Evolution of vertical phase separation in P3HT:PCBM thin films induced by thermal annealing

The achievement of the desirable morphology at the nanometer scale of bulk heterojunctions consisting of a conjugated polymer with fullerene derivatives is a prerequisite in order to optimize the power conversion efficiency of organic solar cells. The various experimental conditions such as the choice of solvent, drying rates and annealing have been found to significantly affect the blend morphology and the final performance of the photovoltaic device. In this work, we focus on the effects of post deposition thermal annealing at 140 °C on the blend morphology, the optical and structural properties of bulk heterojunctions that consist of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and a methanofullerene derivative (PCBM). The post thermal annealing modifies the distribution of the P3HT and the PCBM inside the blend films, as it has been found by Spectroscopic Ellipsometry studies in the visible to far-ultraviolet spectral range. Phase separation was identified by AFM and GIXRD as a result of a slow drying process which took place after the spin coating process. The increase of the annealing time resulted to a significant increase of the P3HT crystallinity at the top regions of the blend films. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mn-including InAs quantum dots fabricated by Mn implantation

Mn-including InAs quantum dots (QDs) were fabricated by Mn-ion implantation and subsequent annealing. The optical, compositional, and structural properties of the treated samples were analyzed by photoluminescence (PL) and microscopy. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) results indicate that Mn ions diffused from the bulk GaAs into the InAs QDs during annealing, and the diffusion appears to be driven by the strain in the InAs QDs. The temperature dependence of the PL of Mn-including InAs QD samples exhibits QDs PL characteristics. At the same time, the heavy Mn-including InAs QD samples have ferromagnetic properties and high T-c. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of disk rotation rate on the growth of ZnO films by low-pressure metal-organic chemical vapor deposition

ZnO films were grown at low pressure in a vertical metal-organic vapor deposition (MOCVD) reactor with a rotating disk. The structural and morphological properties of the ZnO films grown at different disk rotation rate (DRR) were investigated. The growth rate increases with the increase of DRR. The ZnO film grown at the DRR of 450 revolutions per minute (rpm) has the lowest X-ray rocking curve full width at half maximum and shows the best crystalline quality and morphology. In addition, the crystalline quality and morphology are improved as the DRR increased but both are degraded when the DRR is higher than 450 rpm. These results can help improve in understanding the rotation effects on the ZnO films grown by MOCVD. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Characterization of Thick GaN Films Directly Grown on Wet-Etching Patterned Sapphire by HVPE

Thick GaN films of high quality are directly grown on wet-etching patterned sapphire in a vertical hydride vapour phase epitaxy reactor. The optical and structural properties of GaN films are studied using scanning electronic microscopy and cathodoluminescence. Test results show that initial growth of hydride vapour phase epitaxy GaN occurs not only on the mesas but also on the two asymmetric sidewalls of the V-shaped grooves without selectivity. After the two-step coalescence near the interface, the GaN films near the surface keep on growing along the direction perpendicular to the long sidewall. Based on Raman results, GaN of the coalescence region in the grooves has the maximum residual stress and poor crystalline quality over the whole GaN film, and the coalescence process can release the stress. Therefore, stress-free thick GaN films are prepared with smooth and crack-free surfaces by this particular growth mode on wet-etching patterned sapphire substrates.

Epitaxial Growth of AlInGaN Quaternary Alloys by RF-MBE

AlInGaN quaternary alloys were successfully grown on sapphire substrate by radio-frequency plasma-excited molecular beam epitaxy (RF-MBE). AlInGaN quaternary alloys with different compositions were acquired by changing the Al cell's temperature. The streaky RHEED patterns were observed during AlInGaN quaternary alloys growth. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Rutherford back-scattering spectrometry (RBS), X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and Cathodoluminescence (CL) were used to characterize the structural and optical properties of the AlInGaN alloys. The experimental results show that the AlInGaN quaternary alloys grow on the GaN buffer in the layer-by-layer growth mode. When the Al cell's temperature is 920 degrees C, the Al/In ratio in the AlInGaN quaternary alloys is about 4.7, and the AlInGaN can acquire better crystal and optical quality. The X-ray and CL full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the AlInGaN are 5arcmin and 25nm, respectively.

Growth of nano-structures on composition-modulated InAlAs surfaces

InAs self-organized nanostructures were grown with variant deposition thickness and growth rate on closely matched InAlAs/InP by molecular-beam epitaxy. The structural properties. of InAs and InAlAs layer were studied. It is found that the InAs morphology is insensitive to the growth conditions. Transmission electron microscopy and reflectance difference spectroscopy measurements show that the InAlAs matrix presents lateral composition modulation which gives birth to surface anisotropy. Based on the dependence of the InAs morphology on the anisotropy of the InAlAs layer, a modified Stranski-Krastanow growth mode is presented to describe the growth of the nanostructure on a composition-modulated surface.

Realization of highly uniform self-assembled InAs quantum wires by the strain compensating technique

Self-assembled InAs quantum wires (QWRs) on InP(001) substrate have been grown by molecular-beam epitaxy, using a strain compensating technique. Atom force microscope, Transmission electron microscopy, and high-resolution x-ray diffraction are used to characterize their structural properties. We proposed that, by carefully adjusting composition of InAlGaAs buffer layer and strain compensating spacer layers, stacked QWRs with high uniformity could be achieved. In addition, the formation mechanism and vertical anti-correlation of QWRs are also discussed. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.

NIP a-Si : H solar cells on stanless steel with p-type nc-Si : H window layer

The successful application of boron-doped hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon as window layer in a-Si: H nip solar cells on stainless steel foil with a thickness of 0.05 mm is reported. Open circuit voltage and fill factor of the fabricated solar cell were 0.90V and 0.70 respectively. The optical and structural properties of the p-layers have been investigated by using UV-VIS and Raman spectroscopy. It is confirmed that the p-layer is hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon with a wide optical gap due to quantum size effect.

Alloy compositional fluctuation in InAlGaN epitaxial films

The quaternary InAlGaN films were grown by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) at various temperatures and the optical and structural properties of the quaternary films were investigated by temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL), high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) and high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM). The results show that the temperature-dependent PL intensity of the InAlGaN film is similar to that of the disordered alloys, which is thought to be due to local alloy compositional fluctuations (ACF) in the epilayer. HRXRD measurement reveals there are In-rich and In-poor phases in the film and HREM observation, on the other hand, demonstrates that nanoclusters formed in the epilayer. Therefore the experimental results support the existence of ACF in the epilayers.

Enhanced performance of p-GaN by Mg delta doping

The electrical and structural properties of Mg delta-doped GaN epilayers grown by MOCVD were investigated. Compared to uniform Mg-doping GaN layers, it has been shown that the delta-doping (delta-doping) process could suppress the dislocation density and enhance the p-type performance. The influence of pre-purge step on the structural properties of GaN was also investigated. The hole concentration of p-GaN decreases when using a pre-purge step. These results can be explained convincingly using a simple model of impurity incorporation under Ga-free growth condition. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Columnar structures and stress relaxation in thick GaN films grown on sapphire by HVPE

Thick GaN films with high quality are directly grown on sapphire in a home-built vertical hydride vapour phase epitaxy (HVPE) reactor. The optical and structural properties of large scale columnar do-mains near the interface are studied using cathodoluminescence and micro-Raman scattering. These columnar do-mains Show a strong emission intensity due to extremely high free carrier concentration up to 2 x 10(19) cm(-3), which are related with impurities trapped in structural defects. The compressive stress in GaN Elm clearly decreases with increasing distance from interface. The quasi-continuous columnar domains play an important role in the stress relaxation for the upper high quality layer.

Hydrogenated p-type nanocrystalline silicon in amorphous silicon solar cells

A wide bandgap and highly conductive p-type hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) window layer was prepared with a conventional RF-PECVD system under large H dilution condition, moderate power density, high pressure and low substrate temperature. The optoelectrical and structural properties of this novel material have been investigated by Raman and UV-VIS transmission spectroscopy measurements indicating that these films are composed of nanocrystallites embedded in amorphous SiHx matrix and with a widened bandgap. The observed downshift of the optical phonon Raman spectra (514.4 cm(-1)) from crystalline Si peak (521 cm(-1)) and the widening of the bandgap indicate a quantum confinement effect from the Si nanocrystallites. By using this kind of p-layer, a-Si:H solar cells on bare stainless steel foil in nip sequence have been successfully prepared with a V c of 0.90 V, a fill factor of 0.70 and an efficiency of 9.0%, respectively. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Microstructure characterization of transition films from amorphous to nanocrocrystalline silicon

Hydrogenated silicon (Si:H) films near the threshold of crystallinity were prepared by very high-frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (VHF-PECVD) using a wide range of hydrogen dilution R-H = [H-2]/[SiH4] values of 2-100. The effects of H dilution R-H on the structural properties of the films were investigated using micro-Raman scattering and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) absorption spectroscopy. The obtained Raman spectra show that the H dilution leads to improvements in the short-range order and the medium-range order of the amorphous network and then to the morphological transition from amorphous to crystalline states. The onset of this transition locates between R-H = 30 and 40 in our case, and with further increasing R-H from 40 to 100, the nanocrystalline volume fraction increases from similar to23% to 43%, and correspondingly the crystallite size enlarges from similar to2.8 to 4.4 nm. The FTIR spectra exhibit that with R-H increasing, the relative intensities of both the SiH stretching mode component at 2100 cm(-1) and wagging mode component at 620 cm(-1) increase in the same manner. We assert that these variations in IR spectra should be associated with the formation of paracrystalline structures in the low H dilution films and nanocrystalline structures in the high H dilution films. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Semi-insulating GaAs grown in outer space

A semi-insulating GaAs single crystal ingot was grown in a recoverable satellite, within a specially designed pyrolytic boron nitride crucible, in a power-traveling furnace under microgravity. The characteristics of a compound semiconductor single crystal depends fundamentally on its stoichiometry, i.e. the ration of two types of atoms in the crystal. a practical technique for nondestructive and quantitative measuring stoichiometry in GaAs single crystal was used to analyze the space-grown GaAs single crystal. The distribution of stoichiometry in a GaAs wafer was measured for the first time. The electrical, optical and structural properties of the space-grown GaAs crystal were studied systematically, Device fabricating experiments prove that the quality of field effect transistors fabricated from direct ion-implantation in semi-insulating GaAs wafers has a close correlation with the crystal's stoichiometry. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.

Effect of In-mole-fraction in InGaAs overgrowth layer on self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots

We have studied the optical and structural properties of InAs/GaAs QDs covered by InxGa1-xAs (0 less than or equal to x less than or equal to 0.3) layer using transmission electron microscopy, photoluminescence (PL) spectra and atomic force microscopy. We find that the strain reduces in the growth direction of InAs islands covered by InGaAs instead of GaAs layer. Significant redshift of PL peak energy and narrowing of PL linewidth are observed for the InAs QDs covered by 3 nm thick InGaAs layer. In addition, atomic force microscopy measurements indicate that the InGaAs islands will nucleate on top of InAs quantum dots, when 3 nm In0.3Ga0.7As overgrowth layer is deposited. This result can well explain the PL intensify degradation and linewidth increment of quantum dots with a higher In-mole-fraction InGaAs layer. The energy gap change of InAs QDs covered by InGaAs may be explained in terms of reducing strain, suppressing compositional mixing and increasing island height. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.