Extremely narrow luminescence linewidth in GaAs single quantum wells by insertion of thin AlAs smoothing layers

We propose a new method to considerably reduce the overall growth interruption for high-quality GaAs single quantum wells during molecular beam epitaxy. The insertion of ultrathin AlAs smoothing layers at the constituent GaAs/Al _x Ga_1–x As heterointerfaces and growth interruptions of not more than 15 s yields an improvement of the luminescence linewidth (FWHM) to 0.56 meV for a 13 nm wide GaAs well and to a value as low as 0.195 meV for a 27 nm wide GaAs well. In addition, no Stokes shift between absorption and emission and no line splitting due to monolayer fluctuations in the well width is observed.     

Liquid phase epitaxy growth of AlxGayIn1-x-yPzAs1-z/GaAs with direct band gap up to 2.0 eV

Received: 2 July 1997/Accepted: 24 November 1997     

Two-wave-mixing dynamics and nonlinear hot-electron transport in transverse-geometry photorefractive quantum wells studied by moving gratings

The photorefractive response to an applied electric field is measured in a photorefractive quantum well, providing evidence in favor of the nonlinear transport in the device due to the hot electrons. The reduced mobility of the hot electrons limits the drift length, and thereby limits fringe overshoot. Thus the nonlinear transport prevents the slowing down of the grating writing rate for increasing fields which is common in bulk photorefractives. The photorefractive phase shift in transverse-field photorefractive quantum wells is measured as a function of the frequency offset between two laser writing beams that generate moving gratings. The two-wave mixing passes through a maximum at an optimum frequency which depends on the magnitude and the sign of the applied dc electric field. The phase shift associated with the moving grating adds or subtracts from the static phase shift induced by hot-electron transport in the semiconductor quantum wells, depending on the sign of the field and the sign of the dominant photocarriers. We observe a linear relationship between the roll-off frequency and the power of the writing beams. Received: 26 November 1998 / Revised version: 22 January 1999 / Published online: 12 April 1999     

Thermal stability of Mo/Si multilayer soft-X-ray mirrors fabricated by electron-beam evaporation

Mo/Si multilayers are fabricated by electron-beam evaporation in UHV at different temperatures (30° C, 150° C, 200° C) during deposition. After completion their thermal stability is tested by baking them at temperatures (T _bak) between 200° C and 800° C in steps of 50° C or 100° C. After each baking step the multilayers are characterized by small angle Cu_K-X-ray diffraction. Additionally, the normal incidence soft-X-ray reflectivity for wavelengths between 11 nm and 19 nm is determined after baking at 500° C. Furthermore, the layer structure of the multilayers is investigated by means of Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy (RBS) and sputter/Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) technique. While the reflectivity turns out to be highest for a deposition temperature of 150° C, the thermal stability of the multilayer increases with deposition temperature. The multilayer deposited at 200° C stands even a 20 min 500° C baking without considerable changes in the reflectivity behaviour.     

Carrier gas effects on the SiGe quantum dots formation

SiGe quantum dots (QDs) grown by ultra-high vacuum chemical vapor deposition using H₂ and He carrier gases are investigated and compared. SiGe QDs using He carrier gas have smaller dot size with a better uniformity in terms of dot height and dot base as compared to the H₂ carrier gas. There is a higher Ge composition and less compressive strain in the SiGe QDs grown in He than in H₂ as measured by Raman spectroscopy. The Ge content is higher for He growth than H₂ growth due to hydrogen induced Si segregation and the lower interdiffusivity caused by the more strain relaxation in the He-grown SiGe dots. The photoluminescence also confirms more compressive strain for H₂ growth than He growth. Hydrogen passivation and Ge-H cluster formation play an important role in the QDs growth.     

Structural, optical and electrical properties of ZnO and ZnO-Al2O3 films prepared by dc magnetron sputtering

ZnO and ZnO-Al₂O₃ thin films were prepared by dc magnetron sputtering and their structural, optical and electrical properties were studied comparatively. It is discovered that the ZnO-Al₂O₃ thin films remain transparent in a shorter wavelength range than the ZnO films, resulting from the increase of their band gap. Their resistivity decreases by seven orders of magnitude, which is caused by doping of Al to ZnO grains in the film. Preferential orientation of ZnO grains in the ZnO-Al₂O₃ thin films deteriorates because of the existence of Al₂O₃ impurity phase in the film. Received: 5 January 1999 / Accepted: 11 October 1999 / Published online: 8 March 2000     

Effect of the growth conditions on infrared upconversion efficiency of CaS: Eu, Sm thin films

High-quality electron-trapping thin films CaS: Eu, Sm with red light output have been successfully deposited on quartz and single-crystal silicon substrates by electron beam evaporation (EBE) and radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering in vacuum and H₂S partial pressures. Infrared upconversion efficiency of CaS: Eu, Sm thin films under different growth conditions has been investigated by using ultrashort infrared (IR) laser pulse with 20 ps (full width at half-maximum (FWHM)). The results show that upconversion efficiency of CaS: Eu, Sm thin films depends strongly on growth conditions in spite of the existence of “exhaustion” phenomena. Microstructures identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicate that crystallinity of CaS films relies on both substrate materials and growth conditions. The stoichiometric composition of CaS films was measured by secondary-ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). The post-annealing process was found to promote grain growth and activate strong luminescence so that it could obviously improve upconversion efficiency of CaS: Eu, Sm films, even though it had negative influence on transmittance and spatial resolution of these films. Received: 5 June 2000 / Accepted: 7 June 2000 / Published online: 23 August 2000     

Shape and stability of quantum dots

} facets and a (001) surface on top. We compare to experiment and discuss the influence of growth kinetics on the shape. Received: 21 March 1997/Accepted: 12 August 1997     

Exciton line broadening in strained InGaAs/GaAs single quantum wells

We report the first observation of well-resolved exciton peaks in the room-temperature absorption spectrum of the strained In_0.20Ga_0.80As/GaAs Single Quantum-Well (SQW) structure. The best fit of the exciton resonances gives the conduction-band offset ratioQ _c=0.70±0.05. The strength of the exciton-phonon coupling is determined from linewidth analysis and is found to be much larger than that of strained InGaAs/GaAs MQW structures.     

Effect of intrinsic-gain fluctuations on quantum noise of phosphor materials used in medical X-ray imaging

The quality of a medical image depends, among other parameters, on quantum noise. Quantum noise is affected by the fluctuations in the number of optical quanta produced within the phosphor, per absorbed X-ray (i.e. phosphor intrinsic-gain fluctuations). This effect is considered by means of a factor, called in this study intrinsic-gain noise factor, IGNF(E). In existing theoretical models of quantum noise, the corresponding factor is taken to be equal to one. In this paper, an expression that accounts for the coefficient of variation of the phosphor intrinsic gain is introduced. This expression takes into account the process of electron–hole pair conversion to optical photons and the frequency distribution function of the emitted optical photon energy. Subsequently IGNF(E) is expressed in terms of this coefficient of variation. IGNF(E) has been calculated for several phosphors and for various energies. For all medical X-ray energies studied, phosphors that exhibit a high relative fluctuation of emitted optical photon energy, IGNF(E) exceeds by 2% to over 17% the corresponding factor of the existing theoretical models of quantum noise. Received: 25 March 1999 / Accepted: 29 March 1999 / Published online: 14 July 1999     

Nano-islands on a composite substrate with misfit dislocations

Spatial arrangements of nano-islands (quantum dots) on the free surface of a composite two-layer substrate containing misfit dislocations of edge type are theoretically examined. It is shown that the elastic interaction between misfit dislocations and nano-islands is capable of causing coagulation of nano-islands. The coagulation of nano-islands is shown to be favourable when the upper-layer thickness is smaller than a critical thickness, H₀. An analytical form of H₀ is presented for the partial case with four-to-one correspondence between nano-islands and cells of the misfit dislocation network. Received: 5 December 2000 / Accepted: 29 March 2001 / Published online: 20 June 2001     

Silicon grain arrays prepared using a pattern crystallization technique of pulsed-excimer laser irradiation

Silicon grain arrays were prepared using a pattern crystallization technique of pulsed KrF excimer laser irradiation. The precursor material was hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thin films deposited on single crystal Si wafers by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. It was shown that Si grains with a uniform size and a well-defined periodicity embedded in the a-Si:H matrix were obtained by this simple technique. The grain size was less than 2 μm. Relativly strong photo-luminescence with two peaks at 720 and 750 nm was observed at room temperature. We expect to reduce Si grain sizes by optimizing the growth conditions of a-Si:H thin films and controlling the temperature distribution in the film during laser irradiation. Received: 21 November 2000 / Accepted: 12 December 2000 / Published online: 9 February 2001     

Intermixing behavior in InGaAs/InGaAsP multiple quantum wells with dielectric and InGaAs capping layers

The influence of the InGaAs capping layer on the intermixing behavior of dielectric-capped In_0.53Ga_0.47 As/In_0.81Ga_0.19As_0.37P_0.63 multiple quantum wells (MQWs) was investigated by measuring the change in the photoluminescence spectra after rapid thermal annealing. The magnitude of the energy shift in the transition energy from the first electronic sub-band to the first heavy- and light-hole sub-bands of the MQWs is large when SiO₂ and InGaAs hybrid capping layers are employed, but it is rather small when Si₃N₄ and InGaAs hybrid capping layers are employed. This result indicates that the InGaAs capping layer holds promise for applications involved in the fabrication of integrated photonic devices, but only when it is incorporated with the SiO₂ capping layer. The reason why the InGaAs capping layer behaves differently under the SiO₂ and Si₃N₄ capping layers is also discussed. Received: 4 December 1999 / Accepted: 26 September 2000 / Published online: 10 January 2001     

Steady holographic gratings in semiconductor multiple quantum wells

A theoretical model based on the Dember mechanism is proposed to describe the steady state photorefractive gratings generated in semiconductor multiple quantum wells (MQW). It has been applied to an GaAs/AlGaAs MQW in parallel configuration (external electric field applied parallel to the MQW layers) for which recent experimental data are available. The model predicts a dependence of the first-order diffraction efficiency on the applied field in qualitative accordance with experiments, including the occurrence of saturation at high field values. Absolute values of the efficiencies are in good agreement with the experimental ones. Finally, high second-order diffraction efficiencies, associated with the development of a perpendicular space charge field, are also predicted by the model.     

Vibrational spectroscopy of SiC thin films deposited by excimer laser ablation

A large number of thin SiC films, prepared at different conditions by KrF excimer laser ablation of solid SiC targets and deposition onto Si substrates (some onto quartz glass (QG) and yttrium-stabilized zirconia (YSZ)) were characterized by infrared and Raman spectroscopy. The films consisted of nano- and microcrystalline SiC and contained nanocrystalline carbon in the case of QG or YSZ substrates. Raman spectra of nanocrystalline SiC (grains <30 nm) reflect the phonon density-of-state function of SiC by broad scattering effects at 220–600 and 650–950 cm⁻¹. Medium-size crystallites are represented by a relatively narrow asymmetric band at 790 cm⁻¹ and crystallites >200 nm by an additional asymmetric band at 960 cm⁻¹. Small satellite bands at 760 and 940 cm⁻¹, attributed to SiC surface layers, were resolved in some well-ordered samples. Optical modelling was needed to interpret the IR spectra. SiC films could be represented by an effective medium model containing a SiC host phase and embedded particles with free charge carriers. The crystalline order of SiC films can be estimated from the parameters of the SiC oscillators. Received: 5 October 1998 / Accepted: 8 January 1999 / Published online: 5 May 1999     

Strong ultraviolet and violet photoluminescence from Si-based anodic porous alumina films

We have investigated photoluminescence (PL) from Si-based anodic porous alumina films formed by real-time controlled anodization of electron-beam evaporated Al films. As-anodized samples show three strong PL bands at 295, 340, and 395 nm. These bands blueshift and their intensities decrease after the samples are annealed. When the annealing temperature increases to 1000 °C, the blueshift becomes specially pronounced and meanwhile the structures of the films develop toward crystalline Al₂O₃. Based on discussions on the thermal annealing behaviors of the PL and PL excitation spectra, we suggest that optical transitions in oxygen-related defects, F⁺ (oxygen vacancy with one electron) centers, are responsible for the observed ultraviolet and violet PL. Received: 24 July 2000 / Accepted: 24 February 2001 / Published online: 3 May 2001     

Room-temperature direct-bandgap photoluminescence from strain-compensated Ge/SiGe multiple quantum wells on silicon

Strain-compensated Ge/Si_0.15Ge_0.85 multiple quantum wells were grown on an Si_0.1Ge_0.9 virtual substrate using ultrahigh vacuum chemical vapor deposition technology on an n +-Si（001） substrate.Photoluminescence measurements were performed at room temperature,and the quantum confinement effect of the direct-bandgap transitions of a Ge quantum well was observed,which is in good agreement with the calculated results.The luminescence mechanism was discussed by recombination rate analysis and the temperature dependence of the luminescence spectrum.     

Room-temperature direct-bandgap photoluminescence from strain-compensated Ge/SiGe multiple quantum wells on silicon

Strain-compensated Ge/Si_0.15Ge_0.85 multiple quantum wells were grown on an Si_0.1>Ge_0.9 virtual substrate using ultrahigh vacuum chemical vapor deposition technology on an n⁺-Si(001) substrate. Photoluminescence measurements were performed at room temperature, and the quantum confinement effect of the direct-bandgap transitions of a Ge quantum well was observed, which is in good agreement with the calculated results. The luminescence mechanism was discussed by recombination rate analysis and the temperature dependence of the luminescence spectrum.     

Growth and characteristics of reactive pulsed laser deposited molybdenum trioxide thin films

Molybdenum trioxide thin films were prepared by reactive pulsed laser deposition on Corning 7059 glass substrates. The influence of oxygen partial pressure and deposition temperature on the structure, surface morphology and optical properties of these films was studied to understand the growth mechanism of MoO₃ thin films. The films formed at 473 K in an oxygen partial pressure of 100 mTorr exhibited predominantly a (0k0) orientation, corresponding to an orthorhombic layered structure of α-MoO₃. The evaluated optical band gap of the films was 3.24 eV. The crystallite size increased with increase of deposition temperature. The films formed at an oxygen partial pressure of pO₂=100 mTorr and at a deposition temperature greater than 700 K exhibited both (0k0) and (0kl) orientations, representing α-β mixed phases of MoO₃. The films formed at an oxygen partial pressure less than 100 mTorr were found to be sub-stoichiometric with α-β mixed phases. The investigation revealed the growth of polycrystalline and single-phase orthorhombic-layered-structure α-MoO₃ thin films with composition nearly approaching the nominal stoichiometry at moderate substrate temperatures in an oxygen partial pressure of 100 mTorr. Received: 9 April 2001 / Accepted: 6 August 2001 / Published online: 17 October 2001     

The slowing-down of ultrafast relaxation in C60 films at high femtosecond pump intensities

60 thin film was investigated in the energy range between 1.6 eV and 3.4 eV by a pump-supercontinuum probe (PSCP) technique with a 40 fs time resolution. The relaxation rate showed pronounced spectral dependence, with a maximum at 2 eV in the region of photo-induced darkening and at 2.4 eV in the region of photo-induced bleaching. The ultrafast relaxation rate decreased with increasing pump-pulse intensity. We suggest that the observed decrease results from extraheating of the carriers in the h_u and t_1u bands due to internal conversion from higher excited states, which are populated by two-step photon absorption of the intense pump pulse. Received: 2 May 1997/Revised version: 4 August 1997