Electronic traps in mixed Si1−xGexO2 films

Thermally stimulated luminescence (TSL) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy were measured in plasma grown Si_1−xGe_xO₂ (x=0, 0.08, 0.15, 0.25, 0.5) with different thicknesses (12–40 nm). A comparison with the TSL properties of thermally grown SiO₂ and GeO₂ was also performed. A main IR absorption structure was detected, due to the superposition of the peaks related to the asymmetric O stretching modes of (i) Si–O–Si (at ≈1060 cm⁻¹) and (ii) Si–O–Ge (at 1001 cm⁻¹). Another peak at ≈860 cm⁻¹ was observed only for Ge concentrations, x>0.15, corresponding to the asymmetric O stretching mode in Ge–O–Ge bonds. A TSL peak was observed at 70°C, and a smaller structure at around 200°C. The 70°C peak was more intense in all Ge rich layers than in plasma grown SiO₂. Based on the thickness dependence of the signal intensity we propose that at Ge concentrations 0.25x0.5 TSL active defects are localised at interfacial regions (oxide/semiconductor, Ge poor/Ge rich internal interface, oxide external surface/atmosphere). Based on similarities between TSL glow curves in plasma grown Si_1−xGe_xO₂, thermally grown GeO₂ and SiO₂ we propose that oxygen vacancy related defects are trapping states in Si_1−xGe_xO₂ and GeO₂.     

Low-temperature growth of epitaxial layers of ZnSe1−xTex solid solutions

The layers of ZnSe_1−xTe_x (0 < x < 1.0) solid solutions have been grown by liquid-phase epitaxy in a closed tube at 620–680 °C. Zinc chloride served as a solvent. ZnTe and ZnSe crystals were used as sources and substrates with orienting surfaces (110) and (111) for ZnSe and (110) for ZnTe. The composition of the grown layer was specified by the relative content of the ZnSe and the ZnTe in the solution and was controlled by X-ray analysis. The position of the exciton bands in the photoluminescence spectra of ZnSe_1−xTe_x over the interval 0.3 < x < 1.0 is in agreement with the free exciton energies calculated for these compositions. Relatively low-ohmic (of about 10² Ω cm) epitaxial layers of ZnSe_1−xTe_x solid solutions were grown.     

XPS and electroluminescence studies on SrS1−xSex and ZnS1−xSex thin films deposited by atomic layer deposition technique

SrS_1−xSe_x and ZnS_1−xSe_x thin films were deposited by the atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique using elemental selenium as the Se source, thus avoiding use of H₂Se or organometallic selenium compounds. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that the films were solid solutions and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) data showed that the surface of both ZnS_1−xSe_x and SrS_1−xSe_x were covered with an oxide and carbon-containing contaminants from exposure to air. The oxidation of SrS_1−xSe_x extended into the film and peak shifts from sulfate were found on the surface. Luminance measurements showed that emission intensity of the ZnS_1−xSe_x:Mn alternating current thin film electroluminescent (ACTFEL) devices at fixed voltage was almost the same as that of the ZnS:Mn device, while emission intensity of the SrS_1−xSe_x:Ce devices decreased markedly as compared to the SrS:Ce device. Emission colors of the devices were altered only slightly due to selenium addition.     

Compositional dependence of the optical gap in Ge1−xSx, Ge40−xSbxS60 and (As2S3)x(Sb2S3)1−x non-crystalline systems

An attempt is made to calculate the compositional dependence of the optical gap (E_g) in Ge_1−xS_x, Ge_40−xSb_xS₆₀ and (As₂S₃)_x(Sb₂S₃)_1−x non-crystalline systems in an alloy-like approach. From the comparison of both the experimental dependence of E_g and the calculated ones using the Shimakawa relation [E_{g AB} = YE_{g A} + (1−Y)E_{g B}] it is assumed that this equation is useful for such systems or parts of the systems which behave like almost ideal solutions.     

Solubility of YBa2Cu3O7−δ and Nd1+xBa2−xCu3O7±δ in the BaO/CuO flux

The knowledge of the phase relations and solubilities in the Y–Ba–Cu–O and Nd–Ba–Cu–O systems are of fundamental importance for crystal growth and liquid-phase epitaxy of YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ (YBCO) and Nd_1+xBa_2−xCu₃O_7±δ (NdBCO). The determination of the solubility curve of YBCO and NdBCO in a BaO/CuO flux containing 31 mol% BaO was done by observation of the formation and dissolution of crystals on the surface of the high-temperature solution. The heat of the solution of YBCO at 1000°C was found to be 34.7 kcal/mol, and for NdBCO at 1060°C, it was found to be 28.1 kcal/mol. The determination of the solubility curves requires special care, and the problems of the time-dependent shift of the solution composition due to the corrosion of the crucible is discussed. The scatter of the solubility data published by different authors could be due to the use of solutions with different Ba : Cu ratios, different determination methods, i.e. different crystallization mechanisms, different crucibles and starting chemicals.     

Compositional control of CdxZn1−xSe grown by photoassisted organometallic vapor phase epitaxy

The photoassisted OMVPE growth technique is important for the fabrication of blue/green laser diodes based on Cd_xZn_1−xSe quantum wells. Low temperature growth with photoassistance is key to the fabrication of these devices, however, the compositional control of Cd_xZn_1−xSe becomes increasingly difficult as the growth temperature is reduced. We have studied the compositional control of Cd_xZn_1−xSe using the sources DMCd, DMZn, and DMSe, with irradiation from a Hg arc lamp. We studied the dependence of the composition on the growth temperature, irradiation intensity, and source mass flows. The composition x increases with increasing temperature and decreases with increasing irradiation intensity. The solid-phase composition is a non-linear function of the gas-phase composition X. The slope of this characteristic, dx/dX, should be minimized for good compositional control. At 475°C without photoassistance, dx/dX is 1.75 near a composition of 20%, as determined from the data of Parbrook et al. Decreasing the temperature increases dx/dX. At 370°C with 12 mW/cm², dx/dX ≈ 13 and at 350°C with 58 mW/cm² dx/dX ≈ 60. We have investigated this behavior at 370°C with 12 mW/cm² irradiation by studying both the composition and the growth rate as a function of the gas-phase composition. The growth rate is non-monotonic, and is minimum for a gas-phase composition of 0.20. The behavior is quite complex, and is not fully understood at the present time. Nonetheless, our results indicate that the Cd-bearing precursor is adsorbed much more strongly than the Zn-bearing precursor. In addition to this, the introduction of the DMCd strongly inhibits the growth of ZnSe. We have achieved sufficiently good compositional control at 370°C and 12 mW/cm² to grow ZnSe/Cd_xZn_1−xSe/ZnSe multiple quantum well structures. More work is necessary in order to clarify the roles of irradiation intensity and VI/II ratio so that good compositional control can be achieved at lower growth temperatures.     

Selective epitaxial growth of Si1−xGex by cold-wall ultrahigh vacuum chemical vapor deposition using disilane and germane

Selective epitaxial growth of Si_1−xGe_x alloys in a cold-wall-type ultrahigh vacuum chamber using pure disilane and pure germane was studied at a constant temperature 550°C. The germanium content in the grown layer was increased as the germane flow rate increased. In all cases, the germanium content in the solid is less than the germane content in the gaseous source. The growth rate was enhanced by germane addition. It is conceivable that the growth rate enhancement is due to increasing the germanium content in the solid. Selectivity was constant at high disilane flow rate and increased at low disilane flow rate by germane addition. Selective epitaxial growth of Si_1−xGe_x was successfully achieved with high growth rate.     

Peculiarities of liquid phase epitaxy in GaInPAs/InP lattice-matched heterostructures

The temperature phase stability of Ga_xIn_1−xP_yAs_1−y solid solution has been analyzed. A simple solution theory with the temperature-independent interaction parameters in solid and liquid phases has been used. The absence of miscibility gaps for all the compositions of the solid solution, lattice-matched to InP at a growth temperature of 640°C, has been demonstrated both theoretically and experimentally. The influence of the elastic deformations on the Ga_xIn_1−xP_yAs_1−y (λ_g = 1.4 μm) solid solution parameters has been observed assuming the model of the layer coherent conjugation in heterostructures.     

Photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy of GaP1−xNx alloys: conduction-band-edge formation by nitrogen incorporation

We have investigated the conduction-band-edge formation in GaP_1−xN_x alloys by nitrogen incorporation into GaP using photoluminescence excitation (PLE) spectroscopy. The PLE spectra of GaP_1−xN_x alloys with various nitrogen concentrations show that the absorption edge shifts to lower energies with increasing nitrogen concentration. From the nitrogen concentration dependence of the absorption edge energy we found that the conduction-band-edge formation in GaP_1−xN_x alloys originates from the formation of the A line.     

Phonon behavior and interfacial stress in the strained (InAs)m/(GaAs)n ultrathin superlattices

Phonon behavior in the strained (InAs)_m/(GaAs)_n ultrathin superlattices grown by molecular beam epitaxy has been investigated by means of Raman scattering spectroscopy. The phonon frequency in the GaAs layers shifts toward lower energy with increasing InAs layer thickness under fixed thickness of GaAs layers. The frequency in the InAs layers does not change significantly, as deduced from the behavior of the InAs-like mode in In_xGa_1−xAs alloys. These observed results are phenomenologically discussed on the basis of the combined effect of phonon confinement in the respective layer and stress at the alternating interfaces. Furthermore, a large softening of the phonon confined in the GaAs layers decreases the frequency gap, resulting in traveling of the optical phonons confined in both layers. The strain at the interfaces is estimated by an empirical method, i.e., by comparing the frequency in the superlattice and in the alloy of equivalent composition. In the In_xGa_1−xAs alloys, the composition dependence of the mode frequency is considered as being due to the local strain. The group III elements are considered to be in the local strain state from an extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) analysis.     

Photocurrent measurements on GaAs1−xNx epilayers grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

GaAs_1−xN_x epilayers were grown on a GaAs(0 0 1) substrate by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. Composition was determined by high resolution X-ray diffraction. Band gap was measured from 77 to 400 K by using photocurrent measurements. The photocurrent spectra show clear near-band-edge peak and their peak energies drastically decrease with increasing nitrogen composition due to band gap bowing in the GaAs_1−xN_x epilayers. Those red shifts were particularly notable for low nitrogen compositions. However, the shifts tended to saturate when the nitrogen composition become higher than 0.98%. When the nitrogen composition is in the range 1.68–3.11%, the measured temperature dependence of the energy band gap was nicely fitted. However, the properties for the nitrogen composition range 0.31–0.98% could not be fitted with a single fitting model. This result indicates that the bowing parameter reaches 25.39 eV for low nitrogen incorporation (x=0.31%), and decreases with increasing nitrogen composition.     

Atomic structure of Al55(Cr1−xMnx)15Si30 metallic glasses observed by neutron diffraction

An atomic structure of Al₅₅(Cr_1−xMn_x)₁₅Si₃₀ (x = 0, 0.49,1) metallic glasses was studied by neutron diffraction. An advantage of the neutron diffraction technique was fully exploited by utilizing the negative scattering length of Mn to form a neutron zero scattering ‘alloy’ for the component Cr_0.51Mn_0.49 in this quaternary Al---(Cr, Mn)---Si alloy. This allows the atomic distribution of the resulting quasibinary Al---Si metallic glass to be derived directly. Moreover, the (Al, Si)---TM (TM = Mn, Cr) and TM---TM pair correlations were also extracted by taking appropriate linear combinations of the atomic structures for the Al₅₅(Cr_1−xMn_x)₁₅Si₃₀ (x = 0, 0.49, 1) metallic glasses. A sharp first peak in the (Al,Si) ---TM pair correlations thus obtained led to the conclusion that a strong attractive interaction exists between (Al, Si) and TM atoms and, hence, that the presence of the TM atoms is responsible for the formation of an amorphous phase.     

Elastic properties of GexAsySe100−x−y glasses

The elastic properties of Ge_xAs_ySe_100−x−y (0x30; 10y40) glasses have been studied. The results were analyzed in terms of the dependence on the theoretical mean coordination number (mean number of covalent bonds per atom) m (m=2+(2x+y)×0.01). Three ranges of m (2.1m2.51, 2.51<m2.78, 2.78<m3) were revealed, where different dependencies of elastic moduli (Young’s modulus, shear modulus) and Poisson’s ratio of glasses on m were observed.     

Heavily carbon-doped p-type (In)GaAs grown by gas-source molecular beam epitaxy using diiodomethane

Heavily carbon-doped p-type In_xGa_1−xAs (0≤x<0.49) was successfully grown by gas-source molecular beam epitaxy using diiodomethane (CH₂I₂), triethylindium (TEIn), triethylgallium (TEGa) and AsH₃. Hole concentrations as high as 2.1×10²⁰ cm⁻³ were achieved in GaAs at an electrical activation efficiency of 100%. For In_xGa_1−xAs, both the hole and the atomic carbon concentrations gradually decreased as the InAs mole fraction, x, increased from 0.41 to 0.49. Hole concentrations of 5.1×10¹⁸ and 1.5×10¹⁹ cm⁻³ for x = 0.49 and x = 0.41, respectively, were obtained by a preliminary experiment. After post-growth annealing (500°C, 5 min under As₄ pressure), the hole concentration increased to 6.2×10¹⁸ cm⁻³ for x = 0.49, probably due to the activation of hydrogen-passivated carbon accepters.     

Thermodynamic analysis of the MOVPE growth of InxGa1−xN

A chemical equilibrium model is applied to the growth of the In_xGa_1−xN alloy grown by metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE). The equilibrium partial pressures and the phase diagram of deposition are calculated for the In_xGa_1−xN alloy. The vapor-solid distribution relationship is discussed in comparison with the experimental data reported in the literature. It is shown that the solid composition of the In_xGa_1−xN alloy grown by MOVPE is thermodynamically controlled and that the incorporation of group III elements into the solid phase deviates from a linear function of the input mole ratio of the group III metalorganic sources under the conditions of high mole fraction of decomposed NH₃ (high value of ), high temperature and low input V/III ratio. The origin of the deviation of the solid composition from the linear relation is also discussed.     

Electrical conductivities of mixed cation glasses

The electrical conductivities of (1−x) Li₂O · x BaO · 2 SiO₂, (1−x) Na₂O · x MgO ·2 SiO₂, (1−x) Na₂O · x CaO · SiO₂ and (1−x) Na₂O · x BaO · 2SiO₂ glasses were measured at temperature ranging from room temperature to 450°C. The transport numbers for Na⁺ ion in (1−x) Na₂O · x BaO · 2 SiO₂ glasses were measured. It was found that the alkali ion carried a significant part of the current in these glasses except one that had no alkali ions, and the conductivity decreased markedly as the alkali oxide was substituted by an alkaline earth oxide. The results of conductivity measurements combined with the data hitherto reported on mixed alkali glasses led to the proposal that the so-called mixed alkali effect could be explained on the basis of the independent path model in which it is assumed that cations can move only through vacant sites left by those of the same type.     

Characteristic crystal growth from amorphous WO3 film by vacuum heating

Selective growth of WO₂, W and WO_3−x crystals from amorphous WO₃ film by vacuum heating at 400–900°C was clarified. The grown WO_3−x crystals were incommensurate structure based on crystallographic share structure. The growth process of WO₂ crystal in the amorphous film was directly observed at high temperature in the electron microscope. The growth front of the WO₂ crystal consumes WO₃ microcrystallites with various orientations. The growth speed of the WO₂ depended on WO₃ microcrystallites orientation. The origin of the wavy growth front of WO₂ was due to an orientation dependence of the WO₃ microcrystallites.     

MBE growth of cubic AlyGa1−yN/GaN heterostructures—structural, vibrational and optical properties

Cubic Al_yGa_1−yN/GaN heterostructures on GaAs(0 0 1) substrates were grown by radio-frequency plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. High resolution X-ray diffraction, micro-Raman, spectroscopic ellipsometry, and cathodoluminescence measurements were used to characterize the structural, optical and vibrational properties of the Al_yGa_1−yN epilayers. The AlN mole fraction y of the alloy was varied between 0.07<y<0.20. X-ray diffraction reciprocal space maps demonstrate the good crystal quality of the cubic Al_yGa_1−yN films. The measured Raman shift of the phonon modes of the Al_yGa_1−yN alloy was in excellent agreement with theoretical calculations. Both SE and CL of the Al_yGa_1−yN epilayer showed a linear increase of the band gap with increasing Al-content.     

Cd1−xZnxTe: Growth and characterization of crystals for X-ray and gamma-ray detectors

The choice a suitable crystal growth method and a reasonable x value is of profound importance in the preparation of high quality Cd_1−xZn_xTe crystals for x-ray and gamma-ray detectors. The present paper reviews the evolution and development of Cd_1−xZn_xTe crystal growth for x-ray and gamma-ray detectors. At the same time, emphasis is put upon finding the relationship between the x value and the quality of the Cd_1−xZn_xTe. Three sets of Cd_1−xZn_xTe ingots with different x values, specifically 0.10, 0.15, and 0.20 were grown by the vertical Bridgman method (VBM) and characterized. Their x specification was then correlated with their dislocation densities, Te precipitates, inclusions, IR transmission, resistivities, and impurity concentrations, respectively. It was found that VBM Cd_0.85Zn_0.15Te as grown in this paper possessed the best choice of qualities with respect to defects and impurities.     

Impedance spectroscopy analysis of AlGaN/GaN HFET structures

For HFET application a series of samples with 30 nm Al_xGa_1−xN (x=0.02–0.4) layers deposited at 1040°C onto optimised 2 μm thick undoped GaN buffers were fabricated. The Al_xGa_1−xN/GaN heterostructures were grown on c-plane sapphire in an atmospheric pressure, single wafer, vertical flow MOVPE system. Electrical properties of the Al_xGa_1−xN/GaN heterostructures and thick undoped GaN layers were evaluated by impedance spectroscopy method performed in the range of 80 Hz–10 MHz with an HP 4192A impedance meter using a mercury probe. The carrier concentration distribution through the layer thickness and the sheet carrier concentration were evaluated. A non-destructive, characterisation technique for verification of device heterostucture quality from the measured C–V and G–V versus frequency characteristics of the heterostructure is proposed.