Electronic structure and optical properties of zinc-blende GaN quantum dots

The energy levels of zinc-blende GaN quantum dots (QDs) are studied within the framework of the effective-mass envelope-function approximation. The dependence of the energy of electron and hole states on the quantum dot (QD) size is presented. The selection rules for optical transitions are given and the oscillator strengths of the dipole-allowed transitions for various QD radii are calculated with the wavefunctions of quantized energy levels. The theoretical absorption spectrum of GaN QDs is in good agreement with the existing experimental result.     

AlN/InN和AlN/GaN超晶格能带结构研究

利用Krönig-Penney 模型和形变势理论,从理论上探讨了纤锌矿型AlN/InN和AlN/GaN超晶格系统的能带结构及不同应变模式对能带结构的影响,计算得到了能带结构随各亚层参量变化的一般性规律、超晶格的能量色散关系、应变造成的影响以及不同亚层厚度的系统禁带宽度和导带第一子禁带宽度.研究发现,通过改变亚层厚度可以从不同形式设计能带结构,应变会改变系统禁带宽度,使带阶和子能带明显窄化,价带结构趋于复杂甚至生成准能带结构.与实验结果对比后发现,该模型适于模拟窄势阱结构超晶格,而对于宽势阱则必须 关键词： AlN/InN和AlN/GaN超晶格 Krönig-Penney模型 应变 子能带     

GaN/AlN quantum dot photodetectors at 1.3–1.5 μm

We have demonstrated GaN/AlN quantum dots (QD) photodetectors, relying on intraband absorption and in-plane carrier transport in the wetting layer. The devices operate at room temperature in the wavelength range 1.3–1.5 μm. Samples with 20 periods of Si-doped GaN QD layers, separated by 3 nm-thick AlN barriers, have been grown by plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy on an AlN buffer on a c-sapphire substrate. Self-organized dots are formed by the deposition of 5 monolayers of GaN under nitrogen-rich conditions. The dot height is 1.2±0.6 to 1.3±0.6 nm and the dot density is in the range 10¹¹–10¹² cm⁻². Two ohmic contacts were deposited on the sample surface and annealed in order to contact the buried QD layers. The dots exhibit TM polarized absorption linked to the s–p_z transition. The photocurrent at 300 K is slightly blue-shifted with respect to the s–p_z intraband absorption. The responsivity increases exponentially with temperature and reaches a record value of 10 mA/W at 300 K for detectors with interdigitated contacts.     

闪锌矿GaN/AlGaN量子点中激子态及光学性质的研究

在有效质量近似的框架下,运用变分方法研究闪锌矿GaN/AlGaN量子点中的激子态及相关光学性质,探讨电子与空穴在量子点中的三维空间受限和有限势效应.数值计算结果显示,当量子点的尺寸增加时, 量子尺寸效应对电子和空穴的影响减弱,基态激子结合能和带间光跃迁能也都降低;而当该量子点中垒层AlGaN中 Al含量增加时,提高了量子点对电子和空穴的束缚作用, 同时基态激子结合能和带间光跃迁能都增加.数值的理论结果与相关实验测量结果一致.     

使用AlN/GaN超晶格势垒层生长高Al组分AlGaN/GaN HEMT结构

在蓝宝石衬底上生长了以AlN/GaN超晶格准AlGaN合金作为势垒的HEMT结构材料,并与传统AlGaN合金势垒样品进行了对比.在高Al组分(≥40%)情况下,超晶格势垒样品的表面形貌明显改进,电学性能特别是2DEG面电子浓度也有所改进.对超晶格势垒生长参数进行了初步优化,使得HEMT结构薄层电阻进一步降低,最后获得了251 Ω/□的薄层电阻. 关键词： AlGaN/GaN 结构 AlN/GaN超晶格 二维电子气 高电子迁移率晶体管     

有限元法计算GaN/AlN量子点结构中的电子结构

根据有效质量理论单带模型，采用有限元方法(FEM)计算了GaN/AlN量子点结构中的电子结构，分析了应变和极化对电子结构的影响，计算了不同尺寸的量子点的能级，分析了量子点的大小对电子能级的影响. 结果表明，形变势和压电势提升了电子能级，而且使简并能级分裂. 随着量子点尺寸的增大，量子限制能减小，而压电势能起到更显著的作用，使电子的能级降低，吸收峰发生红移. 关键词： GaN/AlN量子点结构 有效质量理论 电子能级     

掺杂GaN/AlN超晶格第一性原理计算研究

第一性原理计算方法在解释实验现象和预测新材料结构及其性质上有着重要作用. 因此, 通过基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理的方法, 本文系统地研究了Mg和Si掺杂闪锌矿和纤锌矿两种晶体结构的GaN/AlN超晶格体系中的能量稳定性以及电学性质. 结果表明: 在势阱层(GaN 层)中, 掺杂原子在体系中的掺杂形成能不随掺杂位置的变化而发生变化, 在势垒层(AlN层)中也是类似的情况, 这表明对于掺杂原子来说, 替代势垒层(或势阱层)中的任意阳离子都是等同的; 然而, 相比势阱层和势垒层的掺杂形成能却有很大的不同, 并且势阱层的掺杂形成能远低于势垒层的掺杂形成能, 即掺杂元素(Mg_Ga, Mg_Al, Si_Ga和Si_Al)在势阱区域的形成能更低, 这表明杂质原子更易掺杂于结构的势阱层中. 此外, 闪锌矿更低的形成能表明: 闪锌矿结构的超晶格体系比纤锌矿结构的超晶格体系更易于实现掺杂; 其中, 闪锌矿结构中, 负的形成能表明: 当Mg原子掺入闪锌矿结构的势阱层中会自发引起缺陷. 由此, 制备以闪锌矿结构超晶格体系为基底的p型半导体超晶格比制备n型半导体超晶格需要的能量更低并且更为容易制备. 对于纤锌矿体系来说, 制备p型和n型半导体的难易程度基本相同. 电子态密度对掺杂体系的稳定性和电学性质进一步分析发现, 掺杂均使得体系的带隙减小, 掺杂前后仍然为第一类半导体. 综上所述, 本文内容为当前实验中关于纤锌矿结构难以实现p型掺杂问题提供了一种新的技术思路, 即可通过调控相结构实现其p型掺杂.     

Influence of barrier thickness on the structural and optical properties of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells

The structural and optical properties of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells(MQWs) with different barrier thicknesses are studied by means of high resolution X-ray diffraction(HRXRD), a cross-sectional transmission electron microscope(TEM), and temperature-dependent photoluminescence(PL) measurements. HRXRD and cross-sectional TEM measurements show that the interfaces between wells and barriers are abrupt and the entire MQW region has good periodicity for all three samples. As the barrier thickness is increased, the temperature of the turning point from blueshift to redshift of the S-shaped temperature-dependent PL peak energy increases monotonously, which indicates that the localization potentials due to In-rich clusters is deeper. From the Arrhenius plot of the normalized integrated PL intensity, it is found that there are two kinds of nonradiative recombination processes accounting for the thermal quenching of photoluminescence,and the corresponding activation energy(or the localization potential) increases with the increase of the barrier thickness.The dependence on barrier thickness is attributed to the redistribution of In-rich clusters during the growth of barrier layers,i.e., clusters with lower In contents aggregate into clusters with higher In contents.     

Magnetotransport properties of two-dimensional electron gas in AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterostructures

Magnetotransport measurements are carried out on the AlGaN/AlN/GaN in an SiC heterostructure, which demonstrates the existence of the high-quality two-dimensional electron gas (2DGE) at the AlN/GaN interface. While the carrier concentration reaches 1.32 × 10¹³ cm ^{- 2} and stays relatively unchanged with the decreasing temperature, the mobility of the 2DEG increases to 1.21 × 10⁴ cm²/(V·s) at 2 K. The Shubnikov—de Haas (SdH) oscillations are observed in a magnetic field as low as 2.5 T at 2 K. By the measurements and the analyses of the temperature-dependent SdH oscillations, the effective mass of the 2DEG is determined. The ratio of the transport lifetime to the quantum scattering time is 9 in our sample, indicating that small-angle scattering is predominant.     

引入n型InGaN/GaN超晶格层提高量子阱特性研究

利用金属有机物化学气相淀积技术在蓝宝石衬底上生长了InGaN/GaN量子阱结构. 研究了引入n型InGaN薄层或InGaN/GaN超晶格层的量子阱特性,结果表明通过引入n型InGaN薄层或InGaN/GaN超晶格层缓解了量子阱有源区中的应力,改善了多量子阱表面形貌,减少了V型缺陷密度,而且提高了多量子阱的光致发光强度,从而也改进了LED的发光效率. 关键词： InGaN/GaN多量子阱 原子力显微镜 X射线双晶衍射 光致发光     

Recombination processes in structures with GaN/ALN quantum dots

Mechanisms of the generation and the radiative and nonradiative recombination of carriers in structures with GaN quantum dots in the AlN matrix are studied experimentally and theoretically. Absorption, stationary and nonstationary photoluminescence of quantum dots at different temperatures are investigated. It is found that the photoluminescence intensity considerably decreases with the temperature while the photoluminescence kinetics weakly depends on the temperature. The photoluminescence kinetics is shown to be determined by radiative recombination inside quantum dots. A mechanism of nonradiative recombination is proposed, according to which the main reason for the thermal quenching of photoluminescence is nonradiative recombination of charge carriers, generated by optical transitions between quantum dots and wetting layer states.     

Studies of the third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility for InxGa1−xN/GaN cylinder quantum dots

The resonant third-order susceptibilities at various directions (both parallel and vertical to Z-axis) in self-assembled quantum dots (QDs) have been investigated. The nonlinear susceptibilities associated with the intraband transition in the conduction band are theoretically calculated for wurtzite In_xGa_1−xN/GaN-strained cylinder QDs. The confined wave functions and energies of electrons in the dots have been calculated in the effective-mass approximation by solving the 3D Schrödinger equation, in which a strong built-in electric field effect due to the piezoelectricity and spontaneous polarization has been taken into account. Furthermore, it is shown that the magnitude and the resonant position of the nonlinear susceptibility χ⁽³⁾(3ω) strongly depend on the dots’ size as well as size distribution.     

Investigation of the effect of varying growth pauses on the structural and optical properties of InAs/GaAs quantum dot heterostructures

Effect of growth pause or ripening time on structural and optical properties of self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dot (QD) heterostructures grown by solid state molecular beam epitaxy (MBE ) technique with two different growth rates of InAs (0.032 MLs⁻¹ and 0.197 MLs⁻¹) has been investigated. The QD heterostructures were grown at 520 ^°C with InAs monolayer coverage of 2.7 ML. The results were explained on the basis of high angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscope (HAADF-STEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and photoluminescence (PL) measurements. Introduction of growth pause leads the QD system towards a thermodynamic equilibrium state which in turn makes interesting changes on the morphology of the samples. Coagulation of some smaller dots occurs because of ripening to produce evolved QDs and the dot density reduces with growth pause.     

GaN/AlN半导体异质结带阶超原胞法计算

为了对GaN/AlN异质结电子结构有更为深入的认识,采用超原胞模型,对其进行了基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理计算.结果发现GaN/AlN为突变同型异质结,价带顶带阶为0.62eV,与实验值很接近.通过使用常用的平均键能法、平均势法和芯态法三种近似方法对GaN/AlN带阶的计算,比较得出,超原胞法虽然计算量较大,但能够给出异质结界面附近更为详细的信息,这一点其他三种近似方法无法得到,但他们也能够得出与实验值基本一致的带阶参量.     

Wetting layer and size effects on the nonlinear optical properties of semi oblate and prolate Si0.7Ge0.3/Si quantum dots

Semi oblate and semi prolate are among the most probable self-organized nanostructures shapes. The optoelectronic properties of such nanostructures are not just manipulated with the height and lateral size but also with the wetting layer element. The practical interest of derivatives of germanium and silicon has a great important role in optoelectronic devices. This study is a contribution to the analysis of linear and nonlinear optical properties of Si_0.7Ge_0.3/Si. In the framework of the effective mass approximation, we solve numerically the Schrödinger equation relative to one particle confined in Si_0.7Ge_0.3/Si semi prolate and semi oblate quantum dots by using the finite element method and by taking into consideration the effect of the wetting layer. The energy spectrum of the lowest states and the dipolar matrix for the fourth allowed transitions are determined and discussed. We also calculate the detailed optical properties, including absorption coefficients, refractive index changes, second and third harmonic generation as a function of the quantum dot sizes. We found that with the change in the size of prolate and oblate quantum dots, there is a shift in the resonance peaks for the absorption coefficient and refractive index. It is due to the modification in the energy levels with changing size. The study proves a redshift in the second harmonic generation and third harmonic generation coefficients with an increase in the height/radius of the oblate/prolate quantum dot, respectively. We also demonstrated the variation of wavefunction inside the quantum dot with the change in wetting layer thickness.     

Effects of GaN cap layer thickness on an AlN/GaN heterostructure

In this study, we investigate the effects of GaN cap layer thickness on the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) electron density and 2DEG electron mobility of AlN/GaN heterostructures by using the temperature-dependent Hall measurement and theoretical fitting method. The results of our analysis clearly indicate that the GaN cap layer thickness of an AlN/GaN heterostructure has influences on the 2DEG electron density and the electron mobility. For the AlN/GaN heterostructures with a 3-nm AlN barrier layer, the optimized thickness of the GaN cap layer is around 4 nm and the strained a-axis lattice constant of the AlN barrier layer is less than that of GaN.     

Influence of applied electric field on the absorption coefficient and subband distances in asymmetrical AlN/GaN coupled double quantum wells

The influence of applied electric fields on the absorption coefficient and subband distances in asymmetrical AlN/GaN coupled double quantum wells (CDQWs) has been investigated by solving Schr?dinger and Poisson equations self-consistently. It is found that the absorption coefficient of the intersubband transition (ISBT) between the ground state and the third excited state (1_odd-2_even) can be equal to zero when the electric fields are applied in asymmetrical AlN/GaN CDQWs, which is related to applied electric fields induced symmetry recovery of these states. Meanwhile, the energy distances between 1_odd-2_even and 1_even-2_even subbands have different relationships from each other with the increase of applied electric fields due to the different polarization-induced potential drops between the left and the right wells. The results indicate that an electrical-optical modulator operated within the opto-communication wavelength range can be realized in spite of the strong polarization-induced electric fields in asymmetrical AlN/GaN CDQWs.     

高温AlN插入层对AlGaN/GaN异质结材料和HEMTs器件电学特性的影响

研究了在GaN缓冲层中插入40 nm厚高温AlN层的GaN外延层和AlGaN/GaN异质结材料, AlN插入层可以增加GaN层的面内压应力并提高AlGaN/GaN高电子迁移率晶体管（HEMTs）的电学特性. 在精确测量布拉格衍射角的基础上定量计算了压应力的大小. 增加的压应力一方面通过增强GaN层的压电极化电场, 提高了AlGaN/GaN异质结二维电子气（2DEG）面密度, 另一方面使AlGaN势垒层对2DEG面密度产生的两方面影响相互抵消. 同时, 这种AlN插入层的采用降低了GaN与AlGaN层之间的 关键词： 高温AlN插入层 AlGaN/GaN异质结 二维电子气 应力     

Epitaxial evolution on buried cracks in a strain-controlled AlN/GaN superlattice interlayer between AlGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells and a GaN template

Epitaxial evolution of buried cracks in a strain-controlled AlN/GaN superlattice interlayer(IL) grown on GaN template, resulting in crack-free AlGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells(MQW), was investigated. The processes of filling the buried cracks include crack formation in the IL, coalescence from both side walls of the crack, build-up of an MQW-layer hump above the cracks, lateral expansion and merging with the surrounding MQW, and two-dimensional step flow growth.It was confirmed that the filling content in the buried cracks is pure GaN, originating from the deposition of the GaN thin layer directly after the IL. Migration of Ga adatoms into the cracks plays a key role in the filling the buried cracks.     

Effects of donor density and temperature on electron systems in AlGaN/AlN/GaN and AlGaN/GaN structures

It was reported by Shen et al that the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in an AlGaN/AlN/GaN structure showed high density and improved mobility compared with an AlGaN/GaN structure, but the potential of the AlGaN/AlN/GaN structure needs further exploration. By the self-consistent solving of one-dimensional Schr\"{o}dinger--Poisson equations, theoretical investigation is carried out about the effects of donor density (0--1\times 10¹⁹cm^-3 and temperature (50--500K) on the electron systems in the AlGaN/AlN/GaN and AlGaN/GaN structures. It is found that in the former structure, since the effective \Delta E_c is larger, the efficiency with which the 2DEG absorbs the electrons originating from donor ionization is higher, the resistance to parallel conduction is stronger, and the deterioration of 2DEG mobility is slower as the donor density rises. When temperature rises, the three-dimensional properties of the whole electron system become prominent for both of the structures, but the stability of 2DEG is higher in the former structure, which is also ascribed to the larger effective \Delta E_c. The Capacitance--Voltage (C-V) carrier density profiles at different temperatures are measured for two Schottky diodes on the considered heterostructure samples separately, showing obviously different 2DEG densities. And the temperature-dependent tendency of the experimental curves agrees well with our calculations.