{
  "patent_number": "US 4064521",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How Amorphous Silicon Changed Solar Power",
  "original_title": "Semiconductor device having a body of amorphous silicon",
  "summary": "This 1976 patent describes using a specific form of non-crystalline silicon to create cheap, thin semiconductor devices like solar cells.",
  "what_it_does": "The patent details a method for creating semiconductor devices using amorphous silicon, which is silicon that lacks a rigid, repeating crystal structure. By using a process called glow discharge in silane gas, the inventors created a material that could form effective electronic junctions. Specifically, the patent claims devices where this amorphous silicon is paired with metallic regions or other semiconductor layers to create barriers that generate a space charge region. This allows the device to capture solar radiation and convert it into electricity, or function as a basic electronic component.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover crystalline silicon, which is the standard material used in most traditional computer chips.",
    "Does not cover any manufacturing process that does not use a glow discharge in silane gas.",
    "Does not cover devices where the amorphous silicon layer is thicker than one micron if the specific electronic performance claims are not met."
  ],
  "filed": "1976-07-30",
  "granted": "1977-12-20",
  "expires": "1996-07-30",
  "status": "expired",
  "holder": "RCA Corp",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/rca-corp",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "David Emil Carlson",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/david-emil-carlson"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 197,
  "tags": [
    "energy",
    "semiconductors",
    "consumer_electronics"
  ],
  "abstract": "An amorphous silicon material, fabricated by the process of a glow discharge in silane, is utilized as the body of semiconductor devices.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/4064521/semiconductor-device-having-a-body-of-amorphous-silicon",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/4064521/semiconductor-device-having-a-body-of-amorphous-silicon/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US4064521",
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}