Metamorphic InAs(Sb)/InGaAs/InAlAs nanoheterostructures grown on GaAs for efficient mid-IR emitters

High-efficiency semiconductor lasers and light-emitting diodes operating in the 3–5?μm mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectral range are currently of great demand for a wide variety of applications, in particular, gas sensing, noninvasive medical tests, IR spectroscopy etc. III-V compounds with a lattice constant of about 6.1?Å are traditionally used for this spectral range. The attractive idea to fabricate such emitters on GaAs substrates by using In(Ga,Al)As compounds is restricted by either the minimum operating wavelength of ～8?μm in case of pseudomorphic AlGaAs-based quantum cascade lasers or requires utilization of thick metamorphic In_xAl_1-xAs buffer layers (MBLs) playing a key role in reducing the density of threading dislocations (TDs) in an active region, which otherwise result in a strong decay of the quantum efficiency of such mid-IR emitters. In this review we present the results of careful investigations of employing the convex-graded In_xAl_1-xAs MBLs for fabrication by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs (001) substrates of In(Ga,Al)As heterostructures with a combined type-II/type-I InSb/InAs/InGaAs quantum well (QW) for efficient mid-IR emitters (3–3.6?μm). The issues of strain relaxation, elastic stress balance, efficiency of radiative and non-radiative recombination at T?=?10–300?K are discussed in relation to molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth conditions and designs of the structures. A wide complex of techniques including in-situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction, atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning and transmission electron microscopies, X-ray diffractometry, reciprocal space mapping, selective area electron diffraction, as well as photoluminescence (PL) and Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy was used to study in detail structural and optical properties of the metamorphic QW structures. Optimization of the growth conditions (the substrate temperature, the As₄/III ratio) and elastic strain profiles governed by variation of an inverse step in the In content profile between the MBL and the InAlAs virtual substrate results in decrease in the TD density (down to 3?×?10⁷ cm^?2), increase of the thickness of the low-TD-density near-surface MBL region to 250–300?nm, the extremely low surface roughness with the RMS value of 1.6–2.4?nm, measured by AFM, as well as rather high 3.5?μm-PL intensity at temperatures up to 300?K in such structures. The obtained results indicate that the metamorphic InSb/In(Ga,Al)As QW heterostructures of proper design, grown under the optimum MBE conditions, are very promising for fabricating the efficient mid-IR emitters on a GaAs platform.     

Two different synthetic routes involving the reaction of dodecylamine or nicotinamide with crystalline lamellar vanadylphosphate

The crystalline lamellar compound, VOPO₄·2H₂O, was employed as host to react with a long monoamine aliphatic chain, dodecylamine, and with an aromatic derivative, nicotinamide, using two distinct synthetic approaches: in the solid state and from aqueous solution. The resulting compounds were characterized by elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry, thermogravimetry and SEM microscopy. From X-ray diffraction patterns, the calculated increase of the interlayer distance was 2.05 nm for the dodecylamine, containing product, which is in agreement with the intercalation process, and was observed with both reactions routes. On the contrary, the guest nicotinamide molecule was not inserted into the lamellar cavity. The reaction in the solid state caused a small modification of the phosphate microstructure, in comparison with the solution procedure. The aliphatic amine molecules are oriented in a bilayer inside the host cavity by forming an angle of 67° with the inorganic lamella. The thermal decomposition for both series of synthesized compounds did not demonstrate any difference in behavior.     

Synthesis and Raman analysis of 1D-ZnO nanostructure via vapor phase growth

1D-nanostructural zinc oxide (ZnO) with different shapes have been synthesized on p-type Si(1 0 0) and glass substrates via vapor phase growth by heating pure zinc powder at temperatures between 480 and 570 °C. The different ZnO nanostructures depend on the substrates and the growth temperatures. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction revealed that a well-aligned nanowires array, which are vertical to the substrate of Si(1 0 0) with 18 sides on their heads, but six sides on their stems, has been formed at 480 °C. Raman study on the ZnO nanostructures shows that the coupling strength between electron and phonon determined by the ratio of the second- to the first-order Raman scattering cross-sections declines with decreasing diameter of the nanowires. However, a little changes of the coupling strength in terms of the width of the nanobelts have been observed.     

Surface elastic properties of Si decorated with Ni nanostructures

Brillouin spectroscopy was used to study elastic properties of the Si (1 1 1) decorated with Ni nanostructures deposited by nanospherical lithography. The height of the nickel nanostructure deposited was about 25 nm, while the area taken by the structure differed depending on the type of matrix used. It was found that the Ni nanostructures change the velocity of both bulk and surface phonons in the systems studied. This finding is in contradiction to the results concerning the surface phonons velocities in different media covered with a homogenous thin metal film, in which the effect was observed for films thicker than 70 nm.     

Self-assembly of doped semiconductor nanocrystals leading to the formation of highly luminescent nanorods

Meso-scale self-assembly of doped semiconductor nanocrystals leading to the formation of monocrystalline nanorods showing enhanced photo- and electro-luminescence properties are reported. Polycrystalline ZnS: Cu⁺-Al³⁺ nanoparticles of zinc-blended (cubic) structure with an average size of ∼4 nm were aggregated in aqueous solution and grown into nanorods of length ∼400 nm and aspect ratio ∼12. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) images indicate crystal growth mechanisms involving particle-to-particle oriented-attachment assisted by sulphur-sulphur catenation leading to covalent-linkage. The nanorods exhibit self-assembly dependant luminescence properties such as quenching of the lattice defect-related emissions accompanied by enhancement of dopant-related emission, efficient low-voltage electroluminescence (EL) and super-linear voltage-brightness EL characteristics. This study demonstrates the technological importance of aggregation based self-assembly in doped semiconductor nanosystems.     

Characterization of Cds clusters in zeolite-A grown in alkaline solution

CdS clusters were synthesized in A type zeolite by reaction in alkaline aqueous solution at temperatures from 30 to 70 °C. The optical properties of the samples were studied by diffuse reflectance and photoluminescence spectroscopy. Their crystalline structure and morphology were studied by X-ray diffraction and by transmission and scanning electron microscopy. We found that at lower temperatures the CdS clusters are encapsulated in the zeolite cages. We compared the properties of these clusters with those encapsulated in the cages of zeolites X and Y, prepared by similar methods. CdS clusters smaller than the CdS exciton diameter are also formed outside the cages in the zeolite matrix. The size of these clusters increases with temperature producing a red-shift of the absorption edge in the optical absorption spectra.     

Influence of Al2O3 Nanoparticles on the Thermal Stability of Ultra-Fine Grained Copper Prepared by High Pressure Torsion

Summary.  Ultra-fine grained (UFG) Cu (grain size 80 nm) containing 0.5 wt.% Al₂O₃ nanoparticles (size 20 nm) was prepared by high pressure torsion (HPT). Positron lifetime spectroscopy was employed to characterize the microstructure of this material, especially with respect to types and concentration of lattice defects. The evolution of microstructure with increasing temperature was studied by positron lifetime spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction measurements. The thermal stability of the Cu + 0.5 wt.% Al₂O₃ nanocomposite was compared with that of pure UFG Cu prepared by the same technique. The processes taking place during thermal recovery of the initial nanoscale structure in both studied materials are described. Received October 5, 2001. Accepted (revised) December 20, 2001     

A Study of PbTiO3 Crystallization in Pure and Composite Nanopowders Prepared by the Sol-Gel Technique

Summary.  In this investigation the crystallization of PbTiO₃ upon annealing of pure nanopowders and PbTiO₃–SiO₂ (1:1 v/v) nanocomposite powders prepared by the sol-gel technique was studied. Using X-ray diffraction phase analysis, the start of PbTiO₃ crystallization in pure PbTiO₃ powders was detected at 400°C. Distinct crystallization of PbTiO₃ in PbTiO₃–SiO₂ nanocomposites starts at 700°C, whereas SiO₂ remains amorphous. There are indications that an interface interaction between the PbTiO₃ and the SiO₂ phase plays an important role in hindering the crystallization of PbTiO₃. The particle size (size of coherently scattering regions) was estimated from the broadening of the X-ray diffraction line profiles. The average size of PbTiO₃ nanocrystallites increases with temperature and time of annealing, the influence of temperature being more significant than that of the annealing time. Differential scanning calorimetry confirmed the results of the X-ray diffraction with respect to the start of the crystallization. Laser beam scattering and scanning electron microscopy provided the statistical distribution of the grain size and the morphology of the powder grains, showing that each grain of the powders contains several nanocrystallites (coherently scattering regions). Received October 4, 2001. Accepted (revised) December 14, 2001     

Synthesis of Zeolite L. Tuning Size and Morphology

Summary. A convenient synthesis of zeolite L is presented. The size of the crystals can be tuned between 30 and 6000nm, spanning a volume range of seven orders of magnitude. The zeolite L crystals, which typically feature a cylindrical morphology, are synthesized with various aspect ratios ranging from elongated to disc-shaped. The importance of obtaining zeolite crystals with well-defined size and morphology is discussed in view of potential applications of zeolite L containing organic dye molecules as guests.This revised version was published online in February 2005. In the previous version the issue was not marked as a special issue, and the issue title and the editor was missing     

Field and photo-field electron emission from self-assembled Ge–Si nanostructures with quantum dots

Monolayer and multilayer Ge nanocluster structures were prepared on Si(1 0 0) using molecular beam epitaxy. The cluster size was 10 nm and cluster density was 10¹⁰ cm⁻². A stable field electron emission was obtained from these structures, showing current peaks in the current–voltage characteristics, which may be attributed to the resonant electron tunneling via the energy levels of the nanocluster potential well. For cluster multilayers, the current–voltage curves also showed current peaks with a complex shape. The cluster multilayer structures had a considerable temperature sensitivity, as well as photosensitivity, in the wavelength range from 0.4 to 10 μm.