1. A semiconductor device, comprising:
a doped wide bandgap semiconductor layer having an array of discontinuous wide bandgap semiconductor regions therein that are doped and contribute to a reduction in ionization energies of dopants in said wide bandgap semiconductor layer relative to an otherwise equivalent wide bandgap semiconductor layer that is devoid of the array of discontinuous wide bandgap semiconductor regions.
2. The device of claim 1, wherein the array of discontinuous wide bandgap semiconductor regions is a three-dimensional array.
3. The device of claim 1, wherein said wide bandgap semiconductor layer has a plurality of two-dimensional arrays of discontinuous wide bandgap semiconductor regions therein that are parallel to each other.
4. The device of claim 1, wherein the discontinuous wide bandgap semiconductor regions in the array are nonuniformly spaced from each other.
5. The device of claim 1, wherein the discontinuous wide bandgap semiconductor regions in the array have nonuniform sizes and shapes.
6. The device of claim 1, wherein said wide bandgap semiconductor layer has a plurality of two-dimensional regular arrays of discontinuous wide bandgap semiconductor regions therein that are parallel to each other.
7. The device of claim 6, wherein the plurality of two-dimensional regular arrays of discontinuous wide bandgap semiconductor regions are staggered relative to each other.
8. The device of claim 1, wherein said wide bandgap semiconductor layer and the wide bandgap semiconductor regions are of net first conductivity type; and wherein the wide bandgap semiconductor regions are more highly doped with first conductivity type dopants relative to said wide bandgap semiconductor layer.
9. A semiconductor device, comprising:
a doped wide bandgap semiconductor layer having an array of discontinuous wide bandgap semiconductor regions therein that are doped and have a wider bandgap relative to said wide bandgap semiconductor layer.
10. The device of claim 9, wherein the array of discontinuous wide bandgap semiconductor regions is a three-dimensional array.
11. The device of claim 9, wherein said wide bandgap semiconductor layer has a plurality of two-dimensional arrays of discontinuous wide bandgap semiconductor regions therein that are parallel to each other.
12. The device of claim 9, wherein the discontinuous wide bandgap semiconductor regions in the array are nonuniformly spaced from each other.
13. The device of claim 9, wherein the discontinuous wide bandgap semiconductor regions in the array have nonuniform sizes and shapes.
14. The device of claim 9, wherein said wide bandgap semiconductor layer has a plurality of two-dimensional regular arrays of discontinuous wide bandgap semiconductor regions therein that are parallel to each other.
15. The device of claim 14, wherein the plurality of two-dimensional regular arrays of discontinuous wide bandgap semiconductor regions are staggered relative to each other.
16. The device of claim 9, wherein said wide bandgap semiconductor layer and the wide bandgap semiconductor regions are of net first conductivity type; and wherein the wide bandgap semiconductor regions are more highly doped with first conductivity type dopants relative to said wide bandgap semiconductor layer.
17. A semiconductor device, comprising:
a doped Group III nitride layer comprising an array of discontinuous Group III nitride regions therein that are doped and have a wider bandgap relative to said Group III nitride layer.
18. The device of claim 17, wherein the array of discontinuous Group III nitride regions is a three-dimensional array.
19. The device of claim 17, wherein said Group III nitride layer has a plurality of two-dimensional arrays of discontinuous Group III nitride regions therein that are parallel to each other.
20. The device of claim 17, wherein the discontinuous Group III nitride regions in the array are nonuniformly spaced from each other.
21. The device of claim 17, wherein the discontinuous Group III nitride regions in the array have nonuniform sizes and shapes.
22. The device of claim 17, wherein said Group III nitride layer has a plurality of two-dimensional regular arrays of discontinuous Group III nitride regions therein that are parallel to each other.
23. The device of claim 22, wherein the plurality of two-dimensional regular arrays of discontinuous Group III nitride regions are staggered relative to each other.
24. The device of claim 17, wherein said Group III nitride layer and the Group III nitride regions are of net first conductivity type; and wherein the Group III nitride regions are more highly doped with first conductivity type dopants relative to said Group III nitride layer.
25. The device of claim 24, wherein said Group III nitride layer and the Group III nitride regions comprise different concentrations of the same constituent Group III elements.
26. A semiconductor device, comprising:
a Group III nitride layer comprising an array of discontinuous Group III nitride regions therein that have a wider bandgap relative to said Group III nitride layer;
wherein said Group III nitride layer and the Group III nitride regions are of net first conductivity type;
wherein the Group III nitride regions are more highly doped with first conductivity type dopants relative to said Group III nitride layer
wherein said Group III nitride layer and the Group III nitride regions comprise different concentrations of the same constituent Group III elements; and
wherein said Group III nitride layer comprises AlwInxGa1-w-xN and the Group III nitride regions comprise AlyInzGa1-y-zN.
27. The device of claim 17, wherein said Group III nitride layer and the Group III nitride regions comprise different concentrations of the same constituent Group III elements.
28. A semiconductor device, comprising:
a Group III nitride layer comprising an array of discontinuous Group III nitride regions therein that have a wider bandgap relative to said Group III nitride layer;
wherein said Group III nitride layer and the Group III nitride regions comprise different concentrations of the same constituent Group III elements; and
wherein said Group III nitride layer comprises AlwInxGa1-w-xN and the Group III nitride regions comprise AlyInzGa1-y-zN.
29. A semiconductor device, comprising:
a wide bandgap semiconductor layer having an array of discontinuous wide bandgap semiconductor regions therein that have wider bandgaps relative to said wide bandgap semiconductor layer and are doped at sufficient levels to increase an electrical conductivity of said first wide bandgap semiconductor layer relative to an otherwise equivalent wide bandgap semiconductor layer that is devoid of the array of discontinuous wide bandgap semiconductor regions.
30. The device of claim 29, wherein the array of discontinuous wide bandgap semiconductor regions is a three-dimensional array.
31. The device of claim 29, wherein said wide bandgap semiconductor layer has a plurality of two-dimensional arrays of discontinuous wide bandgap semiconductor regions therein that are parallel to each other.
32. The device of claim 29, wherein the discontinuous wide bandgap semiconductor regions in the array are nonuniformly spaced from each other.
33. The device of claim 29, wherein the discontinuous wide bandgap semiconductor regions in the array have nonuniform sizes and shapes.
34. The device of claim 29, wherein said wide bandgap semiconductor layer has a plurality of two-dimensional regular arrays of discontinuous wide bandgap semiconductor regions therein that are parallel to each other.
35. The device of claim 34, wherein the plurality of two-dimensional regular arrays of discontinuous wide bandgap semiconductor regions are staggered relative to each other.
36. The device of claim 29, wherein said wide bandgap semiconductor layer and the wide bandgap semiconductor regions are of net first conductivity type; and wherein the wide bandgap semiconductor regions are more highly doped with first conductivity type dopants relative to said wide bandgap semiconductor layer.
37. A semiconductor diode, comprising:
a first wide bandgap semiconductor layer of first conductivity type having a first plurality of discontinuous wide bandgap semiconductor regions of first conductivity type therein that have a wider bandgap relative to said first wide bandgap semiconductor layer and contribute to an increase in conductivity of the first wide bandgap semiconductor layer by reducing an effective ionization energy of first conductivity type dopants therein; and
a second wide bandgap semiconductor layer of second conductivity type having a second plurality of discontinuous wide bandgap semiconductor regions of second conductivity type therein that have a wider bandgap relative to said second wide bandgap semiconductor layer and contribute to an increase in conductivity of the second wide bandgap semiconductor layer by reducing an effective ionization energy of second conductivity type dopants therein.
38. The semiconductor diode of claim 37, further comprising a third semiconductor layer extending between said first and second wide bandgap semiconductor layers, said third semiconductor layer comprising a material having a bandgap that is less than a bandgap of said first wide bandgap semiconductor layer and less than a bandgap of said second wide bandgap semiconductor layer.
39. A semiconductor device, comprising:
an AlwInxGa1-w-xN layer comprising an array of discontinuous AlyInzGa1-y-zN regions therein that have a wider bandgap relative to said Group III nitride layer, said AlwInxGa1-w-xN layer and said AlyInzGa1-y-zN regions comprising different concentrations of constituent Group III elements.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A laminated variable resistor, comprising:
a main body, including a plurality of internal electrodes respectively extending along two side edges of the main body into the main body, so as to form an overlapping region where one of the internal electrodes overlaps an adjacent electrode;
two terminal electrodes, disposed on two ends of the main body respectively;
wherein the overlapping region includes at least a metal oxide grain and a metal grain.
2. The laminated variable resistor as claimed in claim 1, wherein the metal grain is selected from gold (Au), silver (Ag), palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt), and rhodium (Rh).
3. The laminated variable resistor as claimed in claim 1, wherein the metal grain is an alloy of any two of the metals gold (Au), silver (Ag), palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt), and rhodium (Rh).