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A terahertz time domain pulsed spectroscopy system is modified to provide fully polarimetric radiation and analysis. The operation of this polarimetry system is characterized using a birefringent, x-cut quartz crystal. The modification is based on rotating the photoconductive antennas such that both the emitted and detected polarizations are out of the plane of incidence. Subsequently, broadband wire grid polarizers are used to select the incident and detected direction of linear polarization to be either parallel with (vertical) or perpendicular to (horizontal) the plane of incidence with the sample surface. The experiments are conducted in both transmission and reflection. Depending on the frequency, the phase retardation of the incoming electric field components along the two perpendicular optical axes of the quartz crystal changes differently. This results in the polarization of the light exiting the crystal changing with frequency. As a result, multiple frequencies are identified where the crystal behaves as a near ideal quarter-, half-, or full-wave retarder. Additionally, due to the time-domain nature of the experiment, transmitted and reflected electric fields are measured after multiple consecutive reflections within the crystal. This leads to a further, complex control over the final polarization state of the signal. Finally, images of a resolution standard are obtained demonstrating the characteristics of the polarimetry system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we study the thermal evolution of the optical and electrical features of an InN thin film. By correlating photoluminescence (PL) and Hall effect results, we determine the appropriate values of the correlation parameter to be used in the empirical power law that associates the electron concentration with the linewidth of the PL spectrum, in the scope of the Burstein–Moss effect across a wide range of temperatures. Additionally, by associating Raman and PL results, we observe the thermally induced compressive strain widening of the bandgap of the InN film. Our findings demonstrate the reliability of optical methods in providing contactless measurements of electrical and structural features of semiconductors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth of InN quantum dots (QDs) on c-plane sapphire by droplet epitaxy (DE) using radio frequency plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy is reported here. The QD growth process from liquid In droplets to the InN QDs is described with a focus on the effect ambient nitrogen from an active RF-plasma source has on the formation of In droplets as a function of substrate temperatures. The variation in the shape and size of InN QDs is explained in terms of the In atom surface diffusion and the migration of droplets. Additionally, two nitridation procedures were used to investigate the crystallization of In droplets. The droplet formation was determined to follow well known principles of nucleation theory with ripening. The resulting activation energy for In surface diffusion on sapphire was found to be 0.62 ± 0.07 eV in ultra-high vacuum, ∼10−10 Torr, and 0.57 ± 0.08 eV in ambient N2, ∼10−5 Torr. The growth of InN QDs using the DE method has many advantages over the classical Stranski–Krastanov technique, including the ability to control a wide range of QD shapes, sizes, and densities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exciton dynamics in a GaAsSb/GaAs quantum well (QW) heterostructure were investigated via both steady state and transient photoluminescence. The measurements at 10 K demonstrated the coexistence of localized excitons (LEs) and free excitons (FEs), while a blue-shift resulting from increased excitation intensity indicated their spatially indirect transition (IT) characteristics due to the type-II band alignment. With increasing temperature from 10 K, the LEs and FEs redistribute, with the LEs becoming less intense at relatively higher temperature. With increasing temperature to above 80 K, electrons in GaAs are able to overcome the small band offset to enter inside GaAsSb and recombine with holes; thus, a spatially direct transition (DT) appeared. Hence, we are able to reveal complex carrier recombination dynamics for the GaAsSb/GaAs QW heterostructure, in which the "S" shape behavior is generated not only by the carrier localization but also by the transformation from IT to DT with elevated temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface atomic arrangement and physical properties of aluminum ultrathin layers on c-Si(111)-7 × 7 and hydrogen-terminated c-Si(111)-1 × 1 surfaces deposited using molecular beam epitaxy were investigated. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy spectra were collected in two configurations (take-off angle of 0° and 45°) to precisely determine the surface species. Moreover, 3D atomic force microscopy (AFM) images of the air-exposed samples were acquired to investigate the clustering formations in film structure. The deposition of the Al layers was monitored in situ using a reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) experiments to confirm the surface crystalline structure of the c-Si(111). The analysis of the RHEED patterns during the growth process suggests the settlement of aluminum atoms in Al(111)-1 × 1 clustered formations on both types of surfaces. The surface electrical conductivity in both configurations was tested against atmospheric oxidation. The results indicate differences in conductivity based on the formation of various alloys on the surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A set of samples containing a single ultrathin InAs layer with varying thickness from 0.5 to 1.4ML in a GaAs matrix have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs (001) substrates at low temperatures and investigated by low-temperature photoluminescence (PL). A linear change in emission energy with InAs thickness has been experimentally observed. The PL emission line shape from InAs/GaAs heterostructures has been investigated as a function of incident optical intensity. The interplay between uncorrelated electron-hole pairs, free excitons, and localized excitons, as a function of the excitation intensity, is found to play a significant role on the optical properties of the InAs layer and is described in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the effects of nitrogen (N) plasma and indium (In) flux on the In adatom adsorption/desorption kinetics on a GaN(0001) surface at the relatively high plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy-growth temperature of 680 °C. We experimentally demonstrate that under an active N flux, the ( 3 × 3 ) R 30 ° surface reconstruction containing In and N quickly appears and the dynamically stable In adlayers sitting on this surface exhibit a continuous change from 0 to 2 MLs as a function of In flux. Compared to the bare GaN 1 × 1 surface which is stable during In exposure without an active N flux, we observed a much faster desorption for the bottom In adlayer and the absence of an In flux window corresponding to an In coverage of 1 ML. Moreover, when the In coverage exceeds 2 MLs, the desorption rates become identical for both surfaces. Finally, the importance of In surface coverage before GaN capping was shown by growing a series of InN/GaN multiple quantum well samples. The photoluminescence data show that a consistent quantum well structure is only formed if the surface is covered by excess In droplets before GaN capping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performances of various configurations of InGaN solar cells are compared using nextnano semiconductor simulation software. Here, we compare a flat base-graded wall GaN/InGaN structure, with an InxGa1−xN well with sharp GaN contact layers, and an InxGa1−xN structure with InxGa1−xN contact layers, i.e., a homojunction. The doping in the graded structures is the result of polarization doping at each edge (10 nm from each side) due to the compositional grading, while the well structures and homojunctions are impurities doped at each edge (10 nm from each side) at levels equal to the polarization doping density in the graded structure with similar maximum indium concentration. The solar cells are characterized by their open-circuit voltage, Voc, short circuit current, Isc, solar efficiency, η, and energy band diagram. The results indicate that an increase in Isc and η results from increasing both the fixed and maximum indium compositions, while the Voc decreases. The maximum efficiency is obtained for the InGaN well with 60% In. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the effect of strain on the optical and structural properties of 5-, 10-, and 20-period GaN/AlN superlattices (SLs) deposited by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The deformation state in SLs has been studied by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray diffraction, and micro-Raman, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and photoluminescence spectroscopy. HRTEM images showed that the structural quality of the SL layers is significantly improved and the interfaces become very sharp on the atomic level with an increase of the SL periods. A combined analysis through XRD, Raman, and FTIR reflectance spectroscopy found that with increasing number of SL periods, the strain in the GaN quantum wells (QWs) increases and the AlN barrier is relaxed. Based on the dependence of the frequency shift of the E2High and E1TO Raman and IR modes on the deformation in the layers, the values of the biaxial stress coefficients as well as the phonon deformation potentials of these modes in both GaN and AlN were determined. With increasing number of SL periods, the QW emission considerably redshifted in the range lower than the GaN band gap due to the quantum confined Stark effect. The influence of strain obtained by the XRD, Raman, and FTIR spectra on the structural parameters and QW emission of GaN/AlN SLs with different numbers of periods is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stacking growth of the InGaAs quantum dots (QDs) on top of a carrier injection layer is a very useful strategy to develop QD devices. This research aims to study the carrier injection effect in hybrid structures with a layer of In0.4Ga0.6As surface quantum dots (SQDs), coupled to an injection layer of either one layer of In0.4Ga0.6As buried QDs (BQDs) or an In0.15Ga0.85As quantum well (QW), both through a 10 nm GaAs thin spacer. Spectroscopic measurements show that carrier capture and emission efficiency for SQDs in the BQD injection structure is better than that of the QW injection, due to strong physical and electrical coupling between the two QD layers. In the case of QW injection, although most carriers can be collected into the QW, they then tunnel into the wetting layer of the SQDs and are subsequently lost to surface states via non-radiative recombination. Therefore, the QW as an injection source for SQDs may not work as well as the BQDs for stacking coupled SQDs structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Group-IV alloys of Ge and/or Si with Sn are challenging to prepare due to the low solubility of Sn in both of these elements. Herein, we describe a remote plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (RPECVD) system designed to synthesize such group-IV alloys. Thin films of Ge, Ge1−ySiy, Ge1−xSnx, and Ge1−x−ySiySnx were deposited in the range of 280−410 °C on Si (001) substrates utilizing a remote He plasma with downstream injected mixtures of SnCl4, SiH4, and/or GeH4 precursors. The composition and structural properties of these RPECVD films were characterized with x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. They were found to be crystalline, oriented with the substrate, and nearly relaxed due to the formation of an ∼5 nm thick interface layer with a high density of edge dislocations and stacking faults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GaSb quantum dots (QDs) have been grown by droplet epitaxy within InAlAs barrier layers on an InP (001) substrate. The droplet growth mode facilitates a larger size (average height ∼4.5 nm) and a lower density (∼6.3 × 109 cm-2) for the QDs than would be expected for the 4% lattice mismatch between GaSb and InAlAs. A type-II band alignment between the GaSb QDs and the InAlAs barriers is revealed by photoluminescence (PL) through a prominent blue-shift of ∼0.11 eV resulting from a six orders of magnitude increase in excitation power. Further confirmation of the type-II nature of these QDs is found through time-resolved PL studies showing a biexponential decay with a long carrier lifetime of ∼10.9 ns. These observations reveal new information for understanding the formation and properties of GaSb/InAlAs/InP QDs, which may be an optimum system for the development of both efficient memory cells and photovoltaic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The compositional and optical properties of an aluminum‐based transition‐metal alloy system (Au–Ag–Al) as an advanced material for photonic applications are investigated. The system is fabricated by sequentially evaporating thin layers of gold, silver, and aluminum. The thickness of Al is varied to reflect different percentages in the alloyed films. Alloying of the metals is confirmed from the shifts in the electronic binding energy of the pure elements through X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The current–voltage measurements demonstrate good ohmic conductivity in the films and the optical properties are obtained by standard absorption and z‐scan techniques. Plasmonic peaks are observed in the alloyed system related to the participating metals. The thermal nonlinear optical response is conducted in the continuous wave (CW) regime. The films show large values for the thermo‐optical coefficient (∂n/∂T) which results in high values (≈10−3 cm2 W−1) for the third‐order nonlinear coefficient (n2them). A discussion of these values and their impact on the application of thin alloyed metals is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compositionally graded InxGa1–xN‐based materials have been receiving more attention recently due to both their novel structure and intrinsic properties. However, high‐quality material with a well‐controlled and optimized grade to high In composition remains challenging to grow. Herein, the growth and characterization of continuous 2D films of compositionally graded InxGa1–xN are investigated using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on (0001) GaN templates at 575 °C. Each film is formed by compositionally grading the growth from GaN to InxGa1–xN and back to GaN, symmetrically, such that the bandgap and the composition of Ga follow a V‐shaped pattern. Here x has been chosen to be ≈0.20 and 0.22. These compositions are confirmed through high‐resolution X‐ray diffraction simulations. Furthermore, asymmetric reciprocal space mapping reveals complete coherence with the GaN substrate. Finally, photoluminescence is measured at low temperature to demonstrate the luminescent properties of the films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High electron sheet concentrations of ∼1015 cm-2 result from polarization doping with compositionally graded AlGaN films grown on unintentionally doped GaN templates which exhibit background electron concentrations of ∼1016 cm-3. Similar graded films grown on semi-insulating (SI), free standing GaN substrates exhibited carrier concentrations two orders less. Transport studies of the as-grown materials using temperature dependent Hall effect revealed a very weak temperature dependence of the carrier concentration and mobility as compared to traditionally doped films using Si as a dopant. And qualitative modeling of the electron mobility indicates that alloy scattering and charged dislocation scattering are the most significant contributors to limiting the mobility over the entire temperature range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tuning the emission profiles of various novel InxGa1-xAs nanostructures, such as quantum rods, quantum dot pairs (QDPs), bridged QDPs, dimpled quantum dots (QDs), and low-temperature-capped QDs, is demonstrated by postgrowth rapid thermal annealing. Specifically, improved optical properties, such as a much narrower full width at half maximum of 16 meV and a continuous blueshift, are demonstrated. The enhanced optical properties are attributed to the interchange of In and Ga atoms induced by both defect-assisted intermixing and strain-assisted intermixing. These results can find applications as an optical enhancement in nanostructures is critical for the improvements on device functionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have investigated the formation of misfit dislocations resulting from the growth of partially strained Si[sub 0.7]Ge[sub 0.3] epitaxial films on Si substrates with surface normals rotated off of the [001] axis toward [110] by 0°, 13°, and 25°. Transmission electron microscopy has shown that the dislocations form in a modified cross-hatch pattern for samples grown on the off-axis substrates. This modified cross hatch consists of three arrays along which the dislocations align. This is in contrast to the two orthogonal arrays found on the on-axis (001) substrates. These dislocations correspond well with the intersection of the (111) slip planes with the respective surfaces. We present a simple analysis of the amount of relaxation due to probable Burger’s vectors for these dislocations, which reveals the most likely directions for these vectors and shows that the density of dislocations only accounts for a fraction of the total film relaxation as measured by Raman peak shifts. These studies form the basis for the use of high index surfaces as components in modern devices, and provide pathways to possible templates for use in the growth of nanostructures. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]