Photoluminescence spectroscopy and positron annihilation spectroscopy probe of alloying and annealing effects in nonpolar m-plane ZnMgO thin films

Temperature-dependent photoluminescence characteristics of non-polar m-plane ZnO and ZnMgO alloy films grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition have been studied. The enhancement in emission intensity caused by localized excitons in m-plane ZnMgO alloy films was directly observed and it can be further improved after annealing in nitrogen. The concentration of Zn vacancies in the films was increased by alloying with Mg, which was detected by positron annihilation spectroscopy. This result is very important to directly explain why undoped Zn1-xMgxO thin films can show p-type conduction by controlling Mg content, as discussed by Li [Appl. Phys. Lett. 91, 232115 (2007)].

Blue Luminescent Properties of Silicon Nanowires Grown by a Solid-Liquid-Solid Method

Silicon nanowires (SiNWs) were grown directly from n-(111) single-crystal silicon (c-Si) substrate based on a solid-liquid-solid mechanism, and Au film was used as a metallic catalyst. The room temperature photoluminescence properties of SiNWs were observed by an Xe lamp with an exciting wavelength of 350 nm. The results show that the SiNWs exhibit a strongly blue luminescent band in the wavelength range 400-480 nm at an emission peak position of 420 nm. The luminescent mechanism of SiNWs indicates that the blue luminescence is attributed to the oxygen-related defects, which are in SiOx amorphous oxide shells around the crystalline core of SiNWs.

Optimization of VI/II pressure ratio in ZnTe growth on GaAs(001) by molecular beam epitaxy

ZnTe epilayers were grown on GaAs(0 0 1) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) at different VI/II beam equivalent pressure (BEP) ratios (R-VI/II) in a wide range of 0.96-11 with constant Zn flux. Based on in situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) observation, two-dimensional (2D) growth mode can be formed by increasing the R-VI/II to 2.8. The Te/Zn pressure ratios lower than 4.0 correspond to Zn-rich growth state, while the ratios over 6.4 correspond to Te-rich one. The Zn sticking coefficient at various VI/II ratios are derived by the growth rate measurement. The ZnTe epilayer grown at a R-VI/II of 6.4 displays the narrowest full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of double-crystal X-ray rocking curve (DCXRC) for (0 0 4) reflection. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) characterization shows that the grain size enlarges drastically with the R-VI/II. The surface root-mean-square (RMS) roughness decreases firstly, attains a minimum of 1.14 nm at a R-VI/II of 4.0 and then increases at higher ratios. It is suggested that the most suitable R-VI/II be controlled between 4.0 and 6.4 in order to grow high-quality ZnTe epitaxial thin films.

Optical properties of Mn+ doped GaAs

The above work was supported by the national Basic Research Program of China (2006cb604904, 2006cb604908), the hi-tech R & D program of China (2006aa03z0408, 2006aa03z0404), the scientific research Fund of Central South University of Forstry and Technology.

Characterization and analysis of two-dimensional GaAs-based photonic crystal nanocavities at room temperature

This paper describes the design and fabrication process of a two-dimensional GaAs-based photonic crystal nanocavity and analyzes the optical characterization of cavity modes at room temperature. Single InAs/InGaAs quantum dots (QDs) layer was embedded in a GaAs waveguide layer grown on an Al0.7Ga0.3As layer and GaAs substrate. The patterning of the structure and the membrane release were achieved by using electron-beam lithography, reaction ion etching, inductively coupled plasma etching and selective wet etching. The micro-luminescence spectrum is recorded from the fabricated nanocavities, and it is found that some high-order cavity modes are clearly observed besides the lowest-order resonant mode is exhibited in spite of much high rate of nonradiative recombination. The variance of resonant modes is also discussed as a function of r/a ratio and will be used in techniques aimed to improve the probability of achieving spectral coupling of a single QD to a cavity mode.

Strong circular photogalvanic effect in ZnO epitaxial films

We report a strong circular photogalvanic effect (CPGE) in ZnO epitaxial films under interband excitation. It is observed that CPGE current is as large as 100 nA/W in ZnO, which is about one order in magnitude higher than that in InN film while the CPGE currents in GaN films are not detectable. The possible reasons for the above observations are the strong spin orbit coupling in ZnO or the inversed valence band structure of ZnO.

Photoexcited charge current for the presence of pure spin current

The asymmetric spin distribution in k space caused by the pure spin current (PSC) can introduce a photoexcited charge current (PECC). This provides us a practical scheme for direct detection of PSC. We demonstrate theoretically that the PECC related to the PSC depends sensitively on the wave vector and spin orientation of the carriers, more important, the helicity dependence of this PECC provides us a way to refine it from the helicity independent background current by tuning the polarized laser beams from left to right circular polarization.

Evaluation of thermal radiation dependent performance of GaSb thermophotovoltaic cell based on an analytical absorption coefficient model

Applying the model dielectric function method, we have expressed the absorption coefficient of GaSb analytically at room temperature relating to the contribution of various critical points of its electronic band structure. The calculated absorption spectrum shows good agreement with the reported experimental data obtained by spectral ellipsometry on nominally undoped sample. Based on this analytical absorption spectrum, we have qualitatively evaluated the response of active absorbing layer structure and its photoelectric conversion properties of GaSb thermophotovoltaic device on the perturbation of external thermal radiation induced by the varying radiator temperature or emissivity. Our calculation has demonstrated that desirable thickness to achieve the maximum conversion efficiency should be decreased with the increment of radiator temperature and the performance degradation brought by any structure deviation from its optimal one would be stronger meanwhile. For the popular radiator temperature, no more than 1500 K in a real solar thermophotovoltaic system, and typical doping profile in GaSb cell, a reasonable absorbing layer structure parameter should be controlled within 100-300 nm for the emitter while 3000-5000 nm for the base.

Raman scattering study of vibrational modes and hole concentration in GaxMn1-xSb

The Raman scattering study of vibrational modes and hole concentration in a ferromagnetic semiconductor Ga1-xMnxSb grown by Mn ion implantation, deposition and post-annealing has been presented. The experiments are performed both in implanted and unimplanted regions before and after etching the samples. The Raman spectra measured from the unimplanted region show only GaSb-like phonon modes. On the other hand, the spectra measured from the implanted region show additional phonon modes approximately at 115, 152, 269, 437 and 659 cm(-1). The experimental results demonstrate that the extra modes are associated with surface defects, crystal disorder and blackish layer that is formed due to Mn ion implantation, deposition and annealing processes. Furthermore, we have determined the hole concentration as a function of laser probing position by modeling the Raman spectra using coupled mode theory. The contributions of GaSb-like phonon modes and coupled LO-phonon plasmon mode are taken into consideration in the model. The hole-concentration-dependent CLOPM is resolved in the spectra measured from the implanted and nearby implanted regions. The hole concentrations determined by Raman scattering are found to be in good agreement with those measured by the electrochemical capacitance-voltage technique.

Study on pulsed laser ablation and deposition of ZnO thin films by L-MBE

ZnO, as a wide-band gap semiconductor, has recently become a new research focus in the field of ultraviolet optoelectronic semiconductors. Laser molecular beam epitaxy (L-MBE) is quite useful for the unit cell layer-by-layer epitaxial growth of zinc oxide thin films from the sintered ceramic target. The ZnO ceramic target with high purity was ablated by KrF laser pulses in an ultra high vacuum to deposit ZnO thin film during the process of L-MBE. It is found that the deposition rate of ZnO thin film by L-MBE is much lower than that by conventional pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Based on the experimental phenomena in the ZnO thin film growth process and the thermal-controlling mechanism of the nanosecond (ns) pulsed laser ablation of ZnO ceramic target, the suggested effective ablating time during the pulse duration can explain the very low deposition rate of the ZnO film by L-MBE. The unique dynamic mechanism for growing ZnO thin film is analyzed. Both the high energy of the deposition species and the low growth rate of the film are really beneficial for the L-MBE growth of the ZnO thin film with high crystallinity at low temperature.

Synthesis of novel hexagon SnO2 nanosheets in ethanol/water solution by hydrothermal process

The novel hexagon SnO2 nanosheets are successfully synthesized in ethanol/water solution by hydrothermal process. The samples are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared ray (IR) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). By changing the reaction conditions, the size and the morphology can be controlled. Comparison experiments show that when the temperature increased from 140 degrees C to 180 degrees C, the edge length of the hexagon nanoparticles increases from 300-450 nm to 700-900 nm. On the other hand, by adjusting the ratios of water to ethanol from 2 to 0.5, SnO2 nanoparticles with different morphologies of triangle and sphere are obtained. When the concentration of NaOH is increased from 0.15 M to 0.30 M, a hollow ring structure can be obtained. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

高迁移率有机半导体材料及有机薄膜晶体管

有机薄膜晶体管中以并五苯和齐聚唾酚为代表的几种有机半导体材料材料多晶薄膜的迁移率已经达到1cm2V-1s-l以上，已经非常接近这些材料单晶的迁移率，也是目前有机薄膜晶体管所使用的材料中迁移率最高的。但是这几种材料都具有合成困难，价格昂贵、稳定性较差的缺点。金属酞警是一种具有较好热和化学的稳定性、价格便宜、可以在商业上直接购得大量高纯度产品的有机半导体材料。它的单晶迁移率很高，但是现在它多晶薄膜的迁移率比单晶的迁移率低两个量级。因此尽快提高这种金属酞普多晶薄膜的迁移率是目前有机薄膜晶体管研究的一个迫切要求。在对并五苯材料的研究中，认为采用提高有机半导体薄膜的有序性、有机薄膜晶体管中的载流子注入的方法可以提高其多晶薄膜中的迁移率，深入的机理有待更进一步的研究。因此本论文的工作主要集中在以下三个方面：(1)以酞普铜为研究对象，利用经典的薄膜生长理论解释了生长条件对薄膜形态结构的影响。然后在薄膜生一氏理论的指导下，制备出大尺寸，高有序，连续的酞普铜薄膜。在这个基础上获得了基于酞普铜薄膜的有机薄膜晶体管目前最高的迁移率。并且成功的将这种方法扩展到了平面型单酞警、全氟代酞普铜、并五苯等多个有机半导体材料上。〔2〕发明了一种新有机薄膜晶体管构型，夹心型有机薄膜晶体管。通过提高器件中的载流子注入，将基于金属酞普薄膜的有机薄膜晶体管的迁移率提高了一个量级，接近了金属酞瞥单晶中的迁移率，达到了目前平板显示中的大量使用的非晶硅薄膜晶体管的水平。并．目．成功的将这一构型扩展到了更广阔的有机半导体材料上。〔3〕利用两种单金属酞背共晶复合得到了比单一组分具有更高迁移率的酞普共晶复合材料的同时，发明了一种利用两种有机半导体材料复合来获得高迁移率有机半导体材料的物理方法。利用多种表征手段对单金属酞蓄共晶材料进行了表征，寻找到了单金属酞普共晶复合材料高迁移率的原因。

ZnO基稀磁半导体的制备与性质研究

本论文利用溶胶一凝胶法和水热法制备了不同离子（Eu~3＋，Sm~3＋，Mn~2＋，Fe~3＋，Co~2＋，Ni~2＋）作为磁性杂质的ZnO基稀磁半导体，并系统地研究了材料的薄膜、粉末和纳米结构的结晶特性、结构形态和光、电、磁性质。溶胶一凝胶法制备的薄膜的晶体为c轴取向生长的六方纤维锌矿结构。薄膜的取向生长受烧结气氛、烧结温度和掺杂离子浓度的影响，其中烧结气氛是影响薄膜取向生长的最直接、最显著因素。随着烧结气氛中氧含量的减小，薄膜的沿c轴生长的趋势加强。此外，烧结温度的提高也增强薄膜沿c轴生长的趋势，但掺杂离子浓度的增加却抑制薄膜的c轴取向生长特性。通过薄膜表面形态的研究发现，在空气中烧结的薄膜由立方晶粒构成，而在真空中烧结的样品则由不规则的片状晶粒组成。组成薄膜的多晶颗粒粒径小于10Onm，15层薄膜的膜厚为357-366nm。掺杂离子在薄膜中均匀分布，成膜过程不改变掺杂离子（Eu3+，Sm3＋，Mn2+，Fe3＋，Co2＋，Ni2＋）和基质离子（Zn2+和O2-）的价态。 不同Eu3+掺杂浓度的ZnO薄膜样品的吸收光谱的吸收边出现在363nm和368nm之间，对应半导体材料的禁带宽度Eg=3.42～3.40ev。由于Eu3＋改变了薄膜的表面性质，Zn1-xEux（0.005≤x≤0.15）薄膜在可见光区出现了一系列干涉带。Zn1-xTMxO薄膜的吸收光谱的吸收边位置出现在356nm-369nm，对应半导体的禁带宽度为3.34-3.46eV，在可见光区发现了Co2＋的电子的d-d跃迁引起的吸收带。随着掺杂浓度的增加，薄膜的透光率逐渐减小。Zn1-xCoxO薄膜在近紫外与可见光区的透光率都在60％以上，Zn1-xEuxO薄膜的透光率则高达90％。在Zn1-xEuxO薄膜的激发发射光谱中，以613nm作为监控波长，激发光谱除了检测到Eu3＋的7F→5D能级的吸收跃迁外，还检测到最大值位于378nm附近的ZnO的吸收带。以394nm为激发波长，发射光谱检测到Eu3+的5D0→7FJ（J＝1，2，3，4）跃迁。以zno的带隙能量378nm作为激发波长进行激发，检测到Eu3+的5D0→7F2跃迁，说明基质zno和E矿十之间存在能量交换。薄膜磁性测试在4-400K温度范围内进行，发现在此温度范围内Zn0.9Eu0.1O薄膜表现居里一外斯顺磁性；在低温区，存在磁性增强现象。zno．gCoo．IO薄膜在23oK以下表现为铁磁性，200K的M-H曲线显示薄膜的剩磁（Br）约为0．21em侧g，矫顽力（Hc）约为327Oe。但Zn0.9Mn0.1O，Zn0.9Ni0.1O，Zn0.9Co0.1O薄膜的磁性测试则显示在80K以上三种薄膜均表现为顺磁性。Zn0.9Eu0.1O薄膜的电阻呈现典型的半导体性质，在ZT的磁场下，薄膜在110K获得最大14.53％的磁阻率。Zn1-xTMxO薄膜的电阻也表现典型的半导体特性，实验研究了薄膜在不同掺杂离子浓度、外加磁场以及温度条件下的磁阻性质。粉末样品中磁性离子的掺杂浓度均小于薄膜样品。Co，Fe，Ni，Mn掺杂的Zn1-xTMxO粉末在80以上均为顺磁性。在Co2＋掺杂的粉末样品中没有发现类似于薄膜样品的铁磁性，说明DMS的磁性与制备条件关系密切。实验证明了利用sol-gel方法，Zno：TM稀磁半导体能够有效地组装在MCM-41和AAO的孔道内。ZnO:TM材料组装进在MCM-41孔道后，不改变孔道的六方结构但使孔径变小。随着组装次数的增加，MCM-41的孔径和孔容累进减小。组装在AAo模板孔道内的材料呈单分散纳米颗粒状态，颗粒粒径小于loonm。组装材料的磁性测试显示：组装在MCM-41内的Zn0.9Co0.1O材料在80K-30OK呈现超顺磁性。而Mn，Fe，Ni掺杂的Zno在此温度范围内表现顺磁性。组装在AAO内的ZnO:TM(TM=Mn，Fe，Co，Ni）材料在SOK-30OK温度范围内都呈现顺磁性。在水热法合成ZnO:A（A＝Bu，Sm，co）纳米粒子的过程中，发现反应温度、压力、时间和溶液浓度等因素只影响Znl．xCoxO纳米粒子的的产量，而溶液的酸度却影响产物的形貌。控制溶液的酸度，可以控制产物的形貌从粒状向棒状转变。当溶液的PH＝5时，在甲醇：水体系中可以水热合成规则的棒状ZnO：RE（RE=Eu，Sm）纳米晶。所得到的Zn0.98Co0.02O纳米晶在80K呈超顺磁行为，而ZnO：RE（RE＝Eu，Sm）纳米晶在80K则表现较弱的顺磁性。 实验通过控制水热条件，制备了一种新型结构的柠檬酸锌晶体。由于利用了水热反应的非平衡合成条件，所得到的晶体的层状结构不同于目前已知的所有柠檬酸配合物的离散型分子结构。单晶衍射结果表明：化合物是一个由八面体和一个非对称单元交替相连构成的二维层状结构。

Room-Temperature Ferromagnetism in Co-Doped In2O3 Nanocrystals

Co-doped In2O3 nanocrystals showing room-temperature ferromagnetism have been successfully prepared by a simple sol-gel synthesis route. The sample displays it clear ferromagnetism behavior above 300 K. Phase and structure analyses reveal that the nanocrystals are crystallized with Co ions substituted for In ions in the In2O3 matrix, and no trace of secondary phases or clusters is detected. The experimental results are explained theoretically by first-principles calculations based on density functional theory, which indicate that the native ferromagnetic behavior of Co-doped In2O3 could be mainly ascribed to the strong d-d coupling of the magnetic ions.