Si based quantum cascade structure: from energy band structures design to materials growth

In this paper, we propose an n-type vertical transition bound-to-continuum Ge/SiGe quantum cascade structure utilizing electronic quantum wells in the L and Gamma valleys of the Ge layers. The optical transition levels are located in the quantum wells in the L valley. The Gamma-L intervalley scattering is used to depopulate the lower level and inject the electrons into the upper level. We also show that high quality Si1-yGey pseudosubstrate is obtained by thermal annealing of Si1-xGex/Ge/Si structure. (C) 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

Controlled growth of III-V compound semiconductor nano-structures and their application in quantum-devices

Various techniques on the growth of self-assembled compound semiconductor nano-structures (quantum dots, QDs) have been tried to enhance the controlling on size, density, emitting wavelength, uniformity in size and ordering in location of the QDs. Optimized growth conditions have been used in the application of the QD materials in opto-electronic devices. High-power long-lifetime quantum-dot laser-diodes (QD-LDs) emitting near 1 mu m, QD-LDs emitting in red-light range, 1.3 mu m QD-LDs on GaAs substrate and quantum-dot super-luminescent diodes (QD-SLDs) have successfully been achieved.

EFFECT OF IMAGE FORCES ON ELECTRONS CONFINED IN LOW-DIMENSIONAL STRUCTURES UNDER A MAGNETIC-FIELD

We consider the effect of image forces, arising due to a difference in dielectric permeabilities of the well layer and barrier layers, on the energy spectrum of an electron confined in a rectangular potential well under a magnetic field. Depending on the value and the sign of the dielectric mismatch, image forces can localize electrons near the interfaces of the well or in well centre and change the direct intersubband gaps into indirect ones. These effects can be controlled by variation of the magnetic field, offering possibilities for exact tuning of electronic devices.

THEORETICAL CALCULATION FOR SHUBNIKOV-DEHAAS OSCILLATIONS IN DEEP MESA STRUCTURES

We have used the rectangular confinement potential to describe Shubnikov-deHaas oscillations produced by one-dimensional electrons confined in deep mesa structures. The edge distortion of the confinement potential caused by electrostatic image forces is taken into account. The model contains no fitting parameters and relates well with experimental data. The comparison with earlier reported parabolic model is presented,

THEORY OF THE ELECTRONIC-STRUCTURE OF POROUS SI

A theoretical model for the electronic structure of porous Si is presented. Three geometries of porous Si (wire with square cross section, pore with square cross section, and pore with circular cross section) along both the [001] and [110] directions are considered. It is found that the confinement geometry affects decisively the ordering of conduction-band states. Due to the quantum confinement effect, there is a mixing between the bulk X and GAMMA states, resulting in finite optical transition matrix elements, but smaller than the usual direct transition matrix elements by a factor of 10(-3). We found that the strengths of optical transitions are sensitive to the geometry of the structure. For (001) porous Si the structure with circular pores has much stronger optical transitions compared to the other two structures and it may play an important role in the observed luminescence. For this structure the energy difference between the direct and the indirect conduction-band minima is very small. Thus it is possible to observe photoluminescence from the indirect minimum at room temperature. For (110) porous Si of similar size of cross section the energy gap is smaller than that of (001) porous Si. The optical transitions for all three structures of (110) porous Si tend to be much stronger along the axis than perpendicular to the axis.

ELECTRONIC AND MAGNETIC-STRUCTURE OF THE TERNARY COMPOUND ND2FE17N

The electronic and the magnetic structure of the Nd2Fe17N1 phase in the family of Nd-Fe-N ternary compounds have been calculated using the first-principles, spin-polarized orthogonalized linear-combination-of-atomic-orbitals method. Results are presented in the form of site-decomposed and spin-projected partial density of states. The occupation sites of the three N atoms are determined by an average radial distribution of all possible N site configurations. Both cases of N occupying the 3b and the 18g sites are studied. The results indicate that the 6c Fe sites have the maximum and the 18h Fe sites have the minimum local moments. This is in good agreement with experiment. It is concluded that the influence on the local moment due to lattice expansion is less important compared to that due to interatomic interaction between the N atom and its neighbors. The results also show the important role of N atoms in raising the Curie temperature of this compound.

Electronic states and magnetotransport in quantum waveguides with nonuniform magnetic fields

The electronic states and magnetotransport properties of quantum waveguides (QW's) in the presence of nonuniform magnetic fields perpendicular to the QW plane are investigated theoretically. It is found that the magnetoconductance of those structures as a function of Fermi energy exhibits stepwise variation or square-wave-like oscillations, depending on the specific distributions (both in magnitude and direction) of nonuniform magnetic fields in QW's. We have investigated the dual magnetic strip structures and three magnetic strip structures. The character of the magnetotransport is closely related to the effective magnetic potential and the energy-dispersion spectrum of electron in the structures. It is found that dispersion relations seem to be combined by different sets of dispersion curves that belong to different individual magnetic subwaveguides. The magnetic effective potential leads to the coupling of states and the substantial distortion of the original dispersion curves at the interfaces in which the abrupt change of magnetic fields appears. Magnetic scattering states are created. Only in some three magnetic strip structures, these scattering states produce the dispersion relations with oscillation structures superimposed on the bulk Landau levels. It is the oscillatory behavior in dispersions that leads to the occurrence of square-wave-like modulations in conductance.

Electronic structure of microporous titanosilicate ETS-10

The electronic structure of a microporous titanosilicate framework, ETS-10 is calculated by means of a first-principles self-consistent method. It is shown that without the inclusion of the alkali atoms whose positions in the framework are unknown, ETS-10 is an electron deficient system with 32 electrons per unit cell missing at the top of an otherwise semiconductor-like band structure. The calculated density of slates are resolved into partial components. It is shown that the states of the missing electrons primarily originate from the Ti-O bond. The local density of states of the Ti-3d orbitals in the ETS-10 framework is quite different from the perovskite BaTiO3. The possibilities of ETS-10 crystal being ferroelectric or having other interesting properties are discussed.

Verification of EL2 electronic absorption effect on charge transfer in semi-insulating GaAs

The electronic absorption of EL2 centers has been clarified to be related to the electron acid hole photoionizations, and the transition from its ground state to metastable state, respectively. Under an illumination with a selected photon energy in the near infrared region, these three processes with different optical cross sections will show different kinetics against the illumination time. It has recently been shown that the photosensitivity (measured under 1.25 eV illumination) of the local vibrational mode absorption induced by some deep defect centers in SI-GaAs is a consequence of the electron and hole photoionizations of EL2. This paper directly measures the kinetics of the electronic transition associated with EL2 under 1.25 eV illumination, which implies the expected charge transfer among different charge states of the EL2 center. A calculation based on a simple rate equation model is in good agreement with the experimental results.

INFRARED-ABSORPTION DUE TO 2-DIMENSIONAL-ELECTRON-GAS COLLECTIVE EXCITATION IN GAAS/ALXGA1-XAS MULTIPLE-QUANTUM-WELL STRUCTURES

Infrared absorption due to a collective excitation of a two-dimensional electronic gas was observed in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs multiple-quantum wells when the incident light is polarized parallel to the quantum-well plane. We attribute this phenomenon to a plasma oscillation in the quantum wells. The measured wavelength of the absorption peak due to the plasma oscillation agrees with our theoretical analysis. In addition, in this study the plasma-phonon coupling effect is also fitted to the experimental result. We show that the absorption is not related to the intersubband transitions but to the intrasubband transition, which originates from a plasma oscillation.

High-Integrated-Photosensitivity Negative-Electron-Affinity GaAs Photocathodes with Multilayer Be-Doping Structures

The effect of changing Be doping concentration in GaAs layer on the integrated photosensitivity for nega- tive-electron-affinity GaAs photocathodes is investigated. Two GaAs samples with the monolayer structure and the muhilayer structure are grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The former has a constant Be concentration of 1 × 10^19 cm^-3, while the latter includes four layers with Be doping concentrations of 1 × 10^19, 7 × 10^18, 4 × 10^18, and 1 × 10^18 cm^-3 from the bottom to the surface. Negative-electron-affinity GaAs photocathodes are fabricated by exciting the sample surfaces with alternating input of Cs and O in the high vacuum system. The spectral response results measured by the on-line spectral response measurement system show that the integrated photosensitivity of the photocathode with the muhilayer structure enhanced by at least 50% as compared to that of the monolayer structure. This attributes to the improvement in the crystal quality and the increase in the surface escape probability. Different stress situations are observed on GaAs samples with monolayer structure and muhilayer structure, respectively.

Electronic characteristics of InAs self-assembled quantum dots

Deep-level transient spectroscopy and photoluminescence studies have been carried out on structures containing self-assembled InAs quantum dots formed in GaAs matrices. The use of n- and p-type GaAs matrices allows us to study separately electron and hole levels in the quantum dots by the deep-level transient spectroscopy technique. From analysis of deep-level transient spectroscopy measurements it follows that the quantum dots have electron levels 130 meV below the bottom of the GaAs conduction band and heavy-hole levels at 90 meV above the top of the GaAs valence band. Combining with the photoluminescence results, the band structures of InAs and GaAs have been determined. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Electronic and vibrational Raman scattering in resonance with yellow luminescence transitions in GaN on sapphire substrate

We analyze low-temperature Raman and photoluminescence spectra of MBE-grown GaN layers on sapphire. Strong and sharp Raman peaks are observed in the low frequency region. These peaks, which are enhanced by excitation in resonance with yellow luminescence transitions, are attributed to electronic transitions related to shallow donor levels in hexagonal GaN. It is proposed that a low frequency Raman peak at 11.7 meV is caused by a pseudo-local vibration mode related to defects involved in yellow luminescence transitions. The dependence of the photoluminescence spectra on temperature gives additional information about the residual impurities in these GaN layers.