Energy band alignment of MgO (111)/ZnO (0002) heterojunction determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to measure the energy discontinuity in the MgO (111)/ZnO (0002) heterostructure. The valence band offset (VBO) was determined to be 1.22±0.23 eV and a type-I heterojunction with a conduction band offset (CBO) of 3.24±0.23 eV was obtained. The discrepancy of VBO values between MgO/ZnO and ZnO/MgO heterojunctions was mainly attributed to the internal electric field induced by spontaneous polarization effect in ZnO layer.     

Study of band offsets in InN/Ge heterojunctions

InN layers were directly grown on Ge substrate by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PAMBE). The valence band offset (VBO) of wurtzite InN/Ge heterojunction is determined by X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS). The valence band of Ge is found to be 0.18 ± 0.04 eV above that of InN and a type-II heterojunction with a conduction band offset (CBO) of ~ 0.16 eV is found. The accurate determination of the VBO and CBO is important for the design of InN/Ge based electronic devices.     

Valence band offset of ZnO/BaTiO3 heterojunction measured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy has been used to measure the valence band offset of the ZnO/BaTiO₃ heterojunction grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. The valence band offset (VBO) is determined to be 0.48±0.09 eV, and the conduction band offset (CBO) is deduced to be about 0.75 eV using the band gap of 3.1 eV for bulk BaTiO₃. It indicates that a type-II band alignment forms at the interface, in which the valence and conduction bands of ZnO are concomitantly higher than those of BaTiO₃. The accurate determination of VBO and CBO is important for use of semiconductor/ferroelectric heterojunction multifunctional devices.     

Band offsets of epitaxial Tm2O3 high-k dielectric films on Si substrates by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

Tm₂O₃ crystalline films have been deposited on Si (0 0 1) by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Band alignments of Tm₂O₃/Si gate stacks were studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). According to XPS measurements, it can be noted that a valence-band offset of ?3.1 ± 0.1 eV and a conduction-band offset of 2.3 ± 0.3 eV for the Tm₂O₃/Si heterojunction have been obtained. Based on analysis from O 1s energy-loss spectrum, the energy gap of Tm₂O₃ is determined to be 6.5 ± 0.3 eV. A relatively thicker interfacial SiO_x layer was observed for the as-annealed samples. However, no apparent change in band alignment has been observed for Tm₂O₃/Si heterojunction with the formation of interface layer, which has been discussed in detail.     

Valence and conduction band offset measurements in Ni0.07Zn0.93O/ZnO heterostructure

We report valence and conduction band offset measurements in a pulsed laser deposited Ni_0.07Zn_0.93O/ZnO heterostructure using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, valence band spectroscopy and ultraviolet visible spectroscopy. Neglecting the strain effect, the valence band offset was estimated to be 0.32 eV and the conduction band offset comes out to be −0.23 eV. Ratio between conduction band and valence band offset is 0.72. Core level shifting due to Ni doping has also been explained. Magnetotransport study of Ni_0.07Zn_0.93O film reveals that the charge carriers might be spin polarized at the interface of the heterojunction.     

Evolution of interface properties of the Pentacene/Bi(0001) system

Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy we measured the evolution of the electronic properties of the Pentacene (Pn)/Bi(0001) interface. From thickness dependent photoemission spectra of the substrate and Pn film we conclude that Pn growth is epitaxial. Pentacene highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) valence band features are identical for sub-monolayer (ML) as well as for thick films which suggests a thickness independent film morphology. The Pn/Bi interaction is weak and results in a lowering of the HOMO binding energy by 180 ± 5 meV and 80 ± 5 meV for the first and second MLs respectively. The interface dipole (ID) is fully developed over the first ～ 1.2 ML of Pn coverage and has a value of ID = 310 ± 10 meV. The hole injection barrier across the interface is Φ_h = 1.03 ± 0.01 eV.     

Influence of ultrasonication times on the tunable colour emission of ZnO nanophosphors for lighting applications

This paper reports on the sonochemical synthesis of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanophosphors (NPr) at different ultrasonication times (5 min, 30 min, 1 h, 5 h, 10 h and 15 h) for near white light emission applications. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicated that the O1s peak consists of two components. These were O1 (ZnO) and O2 (deficient oxygen; OH groups) centred at 529.7 ± 0.3 eV and 531.1 ± 0.3 eV, respectively. All samples showed UV and defect level emission (DLE). The DLE enhancement was due to the increase in oxygen related defects such as oxygen vacancies/interstitials. Due to the combination of near UV and DLE near white light emission in ZnO NPr was obtained. The emission could be tuned with different ultrasonic times. It was found that the ultrasonication time influenced the growth mechanism and luminescence properties of the ZnO NPr.     

Band alignment of Ga2O3/6H-SiC heterojunction

A high-quality Ga₂O₃ thin film is deposited on an SiC substrate to form a heterojunction structure. The band alignment of the Ga₂O₃/6H-SiC heterojunction is studied by using synchrotron radiation photoelectron spectroscopy. The energy band diagram of the Ga₂O₃/6H-SiC heterojunction is obtained by analysing the binding energies of Ga 3d and Si 2p at the surface and the interface of the heterojunction. The valence band offset is experimentally determined to be 2.8 eV and the conduction band offset is calculated to be 0.89 eV, which indicate a type-II band alignment. This provides useful guidance for the application of Ga₂O₃/6H-SiC electronic devices.     

Graphene on SiC(0001) and SiC(0001̅) surfaces grown via Ni-silicidation reactions

This paper presents the structure and electronic properties of graphene grown on 6H-SiC(0001) and SiC(0001?) surfaces via Ni-silicidation reactions at temperatures around 800 °C. Silicidation reactions take place at temperature higher than 400 °C for Ni(10 ML)/SiC and a single-phase θ-Ni₂Si(0001)-layer grows epitaxially on SiC(0001?) at 500 °C, whereas a mixed phase silicide-layer is formed on the SiC(0001) substrate. Annealing at 800 °C leads to growth of ordered graphite layers on both SiC(0001?) and SiC(0001) surfaces with an areal occupation ratio of ～ 65%, which surround the Ni-silicide islands. High-resolution ion scattering analysis reveals that single- and double-layer of graphite grow on the SiC(0001?) and SiC(0001), respectively. The dispersion curve of the π band for the double-layer graphite (DG) on the Si-face lies about 1 eV above that of the single-layer graphite (SG) on the C-face around the Γ-point. The work functions of the SG/SiC(0001?) and DG/SiC(0001) are derived to be 5.15 ± 0.05 and 4.25 ± 0.05 eV, respectively, which coincide well with the theoretical prediction based on the ab initio calculations. The present results indicate that the electronic states of graphene are influenced by the interaction with supports.     

Performance of mid-wave T2SL detectors with heterojunction barriers

A heterojunction T2SL barrier detector which effectively blocks majority carrier leakage over the pn-junction was designed and fabricated for the mid-wave infrared (MWIR) atmospheric transmission window. The layers in the barrier region comprised AlSb, GaSb and InAs, and the thicknesses were selected by using k · P-based energy band modeling to achieve maximum valence band offset, while maintaining close to zero conduction band discontinuity in a way similar to the work of Abdollahi Pour et al. [1] The barrier-structure has a 50% cutoff at 4.75 μm and 40% quantum efficiency and shows a dark current density of 6 × 10⁻⁶ A/cm² at −0.05 V bias and 120 K. This is one order of magnitude lower than for comparable T2SL-structures without the barrier. Further improvement of the (non-surface related) bulk dark current can be expected with optimized doping of the absorber and barrier, and by fine tuning of the barrier layer design. We discuss the effect of barrier doping on dark current based on simulations. A T2SL focal plane array with 320 × 256 pixels, 30 μm pitch and 90% fill factor was processed in house using a conventional homojunction p–i–n photodiode architecture and the ISC9705 readout circuit. High-quality imaging up to 110 K was demonstrated with the substrate fully removed.     

Correlation between sintering temperature and properties of ZnO ceramic varistors

The effect of sintering temperature on ZnO varistor properties is investigated in the range of 700–1400 °C. The increase of sintering temperature does not influence the well-known peaks related to hexagonal wurtzite structure of ZnO ceramics, whereas the average grain size is increased from (1.08 to 2.1 μm). With increasing sintering temperature up to 1200 °C, the nonlinear region is clearly observed in the I–V characteristics, whereas this region is completely absent only for the sample sintered at 1400 °C. As the sintering temperature increased, the breakdown field decreased over a wide range from 2838.7 to 6.41 V/cm, while the nonlinear coefficient is increased in the range of (23.86–47.76). Furthermore, the barrier height decreased from 1.76 to 0.974 eV, whereas electrical conductivity is improved. On the other hand, the optical band gap is gradually decreased in the range of 3.08–2.70 eV with increasing sintering temperature. These results showed a strong correlation between sintering temperature and the properties of ZnO ceramic varistor.     

Emission of Cu-related complexes in ZnO:Cu nanocrystals

Photoluminescence (PL), its temperature dependence, scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and X ray diffraction (XRD) have been applied for the comparative study of varying the emission, morphology and crystal structure of ZnO and ZnO:Cu nanocrystals (NCs) versus technological routines, as well as the dependence of ZnO:Cu NC parameters on the Cu concentration. A set of ZnO and ZnO Cu NCs was prepared by the electrochemical (anodization) method at a permanent voltage and different etching durations with follows thermal annealing at 400 °C for 2 h in ambient air. The size of ZnO NCs decreases from 300 nm×540 nm down to 200 nm×320 nm with etching duration increasing. XRD study has confirmed that thermal annealing stimulates the ZnO oxidation and crystallization with the formation of wurtzite ZnO crystal lattice. XRD method has been used for monitoring the lattice parameters and for confirming the Cu doping of ZnO Cu NCs. In ZnO Cu NCs four defect related PL bands are detected with the PL peaks at 1.95–2.00 eV (A), 2.15-2.23  eV (B), 2.43–2.50 eV (C) and 2.61–2.69 eV (D). Highest PL intensities of orange, yellow and green emissions have been obtained in ZnO Cu NCs with the Cu concentration of 2.28 at%. At Cu concentration increasing (≥2.28 at%) the PL intensities of the bands A, B, C decrease and the new PL band peaked at 2.61–2.69 eV at 10 K appears in the PL spectrum. The variation of PL intensities for all PL bands versus temperature has been studied and the corresponding activation energies of PL thermal decay have been estimated. The type of Cu-related complexes is discussed using the correlation between the PL spectrum transformation and the variation of XRD parameters in ZnO Cu NCs.     

Transparent CdO/n-GaN(0001) heterojunction for optoelectronic applications

Undoped CdO films were prepared by sol–gel method. Transparent heterojunction diodes were fabricated by depositing n-type CdO films on the n-type GaN (0001) substrate. Current–voltage (I–V) measurements of the device were evaluated, and the results indicated a non-ideal rectifying characteristic with I_F/I_R value as high as 1.17×10³ at 2 V, low leakage current of 4.88×10⁻⁶ A and a turn-on voltage of about 0.7 V. From the optical data, the optical band gaps for the CdO film and GaN were calculated to be 2.30 eV and 3.309 eV, respectively. It is evaluated that interband transition in the film is provided by the direct allowed transition. The n-GaN (0001)/CdO heterojunction device has an optical transmission of 50–70% from 500 nm to 800 nm wavelength range.     

Photoemission spectroscopy at MOVPE-prepared InGaAs(100) surface reconstructions

Angular resolved ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy at BESSY was employed to study the electronic structure of the three different, (4 × 3)-, (2 × 4)-, and (4 × 2)-surface reconstructions of In_0.53 Ga_0.47As, which was grown lattice-matched to InP(100). The surfaces have been prepared using metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE). For spectroscopy, a dedicated transfer system was employed and samples were transferred contamination-free from the MOVPE reactor to UHV-based analysis tools. For the different surface reconstructions, the Γ ? Δ ? X direction was scanned while varying the photon energy between 10 eV and 28 eV. We observed two surface states in the photoelectron spectra on all of these surface reconstructions in addition to the bulk derived valence band emissions. Different binding energies of the surface states originating from different surface band bending were detected and described.     

Temperature dependent capacitance and DLTS studies of Ni/n-type 6H-SiC Schottky diode

Ni/n-type 6H-SiC Schottky barrier diode (SBD) has been characterized by the capacitance–voltage (C–V) technique as a function of temperature (120–500 K). The barrier height (BH) was determined as 1.36 eV at the temperature of 300 K and frequency of 50 kHz from C–V measurements, respectively. The BH for the Ni/n-type 6H-SiC does not exhibit temperature dependence between 260 and 500 K, while it changes slightly with decreasing temperature between 120 and 240 K. Deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) has been used to investigate deep levels in Ni/n-type 6H-SiC SBD. The four electron trap centers to be present at temperatures 120, 200, 350 and 415 K have been realized. The origin of these defects has been decided to be intrinsic nature and it has been found the correlation between C–V and DLTS measurements quite interesting.     

Epitaxial ZnO thin films grown by pulsed electron beam deposition

In this work, the pulsed electron beam deposition method (PED) is evaluated by studying the properties of ZnO thin films grown on c-cut sapphire substrates. The film composition, structure and surface morphology were investigated by means of Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy. Optical absorption, resistivity and Hall effect measurements were performed in order to obtain the optical and electronic properties of the ZnO films. By a fine tuning of the deposition conditions, smooth, dense, stoichiometric and textured hexagonal ZnO films were epitaxially grown on (0001) sapphire at 700 °C with a 30° rotation of the ZnO basal plane with respect to the sapphire substrate. The average transmittance of the films reaches 90% in the visible range with an optical band gap of 3.28 eV. Electrical characterization reveals a high density of charge carrier of 3.4 × 10¹⁹ cm^?3 along with a mobility of 11.53 cm²/Vs. The electrical and optical properties are discussed and compared to ZnO thin films prepared by the similar and most well-known pulsed laser deposition method.     

XPS investigation of vacuum annealed vertically aligned ultralong ZnO nanowires

The surface properties of vertically aligned ZnO nanowires grown by chemical vapour deposition on GaN using a gold layer as a catalyst are investigated by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy as a function of annealing temperature in ultra high vacuum (UHV). The nanowires are 8.5 μm long and 60 nm wide. 87% of the surface carbon content was removed after annealing at 500 °C in UHV. Analysis of the gold intensity suggests diffusion into the nanowires after annealing at 600 °C. Annealing at 300 °C removes surface water contamination and induces a 0.2 eV upward band bending, indicating that adsorbed water molecules act as surface electron donors. The contaminants re-adsorbed after 10 days in UHV and the surface band bending caused by the water removal was reversed. The UHV experiment also affected the nanowires arrangement causing them to bunch together. These results have clear implications for gas sensing applications with ZnO NWs.     

Band offsets and properties ofSi1 − xGex/Si material systems

Following the upsurge in the study ofSi_1 − xGe_x /Si material systems for high-speed applications, we calculate the band offsets using reformulated tight-binding methods. The calculated value of 0.78 eV for the valence band offset (VBO) of pure substances is in excellent agreement with recent experimental measurements. The VBO for alloy interfaces is 0.78 x. We apply the VBO and conduction band offsets (CBO) to shift in photoluminescence and electron confinement in microstructures respectively. The calculated VBO is strongly dependent on the precursor flux ratio.     

Electrical and dielectric properties of β-BaB2O4 (BBO) and CsLiB6O10 (CLBO) crystals

In barium borate (BBO) crystals, sodium and potassium ions, inherited due to the preparation technique, are dominant charge carriers. The conductivity between layers is higher; the conductivity activation energy and the conductivity at 350 °C being equal to 1.01±0.05 eV and (1.3±0.2)×10⁻⁸ S/cm, respectively. The conductivity activation energy and the conductivity at 350 °C along the channels are equal to 1.13±0.05 eV and to (4±0.2)×10⁻⁹ S/cm, respectively. Relative static permittivity is almost isotropic, and equal to 7.65±0.05. Upon storing of cesium–lithium borate (CLBO) crystals, pre-heating to 600 °C eliminates the influence of surface humidity. At 500 K, the ionic conductivity ranges from 4×10⁻¹² to 2×10⁻¹⁰ S/cm; the conductivity activation energy ranges from 1.01 to 1.17 eV. Relative static permittivity is equal to 7.4±0.3.