EFFECTS OF AN EXTERNAL MAGNETIC-FIELD ON SHALLOW DONOR LEVELS IN SEMICONDUCTORS

An extension of Faulkner's method for the energy levels of the shallow donor in silicon and germanium at zero field is made in order to investigate the effects of a magnetic field upon the excited states. The effective-mass Hamiltonian matrix elements of an electron bound to a donor center and subjected to a magnetic field B, which involves both the linear and quadratic terms of magnetic field, are expressed analytically and matrices are solved numerically. The photothermal ionization spectroscopy of phosphorus in ultrapure silicon for magnetic fields parallel to the [1,0,0] and [1,1,1] directions and up to 10 T is explained successfully.

EFFECTS OF DEEP CENTERS AT PT SI INTERFACES AND HYDROGENATION

Electrical measurements were combined with surface techniques to study the Pt/Si interfaces at various silicide formation temperatures. Effects of deep centers on the Schottky barrier heights were studied. Hydrogen plasma treatment was used to passivate the impurity/defect centers at the interfaces, and the effects of hydrogenation on the Schottky barrier heights were also examined. Combining our previous study on the Pt/Si interfacial reaction, factors influencing the PtSi/Si Schottky barrier diode are discussed.

DETERMINATION OF THE CONDUCTION-BAND OFFSET OF A SINGLE ALGAAS BARRIER LAYER USING DEEP-LEVEL TRANSIENT SPECTROSCOPY

The tunneling from an AlGaAs confined thin layer to a GaAs layer in the GaAs/Al0.33Ga0.67As/GaAs structure during the trapped electron emission from deep level in the AlGaAs to its conduction band has been observed by deep level transient spectroscopy. With the aid of the tunneling effect, the conduction-band offset DELTAE(c) was determined to be 0.260 eV, corresponding to 63% of DELTAE(g). A calculation was also carried out based on this tunneling model by using the experimental value of DELTAE(c) = E2 - E1 = 0. 260 eV, and good agreement between the experimental and calculated curves is obtained.

SEMICLASSICAL AND ENVELOPE-FUNCTION TREATMENT OF MAGNETIC LEVELS IN SUPERLATTICES UNDER AN INPLANE MAGNETIC-FIELD

The theoretical treatment of magnetic levels formed in the minibands of superlattices under an in-plane magnetic field is discussed. It is found that the results of semiclassical and envelope-function treatments based on miniband structures are in good agreement with the results calculated strictly by the quantum-mechanical method, so long as the critical parameter 2hc/eBL2 is larger than 1. The wave functions obtained are in the nature of superlattice envelope functions, which are over and above the usual effective-mass envelope functions for bulk materials.

Deep electron states in n-type Al-doped ZnS1-xTex grown by molecular beam epitaxy

Capacitance-voltage, photoluminescence (PL), and deep level transient spectroscopy techniques were used to investigate deep electron states in n-type Al-doped ZnS1-xTex epilayers grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The integrated intensity of the PL spectra obtained from Al-doped ZnS0.977Te0.023 is lower than that of undoped ZnS0.977Te0.023, indicating that some of the Al atoms form nonradiative deep traps. Deep level transient Fourier spectroscopy (DLTFS) spectra of the Al-doped ZnS1-xTex (x=0, 0.017, 0.04, and 0.046, respectively) epilayers reveal that Al doping leads to the formation of two electron traps 0.21 and 0.39 eV below the conduction band. DLTFS results suggest that in addition to the roles of Te as a component of the alloy as well as isoelectronic centers, Te is also involved in the formation of an electron trap, whose energy level with respect to the conduction band decreases as Te composition increases. Our results show that only a small fraction of Al atoms forms nonradiative deep defects, indicating clearly that Al is indeed a very good donor impurity for ZnS1-xTex epilayers in the range of Te composition being studied in this work. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(97)08421-1].

Ab initio calculations for the neutral and charged O vacancy in sapphire

The energetics, lattice relaxation, and the defect-induced states of st single O vacancy in alpha-Al2O3 are studied by means of supercell total-energy calculations using a first-principles method based on density-functional theory. The supercell model with 120 atoms in a hexagonal lattice is sufficiently large to give realistic results for an isolated single vacancy (square). Self-consistent calculations are performed for each assumed configuration of lattice relaxation involving the nearest-neighbor Al atoms and the next-nearest-neighbor O atoms of the vacancy site. Total-energy data thus accumulated are used to construct an energy hypersurface. A theoretical zero-temperature vacancy formation energy of 5.83 eV is obtained. Our results show a large relaxation of Al (O) atoms away from the vacancy site by about 16% (8%) of the original Al-square (O-square) distances. The relaxation of the neighboring Al atoms has a much weaker energy dependence than the O atoms. The O vacancy introduces a deep and doubly occupied defect level, or an F center in the gap, and three unoccupied defect levels near the conduction band edge, the positions of the latter are sensitive to the degree of relaxation. The defect state wave functions are found to be not so localized, but extend up to the boundary of the supercell. Defect-induced levels are also found in the valence-band region below the O 2s and the O 2p bands. Also investigated is the case of a singly occupied defect level (an F+ center). This is done by reducing both the total number of electrons in the supercell and the background positive charge by one electron in the self-consistent electronic structure calculations. The optical transitions between the occupied and excited states of the: F and F+ centers are also investigated and found to be anisotropic in agreement with optical data.

Correlation of electrical and optical properties in dually Cd+ and N+ ion-implanted GaAs

Cd in GaAs is an acceptor atom and has the largest atomic diameter among the four commonly-used group-II shallow acceptor impurities (Be, Mg, Zn and Cd). The activation energy of Cd (34.7 meV) is also the largest one in the above four impurities, When Cd is doped by ion implantation, the effects of lattice distortion are expected to be apparently different from those samples ion-implanted by acceptor impurities with smaller atomic diameter. In order to compensate the lattice expansion and simultaneously to adjust the crystal stoichiometry, dual incorporation of Cd and nitrogen (N) was carried out into GaAs, Ion implantation of Cd was made at room temperature, using three energies (400 keV, 210 keV, 110 keV) to establish a flat distribution, The spatial profile of N atoms was adjusted so as to match that of Cd ones, The concentration of Cd and N atoms, [Cd] and [N] varied between 1 x 10(16) cm(-3) and 1 x 10(20) cm(-3). Two type of samples, i.e., solely Cd+ ion-implanted and dually (Cd+ + N+) ion-implanted with [Cd] = [N] were prepared, For characterization, Hall effects and photoluminescence (PL) measurements were performed at room temperature and 2 K, respectively. Hall effects measurements revealed that for dually ion-implanted samples, the highest activation efficiency was similar to 40% for [Cd] (= [N])= 1 x 10(18) cm(-3). PL measurements indicated that [g-g] and [g-g](i) (i = 2, 3, alpha, beta,...), the emissions due to the multiple energy levels of acceptor-acceptor pairs are significantly suppressed by the incorporation of N atoms, For [Cd] = [N] greater than or equal to 1 x 10(19) cm(-3), a moderately deep emission denoted by (Cd, N) is formed at around 1.45-1.41 eV. PL measurements using a Ge detector indicated that (Cd, N) is increasingly red-shifted in energy and its intensity is enhanced with increasing [Cd] = [N], (Cd, N) becomes a dominant emission for [Cd] = [N] = 1 x 10(20) cm(-3). The steep reduction of net hole carrier concentration observed for [Cd]/[N] less than or equal to 1 was ascribed to the formation of (Cd, N) which is presumed to be a novel radiative complex center between acceptor and isoelectronic atoms in GaAs.

Characterization of deep centers in AlGaAs/InGaAs/GaAs pseudomorphic HEMT structures grown by molecular beam epitaxy and hydrogen treatment

In AlGaAs/InGaAs/GaAs PM-HEMT structures, the characterization of deep centers, the degradation in electrical and optical properties and their effects on electrical performance of the PM-HEMTs have been investigated by DLTS, SIMS, PL and conventional van der Pauw techniques. The experimental results confirm that the deep level centers correlate strongly with the oxygen content in the AlGaAs layer, the PL response of PM-HEMTs, and the electrical performance of the PM-HEMTs. Hydrogen plasma treatment was used to passivate/annihilate these centers, and the effects of hydrogenation were examined.

Deep centers in AlGaAs/GaAs GRIN-SCH SQW laser structures grown by MBE and MOCVD

The deep centers in AlGaAs/GaAs graded index-separate confinement heterostructure single quantum well (GRIN-SCHSQW) laser structures grown by MBE and MOCVD have been investigated using deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) technique, The majority and minority carrier DLTS spectra show that the deep (hole and electron) traps (Hi and E3), having large capture cross sections and concentrations, are observed in the graded n-AlxGa1-xAs layer of laser structures in addition to the well-known DX centers. For laser structures grown by MBE, the deep hole trap H1 and the deep electron trap E3 may be spatially localized in the interface regions of discontinuous variation Al mole fraction of the n-AlxGa1-xAs layer with x = 0.20-0.43. For laser structures grown by MOCVD, the deep electron trap E3 may be spatially localized in the n-AlxGa1-xAs layer with x = 0.18-0.30, and the DX center may be spatially localized in the interface regions of discontinuous variation Al mole fraction of the AlxGa1-xAs layer with x = 0.22-0.30.

Characterization of recombination centres in n-type Hg1-xCdxTe

The defect levels in Hg1-xCdxTe P+N junction photodiodes (x = 0.4) were first studied using deep-level transient spectroscopy. Two electron traps, E(1)(0.06) and E(2)(0.15), and two hole traps, H-1(0.075) and H-2(0.29), were obtained, Characteristic parameters-the minority lifetime of the devices and the dynamic resistance-area product at zero bias-are estimated according to these levels. Results show that these two minority levels may be important in controlling lifetime. We have studied the recombination mechanism of the hole trap H-2(0.29) further. It has a large activation energy and satisfies the formula sigma(T) = sigma(x) exp(-E(F)/E(T)). This reflects the fact that its recombination mechanism is multiphonon nonradiative recombination, which is rarely reported in narrow-bandgap materials.

DEVELOPMENT OF CURRENT-BASED MICROSCOPIC DEFECT ANALYSIS-METHODS AND ASSOCIATED OPTICAL FILLING TECHNIQUES FOR THE INVESTIGATION ON HIGHLY IRRADIATED HIGH-RESISTIVITY SILICON DETECTORS

Current based microscopic defect analysis methods such as current deep level transient spectroscopy (I-DLTS) and thermally stimulated current (TSC) have been further developed in accordance with the need for the defect analysis of highly irradiated (Phi(n) > 10(13) n/cm(2)) high resistivity silicon detectors. The new I-DLTS/TSC system has a temperature range of 8 K less than or equal to T less than or equal to 450 K and a high sensitivity that can detect a defect concentration of less than 10(10)/cm(3) (background noise as low as 10 fA). A new filling method using different wavelength laser illumination has been applied, which is more efficient and suitable than the traditional voltage pulse filling. It has been found that the filling of a defect level depends on such factors as the total concentration of free carriers generated or injected, the penetration length of the laser (laser wavelength), the temperature at which the filling is taking place, as well as the decay time after the filling (but before the measurement). The mechanism of the defect filling can be explained by the competition between trapping and detrapping of defect levels, possible capture cross section temperature dependence, and interaction among various defect levels in terms of charge transferring. Optimum defect filling conditions have been suggested for highly irradiated high resistivity silicon detectors.

Resonant Raman Scattering and Photoluminescence Emissions from Above Bandgap Levels in Dilute GaAsN Alloy

The transitions of E0 ,E0 ＋A0, and E＋ in dilute GaAs（1-x） Nx alloys with x = 0.10% ,0.22% ,0.36% ,and 0.62% are observed by micro-photoluminescence. Resonant Raman scattering results further confirm that they are from the intrinsic emissions in the studied dilute GaAsN alloys rather than some localized exciton emissions in the GaAsN alloys. The results show that the nitrogen-induced E E＋ and E0 ＋ A0 transitions in GaAsN alloys intersect at a nitrogen content of about 0.16%. It is demonstrated that a small amount of isoelectronic doping combined with micro-photoluminescence allows direct observation of above band gap transitions that are not usually accessible in photoluminescence.