Illumination dependence of I-V and C-V characterization of Au/InSb/InP(1 0 0) Schottky structure

The effects of surface preparation and illumination on electric parameters of Au/InSb/InP(100) Schottky diode were investigated, in the later diode InSb forms a fine restructuration layer allowing to block In atoms migration to surface. In order to study the electric characteristics under illumination, we make use of an He-Ne laser of 1 mW power and 632.8 nm wavelength. The current-voltage I(V_G), the capacitance-voltage C(V_G) measurements were plotted and analysed. The saturation current I_s, the serial resistance R_s and the mean ideality factor n are, respectively, equal to 2.03 × 10⁻⁵ A, 85 Ω, 1.7 under dark and to 3.97 × 10⁻⁵ A, 67 Ω, 1.59 under illumination. The analysis of I(V_G) and C(V_G) characteristics allows us to determine the mean interfacial state density N_ss and the transmission coefficient θ_n equal, respectively, to 4.33 × 10¹² eV⁻¹ cm⁻², 4.08 × 10⁻³ under dark and 3.79 × 10¹² eV⁻¹ cm⁻² and 5.65 × 10⁻³ under illumination. The deep discrete donor levels presence in the semiconductor bulk under dark and under illumination are responsible for the non-linearity of the C⁻²(V_G) characteristic.     

P-V relation for cuprous halides: Pseudopotential approach

Cuprous halides are found to show significantly different behaviour from that of alkali halides. This difference is mainly due to the presence of outermost d-electrons present in Cu⁺ ion. In the present paper, the ab initio pseudopotential formalism incorporating the effect of d-electrons is used to generate the equation of state (EOS) for group I-VII binary compounds from first-principles calculations. The expression for the EOS is derived for the first time within the pseudopotential framework. The computed isothermal compression curves for cuprous halides are compared with compression curves from other EOSs belonging to different classes and categories and have also been tested for the prediction of end point.     

Effect of change in pulsed DC frequency on indium-tin oxide anode on J-V-L performance of built-up organic light emitting diode during facing-target sputtering

Investigations were carried out on the changes in the electrical and optical properties and surface roughness of the indium-tin oxide (ITO) anode as a function of DC pulse frequency during facing-target sputtering. The current density-voltage-luminescence (J-V-L) characteristics of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) developed on the anodes were measured and analyzed in relation to the properties of ITO. When the pulsed DC frequency was less than 120 kHz, the resistivity of ITO was maintained well below 4.3 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm and the optical energy band gap was greater than 4.1 eV, but these properties changed abruptly at 150 kHz with the morphological transition from columnar to equi-axed. Meanwhile, the surface roughness decreased continuously with increasing pulsed DC frequency up to 150 kHz. The J-V characteristics of the built-up OLED deteriorated slightly as the pulsed DC frequency increased to 120 kHz and then deteriorated rapidly at 150 kHz. The L-V curves, however, showed an improvement of luminescence as the frequency increased up to 120 kHz. These J-V-L characteristics imply that ITO which is more conductive and with a higher band gap can be obtained at the lower pulsed DC frequencies, which is desirable for higher current flow; however, better luminescence is closely related to smoother surfaces. Therefore, for the optimized J-V-L performance of OLEDs, a moderate pulse DC frequency, below the morphological transition of ITO, is desirable.     

I-V curve oscillation observed by atomic force microscopy

Oscillation on the current-voltage curve measured by atomic force microscopy is observed when the distance between the tip and sample is large enough and beyond a critical value. The appearance of the oscillation is attributed to the excitation of electron standing waves between the tip and sample. From the first peak position and the voltage difference between the first two peaks on the current-voltage curve, the value of the work function at the detected point on silver film surface and the distance between the tip and the detected point can be calculated.     

Estimate of the J′J″ dependence of water vapor line broadening parameters

The dependence of water line broadening coefficients on the “good” quantum numbers − angular momentum and symmetry of the upper and lower levels − is analyzed for rotational quantum numbers up to J=50. Trends are investigated separately for P-, Q-, and R-branch transitions for the atmospherically important isotopologue of water. Results are presented which were obtained using two different methods: By averaging the broadening coefficients from HITRAN-2008 for small J values and also by averaging of data calculated using a semi-empirical method for higher J. The resulting air-broadening coefficients allow water vapor spectra with millions of weak lines to be calculated with an accuracy reasonable for many applications, for example estimation of sun radiation with low resolution. Sample results of calculations are presented.     

Poly-benzyl domains grown on porous silicon and their I-V rectification

Microwave-irradiated polymerization of benzyl chloride and triphenyl chloromethane on hydride-terminated porous silicon (PS) was achieved through the use of Zn powder as a catalyst. Transmission infrared Fourier-transform spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses confirmed the poly-benzyl membranes grafted on PS. Topographical images by AFM revealed crystal-like domains rather than homogenous monolayers on the surface. The current-voltage measurements in nano-scale by current sensing atomic force microscopy (CS-AFM) showed the rectification behavior of this polymer membrane. Finally, mechanism of a radical initiation on the surface and a following Friedel-Crafts alkylation was proposed for the covalent assembly of poly-benzyl domains.     

Investigation of diode parameters using I-V and C-V characteristics of In/SiO2/p-Si (MIS) Schottky diodes

A study on interface states density distribution and characteristic parameters of the In/SiO₂/p-Si (MIS) capacitor has been made. The thickness of the SiO₂ film obtained from the measurement of the corrected capacitance in the strong accumulation region for MIS Schottky diodes was 220 Å. The diode parameters from the forward bias I-V characteristics such as ideality factor, series resistance and barrier heights were found to be 1.75, 106-112 Ω and 0.592 eV, respectively. The energy distribution of the interface state density D_it was determined from the forward bias I-V characteristics by taking into account the bias dependence of the effective barrier height. The interface state density obtained using the I-V characteristics had an exponential growth, with bias towards the top of the valance band, from 9.44×10¹³ eV⁻¹ cm⁻² in 0.329-E_v eV to 1.11×10¹³ eV⁻¹ cm⁻² in 0.527-E_v eV at room temperature. Furthermore, the values of interface state density D_it obtained by the Hill-Coleman method from the C-V characteristics range from 52.9×10¹³ to 1.11×10¹³ eV⁻¹ cm⁻² at a frequency range of 30kHz-1 MHz. These values of D_it and R_s were responsible for the non-ideal behaviour of I-V and C-V characteristics.     

Intersecting behaviour of nanoscale Schottky diodes I-V curves

We describe a new feature connected with Schottky barriers with nanosize dimensions. We found out by theoretical analysis that the I-V curves of such small diodes measured at different temperatures should intersect and consecutively at higher voltages larger current flows through the diode at lower temperatures. This effect which is at first glance in contradiction with the thermionic theory is caused by the series resistance influence. We show that the presence of the series resistance is a necessary condition of its observation. However, the intersection voltage—minimum voltage at which the intersection may occur—increases with the value of the series resistance and the diode dimensions for which the effect could be observable in Si diodes and the common series resistance values must be in submicrometer range. Diodes with several hundreds nanometers dimension have the intersection voltage ∼1 V. Analytical expression for the intersection voltage values was also derived.     

The I-V characteristics of InAs/GaAs quantum dot laser

The I-V characteristics of an InAs/GaAs quantum dot (QD) laser diode have been investigated under both the high and low input current conditions. Under the low current condition, the I-V curve obeys the Shockley equation, from which the forbidden energy gap of the junction can be derived. On the other hand, in the high current range, the I-V characteristics violate the Shockley equation and the device tends to operate as a resistance. In addition, the I-V curve can be used to fit the temperature coefficient of the forward voltage, which is a critical parameter for determining the junction temperature of the laser diode.     

The J = 5 level in S at 5.689 MeV

A polarization-direction correlation measurement at two angles, θ_γ = 60° and 90°, has resulted in an unambiguious spin assignment of J^π, 5⁻ for the 5.69 MeV level of ³⁴S.     

Analysis of P-V-T relationships and thermodynamic properties for some alkali halides

In this paper, Pandey approximation for the volume dependence of Anderson-Grüneisen parameter at fixed pressure, Anderson approximation for the temperature dependence of thermal expansivity, the equations of thermal expansivity along isobars derived by Shanker et al., and the presented approximation for the volume dependence of Anderson-Grüneisen parameter along isobars, have been used to study and predict the pressure-volume-temperature (P-V-T) data and the variations of the volume expansion coefficient and isothermal bulk modulus with temperature and pressure for NaCl, CsCl, LiF, NaF crystals, up to 30 GPa and in the temperature range 298-1073 K. The calculated values are compared with each other. It is found that these equations-of-state are valid and present good agreement with the available experimental data.     

The effective activation energy Ueff(T,B,J) in Hg-1223 single phase superconductors

We review the methods of calculating the effective activation energy U_eff(T,B,J) for both transport measurements and magnetic decay, together with some theoretical models. Then, we apply these methods to our Hg-1223 single-phase superconductor to obtain the activation energy. Transport results give that the magnetic field and temperature dependence of the U_eff can be well described as U₀B^−α(1−T/T_c)^m. Magnetic relaxation shows that the current density dependence of U(J) can be scaled onto a single curve, which can be considered as the activation energy at some temperature T₀. The pinning mechanism in the measured temperature range does not change, and the activation energy depends separately on the three variables: T, B, and J, are responsible for the magnetic decay data scaling onto a single curve at various temperatures. As temperatures close to zero and near T_c, thermally assisted flux motion model is no longer valid since other processes dominate.     

Comparative investigations of the P-V-T relationship of NaCl at high pressure and temperature

Two different potential models of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have been applied to investigate the pressure-volume-temperature (P-V-T) relationship and lattice parameter of NaCl under high pressure and temperature. The first one is the shell model (SM) potentials in which due to the short-range interaction pairs of ions are moved together as is the case in polarization of a crystal due to the motion of the positive and negative ions, and the second one is the two-body rigid-ion Born-Mayer-Huggins-Fumi-Tosi (BMHFT) potentials with full treatment of long-range Coulomb forces. The P-V relationship at 300 K, T-V relationship at zero pressure, and lattice parameter a, have been obtained and compared with the available experimental data and other theoretical results. Compared with SM potentials, the MD simulation with BMHFT potentials is very successful in reproducing accurately the measured volumes of NaCl. At an extended pressure and temperature ranges, P-V relationship under different isotherms at selected temperatures, T-V relationship under different pressures, and lattice parameter a have also been predicted. The properties of NaCl are summarized in the pressure range 0-30 GPa and the temperature up to 2000 K.     

Asymmetric angular dependence of Jc in coated conductors prior to and after fast neutron irradiation

Angular dependent measurements of J_c were performed on a commercial coated conductor (SuperPower) consisting of a 1 μm thick YBCO layer grown on a MgO IBAD buffer layer. An asymmetric behavior of the angular dependence of J_c (J_c(Ф)) was found with a changing distance between the two peaks at different temperatures and applied magnetic fields. One peak always occurs when the field is oriented parallel to the tape surface, the other smaller peak is located in the perpendicular orientation at high fields, but slightly shifted (by up to 10°) at 77 K and low magnetic fields. This peak shift, the overall J_c(Ф) asymmetry and the influence of fast neutron irradiation on J_c(Ф) are discussed. The spherical defects, introduced by collisions of fast neutrons with the lattice atoms, are randomly distributed, add to the as-grown defect structure and change the critical current anisotropy by altering both peaks.     

Ab initio investigation of the I-V characteristics of the butadiene nano-molecular wires: A light-driven molecular switch

We apply a first-principles computational approach to study a light-sensitive molecular switch. The molecule that comprises the switch can convert between a trans and a cis configuration upon photoexcitation. We find that the conductance of the two isomers varies dramatically, which suggests that this system has potential application as a molecular device. A detailed analysis of the projection of the density of states (PDOS) and the transmission coefficients T(E) of the system reveals the mechanism of the switch.     

Photocarrier injection and the I-V characteristics of La0.8Sr0.2MnO3/SrTiO3:Nb heterojunctions

Oxide heterojunctions made of p-type La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ (LSMO) and niobium-doped n-type SrTiO₃ (STO:Nb) have been fabricated by the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique and characterized under UV light irradiation by measuring the current-voltage, photovoltaic properties and the junction capacitance. It is shown that the heterojunctions work as an efficient UV photodiode, in which photogenerated holes in the STO:Nb substrate are injected to the LSMO film. The maximum surface hole density Q/e and external quantum efficiency γ are estimated to be 8.3×10¹² cm⁻² and 11% at room temperature, respectively. They are improved significantly in a p-i-n junction of LSMO/STO/STO:Nb, where Q/e and γ are 3.0×10¹³ cm⁻² and 27%, respectively.     

Temperature dependence of longitudinal optical phonon lifetimes in GaP

The decay of coherently excited longitudinal optical phonons in GaP has been observed through time delayed coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering measurements with picosecond light pulses. The temperature dependence of the decay is compared to that observed through Raman linewidth measurements and to that predicted theoretically for spontaneous three-phonon decay processes.     

Spectroscopic properties of Ba 6pns (J=0,2) autoionizing series

The investigations on Ba and autoionizing states are carried out through a combination of the isolated core excitation method and proper polarization configuration of lasers. With comparison between the 6pns autoionizing states with different J, the spectroscopic properties of both the and series, such as the configuration interactions with the other series, are discussed in detail.