Influence of longitudinal electric field on the hot-phonon effect in quantum wells

Using the Huang-Zhu model [K. Huang and B.-F. Zhu, Phys. Rev. B 38, 13377 (1988)] for the optical phonons and associated carrier-phonon interactions in semiconductor superlattices, the effects of longitudinal electric field on the energy-loss rates (ELRs) of hot carriers as well as on the hot-phonon effect (HPE) in GaAs/AlAs quantum wells (QWs) are studied systematically. Contributions of various bulklike and interface phonons to the hot-carrier relaxation are compared in detail, and comprehensively analyzed in relation to the intrasubband and intersubband scatterings for quantum cascade lasers. Due to the broken parity of the electron (hole) states in the electric field, the bulklike modes with antisymmetric potentials are allowed in the intrasubband relaxation processes, as well as the modes with symmetric potentials. As the interface phonon scattering is strong only in narrow wells, in which the electric field affects the electron (hole) states little, the ELRs of hot carriers through the interface phonon scattering are not sensitive to the electric field. The HPE on the hot-carrier relaxation process in the medium and wide wells is reduced by the electric field. The influence of the electric field on the hot-phonon effect in quantum cascade lasers is negligible. When the HPE is ignored, the ELRs of hot electrons in wide QWs are decreased noticeably by the electric field, but slightly increased by the field when considering the HPE. In contrast with the electrons, the ELRs of hot holes in wide wells are increased by the field, irrespective of the HPE. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.

Chiral symmetry analysis and rigid rotational invariance for the lattice dynamics of single-wall carbon nanotubes

We provide a detailed expression of the vibrational potential for the lattice dynamics of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNT's) satisfying the requirements of the exact rigid translational as well as rotational symmetries, which is a nontrivial generalization of the valence force model for the planar graphene sheet. With the model, the low-frequency behavior of the dispersion of the acoustic modes as well as the flexure mode can be precisely calculated. Based upon a comprehensive chiral symmetry analysis, the calculated mode frequencies (including all the Raman- and infrared-active modes), velocities of acoustic modes, and the polarization vectors are systematically fitted in terms of the chiral angle and radius, where the restrictions of various symmetry operations of SWCNT's are fulfilled.

Symmetry restrictions in the chirality dependence of physical properties of single-wall nanotubes

We investigate the chirality dependence of physical properties of nanotubes which are wrapped by the planar hexagonal lattice including graphite and boron nitride sheet, and reveal its symmetry origin. The observables under consideration are of scalar, vector, and tensor types. These exact chirality dependences obtained are useful to verify the experimental and numerical results and propose accurate empirical formulas. Some important features of physical quantities can also be extracted by considering the symmetry restrictions without complicated calculations.

Correlation effects for semiconducting single-wall carbon nanotubes: A density matrix renormalization group study

In this paper we report the applicability of the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) approach to the cylindrical single wall carbon nanotube (SWCN) for the purpose of its correlation effect. By applying the DMRG approach to the t+U+V model, with t and V being the hopping and Coulomb energies between the nearest neighboring sites, respectively, and U the on-site Coulomb energy, we calculate the phase diagram for the SWCN with chiral numbers (n(1)=3, n(2)=2), which reflects the competition between the correlation energy U and V. Within reasonable parameter ranges, we investigate possible correlated ground states, the lowest excitations, and the corresponding correlation functions in which the connection with the excitonic insulator is particularly addressed.

Type-II SiGe/Si MQWS (multi-quantum wells) and self-organized Ge/Si islands grown by UHV/CVD system

Type-II SiGe/Si MQWs (Multi-Quantum Wells) and Self-Organized Ge/Si Islands were successfully grown by a homemade ultra-high vacuum/chemical vapor deposition (UHV/CVD) system. Growth characteristics and PL (photoluminescence) spectra at different temperature were measured. It demonstrated that some accumulation of carriers in the islands results in the increase of the integrated PL intensity of island-related at a certain temperature range.

Nanodiamond formation by hot-filament chemical vapor deposition on carbon ions bombarded Si

Nanocrystalline diamond films were grown by a two-step process on Si(1 0 0) substrate, which was first pretreated by pure carbon ions bombardment. The bombarded Si substrate was then transformed into a hot-filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) system for further growth. Using the usual CH4/H-3 feed gas ratio for micro crystalline diamond growth, nanodiamond crystallites were obtained. The diamond nucleation density is comparable to that obtained by biasing the substrate. The uniformly distributed lattice damage is proposed to be responsible for the formation of the nanodiamond. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Very low-pressure VLP-CVD growth of high quality gamma-Al2O3 films on silicon by multi-step process

gamma-Al2O3 films were grown on Si (10 0) substrates using the sources of TMA (AI(CH3)(3)) and O-2 by very low-pressure chemical vapor deposition. The effects of temperature control on the crystalline quality, surface morphology, uniformity and dielectricity were investigated. It has been found that the,gamma-Al2O3 film prepared at a temperature of 1000degreesC has a good crystalline quality, but the surface morphology, uniformity and dielectricity were poor due to the etching reaction between 0, and Si substrate in the initial growth stage. However, under a temperature-varied multi-step process the properties Of gamma-Al2O3 film were improved. The films have a mirror-like surface and the dielectricity was superior to that grown under a single-step process. The uniformity of gamma-Al2O3 films for 2-in epi-wafer was <5%, it is better than that disclosed elsewhere. In order to improve the crystalline quality, the gamma-Al2O3 films were annealed for I h in O-2 atmosphere. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Structural evaluation of polycrystalline silicon thin films by hot-wire-assisted PECVD

Tungsten wires were introduced into a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system as a catalyzer: we name this technique 'hot-wire-assisted PECVD' (HW-PECVD). Under constant deposition pressure (p(g)), gas flow ratio and catalyzer position, the effects of the hot wire temperature (T-f) on the structural properties of the poly-Si films have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman scattering and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Compared with conventional PECVD, the grain size, crystalline volume fraction (X-e) and deposition rate were all enhanced when a high T-f was used. The best poly-Si film exhibits a preferential (220) orientation, with a full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of 0.2 degrees. The Si-Si TO peak of the Raman scattering spectrum is located at 519.8 cm(-1) with a FWHM of 7.1 cm(-1). The X-c is 0.93. These improvements are mainly the result of promotion of the dissociation of SiH4 and an increase in the atomic H concentration in the gas phase. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

A surface kinetics model for the growth of Si1-xGex by UHV/CVD using SiH4/CeH4

The surface reaction mechanism of Si1-xGex/Si growth using SiH4 and GeH4 in UHV/CVD system was studied. The saturated adsorption and desorption of SiH4 from Si(1 0 0) surface was investigated with the help of TPD and RHEED, and it was found that all the 4 hydrogen atoms of one SiH4 molecule were adsorbed to the Si surface, which meant that the dissociated adsorption ratio was proportional to 4 power of surface vacancies. The analysis of the reaction of GeH4 was also done. A new surface reaction kinetic model on Si1-xGex/Si epitaxial growth under UHV conditions by SiH4/GeH4 was proposed based on these studies. The predictions of the model were verified by the experimental results. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Microstructures of microcrystalline silicon thin films prepared by hot wire chemical vapor deposition

Undoped hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (mu c-Si:H) thin films were prepared at low temperature by hot wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD). Microstructures of the mu c-Si:H films with different H-2/SiH4 ratios and deposition pressures have been characterized by infrared spectroscopy X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman scattering, Fourier transform (FTIR), cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAX). The crystallization of silicon thin film was enhanced by hydrogen dilution and deposition pressure. The TEM result shows the columnar growth of mu c-Si:H thin films. An initial microcrystalline Si layer on the glass substrate, instead of the amorphous layer commonly observed in plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), was observed from TEM and backside incident Raman spectra. The SAXS data indicate an enhancement of the mass density of mu c-Si:H films by hydrogen dilution. Finally, combining the FTIR data with the SAXS experiment suggests that the Si--H bonds in mu c-Si:H and in polycrystalline Si thin films are located at the grain boundaries. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.

Comparison of cooling rates for hot carriers in GaAs AlAs quantum wells based on macroscopic and microscopic phonon models

By using three analytical phonon models in quantum wells-the slab model, the guided-mode model, and the improved version of the Huang-Zhu model [Phys. Rev. B 38, 13 377 (1998)], -and the phonon modes in bulk, the energy-loss rates of hot carriers due to the Frohlich potential scattering in GaAs/AlAs multiple quantum wells (MQW's) are calculated and compared to those obtained based on a microscopic dipole superlattice model. In the study, a special emphasis is put on the effects of the phonon models on the hot-carrier relaxation process when taking the hot-phonon effect into account. Our numerical results show that, the calculated energy-loss rates based on the slab model and on the improved Huang-Zhu model are almost the same when ignoring the hot-phonon effect; however, with the hot phonon effect considered, the calculated cooling rate as well as the hot phonon occupation number do depend upon the phonon models to be adopted. Out of the four analytical phonon models investigated, the improved Huang-Zhu model gives the results most close to the microscopic calculation, while the guided-mode model presents the poorest results. For hot electrons with a sheet density around 10(12)/cm(2), the slab model has been found to overestimate the hot-phonon effect by more than 40% compared to the Huang-Zhu model, and about 75% compared to the microscopic calculation in which the phonon dispersion is fully included. Our calculation also indicates that Nash's improved version [J. Lumin. 44, 315 (1989)] is necessary for evaluating the energy-loss rates in quantum wells of wider well width, because Huang-Zhu's original analytical formulas an only approximately orthogonal for optical phonons associated with small in-plane wave numbers. [S0163-1829(99)08919-5].

Characterization of hot-electron effects on flicker noise in III-V nitride based heterojunctions

We report experiments on hot-electron stressing in commercial III-V nitride based heterojunction fight-emitting diodes. Stressing currents ranging from 100 mA to 200 mA were used. Degradations in the device properties were investigated through detailed studies of the I-V characteristics, electroluminescence, Deep-Level Transient Fourier Spectroscopy and flicker noise. Our experimental data demonstrated significant distortions in the I-V characteristics. The room temperature electroluminescence of the devices exhibited 25% decrement in the peak emission intensity. Concentration of the deep-levels was examined by measuring the Deep-Level Transient Fourier Spectroscopy, which indicated an increase in the density of deep-traps from 2.7 x 10(13) cm(-3) to 4.21 x 10(13) cm(-3) at E-1 = E-C - 1.1eV. The result is consistent with our study of 1/f noise, which exhibited up to three orders of magnitude increase in the voltage noise power spectra. Our experiments show large increase in both the interface traps and deep-levels resulted from hot-carrier stressing.

Numerical evaluation of energy loss rate for hot carriers in quantum wells

Using the Frohlich potential associated with realistic optical phonon modes in quantum well systems, the energy loss rates of hot electrons, holes, and electron-hole pairs are calculated, with special emphasis on the effects of carrier density, hot phonon population, quantum well width, and phonon dispersion on the hot-carrier relaxation process in quasi-two-dimensional systems. (C) 1998 Academic Press Limited.