Structural and optical properties of ZnO thin films on glass substrate grown by laser-ablating Zn target in oxygen atmosphere

C-axis-orientated ZnO thin films were prepared on glass substrates by pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) technique in an oxygen-reactive atmosphere, using a metallic Zn target. The effects of growth condition such as laser energy and substrate temperature on the structural and optical properties of ZnO films had been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission spectra and room-temperature (RT) photoluminescence (PL) measurements. The results showed that the thickness, crystallite size, and compactness of ZnO films increased with the laser energy and substrate temperature. Both the absorption edges and the UV emission peaks of the films exhibited redshift, and UV emission intensity gradually increased as the laser energy and substrate temperature increased. From these results, it was concluded that crystalline quality of ZnO films was improved with increasing laser energy and substrate temperature. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.N. All rights reserved.

Optical properties of the E-0+Delta(0) energy level higher than the bandgap of GaAs studied by micro-photoluminescence technique

Using micro-photoluminescence technique, we observed a new photoluminescence peak about 0.348 eV above the bandgap of GaAs (E-0). By analyzing its optical characteristics, we assigned this peak to the nonequilibrium luminescence emission from the E-0 + Delta(0) bandgap in semi-insulated GaAs, which was further verified by Raman results. The observed polarization, excitation power dependence and temperature dependence of the photoluminescence spectra from the E-0 + Delta(0) energy level were very similar to those from the E-0 of GaAs. This mainly resulted from the common conduction band around Gamma(6) that was involved in the two optical transition processes, and indicated that the optical properties of bulk GaAs were mainly determined by the intrinsic properties of the conduction band. Our results demonstrated that the micro-photoluminescence technique is a powerful tool to investigate the high energy states above the fundamental bandgap in semiconductor materials.

The effects of LT AlN buffer thickness on the optical properties of AlGaN grown by MOCVD and Al composition inhomogeneity analysis

We have investigated the growth of AlGaN epilayers on a sapphire substrate by metalorganic chemical vapour deposition using various low-temperature ( LT) AlN buffer thicknesses. Combined scanning electron microscopy and cathodoluminescence investigations reveal the correlation between the surface morphology and optical properties of AlGaN films in a microscopic scale. It is found that the suitable thickness of the LT AlN buffer for high quality AlGaN growth is around 20 nm. The Al compositional inhomogeneity of the AlGaN epilayer is attributed to the low lateral mobility of Al adatoms on the growing surface.

Study on optical properties of Er/Er+O doped GaN thin films

We extend the use of Raman spectroscopy to investigate the modes of Er-implanted and Er + O co-implanted GaN, and discuss the influence of O ions on Er3+ -related infrared photoluminescence (PL). It is found that Er3+ implantation introduces new Raman peaks in Raman spectra at frequencies 300 and 670 cm and one additional new peak at 360cm is introduced after Er + O implantation. It is proposed that the broad structure around 300 cm(-1) mode originates from disorder-activated scattering (DARS). The Raman peak at 670 cm is assigned to nitrogen vacancy related defects. The 360 cm peak is attributed to the O implantation induced defect complexes (vacancies, interstitial, or anti-sites in the host). The appearance of the 360 cm(-1) mode results in the decrease of the Er3+ -related infrared PL of GaN: Er + O.

Structural and optical properties of violet InGaN/AlInGaN light-emitting diodes grown by MOCVD

High-performance violet light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with InGaN/AlInGaN multiple quantum well (MQW) active regions were grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The interface flatness of the InGaN/AlInGaN MQWs and the emission efficiency of the LED are firstly improved with increasing Al content in the AlInGaN barrier layer, and then degraded as Al content increases further, being optimal when Al content is 0.12. Similarly, the result is optimized if the indium content is approximately 2.5% in the AlInGaN barrier layer. The mechanisms which have influences on the radiative efficiency when the Al content increases are discussed. A high output power of 7.3 mW for the violet LED at 20 mA current has been achieved. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of GaAS(100) 2 degrees surface misorientation on the formation and optical properties of MOCVD grown InAs quantum dots

The influence of GaAS(1 0 0)2 degrees substrate misorientation on the formation and optical properties of InAs quantum dots (QDs) has been studied in compare with dots on exact GaAs(1 0 0) substrates. It is shown that, while QDs on exact substrates have only one dominant size, dots on misoriented substrates are formed in lines with a clear bimodal size distribution. Room temperature photoluminescence measurements show that QDs on misoriented substrates have narrower FWHM, longer emission wavelength and much larger PL intensity relative to those of dots on exact substrates. However, our rapid thermal annealing (RTA) experiments indicate that annealing shows a stronger effect on dots with misoriented substrates by greatly accelerating the degradation of material quality. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.

Optical properties and g factors of GaAs quantum rods

The Hamiltonian of the zinc-blende quantum rods in the framework of eight-band effective-mass approximation in the presence of external homogeneous magnetic field is given. The electronic structure, optical properties and electron g factors of GaAs quantum rods are investigated. We found that the electron g factors are very sensitively dependent on the dimensions of the quantum rods. As some of the three dimensions increase, the electron g factors decrease. The more the dimensions increase, the more the electron g factors decrease. The dimensions perpendicular to the direction of the magnetic field affect the electron g factors more than the other dimension. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Electron g factors and optical properties of InAs quantum ellipsoids

The electronic structure, electron g factors and optical properties of InAs quantum ellipsoids are investigated, in the framework of the eight-band effective-mass approximation. It is found that the light-hole states come down in comparison with the heavy-hole states when the spheres are elongated, and become the lowest states of the valence band. Circularly polarized emissions under circularly polarized excitations may have opposite polarization factors to the exciting light. For InAs ellipsoids the length, which is smaller than 35 nm, is still in a strongly quantum-confined regime. The electron g factors of InAs spheres decrease with increasing radius, and are nearly 2 when the radius is very small. The quantization of the electron states quenches the orbital angular momentum of the states. Actually, as some of the three dimensions increase, the electron g factors decrease. As more dimensions increase, the g factors decrease more. The dimensions perpendicular to the direction of the magnetic field affect the g factors more than the other dimension. The magnetic field along the z axis of the crystal structure causes linearly polarized emissions in the spheres, which emit unpolarized light in the absence of magnetic field.

Dependence of bimodal size distribution on temperature and optical properties of InAs quantum dots grown on vicinal GaAs (1-00) substrates by using MOCVD

Self-assembled InAs quantum dots (QDs) are grown on vicinal GaAs (100) substrates by using metal-organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD). An abnormal temperature dependence of bimodal size distribution of InAs quantum dots is found. As the temperature increases, the density of the small dots grows larger while the density of the large dots turns smaller, which is contrary to the evolution of QDs on exact GaAs (100) substrates. This trend is explained by taking into account the presence of multiatomic steps on the substrates. The optical properties of InAs QDs on vicinal GaAs(100) substrates are also studied by photoluminescence (PL). It is found that dots on a vicinal substrate have a longer emission wavelength, a narrower PL line width and a much larger PL intensity.

Optical properties of GaN wurtzite quantum wires

The electronic structure and optical properties of freestanding GaN wurtzite quantum wires are studied in the framework of six-band effective-mass envelope function theory. It is found that the electron states are either twofold or fourfold degenerate. There is a dark exciton effect when the radius R of GaN wurtzite quantum wires is in the range of [0.7, 10.9] nm. The linear polarization factors are calculated in three cases, the quantum confinement effect (finite long wire), the dielectric effect and both effects (infinitely long wire). It is found that the linear polarization factor of a finite long wire whose length is much less than the electromagnetic wavelength decreases as R increases, is very close to unity (0.979) at R = I nm, and changes from a positive value to a negative value around R = 4.1 nm. The linear polarization factor of the dielectric effect is 0.934, independent of radius, as long as the radius remains much less than the electromagnetic wavelength. The result for the two effects shows that the quantum confinement effect gives a correction to the dielectric effect result. It is found that the linear polarization factor of very long (treated approximately as infinitely long) quantum wires is in the range of [0.8, 1]. The linear polarization factors of the quantum confinement effect of CdSe wurtzite quantum wires are calculated for comparison. In the CdSe case, the linear polarization factor of R = I nm is 0.857, in agreement with the experimental results (Hu et al 2001 Science 292 2060). This value is much smaller than unity, unlike 0.979 in the GaN case, mainly due to the big spin-orbit splitting energy Delta(so) of CdSe material with wurtzite structure.

Growth of InAs quantum dots on vicinal GaAs (100) substrates by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition and their optical properties

The growth of InAs quantum dots on vicinal GaAs (100) Substrates was systematically studied using low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The dots showed a clear bimodal size distribution on vicinal substrates. The way of evolution of this bimodal size distribution was studied as a function of growth temperature, InAs layer thickness and InAs deposition rate. The optical properties of dots grown on vicinal substrates were also studied by photoluminescence (PL). It was found that, compared with dots on exact substrates, dots on vicinal substrates had better optical properties such as a narrower PL line width, a longer emission wavelength, and a larger PL intensity. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Optical properties of semiconductor quantum-well material using photonic crystal fabricated by micro-fabrication machine

Two-dimensional photonic crystals in near infrared region were fabricated by using the focused ion beam ( FIB) method and the method of electron-beam lithography (EBL) combined with dry etching. Both methods can fabricate perfect crystals, the method of FIB is simple,the other is more complicated. It is shown that the material with the photonic crystal fabricated by FIB has no fluorescence,on the other hand, the small-lattice photonic crystal made by EBL combined with dry etching can enhance the extraction efficiency two folds, though the photonic crystal has some disorder. The mechanisms of the enhanced-emission and the absence of emission are also discussed.

Influence of cracks generation on the structural and optical properties of GaN/Al0.55Ga0.45N multiple quantum wells

Both cracked and crack-free GaN/Al0.55Ga0.45N multiple quantum wells (MQWs) grown on GaN template by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition have been studied by triple-axis X-ray diffraction, grazing-incidence X-ray reflectivity, atomic force microscope, photoluminescence spectroscopy and low-energy positron annihilation spectroscopy. The experimental results show that cracks generation not only deteriorates the surface morphology, but also leads to a period dispersion and roughens the interfaces of MQWs. The mean density of dislocations in MQWs, determined from the average full-width at half-maximum of to-scan of each satellite peak, has been significantly enhanced by the cracks generation. Furthermore, the measurement of annihilation-line Doppler broadening reveals a higher concentration of negatively charged vacancies in the cracked MQWs. The combination of these vacancies and the high density of edge dislocations are assumed to contribute to the highly enhanced yellow luminescence in the cracked sample. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Optical properties of inGaAs/GaAs quantum wells grown by Sb-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

It is found that both methods using either continuous Sb supply or pre-deposition of a very thin Sb layer are efficient for the Sb-assisted molecular beam epitaxy growth of highly strained InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells (QWs). The emission of QWs is extended to long wavelength close to 1.25 mu m with high luminescence efficiency at room temperature. The influence of rapid thermal annealing (RTA) on the photoluminescence intensity critically depends on the annealing temperature and duration for highly strained QWs. A relatively low RTA temperature of 700 degrees C with a short duration of 10 s is suggested for optimizing the annealing effect. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Structural and optical properties of ZnO films on Si substrates using a gamma-Al2O3 buffer layer

High quality ZnO films have been successfully grown on a Si (100) substrate by metal organic chemical vapour deposition with a gamma-Al2O3 buffer. The crystal structure, surface morphology and optical properties of the ZnO films were characterized by x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The propel-ties of the films with the Al2O3 buffer were improved in comparison with those of as-grown ZnO films. It is shown that the ZnO films with the gamma-Al2O3 buffer grown on Si (100) substrates have a highly-preferential c-axis (0002) orientation, a narrow (0002) peak, smooth surface morphology and better PL spectral properties. This demonstrates that the use of gamma-Al2O3/Si as a ZnO substrate is beneficial for reducing the residual stress for further growth of ZnO films, compared with the growth on bulk Si substrates.