Comparative study of the structural properties of nanocrystalline Ge : H plasma deposited onto the cathode and the anode using high hydrogen dilutions

Nanocrystalline Ge:H thin films were deposited simultaneously on both electrodes of a conventional capacitively coupled reactor for plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition using highly H-2 diluted GeH4 as the source gas. The structure of the films was investigated by Raman scattering and X-ray diffraction as a function of substrate temperature, H-2 dilution, and r.f. power. The hydrogen concentrations and bonding configurations were determined by infrared absorption spectroscopy. For anodic deposition, the preferred crystallographic orientation and film crystallinity depend rather strongly on the deposition parameters. This dependence can be explained by changing surface mobilities of adsorbed precursors due to changes in the hydrogen coverage of the growing surface. Cathodic deposition is much less sensitive to variations in the deposition parameters. It generally results in films of high crystallinity with randomly oriented crystallizes. Some possible mechanisms for these differences between anodic and cathodic deposition are discussed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.

Two-dimensional network of dislocations and nanocavities in hydrogen-implanted and two-step annealed silicon

Conventional transmission electron microscopy and energy-filtering were used to study the dislocations and nanocavities in proton-implanted [001] silicon. A two-dimensional network of dislocations and nanocavities was found after a two-step annealing, while only isolated cavities were present in single-step annealed Si. In addition, two-step annealing increased materially the size and density of the nanocavities. The Burgers vector of the dislocations was mainly the 1/2[110] type. The gettering of oxygen at the nanocavities was demonstrated. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(98)00620-2].

Two-dimensional photonic crystals with a large photonic band gap designed by a rapid genetic algorithm

We used Plane Wave Expansion Method and a Rapid Genetic Algorithm to design two-dimensional photonic crystals with a large absolute band gap. A filling fraction controlling operator and Fourier transform data storage mechanism had been integrated into the genetic operators to get desired photonic crystals effectively and efficiently. Starting from randomly generated photonic crystals, the proposed RGA evolved toward the best objectives and yielded a square lattice photonic crystal with the band gap (defined as the gap to mid-gap ratio) as large as 13.25%. Furthermore, the evolutionary objective was modified and resulted in a satisfactory PC for better application to slab system.

Short range scattering mechanism of type-II GaSb/GaAs quantum dots on the transport properties of two-dimensional electron gas

We have studied the scattering process of AlGaAs/GaAs two-dimensional electron gas with the nearby embedded GaSb/GaAs type-II quantum dots (QDs) at low temperature. Quantum Hall effect and Shubnikov-de Haas oscillation were performed to measure the electron density n(2D), the transport lifetime tau(t) and the quantum lifetime tau(q) under various biased gate voltage. By comparing measured results of QDs sample with that of reference sample without embedded QDs, mobilities (transport mobility mu(t) and quantum mobility mu(q)) dominated by GaSb QDs scattering were extracted as functions of n(2D). It was found that the ratios of tau(t) to tau(q) were varying within the range of 1-4, implying the scattering mechanism belonging to the sort of short-range interaction. In the framework of Born approximation, a scattering model considering rectangular-shaped potential with constant barrier height was successfully applied to explain the transport experimental data. In addition, an oscillating ratio of tau(t)/tau(q) with the increasing n(2D) was predicted in the model.

Stable single-mode distributed feedback quantum cascade laser with surface metal grating

A design of single-mode distributed feedback quantum cascade lasers (DFB-QCLs) with surface metal grating is described. A rigorous modal expansion theory is adopted to analyse the interaction between the waveguide mode and the surface plasmon wave for different grating parameters. A stable single-mode operation can be obtained in a wide range of grating depths and duty cycles. The single-mode operation of surface metal grating DFB-QCLs at room temperature for lambda = 8.5 mu m is demonstrated. The device shows a side-mode suppression ratio of above 20 dB. A linear tuning of wavelength with temperature indicates the stable single-mode operation without mode hopping.

Phonon-limited mobility in two-dimensional semiconductors with spin-orbit coupling

The authors demonstrate that the Rashba spin-orbit interaction in low-dimensional semiconductors can enhance or reduce the electron-phonon scattering rate by as much as 25%. The underlying mechanism is that the electron-phonon scattering phase space for the upper (lower) Rashba band is significantly enhanced (suppressed) by the spin-orbit interaction. While the scattering time decreases for the upper level, the mobility of the level increases due to an additional term in the electron velocity. (C) 2007 American Institute of Physics.

One-dimensional modulation instability of broad optical beams in biased photorefractive-photovoltaic crystals under steady-state conditions

We present a comprehensive study of the one-dimensional modulation instability of broad optical beams in biased photo refractive-photovoltaic crystals under steady-state conditions. We obtain the one-dimensional modulation instability growth rate by globally treating the space-charge field and by considering distinction between values of Eo in nonlocal effects and local effects in the space-charge field, where Eo is the field constant correlated with terms in the space-charge field, which depends on the external bias field, the bulk photovoltaic effect, and the ratio of the optical beam's intensity to that of the dark irradiance. The one-dimensional modulation instability growth rate in local effects can be determined from that in nonlocal effects. When the bulk photovoltaic effect is neglectable, irrespective of distinction between values of Eo in nonlocal effects and local effects in the space-charge field, the one-dimensional modulation instability growth rates in nonlocal effects and local effects are those of broad optical beams studied previously in biased photorefractive-nonphotovoltaic crystals. When the external bias field is absent, the one-dimensional modulation instability growth rates in nonlocal effects and local effects predict those of broad optical beams in open- and closed-circuit photorefractive-photovoltaic crystals. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Large depth-of-view portable three-dimensional laser scanner and its segmental calibration for robot vision

A portable 3D laser scanning system has been designed and built for robot vision. By tilting the charge coupled device (CCD) plane of portable 3D scanning system according to the Scheimpflug condition, the depth-of-view is successfully extended from less than 40 to 100 mm. Based on the tilted camera model, the traditional two-step camera calibration method is modified by introducing the angle factor. Meanwhile, a novel segmental calibration approach, i.e., dividing the whole work range into two parts and calibrating, respectively, with corresponding system parameters, is proposed to effectively improve the measurement accuracy of the large depth-of-view 3D laser scanner. In the process of 3D reconstruction, different calibration parameters are used to transform the 2D coordinates into 3D coordinates according to the different positions of the image in the CCD plane, and the measurement accuracy of 60 mu m is obtained experimentally. Finally, the experiment of scanning a lamina by the large depth-of-view portable 3D laser scanner used by an industrial robot IRB 4400 is also employed to demonstrate the effectiveness and high measurement accuracy of our scanning system. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Environmentally stable ytterbium figure-of-eight fiber laser producing 177-fs pulses

Pulses of 177 fs and 1035 nm, with average power of 1.2 mW, have been generated directly from a passively mode-locked Yb-doped figure-of-eight fiber laser, with a nonlinear optical loop mirror for mode-locking and pairs of diffraction gratings for intracavity dispersion compensation. To our knowledge, these are the shortest pulses ever to come from a passively mode-locked Yb-doped figure-of-eight fiber laser. This represents a 5-fold reduction in pulse duration compared with that of previously reported passively mode-locked Yb-doped figure-of-eight fiber lasers. Stable pulse trains are produced at the fundamental repetition rate of the resonator, 24.0 MHz. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

DENSITY-OF-STATES OF THE 2-DIMENSIONAL ELECTRON-GAS STUDIED BY MAGNETOCAPACITANCES OF BIASED DOUBLE-BARRIER STRUCTURES

The magnetocapacitive response of a double-barrier structure (DBS), biased beyond resonances, has been employed to determine the density of states (DOS) of the two-dimensional electron gas residing in the accumulation layer on the incident side of the DBS. An adequate procedure is developed to compare the model calculation of the magnetocapacitance with the experimental C vs B curves measured at different temperatures and biases. The results show that the fitting is not only self-consistent but also remarkably good even in well-defined quantum Hall regimes. As a result, information about the DOS in strong magnetic fields could reliably be extracted.

Current oscillations and stable electric field domains in doped GaAs/AlAs superlattices

The crossover between two regimes has been observed in the vertical electric transport of weakly coupled GaAs/AlAs superlattices (SLs). At fixed d.c. bias, the SLs can be triggered by illumination to switch from a regime of temporal current oscillation to the formation of a stable electric field domain. The conversion can be reversed by raising the sample temperature to about 200 K. An effective carrier injection model is proposed to explain the conversion processes, taking into account the contact resistance originating from DX centres in the n(+)-Al0.5Ga0.5As contact layers which is sensitive to light illumination and temperature. In addition, quasiperiodic oscillations have been observed at a particular d.c. bias voltage.

Cyclotron resonance and quantum Hall effect studies of the two-dimensional electron gas confined at the GaN/AlGaN interface

We report on high magnetic fields (up to 40 T) cyclotron resonance, quantum Hall effect and Shubnikov-de-Hass measurements in high frequency transistors based on Si-doped GaN-AlGaN heterojunctions. A simple way of precise modelling of the cyclotron absorption in these heterojunctions is presented, We clearly establish two-dimensional electrons to be the dominant conducting carriers and determine precisely their in-plane effective mass to be 0.230 +/- 0.005 of the free electron effective mass. The increase of the effective mass with an increase of two-dimensional carrier density is observed and explained by the nonparabolicity effect. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.

Long period two-dimensional gratings for 8-12 mu m quantum well infrared photodetectors

By considering all possible high order diffracted waves, the authors investigate the spectral response of two-dimensional gratings for quantum well infrared photodetectors (QWIPs). A new method is proposed that using long period gratings may improve grating quality and reduce the resulting cross talk in grating-coupled QWIPs. A sensitivity analysis indicates that the influence of variation of the grating constant on the coupling efficiency is less sensitive for the long period gratings than for the short ones. A large coupling efficiency has been demonstrated for long period gratings. The calculated wide grating response spectra are in good agreement with the experiment result. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.

Shubnikov de Haas oscillations of a two-dimensional electron gas in a modulation-doped Zn0.80Cd0.20Se/ZnS0.06Se0.94 single quantum well

The magnetotransport properties of the two-dimensional (2D) electron gas confined in a modulation-doped Zn0.80Cd0.20Se/ZnS0.06Se0.94 single quantum well structure were studied at temperatures down to 0.35 K in magnetic fields up to 7.5 T. Well resolved 2D Shubnikovde Haas (SdH) oscillations were observed, although the conductivity of the sample in the as grown state was dominated by a bulk parallel conduction layer. After removing most of the parallel conduction layer by wet chemical etching the amplitude and number of SdH oscillations increased. From the temperature dependence of the amplitude the effective mass of the electrons was estimated as 0.17 m(0). Copyright (C) 1996 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd

Energy relaxation processes of hot quasi-two-dimensional excitons in very thin GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells by exciton-acoustic-phonon interaction

The rising time of the excitonic luminescence in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells is studied as a function of the well width. For well thickness below approximately 20 Angstrom, we find an increase of rising time with decreasing well width. We explain the dependence of the rising time on well width in very thin quantum wells by the slow-down energy relaxation and/or exciton migration processes due to the decrease of the scattering rate of the exciton-acoustic-phonon interaction. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.