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Si nanocrystals embedded in a SiO2 matrix were studied with positron annihilation and photoluminescence spectroscopies. Analysis of the S- and W-parameters for the sample annealed at 800 °C reveals a positron trap at the interface between the amorphous nanodots and the surrounding matrix. Another trap state is observed in the 1150 °C heat treated samples where nanodots are in a crystalline form. Positrons are most likely trapped to defects related to dangling bonds at the surface of the nanocrystals. Passivation of the samples results on one hand in the decrease of the S-parameter implying a decrease in the open volume of the interface state and, on the other hand, in the strengthening of the positron annihilation signal from the interface. The intensity of the photoluminescence signal increases with the formation of the nanocrystals. Passivation of samples strengthens the photoluminescence signal, further indicating a successful deactivation of luminescence quenching at the nanocrystal surface. Strengthening of the positron annihilation signal and an increase in the photoluminescence intensity in passivated silicon nanocrystals suggests that the positron trap at the interface does not contribute to a significant extent to the exciton recombination in the nanocrystals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Positron annihilation spectroscopy has been used to investigate the role of vacancies in the interdiffusion of Al and Ga in AlSb/GaSb superlattices. The samples were grown by metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy on undoped and Te doped GaSb and consisted of ten periods of GaSb quantum wells (thickness 13 nm) and AlSb barriers (thickness 2–3 nm) and an approximately 50 nm thick capping layer of GaSb. The superlattices were annealed at 908 K for up to 250 s, resulting in interdiffusion of Al and Ga between well and barrier. A secondary ion mass spectrometry study showed that the Te dopant diffused from the substrate through the superlattice structure in the annealing process. In the positron annihilation study we observe that the vacancy concentration clearly decreases with annealing for the samples grown on undoped substrates, whereas the samples grown on Te doped substrates show a different annealing behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vacancy-type defect production in Al- and Si-implanted 4H–SiC has been studied as a function of ion fluence, ion flux, and implantation temperature in the projected ion range region by positron annihilation spectroscopy and Rutherford backscattering techniques. Ion channeling measurements show that the concentration of displaced silicon atoms increases rapidly with increasing ion fluence. In the ion fluence interval of 1013–1014 cm-2 the positron annihilation parameters are roughly constant at a defect level tentatively associated with the divacancy VCVSi. Above the ion fluence of 1014 cm-2 larger vacancy clusters are formed. For implantations as a function of ion flux (cm-2 s-1), ion channeling and positron annihilation measurements behave similarly, i.e., indicating increasing damage in the projected range region with increasing ion flux. However, for samples implanted at different temperatures the positron annihilation parameter S shows a clear minimum at approximately 100 °C, whereas the normalized backscattering yield decrease continuously with increasing implantation temperature. This is explained by the formation of larger vacancy clusters when the implantation temperature is increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The defect distributions in [sup 11]B-, [sup 14]N-, and [sup 27]Al-implanted epitaxial 4H–SiC are studied using monoenergetic positron beams. At least three types of defects are needed to account for the Doppler broadening annihilation spectra and two of the defects are tentatively identified as V[sub Si], and V[sub Si]V[sub C]. By comparing the defect profiles extracted from the annihilation spectra to the chemical profiles determined by secondary ion mass spectrometry, and to the primary defect profiles obtained from binary collision approximation simulations, it is concluded that the defects found at depths considerably deeper than the projected range of the implanted ions mainly originate from deeply channeled ions. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides information on a study which presented a method for determining correct depth profiles from samples with rough surfaces. Experimental details; Data analysis; Conclusion.

Presents information on a study which focused on the diffusion of gold in zinc selenide using a carbon and helium backscattering technique. Experimental details; Results and discussion; Conclusions.

The large increase in the p-type conductivity observed when nitrogen is added to GaSb has been studied using positron annihilation spectroscopy and ab initio calculations. Doppler broadening measurements have been conducted on samples of GaNxSb1-x layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy, and the results have been compared with calculated first-principle results corresponding to different defect structures. From the calculated data, binding energies for nitrogen-related defects have also been estimated. Based on the results, the increase in residual hole concentration is explained by an increase in the fraction of negative acceptor-type defects in the material. As the band gap decreases with increasing N concentration, the ionization levels of the defects move closer to the valence band. Ga vacancy-type defects are found to act as positron trapping defects in the material, and the ratio of Ga vacancy-type defects to Ga antisites is found to be higher than that of the p-type bulk GaSb substrate. Beside Ga vacancies, the calculated results imply that complexes of a Ga vacancy and nitrogen could be present in the material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have applied positron annihilation spectroscopy to study native point defects in Te-doped n-type and nominally undoped p-type GaSb single crystals. The results show that the dominant vacancy defect trapping positrons in bulk GaSb is the gallium monovacancy. The temperature dependence of the average positron lifetime in both p- and n-type GaSb indicates that negative ion type defects with no associated open volume compete with the Ga vacancies. Based on comparison with theoretical predictions, these negative ions are identified as Ga antisites. The concentrations of these negatively charged defects exceed the Ga vacancy concentrations nearly by an order of magnitude. We conclude that the Ga antisite is the native defect responsible for p-type conductivity in GaSb single crystals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we highlight the existence of tensile stress in heavily arsenic-doped epitaxial silicon (Si:As) prepared by low pressure chemical vapor deposition. Despite the large size of As atoms compared to Si ones, we demonstrate with x-ray diffraction and convergent electron beam diffraction that the heavily doped epitaxial layers show a tetragonal lattice with a reduced out of plane parameter. Using positron annihilation spectroscopy, we highlight the formation of arsenic-vacancies defects during the growth. We show that the tensile strain is related to this type of defects involving inactive As atoms and not to the As active concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel solar cell materials consisting of Si nanoparticles embedded in SiO2 layers have been studied using positron annihilation spectroscopy in Doppler broadening mode and photoluminescence. Two positron-trapping interface states are observed after high temperature annealing at 1100 °C. One of the states is attributed to the (SiO2/Si bulk) interface and the other to the interface between the Si nanoparticles and SiO2. A small reduction in positron trapping into these states is observed after annealing the samples in N2 atmosphere with 5% H2. Enhanced photoluminescence is also observed from the samples following this annealing step. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]