Abstract:
An erasable electro-optic storage disk for use in focused laser beam operated data handling systems comprises a semiconductor substrate with a storage layer arranged on top of it that is capable of trapping charge carriers. Electric contacts are connected to the semiconductor substrate and to the storage layer, respectively. An energy barrier with associated depletion zone is formed in the substrate near the interface with the storage layer. Upon simultaneous application of a control voltage to the contacts and of a focused laser beam directed at a storage site, electron pairs are generated in the depletion zone, and charge carriers are transferred towards the interface. This causes a reduction of the depletion zone and thus of the voltage over the depletion zone, and an increase of the field in the storage layer, whereby charge carriers are injected into and trapped in the storage layer; method of recording, reading data and apparatus therefor.

Description:
This patent application is a continuation of prior filed patent application Ser. No. 07/126,802, filed 12/1/87, now abandoned. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention concerns an erasable electro-optic storage disk for use in focused laser beam operated data handling systems, and more particularly to a disk consisting of a semiconductor substrate with a storage layer on top of it that is capable of trapping charge carriers and having electric contacts connected to the semiconductor substrate and to the storage layer, respectively. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Erasable optical disks are suitable for use in rotary disk data storages often found in data processing systems. They represent a promising alternative to the widely used magnetic disk. Further applications of optical disks are feasible, for instance, in digital optical computing systems where optical devices or arrays having storage capabilities are required to implement logic functions. Here, the optical disk is an alternative to the more commonly used liquid-crystal light valves. 
     At present, the most widely used storage medium in random access rotating memories is the magnetic disk. However, compact optical disks have become a competitive contender particularly in view of the potentially high data densities. 
     Size and shape of the bit storage sites are defined by the narrow focal point of a laser beam, making the round bit site only about one micron in diameter. 
     For erasable optical storage, there are currently two leading contenders: magneto-optic and phase-change technologies. Both techniques employ glass or plastic disks coated with thin films of storage media and use semiconductor laser diodes for recording. However, they differ markedly in the approach to writing and reading information. 
     Magneto-optic recording relies on heating from a laser and on an externally applied magnetic field to write data onto a disk coated with a thin film of magnetic material. Data are stored magnetically, the direction of magnetization defining the stored bit values. 
     In phase-change recording, a short burst of laser light converts a tiny spot on the storage media&#39;s highly reflective crystalline surface to the less reflective amorphous, or semicrystalline, state. This is done by rapidly heating the material to a temperature above its melting point and then abruptly quenching it, freezing it into the amorphous state. 
     Critical concerns about these technologies include media stability and reliability, cyclability, i.e., the number of times information can be rewritten, data access and transfer speeds, and the limited availability of lasers with sufficient power. 
     An alternative technique is provided by the basically different electro-optic storage devices which rely upon optical and electrical properties of the materials and structures used. Again, focused laser beams serve to address and to define the storage sites. Binary data are stored by trapping charge carriers in a continuous storage medium that may, e.g., consist of silicon nitride. 
     Trapping of charge carriers in silicon nitride has been studied extensively for application in non-volatile memories. The feasibility has, e.g., been demonstrated in an article &#34;The Metal-Nitride-Oxide-Silicon (MNOS) Transistor--Characteristics and Applications&#34; by D. Frohmann-Bentchkowsky in Proc. IEEE, Vol. 8, No. 8, August 1970, p. 1207-1219. Charge can be stored reliably and can be retained for very long periods of time. 
     Various storage systems employing devices having layers capable of trapping charge carriers have already been described. The following articles published in the IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin (TDB) are representative of the state of the art: 
     &#34;Electro-optical Memory with Write, Read and Erase Characteristics&#34; (IBM TDB, Vol. 15, No. 4, September 1972, p. 1237/38). The disclosed structure comprises an electro-optical crystal with two dielectric films having different electron energy bandgaps deposited on one of the crystal surfaces. A light beam generates, in the crystal, a pattern of electrons. Upon application of an electric voltage, the electrons tunnel through the first thin insulator layer and become trapped between the interface state of the two dielectric layers. Since the trapped electrons cannot return, a permanent charge pattern is formed in the crystal. It induces a variation of the index of refraction and information can be read out using polarized light. 
     &#34;Non-Volatile Semiconductor Electro-Optical Memory Device&#34; (IBM TDB, Vol. 15, No. 11, April 1973, p. 3455/56). Here, the storage structure consists of a semiconductor with a thin silicon dioxide and a silicon nitride layer on top of it. Traps at the oxide-nitride interface become charged, representing stored data, at cell sites defined by a scanning light beam and transparent strip electrodes to which a positive voltage is applied. Data are read by scanning the device with a light beam. At sites with positively charged traps, a change in voltage is induced that can be detected. 
     &#34;Memory and Solar Cell&#34; (IBM TDB, Vol. 20, No. 8, Jan. 1978, p. 2995). This article describes a single storage cell consisting of a thick SeTe layer with an Al-oxide film and a transparent Al layer on top of it. The oxide layer functions as a capacitor in which a charge, representing data, can be stored when a light spot is focused on the storage site and contacts to the Se-Te and the Al-layer are simultaneously bridged by a low impedance connection. A light beam and a load are applied for reading: by detecting the presence or absence of current flow, which depends on the data stored, the cell conditions can be sensed. 
     These known systems suffer from deficiencies such as loss of data due to the large leakage or dark currents, charge spreading and electron recombination which are detrimental to reliable storage operations, particularly in high density systems. Also, fabrication processes are critical. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is the main object of the present invention to provide an electro-optic disk for high density storage of digital data that operates highly reliably at low laser beam intensities, and that can be fabricated using well-established, uncritical processes. 
     The invention as claimed is intended to meet the above object and to remedy the drawbacks encountered with hitherto known structures. In a preferred embodiment, the disk consists of a silicon substrate with a silicon nitride layer and a transparent conductive electrode on top of it. In the substrate, an energy barrier, i.e., a p-n junction with associated depletion zone, is formed parallel and near the interface with the nitride layer. When a positive bias voltage is applied to the transparent electrode and a laser beam focused on a storage site, electron-hole pairs are generated in the depletion zone and electrons transfer toward the silicon-nitride interface whereby the depletion zone and the voltage across the junction are locally reduced and, consequently, the field in the nitride increased, so that electrons are injected and trapped in the nitride at the beam-defined storage site. 
     The advantages offered by the invention, and more particularly by the provision of an energy barrier (such as a p-n junction) near the semiconductor-nitride interface, are mainly that storage Write/Read/Erase operations become more reliable and that fabrication processes are less critical. These improvements are achieved in that: 
     the electric field distribution within the structure is, in essence, determined by the state of the p-n junction: in the absence of light, the junction or diode resistance is high and, consequently, the field within the storage layer, the nitride, is low; with a light beam applied to a storage site, the diode becomes conducting. This causes a substantial local increase of the field in the nitride whereby electron injection and trapping in the nitride at the beam-addressed storage site is markedly enhanced; 
     after writing data, i.e., after electrons have been trapped at selected storage sites, the p-n junction suppresses the leakage or dark current that otherwise tends to erase stored data if not rewritten in short time intervals; and in that 
     the depletion zone of the junction, since located near the semiconductor-nitride interface, extends towards the interface thereby reducing the number of free carriers in that critical zone, this reduction in carriers resulting in reduced charge spreading and thus improved storage site resolution. 
     Further advantages are: 
     compared to magneto-optical and phase-change techniques, the required laser beam intensity is reduced by several orders of magnitude, and 
     the employed silicon technology is well understood resulting in good reproducibility and high yield. 
     The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     One way of carrying out the invention is described in detail below with reference to drawings illustrating a specific embodiment, and in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of the cross-section of a disk structure produced in accordance with the teaching of the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is an energy diagram of the disk structure shown in FIG. 1, an energy diagram for a Schottky barrier is shown in FIG. 2A, and an energy diagram for a hetero-structure is shown in FIG. 2B; 
     FIG. 3A and 3B are charge carrier concentration diagrams of the disk structure shown in FIG. 1 representing (A) a stored binary &#34;0&#34;, and (B) a stored binary &#34;1&#34;; 
     FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a disk storage system using the inventive disk structure and permitting Write, Read and Erase operations. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The inventive electro-optical disk permits writing, reading and erasing of binary data using a focused laser beam to address and to define storage sites on the disk. 
     FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of the disk. Disk 10 is built on a silicon substrate 11 having a p-type body 12 (with a doping concentration of 10 17  cm -3 , but typically in the range of 5×10 16  to 5×10 17  cm -3 ) of uncritical thickness with a n-type (doping concentration 4×10 15  cm -3 , but typically in the range of 10 15  to 10 16  cm -3 ) layer 13 on top of it. This epitaxially grown layer 13 has a thickness of 1 μm, but may typically vary from 0.5μm to 1.5μm. The p- and n-layers 12 and 13 form a p-n junction or diode with its associated depletion zone (with no free carriers existing in the thermal equilibrium state) extending to both sides of the physical p-n boundary. Because of the lower n-doping, the depletion zone extends substantially deeper into the n-layer 13 than into layer 12. As illustrated, a Si 3  N 4  nitride layer 14 of 50  nm thickness is deposited on the upper surface of n Si layer 13, e.g., in a conventional chemical vapor deposition process (CVD). The structure is capped with an evaporated continuous transparent electrode layer 15 of 2 μm. thickness consisting of SnO to which, via terminal 17, a positive or negative bias voltage can be applied. Grounded back contact 16 consists of A1 and provides an ohmic contact with the silicon substrate. Arrow 18 represents a focused laser beam that addresses and defines a storage site 19 and, with a positive bias voltage V W  applied to terminal 17, initiates a write operation in the addressed storage site. A 0.8 μm wavelength GaAs laser diode having a power of only 8 μW and a correspondingly low energy density of 10 -5  J/cm -2  (at a spot size of approximately 2 μm diameter) is used. For the material and dimensions indicated, the laser beam will penetrate the structure down to the junction depletion zone where it will be fully absorbed thus providing for maximum efficiency. 
     For writing into the storage disk, a positive bias voltage V W  of 15V is applied to transparent electrode 15. Simultaneously, the laser beam is directed at the storage site into which a binary value, e.g. a &#34;1&#34;, is to be written. Initially, most of the applied voltage is across the reverse biased p-n junction or diode. Simulations have shown that, upon application of the 8 μW laser beam, 10 6  or more electron-hole pairs are generated within a 4 m 2  area. This causes an almost complete destruction of the depletion zone and thus a substantial reduction of the diode resistance. The voltage across nitride layer 14 increases to a voltage high enough to trap charges in the nitride. According to the simulation, about 10% of the generated electrons get trapped causing a fixed voltage drop of about 4V across the nitride layer 14. The rest of the electron-hole pairs disappear due to recombination. After completion of the write operation, charge remains stored in the nitride which effects the depletion zone at the nitride - n-Si interface: The charge in the nitride is complemented by an equal but opposite charge that increases the depletion zone. In the described disk, the depletion zone then extends to the silicon-nitride interface, leaving virtually no free carriers in the n Si section of the storage site. 
     The additional, complementary positive charge in the barrier depletion zone can then be probed and recognized as representing a stored &#34;1&#34; in a subsequent read operation to be described below. 
     The other binary value, i.e. &#34;0&#34;, is characterized by the absence of the trapped negative charge and, consequently, the absence of the complementary positive charge in the silicon depletion zone. The response of a storage site storing a &#34;0&#34; in a subsequent read operation will thus be different from that of a site containing a &#34;1&#34;. 
     The Write process is illustrated in FIG. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 represents the energy (E) diagram of the disk structure of FIG. 1 when a positive voltage V W  is applied to transparent top electrode 15. The diagram shows the bands of the metal electrode 15, the nitride layer 14 and the n- and p-silicon layers 13 and 12. The conduction band 22 and the valence band 21 in the depletion zone associated with the p-n junction show the typical characteristic, the &#34;step&#34; being determined by the inherent energy difference between p- and n-regions and the reverse bias voltage applied to electrode 14. 
     Upon application of laser beam 18, having a photon energy larger than the band gap of the silicon, electron hole pairs 23 are generated in the depletion zone and the charge carriers start moving as indicated by the arrows. As explained above, this reduces the depletion zone and the voltage over the p-n diode and causes an increase in the field over the nitride where electrons get trapped. As a result, charge is stored in the nitride layer at the position of the laser beam, i.e., at the beam-addressed storage site. 
     A further illustration of the result of a Write operation is given in FIG&#39;S. 3A and 3B which show charge carrier concentration diagrams of storage sites of the disk of FIG. 1 with stored binary values of &#34;0&#34; and &#34;1&#34;, respectively. 
     In FIG. 3A, the charge (Q) curve 30 illustrates the &#34;initial&#34; or &#34;erased&#34; state, defined as binary &#34;0&#34;. Areas 31 and 32 represent the positively and negatively charged regions of the depletion zone formed at the physical p-n junction. Positive region 31 is deeper then the shallow negative region 32 because of its lower doping level (4.10 15  cm -3  vs 10 17  cm -3 ). 
     In FIG. 3B, curve 35 illustrates the &#34;charged&#34; or binary &#34;1&#34; state. Area 36 represents the negative charge trapped in the nitride layer 14 after termination of a &#34;write 1&#34; operation whereas area 37 illustrates the additional positive charge in the depletion zone compensating for the charge stored in the nitride. 
     FIG. 3A and 3B clearly illustrate the electrical differences between storage sites having a &#34;0&#34; or a &#34;1&#34; stored. It is the absence or presence of the additional charge 37 (caused by electrons trapped in the nitride) that is probed in a subsequent Read operation. 
     Reading involves the sensing of a storage site to determine whether the additional positive charge (region 37 in FIG. 3B) is present in the depletion zone of the n Si layer 13. With a positive charge present, a stored &#34;1&#34; would be read out; otherwise a stored &#34;0&#34; is sensed. 
     Reading can be accomplished by probing a storage site with a focused and polarized beam of a 1.3 μm laser. The beam passes through transparent electrode 15, nitride 14 and through silicon layers 13 and 12 to the ground electrode 16 where the beam is reflected. The reflected beam again passes through the disk structure, now in the opposite direction. The polarized light beam undergoes a change in phase while passing through the structure. The degree of optical rotation depends on the charge concentration in the silicon. In reading from a storage site of the electro-optic disk herein described, the difference in phase of the in- and out-going beam depends on whether the additional positive charge region 37 (FIG. 3B) representing a binary &#34;1&#34; is present or not. Measurements of the degree of optical rotation of a light beam normally involve a comparison with a reference signal obtained from a reference site to increase accuracy and reliability. One such measurement system that can be employed in reading data from the inventive electro-optic disk has been disclosed in an article &#34;Noninvasive Sheet Charge Density Probe for Integrated Silicon Devices&#34; by H. K. Heinrich et al (Appl. Phys. Lett., Vol 48, 1986, p. 1066-68), hereby incorporated by reference. 
     For erasing data, the negative charge in the nitride layer of sites where a binary &#34;1&#34; is stored has to be removed. Erasing all storage sites on a disk can be accomplished by applying a negative bias voltage V E  of -15 V to electrode 15 of the disk structure. The resulting reversed field across nitride layer 14 extracts the trapped electrons and thereby erases the stored &#34;1&#34; bits. 
     Selective erasing of e.g. storage sites forming a recording track on a disk in a rotating disk system can be done by applying a negative bias voltage V E  of 14 V and by simultaneously focusing the laser beam used for write operations at the storage site or track to b erased. 
     After completion of an erase operation, all erased storage sites contain a binary &#34;0&#34;. 
     From the above description, the more important features that distinguish the inventive electro-optic disk and its operation from earlier proposed structures are evident: 
     formation of an energy barrier in the semiconductor, the barrier height and the width of the associated depletion zone being controllable by applying bias voltages and light beams to provide for reliable write and read operations and serving to minimize dark currents thus enabling long time data storage; 
     barrier formation near the semiconductor-storage layer interface whereby the depletion zone can be controlled to extend to the interface thereby reducing possible free carrier transport and lateral spreading and improving storage site resolution; and 
     laser beam intensity and wavelength and structural dimensions and materials can be chosen so that the write beam is fully absorbed after passing through the depletion zone, thereby providing for good efficiency, whereas the read beam passes unabsorbed through the whole disk structure thus permitting the probing of the charge density at selected storage sites. 
     In FIG. 4, the essential electro-optic elements of a rotating disk storage system employing the disk of the present invention are shown. Disk 10 with transparent top electrode 15 and back contact 16 consists of a structure corresponding to that shown in FIG. 1. It rotates about axis 41 (mechanical features not shown). As in most rotary disk systems, data can be recorded in circular tracks on the disk surface. 
     In the situation indicated, the write/read head assembly 40 is in a position to write into or read from storage site 19 that is defined and addressed by a laser beam (44 for writing, 51 for reading) and located above the barrier in the semiconductor that is represented by the diode symbol 56. 
     For writing a binary &#34;1&#34; into site 19, a positive bias voltage V W  is applied via terminal 17 to transparent electrode 15, the back contact 16 being grounded, and laser 43 emits a beam 44 of 0.8 μm wavelength which, after collimation in lens 45, passes through a beam splitter 46 and is then focused by lens 47 onto storage site 19. As explained in the foregoing, the simultaneous application of a positive bias voltage V W  and a laser beam causes electrons to be trapped in the nitride at the storage site which, in turn, results in a local increase of positive charge in the semiconductor that can be sensed during a subsequent read operation. 
     For writing a binary &#34;0&#34; into a previously erased storage site, laser beam 44 is suppressed and the storage site remains in its &#34;erased&#34; state which represents a stored &#34;0&#34;. 
     For reading information, &#34;1&#34; or &#34;0&#34;, stored in site 19, the above referred to method of determining the difference in charge density is employed. A beam 51, emitted from a 1.3 μm laser 50, and collimated in lens 52 and polarized in polarizer 53, then passing through beam splitter 54, is reflected in beam splitter 46, focused by lens 47 and directed at site 19. Here, beam 51 is reflected after passing through the semiconductor layer where the carrier density depends on whether a &#34;1&#34; or a &#34;0&#34; is stored. In passing through the semiconductor material, the polarized light undergoes a phase shift the amount of which being dependent on the charge density, i.e. on the stored binary information. Reflected out-going beam 55 is diverted in beam splitters 46 and 54 and passes through polarization filter 58 to reach the photo detector plus analyzer circuitry 60. The polarization filter discriminates between beams stemming from storage sites having binary values of &#34;1&#34; or &#34;0&#34; stored since these differ in phase. Circuitry 60 is capable of reliably distinguishing between the different beam levels representing the different binary values. 
     The structure and operation of suitable charge density measurement systems based on the same concept as that just described, are known and described in greater detail for example in the above mentioned article &#34;Non-invasive Sheet Charge Density Probe for Integrated Silicon Devices&#34;. 
     To erase all stored information on the disk, this operation corresponding to writing a &#34;0&#34; at all storage sites, a negative voltage -V E  of 15V is applied to top electrode 15 of the disk. This reverses the field across the nitride storage layer thereby pushing the stored electrons out of the traps in the nitride. 
     When erasing of a single selected track on the disk is desired, this can be accomplished by applying a negative bias voltage -V E  of smaller magnitude and by simultaneously directing the 0.8 μm write laser beam at the respective track. 
     With the described disk, the following storage system performance characteristics can be achieved: 
     Use of a low intensity/energy laser for writing: 8 μW corresponding to an energy density of 10 -5  J/cm -2  for a 2×2 μm storage site (compared to 20 mW and 10 -2  J/cm -2  for magneto-optic storage systems); 
     The storage site density is comparable to that of magneto-optic storage systems. With a storage site size of 2×2 μm, a density of 25-10 6  cm -2  is already feasible. Higher densities can be obtained by choosing different wavelength lasers and different band gap semiconductor materials; 
     The access time is, as for most other rotating disk systems, determined by the speed limitation of the mechanical disk drive and transducer access mechanism. 
     While the invention has been described with respect to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit, scope and teaching of the invention. For example, alternative structures, still based on the same concept, can be designed to serve particular requirements, e.g., by choosing different semiconductor materials, or by using different dimensions and doping concentrations or by changing or adding structural elements. For instance, the p-n junction forming the energy barrier near the semiconductor-nitride interface that represents a key element in the present invention, can be replaced by a Schottky barrier or a hetero-structure also forming a barrier with associated depletion zones that may be controlled as described herein above, and depicted in FIGS. 2A and 2B, respectively. Also, the storage layer 14, allowing for the trapping of charge carriers may not consist of silicon nitride but of a SiO2 layer with poly-Si islands embedded in which charges can be trapped. 
     In other alternative designs, a thin tunnel oxide layer between the storage layer and the semiconductor may be added, higher bandgap semiconductors and laser beams with shorter wavelength may be used for higher spatial density, or a thin transparent gold layer may be applied to reduce the transparent electrode resistance. Another potential alternative is to convert the herein described &#34;stored electron&#34; device into a &#34;stored hole&#34; device by reversing the barrier and the applied voltages. 
     Accordingly, the invention herein disclosed is to be limited only as specified in the following claims.