High-efficiency InGaN/GaN quantum well structures on large area silicon substrates

The growth techniques which have enabled the realization of InGaN-based multi-quantum-well (MQW) structures with high internal quantum efficiencies (IQE) on 150mm (6-in.) silicon substrates are reviewed. InGaN/GaN MQWs are deposited onto GaN templates on large-area (111) silicon substrates, using AlGaN strain-mediating interlayers to inhibit thermal-induced cracking and wafer-bowing, and using a SiN x interlayer to reduce threading dislocation densities in the active region of the MQW structure. MQWs with high IQE approaching 60% have been demonstrated. Atomic resolution electron microscopy and EELS analysis have been used to study the nature of the important interface between the Si(111) substrate and the AlN nucleation layer. We demonstrate an amorphous SiN x interlayer at the interface about 2nm wide, which does not, however, prevent good epitaxy of the AlN on the Si(111) substrate. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Analysis of defect-related localized emission processes in InGaN/GaN-based LEDs

This paper reports an extensive analysis of the defect-related localized emission processes occurring in InGaN/GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) at low reverse- and forward-bias conditions. The analysis is based on combined electrical characterization and spectrally and spatially resolved electroluminescence (EL) measurements. Results of this analysis show that: (i) under reverse bias, LEDs can emit a weak luminescence signal, which is directly proportional to the injected reverse current. Reverse-bias emission is localized in submicrometer-size spots; the intensity of the signal is strongly correlated to the threading dislocation (TD) density, since TDs are preferential paths for leakage current conduction. (ii) Under low forward-bias conditions, the intensity of the EL signal is not uniform over the device area. Spectrally resolved EL analysis of green LEDs identifies the presence of localized spots emitting at 600 nm (i.e., in the yellow spectral region), whose origin is ascribed to localized tunneling occurring between the quantum wells and the barrier layers of the diodes, with subsequent defect-assisted radiative recombination. The role of defects in determining yellow luminescence is confirmed by the high activation energy of the thermal quenching of yellow emission (Ea =0.64&eV). © 2012 IEEE.

Properties of trench defects in InGaN/GaN quantum well structures

The structural and optical properties of trench defects, which are poorly understood yet commonly occurring defects observed on the surfaces of InGaN multiple quantum wells (MQW), are reported. These defects comprise near-circular trenches which enclose areas of MQW which give rise to a red shift in peak photoluminescence emission and a change in cathodoluminescence intensity with respect to the surrounding material. Atomic force microscopy shows that the height of trench-enclosed areas differs from that of the surrounding quantum well structure, and that trenches are unrelated to the commonly observed V-defects in InGaN films, despite being occasionally intersected by them. Cross-sectional electron microscopy analysis of trenches with raised centres suggests that the red shift in the observed cathodoluminescence peak emission may be due to the quantum wells being thicker in the trench-enclosed regions than in the surrounding quantum well area. The mechanism of trench formation and its implication for the control of the emission properties of light-emitting diodes is discussed. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Light absorption in silicon quantum dots embedded in silica

The photon absorption in Si quantum dots (QDs) embedded in SiO2 has been systematically investigated by varying several parameters of the QD synthesis. Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) or magnetron cosputtering (MS) have been used to deposit, upon quartz substrates, single layer, or multilayer structures of Si-rich- SiO2 (SRO) with different Si content (43-46 at. %). SRO samples have been annealed for 1 h in the 450-1250 °C range and characterized by optical absorption measurements, photoluminescence analysis, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and x-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy. After annealing up to 900 °C SRO films grown by MS show a higher absorption coefficient and a lower optical bandgap (∼2.0 eV) in comparison with that of PECVD samples, due to the lower density of Si-Si bonds and to the presence of nitrogen in PECVD materials. By increasing the Si content a reduction in the optical bandgap has been recorded, pointing out the role of Si-Si bonds density in the absorption process in small amorphous Si QDs. Both the photon absorption probability and energy threshold in amorphous Si QDs are higher than in bulk amorphous Si, evidencing a quantum confinement effect. For temperatures higher than 900 °C both the materials show an increase in the optical bandgap due to the amorphous-crystalline transition of the Si QDs. Fixed the SRO stoichiometry, no difference in the optical bandgap trend of multilayer or single layer structures is evidenced. These data can be profitably used to better implement Si QDs for future PV technologies. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.

First-principles energetics of water clusters and ice: a many-body analysis.

Standard forms of density-functional theory (DFT) have good predictive power for many materials, but are not yet fully satisfactory for cluster, solid, and liquid forms of water. Recent work has stressed the importance of DFT errors in describing dispersion, but we note that errors in other parts of the energy may also contribute. We obtain information about the nature of DFT errors by using a many-body separation of the total energy into its 1-body, 2-body, and beyond-2-body components to analyze the deficiencies of the popular PBE and BLYP approximations for the energetics of water clusters and ice structures. The errors of these approximations are computed by using accurate benchmark energies from the coupled-cluster technique of molecular quantum chemistry and from quantum Monte Carlo calculations. The systems studied are isomers of the water hexamer cluster, the crystal structures Ih, II, XV, and VIII of ice, and two clusters extracted from ice VIII. For the binding energies of these systems, we use the machine-learning technique of Gaussian Approximation Potentials to correct successively for 1-body and 2-body errors of the DFT approximations. We find that even after correction for these errors, substantial beyond-2-body errors remain. The characteristics of the 2-body and beyond-2-body errors of PBE are completely different from those of BLYP, but the errors of both approximations disfavor the close approach of non-hydrogen-bonded monomers. We note the possible relevance of our findings to the understanding of liquid water.

Lineshape Analysis of the Beat Signal Between Optical Carrier and Delayed Sidebands

This paper presents the lineshape analysis of the beat signal between the optical carrier and the shifted and delayed side-bands produced by sinusoidal amplitude modulation. It is shown that the beat signal has a typical lineshape with a very narrow delta-peak superposed on a quasi-Lorentzian profile. Theoretical explanation for the appearance of this peak has been given based on optical spectral structure constructed by a large number of optical wave trains. It is predicted that the delta-peak is originated from the beat between the wave trains in the carrier and those in the delayed sidebands when their average coherence length is longer than the delay line. Experiments carried out using different delay lines clearly show that the delta-peak is always located at the modulation frequency and decreases with the increasing delay line. Our analysis explicitly indicates that the linewidth is related to the observation time. It is also suggested that the disappearance of the delta-peak can be used as the criterion of coherence elimination.

Magnetic quantum oscillations for the surface states of topological insulator Bi2Se3

We study quantum oscillations of the magnetization in Bi2Se3 (111) surface system in the presence of a perpendicular magnetic field. The combined spin-chiral Dirac cone and Landau quantization produce profound effects on the magnetization properties that are fundamentally different from those in the conventional semiconductor two-dimensional electron gas. In particular, we show that the oscillating center in the magnetization chooses to pick up positive or negative values depending on whether the zero-mode Landau level is occupied or empty. An intuitive analysis of these features is given and the subsequent effects on the magnetic susceptibility and Hall conductance are also discussed.

Temperature-dependent transport and spin accumulation in a quantum wire with Rashba spin-orbit interaction

We study the theory of temperature-dependent electron transport, spin polarization, and spin accumulation in a Rashba spin-orbit interaction (RSOI) quantum wire connected nonadiabatically to two normal conductor electrode leads. The influence of both the wire-lead connection and the RSOI on the electron transport is treated analytically by means of a scattering matrix technique and by using an effective free-electron approximation. Through analytical analysis and numerical examples, we demonstrate a simple way to design a sensitive spin-transfer switch that operates without applying any external magnetic fields or attaching ferromagnetic contacts. We also demonstrate that the antisymmetry of the spin accumulation can be destroyed slightly by the coupling between the leads and the wire. Moreover, temperature can weaken the polarization and smear out the oscillations in the spin accumulation.

Distinct two dimensional lateral ordering of self-assembled quantum dots

We report a quantum dot (QD) ensemble structure in which the in-plane arrangements of the dots are in a hexagonal way while the dots are also vertically aligned. Such a distinct lateral ordering of QDs is achieved on a planar GaAs(l 0 0) rather than on a prepatterned substrate by strain-mediated multilayer vertical stacking of the QDs. The analysis indicates that the strain energy of the lateral island-island interaction is minimum for arrangement of the hexagonal ordering. The ordered dots demonstrate strong photoluminescence (PL) emission at room temperature (RT) and the full width at half maximum of PL peak at RT is only 50 meV. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ultrafast carrier dynamics in undoped and p-doped InAs/GaAs quantum dots characterized by pump-probe reflection measurements

We investigate the dependence of the differential reflection on the structure parameters of quantum dot (QD) heterostructures in pump-probe reflection measurements by both numerical simulations based on the finite-difference time-domain technique and theoretical calculations based on the theory of dielectric films. It is revealed that the value and sign of the differential reflection strongly depend on the thickness of the cap layer and the QD layer. In addition, a comparison between the carrier dynamics in undoped and p-doped InAs/GaAs QDs is carried out by pump-probe reflection measurements. The carrier capture time from the GaAs barrier into the InAs wetting layer and that from the InAs wetting layer into the InAs QDs are extracted by appropriately fitting differential reflection spectra. Moreover, the dependence of the carrier dynamics on the injected carrier density is identified. A detailed analysis of the carrier dynamics in the undoped and p-doped QDs based on the differential reflection spectra is presented, and its difference with that derived from the time-resolved photoluminescence is discussed. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.

Design and optimization of photonic crystal coupling layer for bi-color quantum well infrared photodetectors

Finite difference time domain (FDTD) method is used for the simulation and analysis of electromagnetic field in the top coupling layer of GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well infrared photodetector (QWIP). Simulation results demonstrated the coupling efficiencies and distributions of electromagnetic (EM) field in a variety of 2D photonic crystal coupling layer structures. A photonic crystal structure for bi-color-QWIP is demonstrated with high coupling efficiency for two wavelengths.

Polarization dependence of absorption in strongly vertically coupled InAs/GaAs quantum dots for two-color far-infrared photodetector

Strongly vertically coupled InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) with modulation doping are investigated, and polarization dependence of two-color absorptions was observed. Analysis of photoluminescence (PL) and absorption spectra shows that s-polarized absorptions at. 10.0 and 13.4 mu m, stem from the first excited state E-1 and the second excited state E-2 in the QDs to the bound state E-InGaAs in the InGaAs spacer, respectively, whereas p-polarized absorptions at 10.0 and 8.2 mu m stem from the first excited state E-1 and the ground E-g in the QDs to the bound state E-InGaAs in the InGaAs spacer, respectively. These measurements illustrate that transitions from excited states are more sensitive to normal incidence, which are very important in designing QD infrared detector. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Localized and free exciton spin relaxation dynamics in GaInNAs/GaAs quantum well

We have investigated the exciton spin relaxation in a GaInNAs/GaAs quantum well. The recombination from free and localized excitons is resolved on the basis of an analysis of the photoluminescence characteristics. The free exciton spin relaxation time is measured to be 192 ps at 10 K, while the localized exciton spin relaxation time is one order of magnitude longer than that of the free exciton. The dependence of the free exciton spin relaxation time on the temperature above 50 K suggests that both the D'yakonov-Perel' and the Elliot-Yafet effects dominate the spin relaxation process. The temperature independence below 50 K is considered to be due to the spin exchange interaction. The ultralong spin relaxation time of the localized excitons is explained to be due to the influence of nonradiative deep centers. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.

Photoluminescence study of AlGaInP/GaInP quantum well intermixing induced by zinc impurity diffusion

AlGaInP/GaInP quantum well intermixing phenomena induced by Zn impurity diffusion at 540 degrees C were studied using room-temperature photo luminescence (PL) spectroscopy. As the diffusion time increased from 40 to 120 min, PL blue shift taken on the AlGaInP/GaInP quantum well regions increased from 36.3 to 171.6 meV. Moreover, when the diffusion time was equal to or above 60 min, it was observed firstly that a PL red shift occurred with a PL blue shift on the samples. After detailed analysis, it was found that the red-shift PL spectra were measured on the Ga0.51In0.49P buffer layer of the samples, and the mechanism of the PL red shift and the PL blue shift were studied qualitatively. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Photoluminescence investigation of InAs bimodal self-assembled quantum dots state filling

Self-assembled InAs quantum dots were prepared on GaAS(100)) substrate in a solid source molecular beam epitaxy system The distribution and topographic images of uncapped dots were studied by atomic force microscope. The statistical result shows that the quantum dots are bimodal distribution. The photoluminescence spectrum results shows that the intensity of small size quantum dots dominated, which may be due to: (1) the state density of large quantum dots lower than that of small quantum dots; (2) the carriers capture rate of large size quantum dots is small relative to that of small ones; (3) there is a large strain barrier between large quantum dots and capping layer, and the large strain is likely to produce the defect and dislocation, resulting in a probability carriers transferring from large quantum dots to small dots that is very small with temperature increasing.