Micro-fabricated Al0.3Ga0.7As pyramids for potential SPM applications

A novel technique of manufacturing Al0.3Ga0.7As pyramids by liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) for scanning probe microscopy (SPM) sensors is reported Four meticulously designed conditions-partial oxidation, deficient solute, air quenching and germanium doping result in defect-free homogeneous nucleation and subsequent pyramid formation. Micrometer-sized frustums and pyramids are detected by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The sharp end of the microtip has a radius of curvature smaller than 50 nm. It is believed that such accomplishments would contribute not only to crystal growth theory, but also to miniature fabrication technology.

Raman scattering study on diluted magnetic semiconductor Ga1-xMnxAs prepared by Mn-ion implantation

Raman scattering measurements have been performed in diluted magnetic semiconductor Ga1-xMnxAs prepared by Mn-ion implantation, deposition, and post-annealing technique. It is found that the Raman spectrum measured from the implanted surface of the sample shows some new weak modes in addition to the GaAs-like modes which are observed from the unimplanted surface. The new vibrational modes observed are assigned to MnAs-like modes. The coupled LO-phonon plasmon mode, and Mn and As related vibrational modes caused by Mn-ion implantation, deposition, and post-annealing are also observed. Furthermore, the GaAs-like modes are found to be shifted by approximately 4 cm(-1) in the lower frequency side, compared with those observed from the unimplanted surface.

Narrow stripe selective growth of InGaAlAs waveguides used for buried heterostructure lasers - art. no. 63210I

The narrow stripe selective growth of the InGaAlAs bulk waveguides and InGaAlAs MQW waveguides was first investigated. Flat and clear interfaces were obtained for the selectively grown InGaAlAs waveguides under optimized growth conditions. These selectively grown InGaAlAs waveguides were covered by specific InP layers, which can keep the waveguides from being oxidized during the fabrication of devices. PL peak wavelength shifts of 70 nm for the InGaAlAs bulk waveguides and 73 nm for the InGaAlAs MQW waveguides were obtained with a small mask stripe width varying from 0 to 40 gm, and were interpreted in considering both the migration effect from the masked region (MMR) and the lateral vapor diffusion effect (LVD). The quality of the selectively grown InGaAlAs MQW waveguides was confirmed by the PL peak intensity and the PL FWHM. Using the narrow stripe selectively grown InGaAlAs MQW waveguides, then the buried heterostructure (BH) lasers were fabricated by a developed unselective regrowth method, instead of conventional selective regrowth. The InGaAlAs MQW BH lasers exhibit good performance characteristics, with a high internal differential quantum efficiency of about 85% and an internal loss of 6.7 cm(-1).

Preparation and AFM characterization of self-ordered porous alumina films on semi-insulated gaas substrate

Self-ordered porous alumina films on a semi-insulated GaAs substrate were prepared in oxalic acid aqueous solutions by three-step anodization. The I-t curve of anodization process was recorded to observe time effects of anodization. Atomic force microscopy was used to investigate structure and morphology of alumina films. It was revealed that the case of oxalic acid resulted in a self-ordered porous structure, with the pore diameters of 60-70 nm, the pore density of the order of about 10(10) pore cm(-2), and interpore distances of 95-100nm. At the same time the pore size and shape change with the pore widening time. Field-enhanced dissolution model and theory of deformation relaxation combined were brought forward to be the cause of self-ordered pore structure according to I-t curve of anodization and structure characteristics of porous alumina films. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High-performance EML grown on taper-masked pattern substrates by ultra-low-pressure MOCVD

A novel in-plane bandgap energy controlling technique by ultra-low pressure (22 mbar) selective area growth (SAG) has been developed. To our knowledge, this is the lowest pressure condition during SAG process ever reported. In this work, high crystalline quality InGaAsP-InP MQWs with a photoluminescence (PL) full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of less than 35meV are selectively grown on mask-patterned planar InP substrates by ultra-low pressure (22 mbar) metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). In order to study the uniformity of the MQWs grown in the selective area, novel tapered masks are designed and used. Through optimizing growth conditions, a wide wavelength shift of over 80 nm with a rather small mask width variation (0-30 mu m) is obtained. The mechanism of ultra-low pressure SAG is detailed by analyzing the effect of various mask designs and quantum well widths. This powerful technique is then applied to fabricate an electroabsorption-modulated laser (EML). Superior device characteristics are achieved, such as a low threshold current of 19mA and an output power of 7mW. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Compact polarization-insensitive arrayed waveguide grating based on SOI material

A compact polarization-insensitive 8x8 arrayed waveguide grating with 100GHz channel spacing at 1.55 mu m is presented on the material of silicon on insulator (SOI). Increasing the epitaxial layer thickness can reduce the birefringence of the waveguide, but the wvaeguide's bend radius also increases at the same time. We choose the SOI wafer with 3.0 mu m epitaxial layer to reduce the device's size and designed the appropriate structure of rib wave-guides to eliminate the polarization dependant wavelength shift. Compared to the other methods of eliminating the polarization dependant wavelength shift, the method is convenient and easy to control the polarization without additional etching process. The index differences between TE0 and TM0 of straight and bend waveguides are 1.4x10(-5) and 3.9x10(-5), respectively. The results showed that the polarization dependant wavelength shift is 0.1nm, and the device size is 1.5x1.0 cm(2).

Anomalous shift of the beating nodes in illumination-controlled In1-xGaxAs/In1-yAlyAs two-dimensional electron gases with strong spin-orbit interaction

The beating patterns in the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillatory magnetoresistance originating from zero-field spin splitting of two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) in In0.52Al0.48As/InxGa1-xAs/In0.52Al0.48As quantum wells with silicon delta doped on the upper barrier layer have been investigated by means of magnetotransport measurements before and after illumination. Contrary to the expectation, after each illumination, the beating nodes induced by the zero-field spin-splitting effect shift to lower and lower magnetic field due to the decrease in the zero-field spin-splitting energy of the 2DEGs. The anomalous phenomenon of the shift of the beating nodes and the decrease in spin-orbit coupling constants after illumination cannot be explained by utilizing the previous linear Rashba model. It is suggested that the decrease in the zero-field spin-splitting energy and the spin-orbit coupling constant arise from the nonlinear Rashba spin splitting.

Strain-Compensated InGaAs/InAlAs Quantum Cascade Detector of 4.5 mu m Operating at Room Temperature

We present a strain-compensated InP-based InGaAs/InAlAs photovoltaic quantum cascade detector grown by solid source molecular beam epitaxy. The detector is based on a vertical intersubband transition and electron transfer on a cascade of quantum levels which is designed to provide longitudinal optical phonon extraction stairs. By careful structure design and growth, the whole epilayer has a residual strain toward InP substrate of only -2.8 x 10(-4). A clear narrow band detection spectrum centered at 4.5 mu m has been observed above room temperature for a device with 200 x 200 mu m(2) square mesa.

Monolithic optical gates based on integration of evanescently-coupled uni-traveling-carrier photodiodes and electroabsorption modulators

We report on chip-scale optical gates based on the integration of evanescent waveguide unitraveling-carrier photodiodes (EC-UTC-PDs) and intra-step quantum well electroabsorption modulators (IQW-EAMs) on n-InP substrates. These devices exhibit simultaneously 2.1 GHz and -16.2 dB RF-gain at 21 GHz with a 450 Omega thin-film resistor and a bypass capacitor integrated on a chip.

Evaluating 0.53 eVGaInAsSbthermophotovoltaic diode based on an analytical absorption model

Radiant heat conversion performance dominated by the active layer of Ga0.84In0.16As0.14Sb0.86 diode has been systematically investigated based on an analytic absorption spectrum, which is suggested here by numerically fitting the limited experimental data. For the concerned diode configuration, our calculation demonstrates that the optimal base doping is 3-4 x 10(17) cm(-3), which is less sensitive to the variation of the external radiation spectrum. Given the scarcity of the alloy elements, an economical device configuration of the 0.2-0.6 mu m emitter and the 4-6 mu m base would be particularly acceptable because the corresponding conversion efficiency cannot exhibit discouraging degradation in comparison to the one for the optimal structure, the thickness of which may be up to 10 mu m. More importantly, the method we suggested here to calculate alloy absorption can be easily transferred to other composition, thus bringing great convenience for design or optimization of the optoelectronic device formed by these alloys.

All-optical clock recovery using a ridge width varied two-section partly gain-coupled DFB self-pulsation laser

A 1.55 mu m InGaAsP-InP partly gain-coupled two-section DFB self-pulsation laser (SPL) with a varied ridge width has been fabricated. The laser produces self-pulsations with a frequency tuning range of more than 135 GHz. All-optical clock recovery from 40 Gb/s degraded data streams has been demonstrated. Successful lockings of the device at frequencies of 30 GHz, 40 GHz, 50 GHz, and 60 GHz to a 10 GHz sidemode injection are also conducted, which demonstrates the capability of the device for all-optical clock recovery at different frequencies. This flexibility of the device is highly desired for practical uses. Crown Copyright

Study on methane hydration process in a semi-continuous stirred tank reactor

The methane hydration process is investigated in a semi-continuous stirred tank reactor. Liquid temperatures and reaction rates without stirrer are compared with those occurring with stirrer, while at the same time better stirring conditions of the methane hydration process are given by the experiments. Some basic data of fluid mechanics, for example, stirring Reynolds number, Froucle number and stirrer power, are calculated during the methane hydration process, which can be applied to evaluate stirrer capacity and provide some basic data for a scaled up reactor. Based on experiment and calculations in this work, some conclusions are drawn. First, the stirrer has great influence on the methane hydration process. Batch stirring is helpful to improve the mass transfer and heat transfer performances of the methane hydration process. Second, induction time can be shortened effectively by use of the stirrer. Third, in this paper, the appropriate stirring velocity and stirring time were 320 rpm and 30 min, respectively, at 5.0 MPa, for which the storage capacity and reaction time were 159.1 V/V and 370 min, respectively. Under the condition of the on-flow state, the initial stirring Reynolds number of the fluid and the stirring power were 12,150 and 0.54 W, respectively. Fourth, some suggestions, for example, the use of another type of stirrer or some baffles, are proposed to accelerate the methane hydration process. Comparing with literature data, higher storage capacity and hydration rate are achieved in this work. Moreover, some fluid mechanics parameters are calculated, which can provide some references to engineering application.

Anomalous optical and electronic properties of dense sodium

Based on the density functional theory, we systematically study the optical and electronic properties of the insulating dense sodium phase (Na-hp4) reported recently (Ma et al., 2009). The structure is found optically anisotropic. Through Bader analysis, we conclude that ionicity exists in the structure and becomes stronger with increasing pressure.

AlGaInAs-InPMicrocylinder Lasers Connected With an Output Waveguide

AlGaInAs-InPmicrocylinder lasers connected with an output waveguide are fabricated by planar technology. Room-temperature continuous-wave operation with a threshold current of 8 mA is realized for a microcylinder laser with the radius of 10 mu m and the output waveguide width of 2 mu m. The mode Q-factor of 1.2 x 10(4) is measured from the laser spectrum at the threshold. Coupled mode characteristics are analyzed by 2-D finite-difference time-domain simulation and the analytical solution of whispering-gallery modes. The calculated mode Q-factors of coupled modes are in the same order as the measured value.