Interface formation of nanostructured heterojunction SnO 2:Eu/GaAs and electronic transport properties

Thin films of tin dioxide (SnO2) are deposited by the sol-gel-dip-coating technique, along with GaAs layers, deposited by the resistive evaporation technique. The as-built heterojunction has potential application in optoelectronic devices, combining the emission from the rare-earth doped transparent oxide (Eu3+-doped SnO2 presents very efficient red emission) with a high mobility semiconductor. The advantage of this structure is the possibility of separation of the rare-earth emission centers from the electron scattering, leading to a strongly indicated combination for electroluminescence. Electrical characterization of the heterojunction SnO2:Eu/GaAs shows a significant conductivity increase when compared to the conductivity of the individual films, and the monochromatic light irradiation (266 nm) at low temperature of the heterojunction GaAs/SnO2:Eu leads to intense conductivity increase. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the heterojunction cross section shows high adherence and good morphological quality of the interfaces substrate/SnO2 and SnO2/GaAs, even though the atomic force microscopy (AFM) image of the GaAs surface shows disordered particles, which increases with sample thickness. On the other hand, the good morphology of the SnO2:Eu surface, shown by AFM, assures the good electrical performance of the heterojunction. The observed improvement on the electrical transport properties is probably related to the formation of short conduction channels at the semiconductors interface, which may exhibit two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) behavior. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Estudo das propriedades ópticas de poços quânticos de InGaAsN/GaAs para aplicação em dispositivos optoeletrônicos

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Simulação numérica da fase líquida na deposição de filmes finos via sol-gel: aplicações para dióxido de estanho

Pós-graduação em Ciência e Tecnologia de Materiais - FC

Estrutura eletrônica e propriedades elétricas fotoinduzidas em filmes finos de SnO2 com dopagem de Sb, e formação de heteroestruturas com TiO2

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Influência da acidez da suspensão coloidal para a geração de defeitos pontuais e emissão no infra vermelho em SnO2 dopado com Er

Pós-graduação em Ciência e Tecnologia de Materiais - FC

Photo-Induced Conductivity of Heterojunction GaAs/Rare-Earth Doped SnO2

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Desenvolvimento de um sistema para caracterização de dispositivos eletroluminescentes

The materials designed to be used in electroluminescent (EL) devices construction are studied and improved since 1936. Great interests in the development of this kind of devices are mainly due to its low power consumption, flexibility, low cost and easy processing. One class of ELs devices with these characteristics are produced by employing a organic-polymeric/inorganic composite from a conductive polymer blend and an inorganic electroluminescent material (Zn2SiO4:Mn) dispersed in the polymeric matrix. This kind of device operates in d.c. or a.c. potentials, with EL of hundreds candela in the green region of the visible spectrum. However, few studies on the light emission were performed for these devices. In order to characterize devices made from composites, in this work is proposed a method of characterizing the electroluminescence associated with the impedance spectroscopy technique. To implement the technique of impedance spectroscopy was employ an experimental setup consisting of a source of a.c. voltage, an oscilloscope, and a reference resistor. Associated with this system, was use a photo diode and an analog electrometer to characterize the emitted light signal from the sample. The system was implemented allows characterization by impedance spectroscopy in the frequency range from 0.2 Hz up to 2 MHz and voltage amplitudes of 5 mV up to 20 kV. This system permits, at the same time, measurement of the RMS value of the luminance for devices in frequency range from 20 Hz up to 2 MHz. To test the system efficiency, an EL device was characterized showing analogous results to those reported in literature. By doing this, was demonstrated the efficiency of the system for electroluminescence characterization associated with the electrical characterization by impedance spectroscopy, for devices

Effects of humidity on the electrical properties of thermal inkjet-printed films of copper tetrasulfonated phthalocyanine (CuTsPc) onto paper substrates

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Propriedades ópticas e elétricas de materiais híbridos de sílica/orgânico à base de GPTS:TEOS preparados pelo método sol-gel

Fabrication of optoelectronic devices requires the employment of at least one transparent electrode. Usually, commercially transparent electrodes have been made by deposition of indium tin oxide (ITO) films by RF-Sputtering technique. These commercial electrodes have sheet resistance of about 100 Ω/sq and optical transmittance of 77% at the wavelength of 550 nm. The poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene-sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) is an alternative material to fabricate transparent electrodes due to its high conductivity (about 600 S/cm) and solubility in water. Soluble conductive materials exhibits advantages for processing of electrode layers, however there is a disadvantage during devices fabrication once materials with the same solvent of the electrode material cannot be coated one over the other. Alternatively, organic/Silica hybrid materials prepared by sol-gel process allow producing bulks and films with high chemical durability. In order to obtain transparent electrodes with high chemical durability, we introduced a blended material comprising the high UV-VIS transparency of organic/Silica sol-gel material and a high conductivity polymer PEDOT:PSS. The organic/Silica sol was obtained using two different molar concentrations (1:1 and 4:1), of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) and 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPTS). Amounts of PEDOT:PSS solutions were added to the sol material, resulting in different weight fractions of sol and polymer. G:T/P:P were deposit onto glass substrates by spray-coating. In order to perform electrical characterization of the blended material, gold electrodes were thermally evaporated onto the films. The electrical characterization was performed using a Keithley 2410 source/meter unity and the optical characterization, using a Cary50 UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The absorption coefficient and electric conductivity of the different compositions blends, as function of the PEDOT:PSS concentration, were...

Estudo de flutuações de potenciais em poços quânticos de InGaAsN

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Estudo de flutuações de potenciais em poços quânticos de InGaAsN

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Multilayer thin films by layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly of functional polyelectrolytes

Nanoscience aims at manipulating atoms, molecules and nano-size particles in a precise and controlled manner. Nano-scale control of the thin film structures of organic/polymeric materials is a prerequisite to the fabrication of sophisticated functional devices. The work presented in this thesis is a compilation of various polymer thin films with newly synthesized functional polymers. Cationic and anionic LC amphotropic polymers, p-type and n-type semiconducting polymers with triarylamine, oxadiazole, thiadiazole and triazine moieties are suitable materials to fabricate multilayers by layer-by-layer (LBL) self-assembly with a well defined internal structure. The LBL assembly is the ideal processing technique to prepare thin polymer film composites with fine control over morphology and composition at nano-scale thickness, which may have applications in photo-detectors, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), displays and sensors, as well as in solar cells. The multilayer build-up was investigated with amphotropic LC polymers individually by solution-dipping and spin-coating methods; they showed different internal orders with respect to layering and orientation of the mesogens, as a result of the liquid crystalline phase. The synthesized p-type and n-type semiconducting polymers were examined optically and electrochemically, suggesting that they are favorably promising as hole-(p-type) or electron-(n-type) transport materials in electronic and optoelectronic devices. In addition, we report a successful film deposition of polymers by the vacuum deposition method. The vapor deposition method provides a clean environment; it is solvent free and well suited to sequential depositions in hetero-structured multilayer system. As the potential applications, the fabricated polymer thin films were used as simple electrochromic films and also used as hole transporting layers in LEDs. Electrochemical and electrochromic characterizations of assembled films reveal that the newly synthesized polymers give rise to high contrast ratio and fast switching electrochromic films. The LEDs with vacuum deposited films show dramatic improvements in device characteristics, indicating that the films are promising as hole transporting layers. These are the result of not only the thin nano-scale film structures but also the combination with the high charge carrier mobility of synthesized semiconducting polymers.

Nanoscale-electrical and optical properties of iii-nitrides

III-nitrides are wide-band gap materials that have applications in both electronics and optoelectronic devices. Because to their inherent strong polarization properties, thermal stability and higher breakdown voltage in Al(Ga,In)N/GaN heterostructures, they have emerged as strong candidates for high power high frequency transistors. Nonetheless, the use of (Al,In)GaN/GaN in solid state lighting has already proved its success by the commercialization of light-emitting diodes and lasers in blue to UV-range. However, devices based on these heterostructures suffer problems associated to structural defects. This thesis primarily focuses on the nanoscale electrical characterization and the identification of these defects, their physical origin and their effect on the electrical and optical properties of the material. Since, these defects are nano-sized, the thesis deals with the understanding of the results obtained by nano and micro-characterization techniques such as atomic force microscopy(AFM), current-AFM, scanning kelvin probe microscopy (SKPM), electron beam induced current (EBIC) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). This allowed us to probe individual defects (dislocations and cracks) and unveil their electrical properties. Taking further advantage of these techniques,conduction mechanism in two-dimensional electron gas heterostructures was well understood and modeled. Secondarily, origin of photoluminescence was deeply investigated. Radiative transition related to confined electrons and photoexcited holes in 2DEG heterostructures was identified and many body effects in nitrides under strong optical excitations were comprehended.

Photoactive Carbon Nanostructures: From Multicomponent Arrays To Nanomaterials

Carbon has a unique ability to shape networks of differently hybridized atoms that can generate various allotropes and may also exist as nanoscale materials. The emergence of carbon nanostructures initially occured through the serendipitous discovery of fullerenes and then through experimental advances which led to carbon nanotubes, nanohorns and graphene. The structural diversity of carbon nanoscopic allotropes and their unique and unprecedentend properties, give rise to countless applications and have been intensively exploited in nanotechnology, since they may address the need to create smarter optoelectronic devices, smaller in size and with better performance. The versatile properties of carbon nanomaterials are reflected in the multidisciplinary character of my doctoral research where, in particular, I take advantage of the opportunities offered by fullerenes and carbon nanotubes in constructing novel functional materials. In this work, carbon nanostructures are incorporated in novel photoactive functional systems constructed through different types of interactions – covalent bonds, ion-pairing or self-assembly. The variety of properties exhibited by carbon nanostructures is successfully explored by assigning them a different role in a specific array: fullerenes are employed as electron or energy acceptors, whereas carbon nanotubes behave like optically inert scaffolds for luminescent materials or nanoscale substrates in sonication-induced self-assembly. All the presented systems serve as a testbed for exploring the properties of carbon nanostructures in multicomponent arrays, which may be advantageous for the production of new photovoltaic or optoelectronic devices, as well as in the design and control of self-assembly processes.

Sintesi e caratterizzazione di nanoparticelle di ossido di stagno dopate

In the last years, new materials have been developed in the broad area of nanoscience. Among them, an emergent class characterized by excellent electrical conductivity properties as well as high optical transmittance in the visible region are TCOs (Transparent Conducting Oxides). Due to their versatile properties, they have found many applications in a lot of optoelectronic devices, such as solar cells, liquid crystal displays, touch-panel displays, gas sensors, to cite a few examples. Different research groups have studied and characterized the TCOs. In this context, a new synthetic method has been developed to produce FTO nanocrystals (Fluorine-doped Tin Oxide NCs) in Prof. Pinna’s lab at the Humboldt University in Berlin. FTO belongs to the TCO category, and they have been studied as a promising alternative to ITO NCs (Indium Tin Oxide) which represent the standard TCO material in terms of properties and performances. In this work, FTO NCs have been synthesized using the “benzyl alcohol route” (a non-aqueous sol-gel method) via microwave, which permits to produce FTO particles with good properties as revealed by the characterizations performed, employing a cheap, fast and clean method.