Structural characterization techniques for the analysis of semiconductor strained heterostructures

A combined method for structural characterization of strained epitaxial heterostructures involving different techniques such as Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), multiple crystal X-ray diffractometry (MCD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is presented. In order to obtain a complete characterization of the analysed structure, three different quantities are measured independently: the epilayer thickness, the density of misfit dislocations which may appear at the interface, and the significant components of the strain tensor, mainly the tetragonal distortion, affecting the epilayer lattice. In this way the thermodynamic state and the mechanisms of plastic deformation of the structures can be fully investigated. In this contribution we present and discuss the experimental results concerning a set of InP/GaAs samples having different layer thicknesses ranging from 5 to 500 nm. The thickness of the samples has been determined by RBS. Measurements of in-plane strain and tetragonal distortion have been performed by MCD and RBS-channelling respectively, finally TEM has been used for determining the defects densities and distribution.     

1D to 2D transitional structure of plasmonic crystals: fabrication and characterization

A very interesting structure that has not been explored previously is an array of “corrugated/wavy” lines; an intermediate structure between 1D grating and 2D arrays of plasmonic crystal. This novel structure is studied to fully understand the transitional effect from 1D line to 2D arrays. The changes in geometry will subsequently change the effective refractive index of the crystal hence alters the plasmonic coupling conditions. The azimuthal effect of this structure is also explored to control the SPP magnitude and propagation direction. Interference lithography (IL) technique is used to fabricate this structure. Some geometrical parameters can be controlled in order to optimize the coupling condition for SPP propagation. This will lead us to understand the fundamental geometrical contributions to the field enhancement. Comprehensive mathematical simulations that model these effects to the SPP coupling condition has been undertaken to understand the plasmonic coupling efficiency and the azimuthal angle dependence.     

Grating-coupled surface plasmon resonance in conical mounting with polarization modulation

A grating-coupled surface plasmon resonance (GCSPR) technique based on polarization modulation in conical mounting is presented. A metallic grating is azimuthally rotated to support double-surface plasmon polariton excitation and exploit the consequent sensitivity enhancement. Corresponding to the resonance polar angle, a polarization scan of incident light is performed, and reflectivity data are collected before and after functionalization with a dodecanethiol self-assembled monolayer. The output signal exhibits a harmonic dependence on polarization, and the phase term is used as a parameter for sensing. This technique offers the possibility of designing extremely compact, fast, and cheap high-resolution plasmonic sensors based on GCSPR.     

Active sol–gel thin film on nanostructured plasmonic surface

Sol–gel hybrid films based on alkyl bridged polysilsesquioxanes and doped with phenol red molecules, were synthesized for sensing purposes. Doped films changes colour from yellow to orange to red when exposed to hydrochloric acid (HCl) both in solution and gas phases. The synthesis was optimized in order to produce porous films after spin coating. The porosity increases reacting surface area and chemical reactivity of the sensing thin film. Porosity, optical and structural characterizations of these films were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (SE). Variation of optical characteristics upon immersion of the film in the solution was characterized by UV–visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy. Moreover the same porous sensitive hybrid film was deposited on gold sinusoidal grating in order to detect variations of the dielectric film optical constant after HCl solution dip. This variation was revealed by monitoring surface plasmon polariton excitations.     

Surface and interface analysis of titanium nitride diffusion barriers

Titanium nitride films were produced on silicon substrate by ion beam assisted deposition in the alternate mode: first, thin titanium layers were deposited by electron beam evaporation and then titanium nitride was formed by nitrogen implantation at room temperature; this cycle was then iterated many times in order to obtain thicker titanium nitride layers. The obtained films were characterized with respect to atomic composition by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and nuclear reaction analysis techniques, while chemical bonding was investigated by Auger line-shape analysis. We observe that nitrogen implantation, along with the production of titanium nitride, induces silicon migration into the film. Silicon transport is connected to point defects produced by ion implantation as well as by chemical driving forces associated with silicides formation.     

Angular momentum properties of electromagnetic field transmitted through holey plasmonic vortex lenses

We performed three-dimensional finite elements simulations of the optical response of holey plasmonic vortex lenses, i.e., spiral grooves milled on a thin gold film with a hole at the center. We focus in particular on the properties of the wave transmitted in the underlying half-space, which is shown to be a relevant part of the transmitted field. We find out that the angular momentum selection rule for this part of the field is different from the one for the transmitted plasmonic vortex, although closely related to the plasmonic interaction of the impinging wave with the chiral geometry.     

Optical properties and photonic bands of GaAs photonic crystal waveguides with tilted square lattice

Reflectance measurements at variable angle of incidence are performed on GaAs photonic crystal waveguides with unconventional square lattices. The technique yields the dispersion of photonic bands for the investigated lattices, as first shown by Astratov et al. [Phys. Rev. B 60, R16225 (1999)]. A sample with a square lattice of air rings and small air fraction yields narrow resonant structures and a dispersion of photonic modes close to that of free photons. Another sample with a square lattice of dielectric squares and large air fraction leads to broader structures and to a dispersion of photonic modes which differs strongly for the two polarizations of light: this sample has a pseudo-gap around 1 micron wavelength. The experimental results are in good agreement with theoretical calculations of the reflectance and of the photonic mode dispersion in the photonic crystal slabs. Received 16 January 2002     

Computation of the strain field generated by dislocations with a position-dependent Burgers' vector distribution

A new phenomenon of strain relaxation will be presented. In a series of InxGa1-xAs graded composition buffer layers grown on well cut (001) GaAs substrates, a curvature of the epilayer lattice has been found, i.e. a tilt of the epilayer lattice orientation with respect to the substrate which varies coherently along the sample surface on the scale of several mm. The most recent data analysis performed on a buffer layer compositionally graded with a six-step profile shows also a thickness functional dependence of the curvature. The epilayer lattice curvature has been attributed to a coherent lateral distribution of the Burgers' vectors. An analytical model has been developed in the framework of the continuum elasticity theory to compute the related strain field. The results show small but unexpected contributions to the parallel strain.     

Synthesis and Chromatography-Free Purification of PNA-PEO Conjugates for the Functionalisation of Gold Sensors

Peptide Nucleic Acids (PNAs) linked to high molecular weight (MW) poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) derivatives could be useful conjugates for the direct functionalisation of gold surfaces dedicated to Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR)-based DNA sensing. However their use is hampered by the difficulty to obtain them through a convenient and economical route. In this work we compared three synthetic strategies to obtain PNA-high MW PEO conjugates composed of (a) a 15-mer PNA sequence as the probe complementary to genomic DNA of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, (b) a PEO moiety (2 or 5 KDa MW) and (c) a terminal trityl-protected thiol necessary (after acidic deprotection) for grafting to gold surfaces. The 15-mer PNA was obtained by solid-phase synthesis. Its amino terminal group was later condensed to bi-functional PEO derivatives (2 and 5 KDa MW) carrying a Trt-cysteine at one end and a carboxyl group at the other end. The reaction was carried out either in solution, using HATU or PyOxim as coupling agents, or through the solid-phase approach, with 49.6%, 100% and 5.2% yield, respectively. A differential solvent extraction strategy for product purification without the need for chromatography is described. The ability of the 5 KDa PEO conjugate to function as a probe for complementary DNA detection was demonstrated using a Grating-Coupling Surface Plasmon Resonance (GC-SPR) system. The optimized PEO conjugation and purification protocols are economical and simple enough to be reproduced also within laboratories that are not highly equipped for chemical synthesis.     

Investigation of the ETA-BETA II plasma edge by surface analysis of collector probes

To investigate the ion flux escaping from the plasma and the impurity flux released by the wall, collector probes made of graphite, silicon and titanium have been exposed to the deuterium plasma confined in the toroidal device ETA BETA II. The damages on the collector surfaces have been surveyed by a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) apparatus. The deuterium and impurity retention have been measured by elastic recoil detection (ERD) and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) techniques respectively. The implantation build-up has been investigated as a function of the exposure time. The deuterium dose in graphite saturates after a few discharges, whereas the metal impurities exhibit a linear increase in time. The deuterium flux and its radial dependence, inferred from the implanted concentrations, have been compared with those measured by Langmuir probes. Metal impurities have been identified and their relative abundances have been compared with the material wall composition. The impurity flux is found consistent with the global content in the plasma derived by spectroscopic measurements. The deuterium dose measured in different samples has been related to the backscattering coefficient of the materials. Finally, to investigate the damage on sample probes facing the plasma particle flow, erosion probes made of vitreous graphite with silver implanted at a fixed depth have been exposed to the plasma and the thickness change after exposure recovered.