Proof of solid state cathodoluminescence by using brightness waveform

Three different inorganic-organic hetero-junctions (A : ITO/SiO2/Alq(3)/Al, B: ITO/Alq3/SiO2/Al and C: ITO/SiO2/Alq(3)/ SiO2/Al) were fabricated. The emission can be observed only under positive bias in devices A and B, but under both biases in device C according to their brightness waveforms. With increasing voltage, the increase in blue emission in devices B and C is faster than that in green emission. This is because that the recombination of hot electrons and holes, i.e., electron-hole pairs, produced blue emission in devices B and C, and the recombination of electrons injected from Al with the accumulated holes, which are excited by hot electrons, produced green emission in device A. Hence, the emissions of the devices are attributed to not only the recombination of electrons and accumulated holes, but also the cathodoluminescence-like (CL-like) emission.

Electron transport through hierarchical self-assembly of GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum dots

The transmission of electrons through a hierarchical self-assembly of GaAs/AlxGa(1-)xAs quantum dots (QDs) is calculated using the coupled-channel recursion method. Our results reveal that the number of conductance peaks does not change when the barrier widths change, but the intensities decrease as the barrier widths increase. The conductance peaks will shift towards low Fermi energies as the transverse width of GaAs QD increases, as the thickness of GaAs quantum well increases, or as the height of GaAs QDs decreases. Our calculated results may be useful in the application of QDs to photoelectric devices. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.

Intersubband optical absorption in quantum dots-in-a-well heterostructures

The theoretical analysis of intersubband optical transitions for InAs/ InGaAs quantum dots-in-a-well ( DWELL ) detectors are performed in the framework of effective-mass envelope- function theory. In contrast to InAs/ GaAs quantum dot (QD) structures, the calculated band structure of DWELL quantitatively confirms that an additional InGaAs quantum well effectively lowers the ground state of InAs QDs relative to the conduction-band edge of GaAs and enhances the confinement of electrons. By changing the doping level, the dominant optical transition can occur either between the bound states in the dots or from the ground state in the dots to bound states in the well, which corresponds to the far-infrared and long-wave infrared (LWIR ) peaks in the absorption spectra, respectively. Our calculated results also show that it is convenient to tailor the operating wavelength in the LWIR atmospheric window ( 8 - 12 mu m ) by adjusting the thickness of the InGaAs layer while keeping the size of the quantum dots fixed. Theoretical predictions agree well with the available experimental data. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.

Singlet-triplet transition in quantum dots confined by triangular and bowl-like potentials: the effect of electric fields

We theoretically investigate the energy spectra of two-electron two-dimensional (2e 2D) quantum dots (QDs) confined by triangular potentials and bowl-like potentials in a magnetic field by exact diagonalization in the framework of effective mass theory. An in-plane electric field is,found to contribute to the singlet-triplet transition of the ground state of the 2e 2D QDs confined by triangular or bowl-like potentials in a perpendicular magnetic field. The stronger the in-plane electric field, the smaller the magnetic field for the total spin of the ground states in the dot systems to change from S = 0 to S = 1. However, the influence of an in-plane electric field on the singlet-triplet transition of the ground state of two electrons in a triangular QD modulated by a perpendicular magnetic field is quite small because the triangular potential just deviates from the harmonic potential well slightly. We End that the strength of the perpendicular magnetic field needed for the spin singlet-triplet transition of the ground state of the QD confined by a bowl-like potential is reduced drastically by applying an in-plane electric field.

Photoluminescence investigation of two-dimensional electron gas in an undoped AlxGa1-xN/GaN heterostructure

Low-temperature photoluminescence measurement is performed on an undoped AlxGa1-xN/GaN heterostructure. Temperature-dependent Hall mobility confirms the formation of two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) near the heterointerface. A weak photoluminescence (PL) peak with the energy of similar to 79meV lower than the free exciton (FE) emission of bulk GaN is related to the radiative recombination between electrons confined in the triangular well and the holes near the flat-band region of GaN. Its identification is supported by the solution of coupled one-dimensional Poisson and Schrodinger equations. When the temperature increases, the red shift of the 2DEG related emission peak is slower than that of the FE peak. The enhanced screening effect coming from the increasing 2DEG concentration and the varying electron distribution at two lowest subbands as a function of temperature account for such behaviour.

Theoretical analysis of gate voltage-controlled subband states in an AlxGa1-xN/GaN heterostructure

The subband structure and inter-subband transition as a function of gate voltage are determined by solving the Schrodinger and Poisson equations self-consistently in an AlxGa1-xN/GaN heterostructure. Different aluminum mole fraction and thickness of AlxGa1-xN barrier are considered. Calculation results show that energy difference between the first and second subband covers a wide range (from several tens to hundreds milli-electron volt) by applying different gate voltage, which corresponds to the midinfrared and long-wave infrared wavelength scope. Furthermore, such a modulation on the subband transition energy is much more pronounced for the structure with thin barrier. When the applied positive gate voltage is increased, the triangle well formed at the interface turns to be deeper and narrower, which enhances the confinement for electrons. As a result, the overlap between electron wave function at two subbands increases, and thus the optical intersubband transition also enhances its intensity. This tendency is in good agreement with the available data in the literature. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Asymmetric quantum-confined Stark effects of hierarchical self-assembly of GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum dots

Quantum-confined Stark effects in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs self-assembled quantum dots are investigated theoretically in the framework of effective-mass envelope function theory. The electron and hole energy levels and optical transition energies are calculated in the presence of an electric field in different directions. In our calculation, the effect of finite offset, valence-band mixing, the effects due to the different effective masses of electrons and holes in different regions, and the real quantum dot structures are all taken into account. The results show that the electron and hole energy levels and the optical transition energies can cause blueshifts when the electric field is applied along the opposite to the growth direction. Our calculated results are useful for the application of hierarchical self-assembly of GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum dots to photoelectric devices. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.

Photoemission study of chemisorption and Fermi-level pinning at K/GaAs(100) interface with synchrotron radiation

The adsorption of K on the n-GaAs(I 0 0) surface was investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and synchrotron radiation photoemission spectroscopy (SR-PES). The Ga3d and As3d core level was measured for clean and K adsorbed GaAs(I 0 0) surface. The adsorption of K induced chemical reaction between K and As, and the K-As reactant formed when the K coverage theta > I ML. The chemical reaction between K and Ga did not occur, but Ga atoms were exchanged by K atoms. From the data of band bending, the Schottky barrier is 0.70 eV. The Fermi-level pinning was not caused by defect levels. The probable reason is that the dangling bonds of surface Ga atoms were filled by the outer-shell electrons of K atoms, forming a half-filled surface state. The Fermi-level pinning was caused by this half-filled surface state. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effective-mass theory for hierarchical self-assembly of GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum dots

The electronic structures in the hierarchical self-assembly of GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum dots are investigated theoretically in the framework of effective-mass envelope function theory. The electron and hole energy levels and optical transition energies are calculated. In our calculation, the effect of finite offset, valence-band mixing, the effects due to the different effective masses of electrons and holes in different regions, and the real quantum dot structures are all taken into account. The results show that (1) electronic energy levels decrease monotonically, and the energy difference between the energy levels increases as the GaAs quantum dot (QD) height increases; (2) strong state mixing is found between the different energy levels as the GaAs QD width changes; (3) the hole energy levels decrease more quickly than those of the electrons as the GaAs QD size increases; (4) in excited states, the hole energy levels are closer to each other than the electron ones; (5) the first heavy- and light-hole transition energies are very close. Our theoretical results agree well with the available experimental data. Our calculated results are useful for the application of the hierarchical self-assembly of GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs quantum dots to photoelectric devices.

Simulation of polarization effects in AlGaN/GaN heterojunction

A method for introducing polarization effects in the simulation of GaN-based heterojunction devices is proposed. A delta doping layer is inserted at the interface of heterojunction and the ionized donors or acceptors act as polarization induced fixed charges. Thus polarization effects can be taken into account in a traditional device simulator. Ga-face and N-face single AlGaN/GaN heterostructures are simulated, and the simulation results show that carrier confinement takes place only in the former structure while not in the latter one. The sheet density of free electrons at the interface of Ga-face AlGaN/GaN increases with the Al composition and the thickness of AlGaN. The consistence of simulation results with the experiments and calculations reported elsewhere shows that this method can effectively introduce polarization effects in the simulation of GaN-based heterojunction devices.

Origin of the blueshift in the infrared absorbance of intersubband transitions in AlxGa1-x/GaN multiple quantum wells

A self-consistent calculation of the subband energy levels of n-doped quantum wells is studied. A comparison is made between theoretical results and experimental data. In order to account for the deviations between them, the ground-state electron-electron exchange interactions, the ground-state direct Coulomb interactions, the depolarization effect, and the exciton-like effect are considered in the simulations. The agreement between theory and experiment is greatly improved when all these aspects are taken into account. The ground-to-excited-state energy difference increases by 8 meV from its self-consistent value if one considers the depolarization effect and the exciton-like effect only. It appears that the electron-electron exchange interactions account for most of the observed residual blueshift for the infrared intersubband absorbance in AlxGa1-xN/GaN multiple quantum wells. It seems that electrons on the surface of the k-space Fermi gas make the main contribution to the electron-electron exchange interactions, while for electrons further inside the Fermi gas it is difficult to exchange their positions. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Influence of level filling on optical properties of quantum well

In a specially- designed three-barrier-double-well tunneling structure, electron injecting from the emitter in combination with escaping through a resonant-tunneling structure were used to adjust and control the filling of electrons in different subbands. It was observed that the occupation in the first-excited electron state can result in a suppression to quantum confinement Stark effect. Moreover, at very low bias, a series of intrigue photoluminescence peaks appeared as a small quantity of excess electron was filled in the ground state of the quantum well, that cannot be explained by the theory of hand-to-hand transition in the framework of single electron picture.

Photo-capacitance response of internal tunnelling coupling in quantum-dot-imbedded heterostructures under selective photo-excitation

Under selective photo-excitation, the capacitance response of internal tunnelling coupling in quantum-dots-imbedded heterostructures is studied to clarify the electronic states and the number densities of electrons filling in the quantum dots (QDs). The random nature for both optical transitions and the filling in a QD assembly makes highly resolved capacitance peaks appear in the C-V characteristic after turning off the photo-excitation.

A novel hybrid phase-locked-loop frequency synthesizer using single-electron devices and CMOS transistors

This paper proposes a novel phase-locked loop (PLL) frequency synthesizer using single-electron devices (SEDs) and metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) field-effect transistors. The PLL frequency synthesizer mainly consists of a single-electron transistor (SET)/MOS hybrid voltage-controlled oscillator circuit, a single-electron (SE) turnstile/MOS hybrid phase-frequency detector (PFD) circuit and a SE turnstile/MOS hybrid frequency divider. The phase-frequency detection and frequency-division functions are realized by manipulating the single electrons. We propose a SPICE model to describe the behavior of the MOSFET-based SE turnstile. The authors simulate the performance of the PILL block circuits and the whole PLL synthesizer. Simulation results indicated that the circuit can well perform the operation of the PLL frequency synthesizer at room temperature. The PILL synthesizer is very compact. The total number of the transistors is less than 50. The power dissipation of the proposed PLL circuit is less than 3 uW. The authors discuss the effect of fabrication tolerance, the effect of background charge and the SE transfer accuracy on the performance of the PLL circuit. A technique to compensate parameter dispersions of SEDs is proposed.

Dynamics of spin-dependent tunneling through a semiconductor double-barrier structure

The dynamics of spin-dependent tunneling through a nonmagnetic semiconductor double-barrier structure is studied including the k(3) Dresselhaus spin orbit coupling is solved by the time-dependent Schrodinger equation with a developed method for the finite-difference relaxation. The resonant peak and quasibound level lifetime are determined by the in-plane wave vector and the applied electric field. The buildup time and decay lifetime of resonant probability amplitude are different for the spin-down and spin-up electrons due to the Dresselhaus spin-orbit coupling. Further investigation shows that the steady spin-polarization in both the well and collector regions has been obtained in the time domain. (C) 2007 American Institute of Physics.