Multimode interference wavelength multi/demultiplexer for 1310 and 1550 nm operation based on BCB 4024-40 photodefinable polymer

A 1310 and 1550 nm coarse wavelength multi/demultiplexer based on benzocyclobutene (BCB 4024-40) polymer is demonstrated for the first time. The device is designed based on a combination of general interference and paired interference mechanisms of multimode interference (MMI). It is fabricated on BK7 glass substrate with a thin layer of SiO₂ as cover. A cost effective chemical etching technique is used in the fabrication process to take advantage of the photosensitive nature of the polymer. The device length was significantly reduced by adopting the restricted multimode interference scheme, lower beat length ratio and cascaded MMI couplers. The measured crosstalk at 1310 nm was 14.4 dB and at 1550 nm was 20.6 dB. The measured insertion loss is around 3.2-3.5 dB for both ports.     

Polymer-silica hybrid 1 × 2 thermooptic switch with low crosstalk

A new polymer-silica hybrid 1 × 2 thermooptic switch with significantly low crosstalk is demonstrated. The top cladding and the core layers are composed of polymer, while the bottom cladding layer is made of silica. Since polymer and silica have algebraic signs of their thermooptic coefficients that are opposite to each other, the refractive index of the core changes in the opposite direction to that of the bottom cladding as the temperature is increased. Thus, switching operation is initially done through adiabatic mode evolution in the Y-branch, and then a heated waveguide arm in the Y-branch can enter into the optical cut-off region if the temperature is sufficiently high. Using this phenomenon, low crosstalk performance is achieved. The proposed device has a crosstalk of −35 dB, while most integrated-optic switches with a single stage have a relatively high crosstalk in the region of −20 dB. The switching power of the proposed device is about 70 mW.     

In situ Video-STM study of the potential-induced (1 × 1) → “hex” transition on Au(1 0 0) electrode surfaces in Cl containing solution

The potential-induced (1 × 1) → “hex” transition on Au(1 0 0) electrodes in 0.01 M Na₂SO₄ + 1 mM HCl was studied by in situ scanning tunneling microscopy at high time resolution (Video-STM). According to these observations the elementary units of the “hex” surface reconstruction, hexagonally-ordered strings in the Au surface layer, are highly dynamic nanoscale objects. Isolated “hex” strings exhibit dynamic fluctuations in structure and position on the millisecond timescale. These fluctuations exceed the mobility of multistring “hex” domains by several orders of magnitude and can be explained by collective dynamic processes within the strings. Furthermore, the observations reveal a novel 1D mass transport mechanism along the strings, details on the nucleation and growth of “hex” strings and complex string restructuring processes, facilitating “hex” domain ripening.     

Morphology and optical properties of p-type porous GaAs(1 0 0) layers made by electrochemical etching

Porous GaAs layers were formed by electrochemical etching of p-type GaAs(1 0 0) substrates in HF solution. A surface characterization has been performed on p-type GaAs samples using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) technique in order to get information about the chemical composition, particularly on the surface contamination. According to the XPS spectra, the oxide layer on as-received porous GaAs substrates contains As₂O₃, As₂O₅ and Ga₂O₃. Large amount of oxygen is present at the surface before the surface cleaning.Compared to untreated GaAs surface, room temperature photoluminescence (PL) investigations of the porous layers reveal the presence of two PL bands: a PL peak at ∼871 nm and a “visible” PL peak at ∼650-680 nm. Both peak wavelengths and intensities varied from sample to sample depending on the treatment that the samples have undergone. The short PL wavelength at 650-680 nm of the porous layers is attributed to quantum confinement effects in GaAs nano-crystallites. The surface morphology of porous GaAs has been studied using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Nano-sized crystallites were observed on the porous GaAs surface. An estimation of the mean size of the GaAs nano-crystals obtained from effective mass theory and based on PL data was close to the lowest value obtained from the AFM results.     

Etching reaction of methylchloride molecule on the GaAs (0 0 1)-2 × 4 surface

Adsorption process of methylchloride (CH₃Cl) on the GaAs (0 0 1)-2 × 4 surface was studied by a scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) measurement. The arsenic rich 2 × 4 surface, which was prepared by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), was exposed to a supersonic molecular beam of CH₃Cl with a kinetic energy of 0.06 eV. New bright spots appeared on the CH₃Cl exposed surface. They were largely observed at the “B-type” step edge and divided into two types according to their locations. It was suggested that new spots were due to weakly adsorbed CH₃Cl molecules without any dissociation. The adsorption mechanism of CH₃Cl molecule was also studied by an ab initio Hartree-Fock calculation, which explained the experimental results well.     

Relaxations in the 1 × 5 reconstruction of Pt(1 1 0)

Pt(1 1 0) is one of the most closely investigated metal surface structures because it displays a variety of “missing-row” reconstructions, which are only marginally stable. The ground state is usually found to have 1 × 2 translational symmetry, but a 1 × 3 form has also been seen. Between 1 × 2 and 1 × 3, a series of disordered structures has been recorded, which shows a slight preference for 1 × 5 periodicity. Under the preparation conditions used in this study, a stable 1 × 5 structure was found for Pt(1 1 0). Investigation by surface X-ray diffraction has led to a complete three-dimensional structure, which closely resembles an alternation of 1 × 2 and 1 × 3 unit cells. Pt(1 1 0) shows an interesting example of two “homometric” structures that are indistinguishable by diffraction, but are distinguishable by virtue of their subsurface relaxation pattern.     

Growth of Si nanostructures on Ag(0 0 1)

The first stages of the growth of silicon on Ag(0 0 1) at moderate temperatures start by the formation of a p(3 × 3) superstructure, which continuously evolves with increasing coverage toward a more complex superstructure. In this paper, the atomic arrangement of the p(3 × 3) and of the “complex” superstructure has been investigated using scanning tunnelling microscopy, surface X-ray diffraction and low energy electron diffraction. The atomic model retained for the p(3 × 3) reconstruction consists in four silicon atoms (tetramers) adsorbed near hollow and bridge sites of the top most Ag(0 0 1) surface layer. For higher coverages, i.e., when the “complex” superstructure starts to develop, the silicon overlayer forms periodic stripes, most probably bi-layers, with a graphitic like structure.     

Ceria nanoformations in CO oxidation on Pt(1 1 1): Promotional effects and reversible redox behaviour

A well-defined CeO_x/Pt(1 1 1) model catalytic system has been fabricated using the self-assembling of Ce adatoms on a Pt(1 1 1) surface with a subsequent oxidation of the nucleating Ce submonolayer (0.3 ML). The resulting system of the “inverse supported catalyst” type consists of CeO_x nanoformations (2D islands of 5-15 nm size and ∼0.3 nm in height) more or less uniformly distributed over the Pt(1 1 1) surface. This CeO_x/Pt(1 1 1) system has been tested in the CO oxidation reaction where both the CO₂ production rate and the Ce oxidation state were monitored in situ. An enhanced reactivity and a remarkable shift of the bistable region of the reaction towards higher CO pressures were observed when compared to a clean Pt(1 1 1) surface. The CeO_x islands exhibit a pronounced redox behaviour that follows the hysteresis cycle of the reaction. The usefulness of such a type of the “inverse model catalyst” for studying the oxygen diffusion supply and the redox behaviour of ceria in the ceria-platinum catalysts is demonstrated.     

Dependence of the microstructural properties on the substrate temperature in strained CdTe (1 0 0)/GaAs (1 0 0) heterostructures

CdTe thin films were grown on GaAs (1 0 0) substrates by using molecular beam epitaxy at various temperatures. The bright-field transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images and the high-resolution TEM (HRTEM) images showed that the crystallinity of CdTe epilayers grown on GaAs substrates was improved by increasing the substrate temperature. The result of selected-area electron diffraction pattern (SADP) showed that the orientation of the grown CdTe thin films was the (1 0 0) orientation. The lattice constant the strain, and the stress of the CdTe thin film grown on the GaAs substrate were determined from the SADP result. Based on the SADP and HRTEM results, a possible atomic arrangement for the CdTe/GaAs heterostructure is presented.     

“Rotating” steps in Si(0 0 1) homoepitaxy

Steps on Si(0 0 1) surfaces which are initially not aligned along the high symmetry directions of the dimer reconstruction are observed, by scanning tunneling microscopy, to “rotate” toward [1 1 0] directions during Si growth. This step “rotation” occurs due to a faceting of the step edges. A theoretical analysis of adatom incorporation into the steps shows that this kinetic instability may be caused by a suppressed mobility of the growing species along the S_A step edge.     

Observation of double- to single-domain transition on the Eu/Si(1 0 0) surface by LEED and STM

The orientational phase diagram and morphology of the Eu-adsorbed Si(1 0 0) surface miscut by 0.4° have been studied by low-energy electron diffraction and scanning tunneling microscopy. We demonstrate that the original double-domain configuration with single-layer steps on the Si(1 0 0) substrate can be drastically broken at 0.4 monolayer (ML) of Eu. At this coverage, the ordered domain pattern formed by topographically non-equivalent terraces with Eu-induced 2 × 3 and “2 × 1” (so-called “wavy” structure) reconstructions is found, while no orthogonal 3 × 2 and “1 × 2” domains are observed. A model of the single-domain surface is proposed. The origin of the double- to single-domain transition found for the Eu/Si(1 0 0) system is discussed.     

Scanning tunneling microscopy luminescence from nanoscale surface of GaAs(1 1 0)

Scanning tunneling microscopy luminescence (STML) was induced from the nanometer scale surfaces of cleaved n-type and p-type GaAs(1 1 0) wafers by using of an ITO-coated optical fiber probe in an ultrahigh-vacuum chamber. The STML from n-type GaAs(1 1 0) surface was induced under negative sample bias when the applied bias exceeds a threshold voltage around −1.5 V. Whereas the STML from p-type GaAs(1 1 0) surface was induced under positive sample bias when the applied bias exceeds a threshold voltage around +1.5 V. The excitation energies at the threshold voltages are consistent with the band gap of GaAs (1.42 eV) at 295 K. The typical quantum efficiencies for n-type and p-type GaAs are about 3 × 10⁻⁵ and 2 × 10⁻⁴ photons/electron, respectively. The observed STML from are attributed to a radiative recombination of electron-hole pairs generated by a hole injection for n-type GaAs under negative sample bias and an electron injection for p-type GaAs under positive sample bias, respectively.     

Molecular precursor-mediated methanol dissociation on Si(1 1 1)7 × 7: ab initio study

We present an ab initio study of methanol interaction with the Si(1 1 1)7 × 7 surface using a Si(1 1 1)4 × 2 model. The study of the methanol dissociation on Si(1 1 1)4 × 2 shows that pair dissociation on adatom-restatom dangling bonds is largely favoured, in agreement with the experimental observations. The “center” type adatom is slightly more reactive than the “corner” type one, although the difference is weak. Similar behaviour is observed in both adatom types. Our results for a direct CH₃OH dissociation favouring a basic cleavage (adsorption of OH and CH₃ fragments) rather than an acidic one (adsorption of H and OCH₃ fragments), we are finally led to take a kinetic effect into consideration to reconcile theory with experiment. We show that the presence of molecular precursor states is possible. Different orientations with respect to the silicon dangling bonds of these molecular precursors are investigated. However, the corresponding energies are very close and, considering their relative energies, it is finally difficult to discriminate between acidic and basic cleavages.     

XPS, electric and photoluminescence-based analysis of the GaAs (1 0 0) nitridation

In this paper, nitridation process of GaAs (1 0 0) substrates was studied in-situ using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and ex-situ by means of electrical method I-V and photoluminescence surface state spectroscopy (PLS³) in order to determine chemical, electrical and electronic properties of the elaborated GaN/GaAs interfaces.The elaborated structures were characterised by I-V analysis. The saturation current I_S, the ideality factor n, the barrier height Φ_Bn and the serial resistance R_S are determined.The elaborated GaN/GaAs structures are also exhibited a high PL intensity at room temperature. From the computer-aided analysis of the power-dependent PL efficiency measurements (PLS³ technique), the value of the interface state density N_SS(E) close to the mid-gap was estimated to be in the range of 2-4 × 10¹¹ eV⁻¹ cm⁻², indicating a good electronic quality of the obtained interfaces.Correlation among chemical, electronic and electrical properties of the GaN/GaAs interface was discussed.     

The dense α-√3 × √3Pb/Si(1 1 1) phase: A comprehensive STM and SPA-LEED study of ordering, phase transitions and interactions

The T-θ phase diagram for the system Pb/Si(1 1 1) was determined in the coverage range 6/5 ML < θ < 4/3 ML from complementary STM and SPA-LEED experiments. This coverage is within the range where a “Devil’s Staircase” (DS) has been realized. The numerous DS phases answer conflicting information in the Pb/Si(1 1 1) literature and update the previously published phase diagram. The measurements reveal the thermal stability of the different linear DS phases with the transition temperature found to be a function of phase period. Because of additional complexity in the experimental system (i.e. two-dimensionality and 3-fold symmetry) the linear DS phases transform at higher temperature into commensurate phases of 3-fold symmetry HIC (historically named “hexagonal incommensurate phase”). Different types of HIC phases have been discovered differing in the size of the supercell built out of √3 × √3 domains separated by domain walls of the √7 × √3 phase. The detailed structures of these HIC phases (coverage, binding site, twist angle, etc.) have been deduced from the comparison of STM images and diffraction patterns. After heating the system to even higher temperature the HIC phase transforms into the disordered phase. For sufficiently high coverage a SIC (“striped incommensurate phase” which is also built from √3 × √3 domains but meandering √7 × √3 domain walls) is observed which also disorders at high temperatures.     

Oxygen-induced nano-faceting of Ir(2 1 0)

The adsorption of oxygen and the nanometer-scale faceting induced by oxygen have been studied on Ir(2 1 0). Oxygen is found to chemisorb dissociatively on Ir(2 1 0) at room temperature. The molecular desorption process is complex, as revealed by a detailed kinetic analysis of desorption spectra. Pyramid-shaped facets with {3 1 1} and (1 1 0) orientations are formed on the oxygen-covered Ir(2 1 0) surface when annealed to T?600 K. The surface remains faceted for substrate temperatures T<850 K. For T>850 K, the substrate structure reverts to the oxygen-covered (2 1 0) planar state and does so reversibly, provided that oxygen is not lost due to desorption or via chemical reactions upon which the planar (2 1 0) structure remains. A clean faceted surface was prepared through the use of low temperature surface cleaning methods: using CO oxidation, or reaction of H₂ to form H₂O, oxygen can be removed from the surface while preserving (“freezing”) the faceted structure. The resulting clean faceted surface remains stable for T<600 K. For temperatures above this value, the surface irreversibly relaxes to the planar state.     

Structural properties of Bi-terminated GaAs(0 0 1) surface

Electronic and structural properties of Bi-terminated reconstructions on GaAs(0 0 1) surface have been studied by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and synchrotron radiation core-level spectroscopy. A 2-3 monolayer thick Bi-layer was evaporated on a Ga-terminated GaAs(0 0 1) surface. By heating the surface, the reconstruction changed from (2 × 1) to (2 × 4). The α2 phase with one top Bi dimer and one As or Bi dimer in the third atomic layer per surface unit cell is proposed to explain the STM images of the Bi/GaAs(0 0 1)(2 × 4) surface heated at 400 °C. Bi 5d photoemission from the Bi/GaAs(2 × 4) consisted of two components suggesting two different bonding sites for Bi atoms on the (2 × 4) surface. The variation of the surface sensitivity of the photoemission induced no changes in the intensities of the components indicating that the origins of both components lie in the first surface layer.     

XPS investigation of ion beam induced conversion of GaAs(0 0 1) surface into GaN overlayer

For the advance of GaN based optoelectronic devices, one of the major barriers has been the high defect density in GaN thin films, due to lattice parameter and thermal expansion incompatibility with conventional substrates. Of late, efforts are focused in fine tuning epitaxial growth and in search for a low temperature method of forming low defect GaN with zincblende structure, by a method compatible to the molecular beam epitaxy process. In principle, to grow zincblende GaN the substrate should have four-fold symmetry and thus zincblende GaN has been prepared on several substrates including Si, 3C-SiC, GaP, MgO, and on GaAs(0 0 1). The iso-structure and a common shared element make the epitaxial growth of GaN on GaAs(0 0 1) feasible and useful. In this study ion-induced conversion of GaAs(0 0 1) surface into GaN at room temperature is optimized. At the outset a Ga-rich surface is formed by Ar⁺ ion bombardment. Nitrogen ion bombardment of the Ga-rich GaAs surface is performed by using 2-4 keV energy and fluence ranging from 3 × 10¹³ ions/cm² to 1 × 10¹⁸ ions/cm². Formation of surface GaN is manifested as chemical shift. In situ core level and true secondary electron emission spectra by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy are monitored to observe the chemical and electronic property changes. Using XPS line shape analysis by deconvolution into chemical state, we report that 3 keV N₂⁺ ions and 7.2 × 10¹⁷ ions/cm² are the optimal energy and fluence, respectively, for the nitridation of GaAs(0 0 1) surface at room temperature. The measurement of electron emission of the interface shows the dependence of work function to the chemical composition of the interface. Depth profile study by using Ar⁺ ion sputtering, shows that a stoichiometric GaN of 1 nm thickness forms on the surface. This, room temperature and molecular beam epitaxy compatible, method of forming GaN temperature can serve as an excellent template for growing low defect GaN epitaxial overlayers.     

Layer-resolved photoelectron diffraction from Si(0 0 1) and GaAs(0 0 1)

Photoelectron diffraction in the layer-resolved mode brings more detailed information about local atomic arrangement than is obtained in the standard mode. This is demonstrated in crystals with diamond and zinc-blende structures, both for unpolarized photon excitation as well as for circularly polarized excitation. The full angular distributions of photoemission intensities are evaluated for large atomic clusters representing ideally truncated surfaces of Si(0 0 1) and GaAs(0 0 1). Highly structured layer-resolved patterns enable a more detailed understanding of the standard mode outcomes. Photoelectron intensities from atomic layers placed at different depths under the crystal surface provide direct evidence about electron attenuation and its anisotropy in crystals.     

Electronic properties of thin Zn layers on Pd(1 1 1) during growth and alloying

The growth and alloying of thin Zn layers on Pd(1 1 1) was investigated using X-ray and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy as well as low energy electron diffraction and correlated with density functional calculations. At 105 K, the formation of a pseudomorphic Zn monolayer is observed. Upon heating this layer to 550 K or upon deposition of 1 ML at 550 K, an ordered p(2 × 1) PdZn surface alloy with a Pd:Zn ratio of ∼1:1 is formed, with a characteristic Pd 3d_5/2 peak at a binding energy of ∼335.6 eV. For deposition of 3 ML Zn at 550 K or by heating 3 ML, deposited at low temperature, to 500 or 600 K, a PdZn alloy with a Pd:Zn ratio of again ∼1:1 is found in the surface region, with a Pd 3d_5/2 peak at ∼335.9 eV; the direct preparation at 550 K leads to a more homogeneous and better ordered alloy. The valence band spectrum of this alloy with a low density of states at the Fermi level and pronounced maxima due to the “Pd 4d” band at ∼2.4 and 3.9 eV closely resembles the spectrum of Cu(1 1 1), in good agreement with the calculated density of states for a PdZn alloy of 1:1 stoichiometry. The shift of the “Pd 4d” band to higher binding energies as compared to Pd(1 1 1) indicates a charge transfer from Zn to the Pd 4d levels. Overall, the similarity between the ultraviolet photoelectron spectra for the PdZn alloy and for Cu(1 1 1) is taken as explanation for the similar chemical activity of both systems in methanol steam reforming.