Background story of the invention of efficient blue InGaN light emitting diodes (Nobel Lecture)

Shuji Nakamura discovered p‐type doping in Gallium Nitride (GaN) and developed blue, green, and white InGaN based light emitting diodes (LEDs) and blue laser diodes (LDs). His inventions made possible energy efficient, solid‐state lighting systems and enabled the next generation of optical storage. Together with Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano, he is one of the three recipients of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics. In his Nobel lecture, Shuji Nakamura gives an overview of this research and the story of his inventions *** .

     

Fascinating journeys into blue light (Nobel Lecture)

Isamu Akasaki is known for inventing the bright gallium nitride (GaN) p‐n junction blue LED in 1989 and subsequently the high‐brightness GaN blue LED. Together with Shuji Nakamura and Hiroshi Amano, he is one of the three recipients of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics. In his Nobel Lecture, he describes the historical progress that led to the invention of the first p‐n junction blue/UV LED and related optical devices. ***

     

Spontaneous Ga incorporation in ZnO nanowires epitaxially grown on GaN substrate

Surface‐diffusion‐induced spontaneous Ga incorporation process is demonstrated in ZnO nanowires grown on GaN substrate. Crucially, contrasting distributions of Ga atoms in axial and radial directions are experimentally observed. Ga atoms uniformly distribute along the ～10 μm long ZnO nanowire and show a rapidly gradient distribution in the radial direction, which is attributed substantially to the difference between surface and volume diffusion. The understanding on the incorporation process can potentially modulate doping and properties in semiconductor nanomaterials.

     

P‐type tin‐oxide thin film transistors for blue‐light detection application

We reported the characteristics of p‐type tin‐oxide (SnO) thin film transistors (TFTs) upon illumination with visible light. Our p‐type TFT device using the SnO film as the active channel layer exhibits high sensitivity toward the blue‐light with a high light/dark read current ratio (I_light/I_dark) of 8.2 × 10³ at a very low driven voltage of <3 V. Since sensing of blue‐light radiation is very critical to our eyes, the proposed p‐type SnO TFTs with high sensitivity toward the blue‐light show great potential for future blue‐light detection applications.

     

Charge correlations in cobaltates La2–xSrx CoO4

We report on an elastic neutron scattering study of the charge correlations in La_2–xSr_x CoO₄ with x = 1/3, 0.4 and 0.5. We found that the checkerboard charge ordering correlations present in the x = 0.5 sample persist in the x = 0.4 and 1/3 materials. These checkerboard charge ordering correlations are robust and explain the occurrence of nano‐phase separation in layered cobaltates for Sr‐concentrations away from half‐doping. The half‐integer reflections then arise from the nanometer‐sized hole‐rich regions (blue areas in title figure) instead of the undoped ones (red areas in title figure). The appearance of nano‐phase separation is an important ingredient for understanding the formation of hour‐glass shaped magnetic excitation spectra in La_2–xSr_x CoO₄.

Nano‐phase separation in La_2–xSr_x CoO₄ (schematically). Red areas: undoped La₂CoO₄ islands, blue areas: checkerboard charge ordered regions; black, green and blue balls represent nonmagnetic Co³⁺ ions, magnetic Co²⁺ ions and oxygen ions, respectively; green arrows indicate Co²⁺ spins [1, 2].     

Multi‐crystalline silicon solar cells with metal‐assisted nano‐texturing using HNO3 as hole injection agent

In this study, metal‐assisted etching (MAE) with nitric acid (HNO₃) as a hole injecting agent has been employed to texture multi‐crystalline silicon wafers. It was previously proven that addition of HNO₃ enabled control of surface texturing so as to form nano‐cone shaped structures rather than nanowires. The process parameters optimized for optically efficient texturing have been applied to multi‐crystalline wafers. Fabrication of p‐type Al:BSF cells have been carried out on textured samples with thermal SiO₂/PECVD‐SiN_x stack passivation and screen printed metallization. Firing process has been optimized in order to obtain the best contact formation. Finally, j_sc enhancement of 0.9 mA/cm² and 0.6% absolute increase in the efficiency have been achieved. This proves that the optimized MAE texture process can be successfully used in multi‐crystalline wafer texturing with standard passivation methods.

J –V curves and SEM images of the nano and iso‐textured samples. j_sc enhancement of 0.9 mA/cm² together with 0.6% absolute efficiency gain was observed on nano‐textured samples.     

Graphene screen‐printed radio‐frequency identification devices on flexible substrates

Despite the great promise of printed flexible electronics from 2D crystals, and especially graphene, few scalable applications have been reported so far that can be termed roll‐to‐roll compatible. Here we combine screen printed graphene with photonic annealing to realize radio‐frequency identification devices with a reading range of up to 4 meters. Most notably our approach leads to fatigue resistant devices showing less than 1% deterioration of electrical properties after 1000 bending cycles. The bending fatigue resistance demonstrated on a variety of technologically relevant plastic and paper substrates renders the material highly suitable for various printable wearable devices, where repeatable dynamic bending stress is expected during usage. All applied printing and post‐processing methods are compatible with roll‐to‐roll manufacturing and temperature sensitive flexible substrates providing a platform for the scalable manufacturing of mechanically stable and environmentally friendly graphene printed electronics.

     

Orientations of ZnO grown on GaN

On semipolar epitaxial ZnO grown by chemical vapor deposition consists of two distinct orientations as evidenced by transmission electron microscopy and X‐ray diffraction. The initially grown ZnO on GaN follows the GaN lattice with the epitaxial relationship of // and The other oriented ZnO domains then grow on faceted with and with good coherency with the ‐oriented grains. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

High‐mobility pentacene OTFT with TaLaO gate dielectric passivated by fluorine plasma

Pentacene thin‐film transistor with high‐κ TaLaO as gate dielectric has been fabricated and shows a carrier mobility of 0.73 cm²/V s, much higher than that based on pure La₂O₃ (0.43 cm²/V s) due to the smoother surface of the TaLaO film and thus larger pentacene islands grown on it in the initial stage. Moreover, among various times for fluorine‐plasma treatment on the TaLaO gate dielectric, 100 seconds result in the highest carrier mobility of 1.12 cm²/V s due to (1) smoothest oxide surface achieved by fluorine passivation of oxide traps, as measured by AFM and supported by smallest sub‐threshold swing and lowest low‐frequency noise; (2) the largest pentacene grains grown on the smoothest oxide surface, as demonstrated by AFM.

     

Spectral dependence of light extraction efficiency of high‐power III‐nitride light‐emitting diodes

Using the recently suggested method of processing the data on external quantum efficiency as a function of output optical power, we have estimated the dependence of light extraction efficiency of high‐power light‐emitting diodes (LEDs) on their emission wavelength varied between 425 nm and 540 nm. The extraction efficiency is found to increase with the wavelength from ～80% to ～85% in this spectral range and to correlate with the wavelength dependence of reflectivity of the large‐area p‐electrode being the essential unit of the LED chip design. The correlation found identifies the incomplete reflection of emitted light from the electrode as the major mechanism eventually controlling the spectral dependence of the efficiency of light extraction from the LEDs.

     

Biography of Nobel laureate Shuji Nakamura

Shuji Nakamura discovered p‐type doping in Gallium Nitride (GaN) and developed blue, green, and white “InGaN‐based” light emitting diodes (LEDs) and blue laser diodes (LDs). His inventions made possible energy efficient, solid‐state lighting systems and enabled the next generation of optical storage. In this biography, Shuji Nakamura tells the story of his personal life and his scientific career.

     

High‐perfomance Ce‐doped multicomponent garnet single crystalline film scintillators

We report for the first time the optimized content and excellent scintillation properties of single crystalline film (SCF) scintillators of multicomponent Gd_3–xLu_x Al_5–yGa_y O₁₂:Ce garnet compounds grown by liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) method. The Gd_1.5Lu_1.5Al_2.75Ga_2.25O₁₂:Ce and Gd₃Al_2.75–2Ga_2.25–3O₁₂:Ce SCF show the light yield (LY) comparable with that of high‐quality bulk crystal analogues of these garnets but faster scintillation decay and very low thermoluminescence in the above room temperature range. To our knowledge, these SCF possess the highest LY values ever obtained in LPE grown garnet SCF scintillators exceeding by at least 1.5–1.6 times the values previously reported for SCF scintillators.

     

Sulfur impregnation of multi‐walled carbon nanotubes via SF6/NH3 plasma exposure

Plasma treatments are established methods to functionalise carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and modify their surface structure. This paper presents a mild glow‐discharge plasma treatment of aligned arrays of multi‐walled carbon nanotubes employing sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆), ammonia (NH₃), and their mixtures as process gases. For the latter, sulfur was detected at the tip and sidewalls of the nanotubes via energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, while electron microscopy served as method to verify the structural integrity of the CNTs after the plasma treatment. This approach provides the basis for an easy and quick alternative to existing sulfur functionalisation methods of MWCNTs. Furthermore, the proposed method can conveniently be applied to carbon nanotube arrays on substrate while preserving their structure and alignment.

SEM‐EDX map of SF₆/NH₃ plasma‐treated multi‐walled carbon nanotubes on substrate. Green, yellow and red correspond to silicon, carbon and sulfur signals, respectively.     

Localized states emission in type‐I GaAsSb/AlGaAs multiple quantum wells grown by molecular beam epitaxy

As an important candidate for novel infrared semiconductor lasers, the optical properties of GaAsSb‐based multiple quantum wells (MQWs) are crucial. The temperature‐ and excitation power‐dependent photoluminescence (PL) spectra of the GaAs_0.92Sb_0.08/Al_0.2Ga_0.8As MQWs, which were grown by molecular beam epitaxy, were investigated and are detailed in this work. Two competitive peaks were observed from 40 K to 90 K. The peak located at the low‐energy shoulder was confirmed to be localized states emission (LE) and the high‐energy side peak was confirmed to be free‐carrier emission by its temperature‐dependent emission peak position. It is observed that the LE peak exhibited a blueshift with the increase of laser excitation power, which can be ascribed to the band filling effect of localized states. Our studies have great significance for application of GaAsSb‐based MQWs in infrared semiconductor lasers.

     

Observation of negative refraction in the graphene/ferrite composite

An observation of negative refraction in the naturally obtained composition of graphene and barium ferrite is reported. The capacitance and inductance measurements revealed the electric and magnetic resonances accompanied with the negative values of permittivity and permeability in the overlapped frequency range. According to the “left‐handed” media approach such a material is characterized by negative refraction. The derived values of the real part of refractive index are negative at the frequencies above 500 MHz.

     

Towards a metallic quasi‐d9 system without copper: AgO at high pressure

AgO is a prototypical mixed‐valence compound, with markedly different coordination environment of dumbbell Ag(1+) and low‐spin square‐planar Ag(3+) which render it a narrow band gap semiconductor. The hybrid HSE06 functional reproduces fairly well the band gap of its P 2₁/c form at ambient conditions (ΔE_exp = 1.0–1.1 eV, ΔE_theor = 0.94 eV) and suggest progressive band gap decrease with external pressure with metallization at 50 GPa via band overlap. Dynamic (phonon) instability appears at the onset of metallization leading to a structural phase transition to a more stable but still metallic $$P\stackrel{?}{1}$$ form. The density of electronic states at the Fermi level of the $$P\stackrel{?}{1}$$ polymorph is small and a pseudo‐gap at the Fermi level is preserved.

Illustration of the predicted P2₁/c → $$P\stackrel{?}{1}$$ transformation.     

The effect of annealing ambient on carrier recombination in boron implanted silicon

The selection of either an oxidising or inert ambient during high temperature annealing is shown to affect dopant activation and electron–hole recombination in boron implanted silicon samples. Samples implanted with B at fluence between 3 × 10¹⁴ cm^–2 to 3 × 10¹⁵ cm^–2 are shown to have lower dopant activation after oxidation at 1000 °C compared to an equivalent anneal in an inert ambient. In addition, emitter recombination is shown to be up to 15 times higher after oxidation compared with an inert anneal for samples with equivalent passivation from deposited Al₂O₃ films. The observed increase in recombination for oxidised samples is attributed to the enhanced formation of boron‐interstitial defect clusters and dislocation loops under oxidising conditions. It is also shown that an inert anneal for 10 minutes at 1000 °C prior to oxidation has no significant impact on sheet resistance or recombination compared with a standard oxidation process.

     

High‐mobility solution‐processed zinc oxide thin films on silicon nitride

A high effective electron mobility of 33 cm² V^–1 s^–1 was achieved in solution‐processed undoped zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films. The introduction of silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) as growth substrate resulted in a mobility improvement by a factor of 2.5 with respect to the commonly used silicon oxide (SiO₂). The solution‐processed ZnO thin films grown on Si₃N₄, prepared by low‐pressure chemical vapor deposition, revealed bigger grain sizes, lower strain and better crystalline quality in comparison to the films grown on thermal SiO₂. These results show that the nucleation and growth mechanisms of solution‐processed films are substrate dependent and affect the final film structure accordingly. The substantial difference in electron mobilities suggests that, in addition to the grain morphology and crystalline structure effects, defect chemistry is a contributing factor that also depends on the particular substrate. In this respect, interface trap densities measured in high‐κ HfO₂/ZnO MOSCAPs were about ten times lower in those fabricated on Si₃N₄ substrates. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

     

Effects of Y incorporation in TaON gate dielectric on electrical performance of GaAs metal–oxide–semiconductor capacitor

In this study, GaAs metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) capacitors using Y‐incorporated TaON as gate dielectric have been investigated. Experimental results show that the sample with a Y/(Y + Ta) atomic ratio of 27.6% exhibits the best device characteristics: high k value (22.9), low interfacestate density (9.0 × 10¹¹ cm^–2 eV^–1), small flatband voltage (1.05 V), small frequency dispersion and low gate leakage current (1.3 × 10^–5A/cm² at V_fb + 1 V). These merits should be attributed to the complementary properties of Y₂O₃ and Ta₂O₅:Y can effectively passivate the large amount of oxygen vacancies in Ta₂O₅, while the positively‐charged oxygen vacancies in Ta₂O₅ are capable of neutralizing the effects of the negative oxide charges in Y₂O₃. This work demonstrates that an appropriate doping of Y content in TaON gate dielectric can effectively improve the electrical performance for GaAs MOS devices.

Capacitance–voltage characteristic of the GaAs MOS capacitor with TaYON gate dielectric (Y content = 27.6%) proposed in this work with the cross sectional structure and dielectric surface morphology as insets.     

Numerical modeling of photovoltaic efficiency of n‐type GaN nanowires on p‐type Si heterojunction

In this Letter, we investigate the photovoltaic properties of heterojunction solar cells based on n‐GaN nanowire (NW)/ p‐Si substrate heterostructures by means of numerical modeling. Antireflection properties of the NW array on the top of Si substrate were studied theoretically to show an order of magnitude enhancement in antireflection properties in comparison to the pure Si surface (2.5% vs. 33.8%). In order to determine the optimal morphology and doping levels of the structure with maximum possible efficiency we simulated its properties. The carried out simulation showed that the maximum efficiency should be more than 20% under AM1.5D illumination. The proposed design opens new perspectives and opportunities in the field of heterojunction tandem solar cell researches.