Energy band alignment of SiO2/ZnO interface determined by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

Thin SiO2 interlayer is the key to improving the electroluminescence characteristics of light emitting diodes based on ZnO heterojunctions, but little is known of the band offsets of SiO2/ZnO. In this letter, energy band alignment of SiO2/ZnO interface was determined by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The valence band offset Delta E-V of SiO2/ZnO interface is determined to be 0.93 +/- 0.15 eV. According to the relationship between the conduction band offset Delta E-C and the valence band offset Delta E-V Delta E-C=E-g(SiO2)-E-g(ZnO)-Delta E-V, and taking the room-temperature band-gaps of 9.0 and 3.37 eV for SiO2 and ZnO, respectively, a type-I band-energy alignment of SiO2/ZnO interface with a conduction band offset of 4.70 +/- 0.15 eV is found. The accurate determination of energy band alignment of SiO2/ZnO is helpful for designing of SiO2/ZnO hybrid devices and is also important for understanding their carrier transport properties. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI 10.1063/1.3204028]

Narrowing of band gap and low-temperature spin glass behavior of FeNi co-doped ZnO nanowires

This letter reports on the Raman, optical and magnetic properties of FeNi co-doped ZnO nanowires prepared via a soft chemical solution method. The microstructural investigations show that the NiFe co-dopants are substituted into wurtzite ZnO nanostructure without forming any secondary phase. The co-doped nanowires show a remarkable reduction of 34 nm (267.9 meV) in the optical band gap, while suppression in the deep-level defect transition in visible luminescence. Furthermore, these nanowires exhibit ferromagnetism and an interesting low-temperature spin glass behavior, which may arise due to the presence of disorder and strong interactions of frustrated spin moments of Ni and Fe co-dopants on the ZnO lattice sites. Copyright (C) EPLA, 2009

Magnetic coupling properties of rare-earth metals (Gd, Nd) doped ZnO: First-principles calculations

The electronic structure and magnetic coupling properties of rare-earth metals (Gd, Nd) doped ZnO have been investigated using first-principles methods. We show that the magnetic coupling between Gd or Nd ions in the nearest neighbor sites is ferromagnetic. The stability of the ferromagnetic coupling between Gd ions can be enhanced by appropriate electron doping into ZnO Gd system and the room-temperature ferromagnetism can be achieved. However, for ZnO Nd system, the ferromagnetism between Nd ions can be enhanced by appropriate holes doping into the sample. The room-temperature ferromagnetism can also be achieved in the n-conducting ZnO Nd sample. Our calculated results are in good agreement with the conclusions of the recent experiments. The effect of native defects (V-Zn, V-O) on the ferromagnetism is also discussed. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI 10.1063/1.3176490]

Nonpolar growth and characterization of InN overlayers on vertically oriented GaN nanorods

Nanostructured hexagonal InN overlayers were heteroepitaxially deposited on vertically oriented c-axis GaN nanorods by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. InN overlayers grown in radial directions are featured by a nonpolar heteroepitaxial growth mode on GaN nanorods, showing a great difference from the conventional InN growth on (0001) c-plane GaN template. The surface of InN overlayers is mainly composed of several specific facets with lower crystallographic indices. The orientation relationship between InN and GaN lattices is found to be [0001](InN) parallel to [0001](GaN) and [1100](InN)parallel to[1100](GaN). A strong photoluminescence of InN nanostructures is observed. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI 10.1063/1.3177347]

Anisotropy of magnetic properties in ferrimagnetic ytterbium iron garnet under high magnetic fields

The magnetic anisotropy in ytterbium iron garnet (YbIG) is theoretically investigated under high magnetic fields (up to 160 kOe). According to the crystal field effect in ytterbium gallium garnet (YbGaG), a detailed discussion of crystal-field interaction in YbIG is presented where a suitable set of crystal-field parameters is obtained. Meanwhile, the influences of nine crystal-field parameters on the crystal-field energy splitting are analyzed. On the other hand, considering the ytterbium-iron (Yb-Fe) superexchange interaction of YbIG, the spontaneous magnetization is calculated at different temperatures for the [111] direction. In particular, we demonstrate that the Wesis constant lambda is the function of 1/T in YbIG. In addition, the field dependences of the magnetization for the [110] and [111] directions are theoretically described where a noticeable anisotropy can be found. Our theory further confirms the great contribution of anisotropic Yb-Fe superexchange interaction to the anisotropy of the magnetization in YbIG. Moreover, our theoretical results are compared with the available experiments.

Electronic structure and optical gain saturation of InAs1-xNx/GaAs quantum dots

The electronic band structures and optical gains of InAs1-xNx/GaAs pyramid quantum dots (QDs) are calculated using the ten-band k . p model and the valence force field method. The optical gains are calculated using the zero-dimensional optical gain formula with taking into consideration of both homogeneous and inhomogeneous broadenings due to the size fluctuation of quantum dots which follows a normal distribution. With the variation of QD sizes and nitrogen composition, it can be shown that the nitrogen composition and the strains can significantly affect the energy levels especially the conduction band which has repulsion interaction with nitrogen resonant state due to the band anticrossing interaction. It facilitates to achieve emission of longer wavelength (1.33 or 1.55 mu m) lasers for optical fiber communication system. For QD with higher nitrogen composition, it has longer emission wavelength and less detrimental effect of higher excited state transition, but nitrogen composition can affect the maximum gain depending on the factors of transition matrix element and the Fermi-Dirac distributions for electrons in the conduction bands and holes in the valence bands respectively. For larger QD, its maximum optical gain is greater at lower carrier density, but it is slowly surpassed by smaller QD as carrier concentration increases. Larger QD can reach its saturation gain faster, but this saturation gain is smaller than that of smaller QD. So the trade-off between longer wavelength, maximum optical, saturation gain, and differential gain must be considered to select the appropriate QD size according to the specific application requirement. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI 10.1063/1.3143025]

Optical properties of aluminum-, gallium-, and indium-doped Bi4Ti3O12 thin films

Undoped and Al-, Ga-, and In-doped Bi4Ti3O12 thin films were prepared on fused quartz substrates by chemical solution deposition. Their microstructures and optical properties were investigated by x-ray diffraction and UV-visible-NIR spectrophotometer, respectively. The optical band-gap energies, Urbach energies, and linear refractive indices of all the films are derived from the transmittance spectrum. Following the single oscillator model, the dispersion parameters such as the average oscillator energy (E-0) and dispersion energy (E-d) are achieved. The energy band gap and refractive indices are found to decrease with introducing the dopants of Al, Ga, and In, which is useful for the band-gap engineering and optical waveguide devices. The refractive index dispersion parameter (E-0/S-0) increases and the chemical bonding quantity (beta) decreases in all the films compared with those of bulk. It is supposed to be caused by the nanosize grains in films. (c) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI 10.1063/1.3138813]

The bipolar doping of ZnS via native defects and external dopants

By employing first-principle total-energy calculations, a systematic study of the dopability of ZnS to be both n- and p-types compared with that of ZnO is carried out. We find that all the attempted acceptor dopants, group V substituting on the S lattice site and group I and IB on the Zn sites in ZnS, have lower ionization energies than the corresponding ones in ZnO. This can be accounted for by the fact that ZnS has relative higher valence band maximum than ZnO. Native ZnS is weak p-type under S-rich condition, as the abundant acceptor V-Zn has rather large ionization energy. Self-compensations by the formation of interstitial donors in group I and IB-doped p-type ZnS can be avoided when sample is prepared under S-rich condition. In terms of ionization energies, Li-Zn and N-S are the preferred acceptors in ZnS. Native n- type doping of ZnS is limited by the spontaneous formation of intrinsic V-Zn(2-); high efficient n-type doping with dopants is harder to achieve than in ZnO because of the readiness of forming native compensating centers and higher ionization energy of donors in ZnS. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI 10.1063/1.3103585]

Distribution of dislocations in GaSb and InSb epilayers grown on GaAs (001) vicinal substrates

GaSb and InSb epilayers grown on GaAs (001) vicinal substrates misoriented toward (111) plane were studied using high resolution x-ray diffraction. The results show that GaSb and InSb epilayers take on positive crystallographic tilt, and the asymmetric distribution of 60 degrees misfit dislocations in {111} glide planes have an effect on the tilt. In addition, the vicinal substrate influences the distribution of the threading dislocations in {111} glide planes, and the density of dislocation in the (111) plane is higher than in the ((1) over bar(1) over bar1) plane. A model was proposed to interpret the distribution of full width at half maximum, which can help us understand the formation and glide process of the dislocations. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI 10.1063/1.3115450]

Measurement of polar C-plane and nonpolar A-plane InN/ZnO heterojunctions band offsets by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

The valence band offsets of the wurtzite polar C-plane and nonpolar A-plane InN/ZnO heterojunctions are directly determined by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to be 1.76 +/- 0.2 eV and 2.20 +/- 0.2 eV. The heterojunctions form in the type-I straddling configuration with a conduction band offsets of 0.84 +/- 0.2 eV and 0.40 +/- 0.2 eV. The difference of valence band offsets of them mainly attributes to the spontaneous polarization effect. Our results show important face dependence for InN/ZnO heterojunctions, and the valence band offset of A-plane heterojunction is more close to the "intrinsic" valence band offset.

One-dimensional quantum waveguide theory of Rashba electrons

The ballistic spin transport in one-dimensional waveguides with the Rashba effect is studied. Due to the Rashba effect, there are two electron states with different wave vectors for the same energy. The wave functions of two Rashba electron states are derived, and it is found that their phase depend on the direction of the circuit and the spin directions of two states are perpendicular to the circuit, with the +pi/2 and -pi/2 angles, respectively. The boundary conditions of the wave functions and their derivatives at the intersection of circuits are given, which can be used to investigate the waveguide transport properties of Rashba spin electron in circuits of any shape and structure. The eigenstates of the closed circular and square loops are studied by using the transfer matrix method. The transfer matrix M(E) of a circular arc is obtained by dividing the circular arc into N segments and multiplying the transfer matrix of each straight segment. The energies of eigenstates in the closed loop are obtained by solving the equation det[M(E)-I]=0. For the circular ring, the eigenenergies obtained with this method are in agreement with those obtained by solving the Schrodinger equation. For the square loop, the analytic formula of the eigenenergies is obtained first The transport properties of the AB ring and AB square loop and double square loop are studied using the boundary conditions and the transfer matrix method In the case of no magnetic field, the zero points of the reflection coefficients are just the energies of eigenstates in closed loops. In the case of magnetic field, the transmission and reflection coefficients all oscillate with the magnetic field; the oscillating period is Phi(m)=hc/e, independent of the shape of the loop, and Phi(m) is the magnetic flux through the loop. For the double loop the oscillating period is Phi(m)=hc/2e, in agreement with the experimental result. At last, we compared our method with Koga's experiment. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3253752]

Size distributions of quantum islands on stepped substrates

The size distributions of self-assembled quantum islands on stepped substrates are studied using kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. It is found that the energy barrier E-SW between the step and the terrace region is the key factor in affecting the size distribution of islands. With small E-SW (<= 0.1 eV), lines of uniform islands can be obtained at relative low surface coverage. As the surface coverage is increased, wirelike islands can be obtained. Scaling behavior is obeyed for the size distributions of the wirelike islands. When the size distributions are separated into their width and length components, however, scaling is only observed in the length distribution of the wirelike islands. With larger E-SW, the size distribution of islands shows a clear bimodal size distribution and anomalous growth temperature dependent island size evolutions are observed. The simulation results reproduce qualitatively the phenomena observed in the cases of InAs islands grown on stepped GaAs substrates. (c) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3248367]

Quantum mechanical simulation of nanosized metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor using empirical pseudopotentials: A comparison for charge density occupation methods

The atomistic pseudopotential quantum mechanical calculations are used to study the transport in million atom nanosized metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors. In the charge self-consistent calculation, the quantum mechanical eigenstates of closed systems instead of scattering states of open systems are calculated. The question of how to use these eigenstates to simulate a nonequilibrium system, and how to calculate the electric currents, is addressed. Two methods to occupy the electron eigenstates to yield the charge density in a nonequilibrium condition are tested and compared. One is a partition method and another is a quasi-Fermi level method. Two methods are also used to evaluate the current: one uses the ballistic and tunneling current approximation, another uses the drift-diffusion method. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3248262]

Nature of interfacial defects and their roles in strain relaxation at highly lattice mismatched 3C-SiC/Si (001) interface

Misfit defects in a 3C-SiC/Si (001) interface were investigated using a 200 kV high-resolution electron microscope with a point resolution of 0.194 nm. The [110] high-resolution electron microscopic images that do not directly reflect the crystal structure were transformed into the structure map through image deconvolution. Based on this analysis, four types of misfit dislocations at the 3C-SiC/Si (001) interface were determined. In turn, the strain relaxation mechanism was clarified through the generation of grow-in perfect misfit dislocations (including 90 degrees Lomer dislocations and 60 degrees shuffle dislocations) and 90 partial dislocations associated with stacking faults. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3234380]

One-step growth of ZnO from film to vertically well-aligned nanorods and the morphology-dependent Raman scattering

We observed a transition from film to vertically well-aligned nanorods for ZnO grown on sapphire (0001) substrates by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. A growth mechanism was proposed to explain such a transition. Vertically well-aligned homogeneous nanorods with average diameters of similar to 30, 45, 60, and 70 nm were grown with the c-axis orientation. Raman scattering showed that the E-2 (high) mode shifted to high frequency with the decrease of nanorod diameters, which revealed the dependence of nanorod diameters on the stress state. This dependence suggests a stress-driven diameter-controlled mechanism for ZnO nanorod arrays grown on sapphire (0001) substrates. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.