Native Point Defects and Nonstoichiometry in GaAs (II) Mechanism of Formation and Degradation of Semiinsulating Properties of Undoped Gallium Arsenide Crystals

The nature of the main electron trap, EL2, in undoped semiinsulating GaAs crystals have been studied both qualitatively and quantitatively. It has been shown that point defects which, most probably, are responsible for the EL2 level are antisite As_Ga defects or (As_i V_Gs) complexes which are indistinguishable from the thermodynamic standpoint. The enthalpy and entropy of As_Ga formation according to the reaction As_As + V_Ga ⇄ As_Ga + V_As are equal to 0.5 eV and −7k, respectively.     

Antistructure disorder and its relation to dislocations in III–V semiconductors

Intimate relationship between antistructure defects and dislocations occurs in GaAs which manifests itself as: (i) appearing of spatial correlation between grown-in dislocations and the EL2 defects (component of the latter are As_Ga antisites), (ii) similar suppression of the concentration of EL2 and dislocation density due to the doping with donor impurities, (iii) generation of As_Ga antisites during the plastic deformation of a crystal. Al these effects can be understood in terms of the dislocation-mediated generation of As_Ga antisites via absorption of As_i interstitials at dislocation jogs. Large anion (cation) precipitates appearing at dislocations are pointed out to be important for both antisite and dislocation generation under certain conditions.     

Structural and electrical properties of quantum wells with nanoscale InAs inserts in InyAl1 ? yAs/InxGa1 ? xAs heterostructures on InP substrates

A complex study of the effect ofintroduction of nanoscale InAs inserts of different thicknesses into an In_0.53Ga_0.47As quantum well on the electrical properties and structural features of In_0.50Al_0.50As/In_0.53Ga_0.47As/In_0.50Al_0.50As nanoheterostructures with bilateral δ-Si doping grown on InP substrates has been performed. The layers of nanoheterostructures with a weak lattice mismatch are found to be equally (cube-on-cube) oriented. The introduction of a nanoscale InAs insert leads to an increase in mobility. At an insert thickness of about 1.8 nm, the effect of increasing mobility is saturated due to structural deterioration. The segregation of the second (apparently, wurtzite) phase is revealed; this process, as well as the formation of other defects in the nanoheterostructure layers, is due to local strains caused by variations of the indium content in the layers.     

Electrical and structural characteristics of metamorphic In0.38Al0.62As/In0.37Ga0.63As/In0.38Al0.62As HEMT nanoheterostructures

The influence of the metamorphic buffer design and epitaxial growth conditions on the electrical and structural characteristics of metamorphic In_0.38Al_0.62As/In_0.37Ga_0.63As/In_0.38Al_0.62As high electron mobility transistor (MHEMT) nanoheterostructures has been investigated. The samples were grown on GaAs(100) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. The active regions of the nanoheterostructures are identical, while the metamorphic buffer In _x Al_{1 ? x} As is formed with a linear or stepwise (by Δ _x = 0.05) increase in the indium content over depth. It is found that MHEMT nanoheterostructures with a step metamorphic buffer have fewer defects and possess higher values of two-dimensional electron gas mobility at T = 77 K. The structures of the active region and metamorphic buffer have been thoroughly studied by transmission electron microscopy. It is shown that the relaxation of metamorphic buffer in the heterostructures under consideration is accompanied by the formation of structural defects of the following types: dislocations, microtwins, stacking faults, and wurtzite phase inclusions several nanometers in size.     

The study of the influence of deep level defects on GaAs epilayer electrophysical parameters with electron beam and photoelectron paramagnetic resonance methods

Deep level point defects in the GaAs p⁺-p^ˆ−n^ˆ structures, grown by liquid-phase epitaxy, were investigated with electron-beam methods (electron-beam induced current and modulation method) and photo-EPR. It was shown that during the growing process the donor As_Ga antisite defects with levels ev + 0.52 eV and ec — 0,75 eV and acceptor defect with the level ev + 0.44 eV have appeared. The interconnection between the thickness of p^ˆ-layer, the concentration of deep levels defects, diffusion length of the minority carriers in the p° and n°-layers was found.     

High-quality GaMnAs films grown with arsenic dimers

We demonstrate that GaMnAs films grown with As₂ have excellent structural, electrical and magnetic properties comparable or better than similar films grown with As₄. Using As₂, a Curie temperature of 112 K has been achieved, which is slightly higher than the best reported to date. However, more significantly films showing metallic conduction have been obtained over a much wider range of Mn concentrations from 1.5% to 8% than has previously been reported for films grown with As₄. The improved properties of the films grown with As₂ are related to the lower concentration of antisite defects at the low growth temperatures employed.     

Growth optimization and characterization of lattice-matched Al0.82In0.18N optical confinement layer for edge emitting nitride laser diodes

We present the growth optimization and the doping by the metal organic chemical vapor deposition of lattice-matched Al_0.82In_0.18N bottom optical confinement layers for edge emitting laser diodes. Due to the increasing size and density of V-shaped defects in Al_1?xIn_xN with increasing thickness, we have designed an Al_1?xIn_xN/GaN multilayer structure by optimizing the growth and thickness of the GaN interlayer. The Al_1?xIn_xN and GaN interlayers in the multilayer structure were both doped using the same SiH₄ flow, while the Si levels in both layers were found to be significantly different by SIMS. The optimized 8×(Al_0.82In_0.18N/GaN=54/6 nm) multilayer structures grown on free-standing GaN substrates were characterized by high resolution X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, along with the in-situ measurements of stress evolution during growth. Finally, lasing was obtained from the UV (394 nm) to blue (436 nm) wavelengths, in electrically injected, edge-emitting, cleaved-facet laser diodes with 480 nm thick Si-doped Al_1?xIn_xN/GaN multilayers as bottom waveguide claddings.     

Spectral and conductivity features of novel ternary Tl1–xIn1–xSnxS2 crystals

Complex studies of novel Tl_1–xIn_1–xSn_xS₂ single crystalline alloys (x = 0.1; 0.2; 0.3; 0.4; 0.5) were performed. Here we present the study of the effect of the partial cation substitution of Sn ions by In ions on their optical absorption and photoconductivity characteristics. The dependences of optical and electric properties of the crystals of the crystalline solid solutions on temperature and composition are discussed within a framework of intrinsic defect states forming then fundamental absorption. The calculations of the charged defects responsible for the experimentally determined values of Δ₀ were done. Some increase of the concentration for charged defects with the sample temperature is probably related to the thermal ionization of some of the defects that were neutral at lower temperature. The results obtained will be analyzed within the framework of the intrinsic defect's model.     

Thermal-induced phase transition and assembly of hexagonal metastable In2O3 nanocrystals: A new approach to In2O3 functional materials

This paper reports on the thermal-induced performance of hexagonal metastable In₂O₃ nanocrystals involving in phase transition and assembly, with particular emphasis on the assembly for the preparation of functional materials. For In₂O₃ nanocrystals, the metastable phase was found to be thermally unstable and transform to cubic phase when temperature was higher than 600 °C, accompanied by assembly as well as evolution of optical properties, but the two polymorphs coexisted at the temperature ranging from 600 to 900 °C, during which the content of product phase and crystal size gradually increased upon increasing temperature. The assembly of In₂O₃ nanocrystals can be developed to fabricate In₂O₃ functional materials, such as various ceramic materials, or even desired nano- or micro-structures, by using metastable In₂O₃ nanocrystals as precursors or building blocks. The electrical resistivity of In₂O₃ conductive film fabricated by a hot-pressing route was as low as 3.72×10⁻³ Ω cm, close to that of In₂O₃ single crystal, which is important for In₂O₃ that is always used as conductive materials. The findings should be of importance for both the wide applications of In₂O₃ in optical and electronic devices and theoretical investigations on crystal structures.     

X-ray Topographic Assessment of Defects in Pure and Substituted Hexaferrite Crystals

Results of X-ray diffraction topography, in reflection and transmission scanning geometry, of flux grown single crystals of substituted and unsubstituted hexaferrites bearing composition SrGa_xIn_yFe_12-(x+y)O₁₉ (where x = 0, 5, 7, 9; y = 0, 0.8, 1.3, 1.0) are presented. Diffraction topographs reveal defects like misoriented grains, dislocations, cavities, inclusions, and the strain patterns in these crystals. The unsubstituted hexaferrites exhibit better perfection when compared to the substituted ones. The study is reported to support the results obtained by chemical etching and fractography, besides yielding additional information covering defects.     

X-Ray diffractometry of metamorphic nanoheterostructures

Elastic strains in active regions of metamorphic transistor nanoheterostructures In_0.7Al_0.3As/In_0.7Ga_0.3As/In_0.7Al_0.3As on GaAs substrates with a metamorphic buffer (MB) having different complex designs have been determined by X-ray diffractometry. The objects of study are linear-graded MBs with different thicknesses, including those with internal strain-balanced superlattices or internal inverse steps, and a step-graded MB. All MBs are completed with an inverse step. The experimental results are compared with model predictions for hypothetical linear-graded MBs with the same average compositional gradients as for the samples under study.     

Characterizing Plasma-exposed In0.52Al0.48As Surface Using Photoreflectance-, Raman-, and Photoluminescence Spectra Method

We have performed Photoreflectance (PR), Raman Scattering (RS), and Photoluminescence (PL) experiments to characterize the In_0.52Al_0.48As surface exposed to plasma by a gas mixture of CH₄/H₂/Ar, PR spectra indicate that RIE (plasma) causes defects such as nonradiative recombination centers, scattering centers, and defects leading to the decrease of signal intensity, broaden line width and red shift of the transitions by increasing the rf power. In the Raman scattering study, RIE causes defects against InAs-like and AlAs-like LO modes vibration. As the rf power increased, the maximum of two LO modes shifts towards lower frequency and the line shape becomes increasingly asymmetric. Also, the intensity degrades gradually by disorder and point defects with increasing rf power. The PL transition energies show a red-shift with increasing the rf power. In addition, the spectral feature broadens, and the intensity decreases with rf power higher than 200 w. The consistence of the PL, PR, and RS results indicate that these three methods can be used as sensitive probes to evaluate the near surface damage of the epilayer.     

Growth of height-controlled InGaN quantum dots on GaN

InGaN height-controlled quantum dots (HCQDs) were grown by alternately depositing In_0.4Ga_0.6N QD and In_0.1Ga_0.9N spacer layers on a seed In_0.4Ga_0.6N QD layer. Structural and optical studies showed that the height of the InGaN QDs was controlled by the deposition cycle of In_0.4Ga_0.6N/In_0.1Ga_0.9N layers. Photoluminescence studies showed that the In_0.4Ga_0.6N HCQDs provided deep potential wells and the piezoelectric field-induced quantum-confined Stark effect was negligibly small. These phenomena are attributed to variation in quantum confinement energy in the electronically coupled InGaN HCQDs providing deep potential wells.     

Low-Temperature epitaxial growth of InGaAs films on InP(100) and InP(411)<Emphasis Type="Italic">A</Emphasis> substrates

The structural and electrical characteristics of In_0.53Ga_0.47As epitaxial films, grown in the low-temperature mode on InP substrates with (100) and (411)A crystallographic orientations at flow ratios of As4 molecules and In and Ga atoms of γ = 29 and 90, have been comprehensively studied. The use of InP(411)A substrates is shown to increase the probability of forming two-dimensional defects (twins, stacking faults, dislocations, and grain boundaries), thus reducing the mobility of free electrons, and As_Ga point defects, which act as donors and increase the free-electron concentration. An increase in γ from 29 to 90 leads to transformation of single-crystal InGaAs films grown on (100) and (411)A substrates into polycrystalline ones.     

Thermoelectrical properties of In1‐xGaxAs and InAs crystals irradiated with fast electrons

The thermoelectric power in In_1‐xGa_xAs (x = 0,01;0,04) solid solutions and InAs crystals irradiated with fast electrons by the energy of 6 MeV and dose of 10¹⁶‐ 2 x 10¹⁷ el/cm^‐2 on the interval 80‐400 K have been investigated. It is revealed that in the all crystals the value of the thermoelectric power is decreased under irradiation that resulted from the growth of the free electron concentration to form radiation induced defects of the donor type. It has been determined that in the initial InAs after irradiation, the charge carriers scatter on optical phonons and in In_1‐xGa_xAs solid solutions they do on optical phonons and ionized impurities. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Advanced nanostructure Ti0.7In0.3O2 support enhances electron transfer to Pt: Used as high performance catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction

ABSTRACT

The slow rate of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the instability of Pt based catalysts are two of the most important issues which must be solved in order to make proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) a reality. Here, we present a new approach by exploring robust non-carbon Ti_0.7In_0.3O₂ used as a novel functionalised co-catalytic support for Pt. This approach is based on the novel nanostructure Ti_0.7In_0.3O₂ support with “electronic transfer mechanism” from Ti_0.7In_0.3O₂ to Pt that can modify surface electronic structure of Pt, owing to a shift in the d-band centre of the surface Pt atoms. The 20 wt% Pt/Ti_0.7In_0.3O₂ catalyst shows high activity than that of that of the commercial 20 wt% Pt/C (E-TEK). Our data suggest this enhancement is a result of both the electronic structure change of Pt upon its synergistic interaction with Ti_0.7In_0.3O₂ and the inherent structural and chemical stability and the corrosion-resistance of the Ti_0.7In_0.3O₂ in acidic and oxidative environments.     

Low-temperature Region of the In–Se System

A study of the low-temperature region of the In–Se system has been performed by means of isothermal annealing of diffusion couples as well as by X-ray, microscopic and microprobe analyses. Four binary compounds have been observed – In₄Se₃, InSe, In₆Se₇ and In₂Se₃. Original experimental results about the crystal structure and electrical conductivities of the binary compounds have been compared with available literature data or calculated values. A DSC study of the compound InSe has revealed that it melts peritecticly at about 618 °C. The diffusion controlled transition from one In-Se compound to another can be achieved without kinetic difficulties, following the phase arrangement from the equilibrium phase diagram. There are indications that small deviations from the exact stoichiometric ratios are possible.     

Effect of impurity (Te and Zn) incorporation in the density of defect states in thin films of Se90In10 and Se75In25 glassy alloys

In this paper we report the effect of Te and Zn incorporation on the density of defect states of two binary Se–In glassy systems. For this purpose, we have chosen here two well known Se₉₀In₁₀ and Se₇₅In₂₅ binary glassy alloys. Thin films of Se₉₀In₁₀, Se₇₅In₂₅, Se₇₅In₁₀Te₁₅ and Se₇₅In₁₀Zn₁₅ glassy alloys prepared by quenching method, were deposited on glass substrate using thermal evaporation technique. Current–voltage characteristics have been measured at various fixed temperatures in the thin films under study. Ohmic behavior was observed at low electric fields while at high electric fields current becomes superohmic. An analysis of the experimental data confirms the presence of space charge limited conduction in Se₉₀In₁₀, Se₇₅In₁₀Te₁₅ and Se₇₅In₁₀Zn₁₅ glassy alloys. It was found that the absence of space charge limited conduction in Se₇₅In₂₅ may be due to joule's heating at high fields. By applying the theory of space charge limited conduction, the density of defect states near Fermi level was calculated. The peculiar role of the additives (Te and Zn) in the pure binary Se₉₀In₁₀ and Se₇₅In₂₅ glassy alloys is also discussed in terms of electro-negativity difference between the elements involved.     

The electrical and structural properties of InyGa1 ? yAs/InxAl1 ? xAs/InP quantum wells with different InAs content

In _x Al_{1 − x} As/In _y Ga_{1 − y} As/In _x Al_{1 − x} As/InP HEMT structures has been investigated with a change in the InAs molar fraction both in the quantum well and the buffer layer. The electrical parameters of the samples are measured at different temperatures. The structural parameters of the layers and the characteristics of the interfaces between them are determined by double-crystal X-ray diffraction. An increase in the Hall mobility and electron concentration, as well as in the structural quality of the samples, is observed alongside an increase in the InAs molar fraction in the quantum well. It is established that high electron mobility is retained at small (to 5%) mismatches between the buffer layer and substrate.     

Electrophysical characteristics and structural parameters of metamorphic HEMT nanoheterostructures In0.7Al0.3As/In0.7Ga0.3As/In0.7Al0.3As containing superlattices with different numbers of periods in the metamorphic buffer

The results of studying the electrophysical characteristics and structural parameters of metamorphic In_0.7Al_0.3As/In_0.7Ga_0.3As/In_0.7Al_0.3As HEMT nanoheterostructures epitaxially grown on GaAs (100) substrates have been presented. A linear metamorphic buffer with inserted unbalanced superlattices characterized by different numbers of periods is used. Transmission electron microscopy has shown that an increase in the number of superlattice periods from 5 to 30 promotes the improvement of the crystal structure. In this case, the electrophysical parameters of metamorphic HEMT nanoheterostructures are also significantly improved.