Initial stages of MnAs/GaAs(0 0 1) epitaxy studied by RHEED azimuthal scans

We study the nucleation phase of molecular beam epitaxy of (hexagonal) MnAs on (cubic) GaAs (0 0 1) using reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) azimuthal scans. The nucleation proceeds from a non-reconstructed initial stage through randomly oriented small nuclei and two orientation stages to the final single-phase epitaxial orientation. The fascinatingly complex nucleation process contains elements of both Volmer-Weber and Stranski-Krastanov growth. The measurement demonstrates the potential of high-resolution RHEED techniques to assess details of the surface structure during epitaxy.     

Fundamental processes in Si/Si and Ge/Si epitaxy studied by scanning tunneling microscopy during growth

Experimental results on the epitaxy of Si and Ge on Si(0 0 1) and Si(1 1 1) surfaces, which are obtained by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) imaging during growth, are reviewed. Techniques for simultaneous epitaxial growth and STM measurements at high temperature are described. The ability to access the evolution of the growth morphology during growth down to the atomic level enables the study of the influence of surface reconstruction on the growth. The relatively complete characterization of the growth process facilitates comparison to theoretical models and allows the identification of fundamental growth processes. For instance, the observed transition between different growth modes can be explained by specific growth processes included in a model. The influence of strain on the growth morphology is reviewed for the case of heteroepitaxial growth of Ge on Si. With the method of combining STM imaging and epitaxial growth, the transition from two-dimensional to three-dimensional growth as well as the evolution of size and shape of three-dimensional islands can be studied.     

RHEED from stepped surfaces and its relation to RHEED intensity oscillations observed during MBE

Multiple scattering theory is used to calculate the intensities of reflection high energy electron diffraction from periodic arrays of surface steps. The intensities are found to depend strongly on the direction of the incident beam azimuth. When the incident beam azimuth is parallel to the step edges, both the specular and diffracted beam intensities are diminished with respect to the intensities from a flat surface. When the incident beam azimuth is perpendicular to the edges, the intensities of all the beams are of the same order of magnitude as for a flat surface but some of the peak heights are oscillatory functions of the number of atoms in the topmost layer. These peak intensity oscillations are very similar to the intensity oscillations observed during molecular beam epitaxial film growth.     

Abnormal lattice contraction of plutonium hydrides studied by first-principles calculations

Pu can be loaded with H forming complicated continuous solid solutions and compounds, and causing remarkable electronic and structural changes. Full potential linearized augmented plane wave methods combining with Hubbard parameter U and the spin-orbit effects are employed to investigate the electronic and structural properties of stoichiometric and non-stoichiometric face-centered cubic Pu hydrides (PuH_x, x=2, 2.25, 2.5, 2.75, 3). The decreasing trend with increasing x of the calculated lattice parameters is in reasonable agreement with the experimental findings. A comparative analysis of the electronic-structure results for a series of PuH_x compositions reveals that the lattice contraction is resulted from the associated effects of the enhanced chemical bonding and the size effects involving the interstitial atoms. We find that the size effects are the driving force for the abnormal lattice contraction.     

The abnormal lattice contraction of plutonium hydrides studied by first-principles calculations

Pu can be loaded with H forming complicated continuous solid solutions and compounds,and causing remarkable electronic and structural changes.Full potential linearized augmented plane wave methods combined with Hubbard parameter U and the spin-orbit effects are employed to investigate the electronic and structural properties of stoichiometric and non-stoichiometric face-centered cubic Pu hydrides(PuHx,x=2,2.25,2.5,2.75,3).The decreasing trend with increasing x of the calculated lattice parameters is in reasonable agreement with the experimental findings.A comparative analysis of the electronic-structure results for a series of PuH x compositions reveals that the lattice contraction results from the associated effects of the enhanced chemical bonding and the size effects involving the interstitial atoms.We find that the size effects are the driving force for the abnormal lattice contraction.     

Growth and characterization of rocksalt MnS/GaAs epilayers by hot-wall epitaxy

Epitaxial growth characteristics of α-MnS on GaAs(1 0 0) substrates have been investigated by X-ray diffraction and double crystal rocking curve measurements. Growth of stoichiometric α-MnS films has been performed by hot-wall epitaxy using Mn and ZnS as a source of sulfur. The films on GaAs(1 0 0) at low substrate temperature exhibit multiphase crystal structures of zincblende and rocksalt, and the main structure is changed to rocksalt with increasing substrate temperature. Photoluminescence spectrum of the α-MnS epilayer at 5 K exhibits broad emission bands, which are attributed to Mn²⁺ ions. The band gap energy of the α-MnS epilayer at room temperature was also estimated to be about 3.3 eV by reflection.     

Computer modeling of morphological evolution and RHEED intensity oscillations of thin-film growth by laser molecular beam epitaxy

The morphological evolution of the unit cell by unit cell layer growth of thin films by laser molecular beam epitaxy (laser MBE) is simulated by the Monte Carlo (MC) method. As a more realistic simulation, the effect of the surface terrace on reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) intensity oscillations is considered in our model. The calculation shows that the surface terrace effect has an obvious influence on the intensity oscillation shapes. Moreover, we consider the growth units impinging on the surface batch by batch rather than one by one. It is found that the surface morphologies are different, with different numbers of units impinging by a laser pulse on the surface. Furthermore, the surface roughness increases with a decrease in substrate temperature and with an increase in the unit impinging rate (which is determined by the energy of each laser pulse). The validity of the growth model is demonstrated by comparing our MC-simulated RHEED intensity oscillations with those observed in laser MBE experiments.     

Domain wall dynamics studied by impedanciometry

The knowledge of the basic phenomena governing the magnetoimpedance (skin-depth effect) allows the use of the impedance spectrum to study the dynamic magnetization processes in magnetic materials. By modeling the frequency dependence of the impedance spectrum, the corresponding permeability spectrum can be obtained, from which it is possible to obtain several important parameters concerning the dynamics of the domain walls, namely: domain wall critical speed, wall mobility, domain wall energy and thickness. In this work the technique is outlined and applied to (1 1 0)[0 0 1]FeSi_3%, a very well-known sharp textured magnetic material. The results compare favorably to those known from the literature.     

The Si(111)−(5 × 1) Au structure

By combining recent results from STM, LEEM, LEED and X-ray diffraction a structure model is developed for the (5 × 1) structure observed in the Au/Si(111) system at low coverages.     

The epitaxy of gold on (110) tungsten studied by leed

Growth of gold condensed on the (110) plane of tungsten has been studied using LEED and AES. Three ordered surface structures were observed when condensation takes place at or above 700 K, and no detectable order is seen below this temperature. Structure 1 is developed as the coverage approaches one monolayer and has gold atoms held in the W(110) array with a resultant 2% reduction in gold atom diameter. The second gold layer adopts the Au(111) structure with $\text{Au}\text{[1}\text{2}\text{1]}$ rotated by 2.5° from $\text{W}\text{[1}\text{1}\text{0]}$ and the first gold layer may also be constrained to adopt this structure. Deposition of more gold produces three dimensional crystallites with Au(111)∥W(110) which are double-positioned with their 121 directions parallel to the 121 directions of tungsten. Addition of half a monolayer of oxygen before condensation, completely prevents formation of structures 1 and 2. Instead, at coverages of 3 or more monolayers, three dimensional crystallites develop with Au(111) ∥ W(110) and $\text{Au}\text{[1}\text{2}\text{1] ∥}\text{W}\text{[1}\text{1}\text{0]}$. This behaviour is compared with the reported behaviour of copper and silver on W(110).     

Surface dynamics studied by time-dependent tunneling current

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) is not only an excellent tool for the study of static geometric structures and electronic structures of surfaces due to its high spatial and energy resolution, but also a powerful tool for the study of surface dynamic behaviors, including surface diffusion, molecular rotation, and surface chemical reactions. Because of the limitation of the scanning speed, the video-STM technique cannot study the fast dynamic processes. Alternatively, a time-dependent tunneling current, I-t curve, method is employed in the research of fast dynamic processes. Usually, this method can detect about 1000 times faster dynamic processes than the traditional video-STM method. When placing the STM tip over a certain interesting position on the sample surface, the changing of tunneling current induced by the surface dynamic phenomena can be recorded as a function of time. In this article, we review the applications of the time-dependent tunneling current method to the studies of surface dynamic phenomena in recent years, especially on surface diffusion, molecular rotation, molecular switching, and chemical reaction.     

Ab initio studies of copper hydrides under high pressure

The crystal structure, electronic structure, and superconductivity of copper hydrides at high pressure have been studied by ab initio calculation. Consistent with experimental report, results show that the predicted stoichiometry Cu₂H with the P-3m1 space group is stable above 16.8 GPa. The stoichiometry of CuH with the Fm-3m space group is predicted to be synthesized above 30 GPa, but it is metastable and dynamical instable up to 120 GPa. The electronic band calculations reveal that Cu₂H is a good metal at a stable pressure range, whereas CuH is an insulator. Moreover, the other hydrogenrich compounds CuH₂ and CuH₃ are thermodynamically and dynamically unstable, respectively. The calculated superconducting transition temperature (T _c) of Cu₂H at 40 GPa is 0.028 K by using the Allen-Dynes modified McMillan equation.     

Growth by molecular beam epitaxy of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors on Si-on-polySiC

We report on the growth by molecular beam epitaxy of AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) on Si(111)/ SiO₂/polySiC substrates. The structural, optical, and electrical properties of these films are studied and compared with those of heterostructures grown on thick Si(111) substrates. Field effect transistors have been realized, and they demonstrate the potentialities of III–V nitrides grown on these advanced substrates.     

Characterization of [ZnO]m[ZnMgO]n multiple quantum wells grown by molecular beam epitaxy

Thermal stability of single-crystalline [ZnO]_m[Zn_0.7Mg_0.3O]_n multiple quantum wells (MQWs) grown on a-plane sapphire substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy is reported. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that these MQWs were grown as designed with a fixed Zn_0.7Mg_0.3O barrier width of and a series of ZnO well widths of . Cathodoluminescence spectra from these MQWs consisted of two major peaks; one was the emission from the bound excitons in Zn_0.7Mg_0.3O barrier layers, and the other was that from the confined excitons in ZnO well layers. These structural and optical properties were found to be dramatically changed by the ex situ annealing treatments over 700 °C. These changes were presumably due to the onset of phase separation of the Zn_0.7Mg_0.3O barrier layers with pronounced Mg diffusion toward the ZnO wells.     

Ultrafast dynamics of BixSb1-x film studied by femtosecond pump-probe technique

The Bi_xSb_1-x film is an important phase change material. The ultrafast dynamics of Bi_xSb_1-x film is studied by the femtosecond pump-probe technique with an 80 fs pulsed laser. Experimental results show that the reflectivity change increases with the fluence of the pump laser. The fast increase of the reflectivity occurs between 100 and 800 fs. Subsequently, the slower recovery of the reflectivity on a time scale of 1.24-18.3 ps is detected. We also found that the reflectivity change can be greatly affected by the ratio between Bi and Sb composition in Bi_xSb_1-x materials with x = 0.2 and 0.88. These experimental results should be helpful for developing new devices with ultrafast dynamics of Bi_xSb_1-x film and ultrafast optical switching.     

Growth of LiNbO3 epitaxial films by oxygen radical-assisted laser molecular beam epitaxy

LiNbO₃ films were epitaxially grown on c-sapphire substrates using oxygen radical-assisted laser molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). X-ray diffraction-based structural analysis showed that the films were epitaxial. Triple-axis rocking curve measurements of the LiNbO₃ (0 0 0 6) reflection revealed that the film was highly c-oriented with an extremely narrow mosaic; the full width at half maximum of the LiNbO₃ (0 0 0 6) rocking curve was 0.0036°, comparable to the value of high-quality bulk crystals. The surface of the film was very smooth, with a surface roughness r.m.s. value, measured by atomic force microscope, of 0.4 nm for a film of thickness 15 nm. The chemical composition of the film measured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was stoichiometric within the accuracy of XPS measurement.     

High density gas state at water/graphite interface studied by molecular dynamics simulation

In this paper molecular dynamics simulations are performed to study the accumulation behaviour of N2 and H2 at water/graphite interface under ambient temperature and pressure. It finds that both N2 and H2 molecules can accumulate at the interface and form one of two states according to the ratio of gas molecules number to square of graphite surface from our simulation results： gas films （pancake-like） for a larger ratio and nanobubbles for a smaller ratio. In addition, we discuss the stabilities of nanobubbles at different environment temperatures. Surprisingly, it is found that the density of both kinds of gas states can be greatly increased, even comparable with that of the liquid N2 and liquid H2. The present results are expected to be helpful for the understanding of the stable existence of gas film （pancake-like） and nanobubbles.     

Growth of high-crystallinity uniform GaAs nanowire arrays by molecular beam epitaxy

The self-catalyzed growth of Ga As nanowires(NWs) on silicon(Si) is an effective way to achieve integration between group III–V elements and Si. High-crystallinity uniform Ga As NW arrays were grown by solid-source molecular beam epitaxy(MBE). In this paper, we describe systematic experiments which indicate that the substrate treatment is crucial to the highly crystalline and uniform growth of one-dimensional nanomaterials. The influence of natural oxidation time on the crystallinity and uniformity of Ga As NW arrays was investigated and is discussed in detail. The Ga As NW crystallinity and uniformity are maximized after 20 days of natural oxidation time. This work provides a new solution for producing high-crystallinity uniform III–V nanowire arrays on wafer-scale Si substrates. The highly crystalline uniform NW arrays are expected to be useful for NW-based optical interconnects and Si platform optoelectronic devices.