Temperature dependence of surface quantum dots grown under frequent growth interruption

We grow InGaAs quantum dot (QD) at low growth rate with 70 times insertion of growth interruption in MBE system. It is found that because of the extreme growth condition, QDs exhibit a thick wetting layer, large QD height value and special surface morphology which is attributed to the enhanced adatom surface diffusion and In-segregation effect. Temperature dependence of photoluminescence measurement from surface QD shows that this kind of QD has good thermal stability which is explained in terms of the presence of surface oxide. The special distribution of QD may also play a role in this thermal character. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Measurement of the optical transmission modes and losses of the poled guest-host polymer NAEC/PEK-c planar waveguides

The polyetherketone (PEK-c) guest-host polymer planar waveguides doped with (4'-nitro)-3-azo-9-ethyl-carbazole (NAEC) were prepared. The waveguide films were poled by corona-onset poling at elevated temperature (COPET), and the corona poling setup includes a grid voltage making the surface-charge distribution uniform. By using the prism-in coupling method, the dark-line spectrum given by the reflected intensity versus the angle of incidence have been obtained, and the optical transmission losses of mth modes have been measured for the poled polymer waveguides at lambda = 632.8 nm. The measurement result showed that the optical loss of the fundamental mode is less than 0.7 dB cm(-1) for the TE polarization. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Accurate vibration detection of a rough surface - art. no. 683118

Based on the semiconductor laser whose spectral line with width is compressed to be less than 1.2Mhz, a system was designed to measure and improve the amplitude and frequency of the real-time microvibration with sinusoidal modulation. real-time microvibration measurement was executed without alignment problem in the interferometry; and low-frequency disturbance of environment could be eliminated. Suggestions were also given to consummate the system. The system also has resistance against the low frequency disturbance of the environment.

Comparative study of the surface passivation on crystalline silicon by silicon thin films with different structures

Si thin films with different structures were deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), and characterized via Raman spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The passivation effect of such different Si thin films on crystalline Si surface was investigated by minority carrier lifetime measurement via a method, called microwave photoconductive decay (mu PCD), for the application in HIT (heterojunction with intrinsic thin-layer) solar cells. The results show that amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) has a better passivation effect due to its relative higher H content, compared with microcrystalline (mu c-Si) silicon and nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si). Further, it was found that H atoms in the form of Si-H bonds are more preferred than those in the form of Si-H-2 bonds to passivate the crystalline Si surface. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Surface plasmon waves generated by nanogrooves through spectral interference

A pure surface plasmon polariton (SPP) model predicted that the SPP excitation in a slit-groove structure at metallodielectric interfaces exhibits an intricate dependence on the groove width P. Lalanne et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 263902 (2005); Nat. Phys. 2, 551 (2006)]. In this paper, we present a simple far-field experiment to test and validate this interesting theoretical prediction. The measurement results clearly demonstrate the predicted functional dependence of the SPP coupling efficiency on groove width, in good agreement with the SPP picture.

Design of surface emitting distributed feedback quantum cascade laser with single-lobe far-field pattern and high outcoupling efficiency

A 7.8-mu m surface emitting second-order distributed feedback quantum cascade laser (DFB QCL) structure with metallized surface grating is studied. The modal property of this structure is described by utilizing coupled-mode theory where the coupling coefficients are derived from exact Floquet-Bloch solutions of infinite periodic structure. Based on this theory, the influence of waveguide structure and grating topography as well as device length on the laser performance is numerically investigated. The optimized surface emitting second-order DFB QCL structure design exhibits a high surface outcoupling efficiency of 22% and a low threshold gain of 10 cm(-1). Using a pi phase-shift in the centre of the grating, a high-quality single-lobe far-field radiation pattern is obtained.

Measurement of w-InN/h-BN Heterojunction Band Offsets by X-Ray Photoemission Spectroscopy

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy has been used to measure the valence band offset (VBO) of the w-InN/h-BN heterojunction. We find that it is a type-II heterojunction with the VBO being -0.30 +/- A 0.09 eV and the corresponding conduction band offset (CBO) being 4.99 +/- A 0.09 eV. The accurate determination of VBO and CBO is important for designing the w-InN/h-BN-based electronic devices.

A NEW TYPE OF SILICON-ON-INSULATOR WITH A PERFECT SURFACE SILICON LAYER

A novel silicon structure consisting of a silicon-on-defect layer (SODL), with enhanced surface Hall mobility in the surface layer on a buried defect layer (DL), has been discovered [J. Li, Nucl. Instr. and Meth. B59/60 (1991) 1053]. SODL material was formed by using proton implantation and subsequent two-step annealing. The implantation was carried out with a Varian 350D ion implanter. Based on the discovery, a standard measurement method (current-voltage curve method) was adopted to measure the true resistivity value of the DL in order to replace the spreading resistivity measurement by which the true resistivity in seriously defective silicon cannot be obtained. By adopting the current-voltage current method, the true resistivity value of the DL is measured to be 4.2 x 10(9) OMEGA cm. The SODL material was proved to be a silicon-on-insulator substrate.

Surface Morphology and Photoluminescence of 1.3 μm Wavelength In(Ga)As/GaAs Quantum Dots

Self-organized In_(0.5)Ga_(0.5)As/GaAs quantum island structure emitting at 1. 35 (im at room temperature has been successfully fabricated by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) via cycled (InAs)_1/( GaAs)_1 monolayer deposition method. Photoluminescence (PL) measurement shows that very narrow PL linewidth of 19.2 meV at 300 K has been reached for the first time, indicating effective suppression of inhomogeneous broadening of optical emission from the In_(0.5)Ga_(0.5)As islands structure. Our results provide important information for optimizing the epitaxial structures of 1.3 μm wavelength quantum dot (QD) devices.

Microphotoluminescence investigation of InAs quantum dot active region in 1.3 mu m vertical cavity surface emitting laser structure

Microphotoluminescence (mu-PL) investigation has been performed at room temperature on InAs quantum dot (QD) vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) structure in order to characterize the QD epitaxial structure which was designed for 1.3 mu m wave band emission. Actual and precise QD emission spectra including distinct ground state (GS) and excited state (ES) transition peaks are obtained by an edge-excitation and edge-emission (EEEE) mu-PL configuration. Conventional photoluminescence methods for QD-VCSELs structure analysis are compared and discussed, which indicate the EEEE mu-PL is a useful tool to determine the optical features of the QD active region in an as-grown VCSEL structure. Some experimental results have been compared with simulation results obtained with the aid of the plane-wave admittance method. After adjustment of epitaxial growth according to EEEE mu-PL measurement results, QD-VCSEL structure wafer with QD GS transition wavelength of 1300 nm and lasing wavelength of 1301 nm was obtained.

Neutron dose measurement in carbon ion radiation therapy at HIRFL (IMP)

For radiation protection purposes, the neutron dose in carbon ion radiation therapy at the HIRFL (Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou) was investigated. The neutron dose from primary C-12 ions with a specific energy of 100 MeV/u delivered from SSC was roughly measured with a standard Anderson-Broun rem-meter using a polyethylene target at various distances. The result shows that a maximum neutron dose contribution of 19 mSv in a typically surface tumor treatment was obtained, which is less than 1% of the planed heavy ion dose and is in reasonable agreement with other reports. Also the gamma-ray dose was measured in this experiment using a thermo luminescent detector.

Gelatin multilayer assembled on the poly(L-lactic acid) surface for better cytocompatibility

Gelatin multilayers were assembled on PLLA substrate at pH 3, 5, and 7, which was below, around, and above the isoelectric point of the amphoteric polymer, using the layer-by-layer assembly technique. The multilayer deposition on the PLLA substrate was monitored by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and water contact angle measurement. The XPS, water contact angle, and atomic force microscopy data indicated that the layer thickness, surface hydrophicity, and surface morphology of the gelatin multilayers assembled strongly depended on the pH at which the layers were deposited

Surface-Relevant Regulable DNA Toroids Induced by Dopamine

Dopamine (2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)ethylamine) is known as a natural chemical neurotransmitter and is also a cytotoxic and genotoxic molecule for cell apoptosis. In this work, the interaction of DNA with dopamine was investigated. Though the electrostatic interaction of DNA and dopamine was weak in aqueous solution, dopamine condensed circular pBR322 DNA into toroids on the mica surface cooperatively with ethanol. The formed DNA toroids came from the shrinking of DNA that was driven by ethanol-enhanced DNA-dopamine electrostatic interaction. The size of the DNA toroids could be modulated by varying the concentration of dopamine. This study offers useful information about the DNA condensation induced by monovalent cations and the sample preparation for AFM measurement and application.

The Surface Modification of Hydroxyapatite Nanoparticles by the Ring Opening Polymerization of gamma-Benzyl-L-glutamate N-carboxyanhydride

The surface modification of hydroxyapatite (HA) nanoparticles by the ring opening polymerization (ROP) of gamma-benzyl-L-glutamate N-carboxyanhydride (BLG-NCA) was proposed to prepare the poly(gamma-benzyl-L-glutamate) (PBLG)-grafted HA nanoparticles (PBLG-g-HA) for the first time. HA nanoparticles were firstly treated by 3-aminopropylthriethoxysilane (APS) and then the terminal amino groups of the modified HA particles initiated the ROP of BLG-NCA to obtain PBLG-g-HA. The process was monitored by XPS and FT-IR. The surface grafting amounts of PBLG on HA ranging from 12.1 to 43.1% were characterized by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed that the ROP only underwent on the surface of HA nanoparticles without changing its bulk properties. The SEM measurement showed that the PBLG-g-HA hybrid could form an interpenetrating net structure in the self-assembly process.

Performance Enhancement of Polymer Light-Emitting Diodes by Using Ultrathin Fluorinated Polyimide Modifying the Surface of Poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene):Poly(styrenesulfonate)

Herein, an insulating fluorinated polyimide (F-PI) is utilized as an ultrathin buffer layer of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) in polymer light-emitting diodes to enhance the device performance. The selective solubility of F-PI in common solvents avoids typical intermixing interfacial problems during the sequential multilayer spin-coating process. Compared to the control device, the F-PI modification causes the luminous and power efficiencies of the devices to be increased by a factor of 1.1 and 4.7, respectively, along with almost 3-fold device lifetime enhancement. Photovoltaic measurement, single-hole devices, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, are utilized to investigate the underlying, mechanisms, and it is found that the hole injection barrier is lowered owing to the interactions between the PEDOT:PSS and F-PI. The F-PI modified PEDOT:PSS layer demonstrates step-up ionization potential profiles from the intrinsic bulk PEDOT:PSS side toward the F-PI-modified PEDOT:PSS surface, which facilitate the hole injection.