Cathodoluminescence and Raman research of V-shape inverted pyramid in HVPE grown GaN film

Thick GaN films with high quality have been grown on (0001) sapphire substrate in a home-made vertical HVPE reactor. Micron-size hexagonal pits with inverted pyramid shape appear on the film surface, which have six triangular {10-11} facets. These I {10-11} facets show strong luminescence emission and are characteristic of doped n-type materials. Broad red emission is suppressed in {10-11} facets and is only found at the flat region out of the pit, which is related with the decreasing defects on {10-11} facets. Low CL emission intensity is observed at the apex of V-shape pits due to the enhanced nonradiative recombination. Raman spectra show that there are higher carrier concentration and low strain in the pit in comparison to the flat region out of the pit. The strain relaxation may be the main mechanism of the V-shape pits formation on the GaN film surface. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Chemical trends of defect formation in Si quantum dots: The case of group-III and group-V dopants

Using first-principles methods, we have systematically calculated the defect formation energies and transition energy levels of group-III and group-V impurities doped in H passivated Si quantum dots (QDs) as functions of the QD size. The general chemical trends found in the QDs are similar to that found in bulk Si. We show that defect formation energy and transition energy level increase when the size of the QD decreases; thus, doping in small Si QDs becomes more difficult. B-Si has the lowest acceptor transition energy level, and it is more stable near the surface than at the center of the H passivated Si QD. On the other hand, P-Si has the smallest donor ionization energy, and it prefers to stay at the interior of the H passivated Si QD. We explained the general chemical trends and the dependence on the QD size in terms of the atomic chemical potentials and quantum confinement effects.

The influence of V/III ratio in the initial growth stage on the properties of GaN epilayer deposited on low temperature AlN buffer layer

The V/III ratio in the initial growth stage of metalorganic chemical vapor deposition has an important influence on the quality of a GaN epilayer grown on a low-temperature AIN buffer layer and c-plane sapphire substrate. A weaker yellow luminescence, a narrower half-width of the X-ray diffraction peak, and a higher electron mobility result when a lower V/III ratio is taken. The intensity of in situ optical reflectivity measurements indicates that the film surface is rougher at the beginning of GaN growth, and a longer time is needed for the islands to coalesce and for a quasi-two dimensional mode growth to start. A comparison of front- and back-illuminated photoluminescence spectra confirms that many threading dislocations are bent during the initial stage, leading to a better structural quality of the GaN layer. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Impact of polarization on quasi-two-dimensional exciton and barrier-width dependence of the exciton associated transition in wurtzite III-V nitride quantum wells

Excitonic states in AlxGa1-xN/GaN quantum wells (QWs) are studied within the framework of effective-mass theory. Spontaneous and piezoelectric polarizations are included and their impact on the excitonic states and optical properties are studied. We witnessed a significant blue shift in transition energy when the barrier width decreases and we attributed this to the redistribution of the built-in electric field between well layers and barrier layers. For the exciton the binding energies, we found in narrow QWs that there exists a critical value for barrier width, which demarcates the borderline for quantum confinement effect and the quantum confined Stark effect. Exciton and free carrier radiative lifetimes are estimated by simple argumentation. The calculated results suggest that there are efficient non-radiative mechanisms in narrow barrier QWs. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of piezoelectricity and spontaneous polarization on electronic and optical properties of wurtzite III-V nitride quantum wells

A theoretical model accounting for the macropolarization effects in wurtzite III-V nitrides quantum wells (QWs) is presented. Energy dispersions and exciton binding energies are calculated within the framework of effective-mass theory and variational approach, respectively. Exciton-associated transitions (EATs) are studied in detail. An energy redshift as high as 450 meV is obtained in Al0.25GaN0.75/GaN QWs. Also, the abrupt reduction of optical momentum matrix elements is derived as a consequence of quantum-confined Stark effects. EAT energies are compared with recent photoluminescence (PL) experiments and numerical coherence is achieved. We propose that it is the EAT energy, instead of the conduction-valence-interband transition energy that is comparable with the PL energy. To restore the reduced transition rate, we apply an external electric field. Theoretical calculations show that with the presence of the external electric field the optical matrix elements for EAT increase 20 times. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.

Point defects in III-V compound semiconductors

Point defects in III-V compound semiconductors were analyzed systematically in this paper. The effects of substitutes, antisites, interstitials, and vacancies on lattice parameters in III-V compound semiconductors were calculated with a simple model. The formation energies of vacancies in compound semiconductors can be obtained by this calculation. A practical technique established on this model has been utilized for measuring the stoichiometry in GaAs. The relationship between stoichiometry and deep level centers in GaAs was also investigated.

Studies of high DC current induced degradation in III-V nitride based heterojunctions

We report experiments on high de current stressing in commercial III-V nitride based heterojunction light-emitting diodes. Stressing currents ranging from 100 mA to 200 mA were used. Degradations in the device properties were investigated through detailed studies of the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics, electroluminescence, deep-level transient Fourier spectroscopy and flicker noise. Our experimental data demonstrated significant distortions in the I-V characteristics subsequent to electrical stressing. The room temperature electro-luminescence of the devices exhibited a 25% decrement in the peak emission intensity. Concentration of the deep-levels was examined by deep-level transient Fourier spectroscopy, which indicated an increase in the density of deep-traps from 2.7 x 10(13) cm(-3) to 4.2 x 10(13) cm(-3) at E-1 = E-C - 1.1 eV. The result is consistent with our study of 1/f noise, which exhibited up to three orders of magnitude increase in the voltage noise power spectra. These traps are typically located at energy levels beyond the range that can be characterized by conventional techniques including DLTS. The two experiments, therefore, provide a more complete picture of trap generation due to high dc current stressing.

Refractive index dispersion measurement on nonlinear optical polymer using V-prism refractometer

By using V-prism refractometer, the refractive indices of a polyetherketone (PEK-c) guest-host polymer system were measured with the polymer in solutions. The Lorenz-Lorentz local field formalism was used in the calculation of the refractive indices of the polymers from the measured indices of the polymer solutions and the pure solvent by using V-prism refractometer. The refractive index dispersions of the polymers were obtained by fitting the measured indices of the polymers to Sellmeyer equation. The method allows for an accuracy in index of 0.7% in the determination of the polymer indices. In addition, a large difference between the indices of the polymer and the solvent, and a higher polymer volume fraction in the measured polymer solution are favorable for a high accuracy. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Kinetic study of MOCVD III-V quaternary antimonides

The kinetics of MOCVD GaInAsSb and AlGaAsSb was studied by the growth rate as a function of growth temperature and partial pressure of III and V MO species. The diffusion theory was used to explain the mass transport processes in MOCVD III-V quaternary antimonides. On the basis of the discussion about their growth kinetics and epilayer properties, the good quality multi-epilayers of these two quaternary antimonides and their photodetectors and arrays with wavelength of 1.8 similar to 2.3 mu m and detectivities of D* > 10(9) cm Hz(1/2) W-1 were obtained.

Raman scattering studies of III-V semiconductors grown on [n11]-oriented substrates

The room temperature Raman spectra of the Ga(0.5)Al(0.5)AS and the In0.52Al0.48As epilayer grown on [n11]-oriented substrates were measured in various back scatterng geometries, The relative intensity of TO modes and LO modes in those samples shows a regular Variation with differently oriented substrates in the experiments. By comparing experimental data with Raman scattering selection rules for the zincblende structure epilayer grown on [n11]-oriented substrates, it was found that the present calculations are in good agreement with the experimental results.

Mossbauer spectroscopy study of Fe-57 in R3Fe29-xTx (R=Y, Ce, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb and Dy; T=V and Cr)

Fe-57 Mossbauer spectra for the Fe atoms in the R3Fe29-xTx (R=Y, Ce, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy; T=V, Cr) compounds were collected at 4.2 K. The analysis of Mossbauer spectra was based on the results of magnetization and neutron powder diffraction measurements. The average Fe magnetic moments at 4.2 K, deduced from our data, are in accord with magnetization measurements. The average hyperfine field of Tb3Fe29-xCrx (x=1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 3.0) decreases with increasing Cr concentration, which is also in accordance with the variation of the average Fe magnetic moment in the Tb3Fe29-xCrx compounds.

Crystallographic and magnetic properties of hydride R3Fe29-xTxHy (R=Y, Ce, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb and Dy; T=V and Cr)

The crystallographic and intrinsic magnetic properties of hydride R3Fe29-xTxHy (R=Y, Ce, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb, and Dy; T=V and Cr) have been investigated. The lattice constants and the unit cell volume of R3Fe29-xTxHy decrease with increasing R atomic number from Nd to Dy, except for Ce, reflecting the lanthanide contraction. Regular anisotropic expansions, mainly along the a- and b-axis rather than along the c-axis, are observed for all the compounds upon hydrogenation. Hydrogenation leads to an increase in Curie temperature. First-order magnetization processes (FOMP) occur in magnetic fields of around 1.5 T and 4.0 T at 4.2 K for Nd3Fe24.5Cr4.5H5.0 and Tb(3)Fc(27.0)Cr(2.0)H(2.8), and around 1.4 T at room temperature for Gd3Fe28.0Cr1.0H4.2 Abnormal crystallographic and magnetic properties of Ce3Fe29-xTxHy suggest that the Ce ion is non-triply ionized.

Characterization of hot-electron effects on flicker noise in III-V nitride based heterojunctions

We report experiments on hot-electron stressing in commercial III-V nitride based heterojunction fight-emitting diodes. Stressing currents ranging from 100 mA to 200 mA were used. Degradations in the device properties were investigated through detailed studies of the I-V characteristics, electroluminescence, Deep-Level Transient Fourier Spectroscopy and flicker noise. Our experimental data demonstrated significant distortions in the I-V characteristics. The room temperature electroluminescence of the devices exhibited 25% decrement in the peak emission intensity. Concentration of the deep-levels was examined by measuring the Deep-Level Transient Fourier Spectroscopy, which indicated an increase in the density of deep-traps from 2.7 x 10(13) cm(-3) to 4.21 x 10(13) cm(-3) at E-1 = E-C - 1.1eV. The result is consistent with our study of 1/f noise, which exhibited up to three orders of magnitude increase in the voltage noise power spectra. Our experiments show large increase in both the interface traps and deep-levels resulted from hot-carrier stressing.

Hydrogenation and anisotropic expansions in R3Fe29-xTx (R = Y, Ce, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb and Dy; T = V and Cr)

A systematic study of the phase formation, structure and magnetic properties of the R3Fe29-xTx compounds (R=Y, Ce, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb, and Dy; T=V and Cr) has been performed upon hydrogenation. The lattice constants and the unit cell volume of R3Fe29-xTxHy decrease with increasing R atomic number from Nd to Dy, except for Ce, reflecting the lanthanide contraction. Regular anisotropic expansions mainly along the a- and b-axis rather than along the c-axis are observed for all of the compounds upon hydrogenation. Hydrogenation leads to an increase in the Curie temperature and a corresponding increase in the saturation magnetization at room temperature for each compound. First order magnetization processes (FOMP) occur in the external magnetic fields for Nd3Fe24.5Cr4.5H5.0, Tb3Fe27.0Cr2.0H2.8, and Gd3Fe28.0Cr1.0H4.2 compounds.

Thermomagnetic behavior and first order magnetization processes of Sm3Fe29-xTx and Sm3Fe29-xTxN4 (T = V and Cr)

A systematic investigation of structure and intrinsic magnetic properties of the compounds Sm3Fe29-xTx (T = V and Cr) and their nitrides has been performed. Nitrogenation resulted in remarkable improvements in the saturation magnetization and anisotropy fields at 4.2 K and room temperature. First order magnetization processes are observed at around 5.7 T for Sm3Fe26.7V2.3 and around 2.8 T for Sm3Fe24.0Cr5.0 and Sm3Fe24.0Cr5.0N4, respectively. The spin reorientation of the easy magnetization direction of Sm3Fe26.7V2.3 is observed at around 230 K. As a preliminary result, the maximum remanence B-r of 0.94 T, the coercivity mu(0)H(C) of 0.75 T, and the maximum energy product (BH) of 108.5 kJ/m(3) for the nitride magnet Sm3Fe26.7V2.3N4 are achieved by ball-milling at 293 K.