes a source of charged particles.

6. A method as in claim 5 wherein said source of charged particles is selected from the group comprising: an ion gun, a thermionic filament, tungsten filament, a cathode, a vacuum triode, a field emission cathode, a planar vacuum triode, an electron-impact ionizer, a laser ionizer, a chemical ionizer, a thermal ionizer, an ion-impact ionizer.

7. A method as in claim S wherein the charged particles are selected from the group comprising: positive ions, negative ions, electrons, and protons.

8. A method as in claim 1 further comprising: electrically connecting said detection mechanism to said IC.

9. A device comprising: an integrated circuit (IC); at least one ultra-small resonant structure formed on an external surface of said IC; and a detection mechanism, wherein the at least one ultra-small resonant structure and said detection mechanism are constructed and adapted to detect plasmons.

10. A device as in claim 9 wherein said at least one ultra-small resonant structure is vacuum packaged.

11. A device as in claim 9 wherein at least one of said detection mechanism is electrically connected to said IC.

12. A device as in claim 9 wherein said detection mechanism comprises a source of charged particles.

13. A device as in claim 12 wherein said source of charged particles is selected from the group comprising: an ion gun, a thermionic filament, a cathode, vacuum triode, a planar vacuum triode, a field emission cathode, an electron-impact ionizer, a laser ionizer, a chemical ionizer, a thermal ionizer, an ion-impact ionizer.

14. A device as in claim 12 wherein the charged particles are selected from the group comprising: positive ions, negative ions, electrons, and protons.

15. A device as in claim 9 wherein the at least one ultra-small resonant structure comprises a transmission line; and wherein the detection mechanism comprises: a generator mechanism constructed and adapted to generate a beam of charged particles along a path adjacent to the transmission line; and a detector microcircuit disposed along said path, at a location after said beam has gone past said line, wherein the generator mechanism and the detector microcircuit are disposed adjacent transmission line and wherein a beam of charged particles from the generator mechanism to the detector microcircuit electrically couples the a plasmon wave traveling along the metal transmission line to the microcircuit.

16. A device comprising: an integrated circuit (IC); one or more structures formed on a surface of the IC and electrically connected to at least one electronic circuit in the IC, said structures including a plasmon detection device constructed and adapted to detect plasmons incident on the surface of the IC and to provide a signal indicative of the presence of said plasmons to said at least one electronic circuit.

17. A device as in claim 16 wherein said plasmon detection device comprises: a transmission line; a generator mechanism constructed and adapted to generate a beam of charged particles along a path adjacent to the transmission line; and a detector microcircuit disposed along said path, at a location after said beam has gone past said line, wherein the generator mechanism and the detector microcircuit are disposed adjacent transmission line and wherein a beam of charged particles from the generator mechanism to the detector microcircuit electrically couples the a plasmon wave traveling along the metal transmission line to the microcircuit.

18. A device as in claim 16 wherein at least some of said one or more of the transmission line, the generator mechanism and the detector microcircuit are vacuum packaged.

19. A method of communicating data to circuitry within an integrated circuit (IC), said data being encoded in an electromagnetic wave, the method comprising: using a plasmon detector on a surface of said IC to detect the electromagnetic wave; and providing a signal indicative of said wave to said circuitry.