Photocurrent derivative spectra of ZnCdSe-ZnSe double multi-quantum wells

Photocurrent (PC) spectra of ZnCdSe-ZnSe double multi-quantum wells are measured at different temperature. Its corresponding photocurrent derivative (PCD) spectra are obtained by computing, and the PCD spectra have greatly enhanced the sensitivity of the relative weak PC signals. The polarization dependence of the PC spectra shows that the transitions observed in the PC spectra are heavy-hole related, and the transition energy coincide well with the results obtained by envelope function approximation including strain. The temperature dependence of the photocurrent curves indicates that the thermal activation is the dominant transport mechanism of the carriers in our samples. The concept of saturation temperature region is introduced to explain why the PC spectra have different temperature dependence in the samples with different structure parameters. It is found to be very useful in designing photovoltaic devices.

Photoluminescence properties of nitrogen-doped ZnSe epilayers

The photoluminescence (PL) properties of nitrogen-doped ZnSe epilayers grown on semi-insulating GaAs(100) substrates by MBE using a rf-plasma source for N doping were investigated. The PL peak which can be related to N acceptor was observed in the PL spectra of ZnSe:N smaples. At 10K, as the excitation power density increases, the energy of donor-acceptor pair(DAP) emission shows a blue-shift and its intensity tends to saturate. As the temperature increases over a range from 10K to 300K, the relative PL intensity of donor bound exciton to that of the acceptor bound exciton increases due to the transfer between two bound excitons.

Pressure behaviour of photoluminescence from InAs submonolayer in GaAs matrix

We have investigated the dependence on hydrostatic pressure of the photoluminescence of an InAs submonolayer embedded in a GaAs matrix at 15 K and for pressure up to 8 GPa. Strong InAs-related emissions are observed in all three samples at ambient pressure. The temperature dependence of the emission intensity for these Peaks can be well characterized by the thermal activation of excitons from the InAs layer to the GaAs matrix. With increasing pressure, the InAs-related peaks shift to. higher energies. The pressure coefficients of these peaks are very close to that of the free exciton in bulk GaAs. Some weak peaks observed at pressures above 4.2 GPa are attributed to indirect transitions involving X states in the InAs layer. These results are similar to the pressure behaviour observed in the InAs/GaAs monolayer structures. A group of new lines has been observed in the spectra when pressure is increased beyond 2.5 GPa, which is attributed to the N isoelectronic traps in the GaAs matrix.

Microstructure and photoluminescence of a-SiOx : H

Two strong photoluminescence (PL) bands in the spectral range of 550-900 nm have been observed at room temperature from a series of a-SiOx:H films fabricated by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) technique. One is composed of a main band in the red-light region and a shoulder; the other is located at about 850 nm, only found after 1170 degrees C annealing in N-2 atmosphere. In conjunction with infrared (IR) and micro-Raman spectra, it is thought that the two PL bands are associated with a-Si clusters in the SiOx network and nanocrystalline silicon in SiO2, respectively.

Photoluminescence enhancement of porous silicon by organic cyano compounds

A pronounced photoluminescence enhancement on chemically oxidized porous silicon was induced by a series of organic cyano compounds including 1,2-dicyanoethylene (CE), 1,3-dicyanobenzene (1,3-CB), 1,4-dicyanobenzene (1,4-CB), 1-cyanonaphthalene (1-CN), and 9-cyanoanthracene (9-CA). Photoluminescence enhancement effects were reversible for all compounds studies in this work. A dependence of photoluminescence enhancement on the steric effect and the electronic characteristics of these compounds and the structure of the porous silicon substrates were analyzed in terms of the photoluminescence enhancing factors. Surface chemical composition examined by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra demonstrated that the surface Si-H bonds were not changed and no new luminescent compounds were formed on porous silicon surface during adsorption of cyano compounds. A mechanism based on induced surface states acting as radiative recombination centers by cyano compounds adsorption was suggested.

Photoluminescence investigation of GaInP/GaAs multiple quantum wells grown on (001) and (311) B GaAs surfaces by gas source molecular beam epitaxy

Photoluminescence (PL) investigation was carried out on GaInP/GaAs multiple quantum wells structures grown on (001) and (311) B surfaces of GaAs by gas source molecular beam epitaxy. Superlattice structures of GaAs/GaInP grown on (001) GaAs substrate were also studied in comparison. Deep-level luminescence was seen to dominate the PL spectra from the quantum wells and superlattice structures that were grown on (001) GaAs substrate. In contrast, superior optical properties were exhibited in the same structures grown on (311) B GaAs surfaces. The results suggested that GaAs/GaInP quantum well structures on (311) B oriented substrates could efficiently suppress the deep-level emissions, result in narrower PL peaks indicating smooth interfaces. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.

Annealing behaviors of photoluminescence from SiOx : H

The strong photoluminescence (PL) of SiOx:H prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition has been systematically studied in conjunction with infrared and micro-Raman spectra. We have found that each PL spectrum is comprised of two Gaussian components, a main band and a shoulder. The main band might originate from amorphous silicon clusters embedded in die SiOx network, and its redshift with annealing temperature is due to expansion of the silicon clusters. The shoulder remains at about 835 nm in spite of the annealing temperature and possibly comes from luminescent defect centers. The enhanced PL spectra after 1170 degrees C annealing are attributed to the quantum confinement effects of nanocrystalline silicon embedded in the SiO2 matrix. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.

A study of strong photoluminescence of SiOx : H films

We have examined photoluminescence (PL), IR absorption and Raman spectra of a series of hydrogenated amorphous silicon oxide (a-SiOx:H, (0 < x < 2)) films fabricated by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). Two strong luminescence bands were observed at room temperature, one is a broad envelope comprising a main peak around 670 nm and a shoulder at 835 nm, and the other, peaked around 850 nm; is found only after being annealed up to 1170 degrees C in N-2 environment. In conjunction with IR and Raman spectra, the origins of the two luminescent bands and their annealing behaviors are discussed on the basis of quantum confinement effects.

Photoluminescence from Ge clusters embedded in porous silicon

Visible photoluminescence (PL) and Raman spectra of Ge clusters embedded in porous silicon (PS) have been studied. The as-prepared sample shows redshifted and enhanced room temperature PL relative to reference PS. This result can be explained by the quantum confinement effect on excitons in Ge clusters and tunnel of excitons from Si units of the PS skeleton to Ge clusters. One year storage in dry air results in a pronounced decrease in PL intensity but blue-shifted in contrast to reference PS. This phenomenon correlates to the size decrease of macerated Ce clusters and occurrence of "quantum depletion" in Ge clusters. Consequently, only excitons in Si units contribute to PL. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.

Photoluminescence and Raman scattering correlated study of boron-doped silicon nanowires

Boron-doped (B-doped) silicon nanowires (SiNWS) have been prepared and characterized by Raman scattering and photoluminescence (PL). B-doped SiNWS were grown by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), using diborane (B2H6) as the dopant gas. Raman spectra show a band at 480cm(-1),which is attributed to amorphous silicon. Photoluminescence at room temperature exhibits three distinct emission peaks at 1.34ev, 1.42ev, 1.47ev. Possible reason for these is suggested.

INFLUENCES OF ALLOY DISORDER AND INTERFACE ROUGHNESS ON OPTICAL-SPECTRA OF INGAAS/GAAS STRAINED-LAYER QUANTUM-WELLS

We present studies of alloy composition and layer thickness dependences of excitonic linewidths in InGaAs/GaAs strained-layer quantum wells grown by MBE, using both photoluminescence and optical absorption. It is observed that linewidths of exciton spectra increase with indium content and well size. Using the virtual crystal approximation, the experimental data are analyzed. The results obtained show that the alloy disorder is the dominant mechanism for line broadening at low temperature. In addition, it is found that the absorption spectra related to light hole transitions have varied from a peak to a step-like structure as temperature increases. This behavior can be understood by the indirect space transitions of light holes.

Strong visible photoluminescence from amorphous silicon grains in a-SiOx:H films

Two strong luminescence bands were observed from a-SiOx:H in the spectral range of 550-900 nm at room temperature. One is a main broad peak which blueshifts with oxygen content and the other is a shoulder fixed at about 835 nm. In conjunction with TR and micro-Raman spectra, we have proposed that the main band may originate from the amorphous silicon grains embedded in SiOx network, while the shoulder might be due to some defects induced by excess-silicon in these films. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.

Photoluminescence of ZnS clusters in zeolite-Y

Two obvious emissions are observed from the ZnS clusters encapsulated in zeolite-Y. The emission around 355 nm is sharp and weak, locating at the onset of the absorption edge. The band around 535 nm is broad, strong and Stokes-shifted. Both the two emissions shift to blue and their intensities firstly increase then decrease as the loading of ZnS in zeolite-Y or clusters size decreases. Through investigation, the former is attributed to the excitonic fluorescence, and the latter to the trapped luminescence from surface states. The cluster size-dependence of the luminescence may be explained qualitatively by considering both the carrier recombination and the nonradiative recombination rates. Four peaks appearing in the excitation spectra are assigned to the transitions of 1S-1S, 1S-1P, 1S-1D and surface state, respectively. The excitation spectra of the clusters do not coincide with their absorption spectra. The states splitted by quantum-size confinement are detected in the excitation spectra, but could not be differentiated in the optical absorption spectra due to inhomogeneous broadening. The size-dependence of the excitation spectra is similar to that of the absorption spectra. Both the excitation spectra of excitonic and of trapped emissions are similar, but change in relative intensity and shift in position are observed.

Interfacial behaviour of quantum well electrode/electrolyte: effect of redox species on EER spectra of a single quantum well GaAs vertical bar AlxGa1-xAs electrode

The EER spectra of a single quantum well GaAs\AlxGa1-xAs electrode were studied as a function of applied reverse bias in ferrocene, p-methyl nitrobenzene and hydroquinone+benzoquinone non-aqueous solutions. EER spectra were compared for different redox species and showed that a pronounced quantum-confined Stark effect and a Franz-Keldysh oscillation for a single quantum well electrode were obtained in the p-methyl-nitrobenzene- and hydroquinone+benzoquinone-containing solutions. A surface interaction of the single quantum well electrode with ferrocene led to fewer changes in the electric field of the space charge layer for reverse bias; this was suggested to explain the weak quantum-confined Stark effect and Franz-Keldysh oscillation effect observed for the single quantum well electrode in the ferrocene-containing solution. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.

Valence hole subbands and optical gain spectra of GaN/Ga1-xAlxN strained quantum wells

The valence hole subbands, TE and TM mode optical gains, transparency carrier density, and radiative current density of the zinc-blende GaN/Ga0.85Al0.15N strained quantum well (100 Angstrom well width) have been investigated using a 6 X 6 Hamiltonian model including the heavy hole, Light hole, and spin-orbit split-off bands. At the k = 0 point, it is found that the light hole strongly couples with the spin-orbit split-off hole, resulting in the so+lh hybrid states. The heavy hole does not couple with the light hole and the spin-orbit split-off hole. Optical transitions between the valence subbands and the conduction subbands obey the Delta n=0 selection rule. At the k not equal 0 points, there is strong band mixing among the heavy hole, light hole, and spin-orbit split-off hole. The optical transitions do not obey the Delta n=0 selection rule. The compressive strain in the GaN well region increases the energy separation between the so1+lh1 energy level and the hh1 energy level. Consequently, the compressive strain enhances the TE mode optical gain, and strongly depresses the TM mode optical gain. Even when the carrier density is as large as 10(19) cm(-3), there is no positive TM mode optical gain. The TE mode optical gain spectrum has a peak at around 3.26 eV. The transparency carrier density is 6.5 X 10(18) cm(-3), which is larger than that of GaAs quantum well. The compressive strain overall reduces the transparency carrier density. The J(rad) is 0.53 kA/cm(2) for the zero optical gain. The results obtained in this work will be useful in designing quantum well GaN laser diodes and detectors. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.