Stabilization of bulk p-type and surface n-type carriers in Mg-doped InN {0001} films

The formation of p-type carriers in InN {0001} films by Mg doping is theoretically investigated by means of the highly precise thin film full-potential linearized augmented plane-wave method. The first-principles calculations simultaneously simulating both p-type and n-type carriers in the bulk and surface layers, respectively, demonstrate that the formation energies of a substitutional Mg atom in the surface region are lower than those in the bulk due to the compensation mechanism. The Mg is, however, stabilized in the bulk layers due to a large diffusion-barrier height, suggesting a possible mechanism for the stabilization of Mg in the bulk and the formation of p-type carriers.     

First-principles study of Sr adsorption on InN (0001)

Structures of Sr adsorbed on InN (0001) surfaces are theoretically investigated by first-principles calculations. The adsorption energies of Sr on InN (0001) decrease with decreasing Sr coverage. An InN (0001)-(2 ×2) surface structure covered by a 1/4 monolayer of Sr at the T₄ sites may be the most energetically favourable. Sr atoms may substitute indium atoms, or accumulate at the voids inside InN films. The interstitial Sr defects may act as a potential source of compensation for the p-type behaviour of Sr-doped InN at the surface.     

Role of impurities and dislocations for the unintentional n-type conductivity in InN

We present a study on the role of dislocations and impurities for the unintentional n-type conductivity in high-quality InN grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The dislocation densities and H profiles in films with free electron concentrations in the low and mid range are measured, and analyzed in a comparative manner. It is shown that dislocations alone could not account for the free electron behavior in the InN films. On the other hand, large concentrations of H sufficient to explain, but exceeding substantially, the observed free electron densities are found. Furthermore, enhanced concentrations of H are revealed at the film surfaces, resembling the free electron behavior with surface electron accumulation. The low-conductive film was found to contain C and it is suggested that C passivates the H donors or acts as an acceptor, producing compensated material in this case. Therefore, it is concluded that the unintentional impurities play an important role for the unintentional n-type conductivity in InN. We suggest a scenario of H incorporation in InN that may reconcile the previously reported observations for the different role of impurities and dislocations for the unintentional n-type conductivity in InN.     

Fabrication of high hole-carrier density p-type ZnO thin films by N-Al co-doping

In order to obtain p-type ZnO thin films, effect of atomic ratio of Zn:N:Al on the electronic and structural characteristic of ZnO thin films was investigated. Hall measurement indicated that with the increase of Al doping, conductive type of as-grown ZnO thin films changed from n-type to p-type and then to n-type again, reasons are discussed in details. Results of X-ray diffraction revealed that co-doped ZnO thin films have similar crystallization characteristic (0 0 2 preferential orientation) like that of un-doping. However, SEM measurement indicated that co-doped ZnO thin films have different surface morphology compared with un-doped ZnO thin films. p-type ZnO thin films with high hole concentration were obtained on glass (4.6 × 10¹⁸ cm⁻³) and n-type silicon (7.51 × 10¹⁹ cm⁻³), respectively.     

氮化铟p型掺杂的第一性原理研究

采用基于密度泛函理论(DFT)的总体能量平面波超软赝势法，对Mg，Zn，Cd掺杂InN的32原子超原胞体系进行了几何结构优化，从理论上给出了掺杂和非掺杂体系的晶体结构参数，其中非掺杂体系的理论值与实验值符合很好. 计算了掺杂InN晶体的结合能，总体态密度、集居数，差分电荷密度，并对此做了细致的分析. 计算结果表明，相对于Zn和Cd，Mg_In在InN中的溶解度会更大，并能提供更多的空穴态，非常有利于InN的p型掺杂. 关键词： 氮化铟 p型掺杂 电子结构 第一性原理     

Gate Tunable Supercurrent in Josephson Junctions Based on Bi_2Te_3 Topological Insulator Thin Films

We report transport measurements on Josephson junctions consisting of Bi_2Te_3 topological insulator(TI) thin films contacted by superconducting Nb electrodes.For a device with junction length L=134 nm,the critical supercurrent I_c can be modulated by an electrical gate which tunes the carrier type and density of the TI film.I_c can reach a minimum when the TI is near the charge neutrality regime with the Fermi energy lying close to the Dirac point of the surface state.In the p-type regime the Josephson current can be well described by a short ballistic junction model.In the n-type regime the junction is ballistic at 0.7 K T 3.8 K while for T 0.7 K the diffusive bulk modes emerge and contribute a larger I_c than the ballistic model.We attribute the lack of diffusive bulk modes in the p-type regime to the formation of p-n junctions.Our work provides new clues for search of Majorana zero mode in TI-based superconducting devices.     

Surface redox induced bipolar switching of transition metal oxide films examined by scanning probe microscopy

The bipolar resistive switching mechanisms of a p-type NiO film and n-type TiO₂ film were examined using local probe-based measurements. Scanning probe-based current–voltage (I–V) sweeps and surface potential/current maps obtained after the application of dc bias suggested that resistive switching is caused mainly by the surface redox reactions involving oxygen ions at the tip/oxide interface. This explanation can be applied generally to both p-type and n-type conducting resistive switching films. The contribution of oxygen migration to resistive switching was also observed indirectly, but only in the cases where the tip was in (quasi-) Ohmic contact with the oxide.     

Conversion of p-type to n-type conductivity in undoped ZnO films by increasing operating temperature

ZnO thin films with the thickness of about 15 nm on (0 0 0 1) sapphire substrates were prepared by pulsed laser deposition. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicated that both as-grown and post-annealed ZnO thin films were oxygen-rich. H₂ sensing measurements of the films indicated that the conductivity type of both the unannealed and annealed ZnO films converted from p-type to n-type in process of increasing the operating temperature. However, the two films showed different conversion temperatures. The origin of the p-type conductivity in the unannealed and annealed ZnO films should be attributed to oxygen related defects and zinc vacancies related defects, respectively. The conversion of the conductivity type was due to the annealing out of the correlated defects. Moreover, p-type ZnO films can work at lower temperature than n-type ZnO films without obvious sensitivity loss.     

Persistent photoconductivity in sulfur-diffused silicon

A large persistent photoconductivity effect is found in single-crystal p-type bulk silicon covered by an n-type surface layer produced by a sulfur diffusion. Recombination of carriers is precluded by their spatial separation in the n-p junction. The photogenerated holes exceed the relatively few remaining acceptor-introduced holes at our measurement temperature of 45 K, while the corresponding electrons are captured at the sulphur donors.     

Effect of substrates on the properties of p-type ZnO films

Influence of substrates on the properties of p-type ZnO films, which were fabricated by N–Al co-doping technique, was studied. Hall measurement results indicated that ZnO films deposited on common glass substrate were p-type conductivity when Zn:N:Al atomic ratio amounts to 1:3:0.1. However, ZnO films deposited on corning 7059 glass substrate showed n-type conductivity. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy demonstrated that Na content incorporated into ZnO films deposited on common glass substrate was more evident than that of corning 7059 glass. In addition, Hall mobility and conductivity of p-type ZnO thin films deposited on silicon substrate were improved largely.     

Highly efficient THz emission from differently grown InN at 800 nm and 1060 nm excitation

A detailed study on differently molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) grown InN wavers as THz surface emitters is reported. The samples were excited using 120 fs and 100 fs short laser pulses delivered by a Ti:Sapphire oscillator at 800 nm and a fiber laser amplifier at 1060 nm, respectively. The InN emission properties are compared to a p-type InAs reference sample. At 800 nm, atomically smooth InN with low background electron concentration exhibits slightly stronger THz emission than the well-established p-InAs emitter. This high THz efficiency of InN is reported for the first time. The strong emission of InN is caused by the absence of any intervalley scattering, which in the case of InAs, increases the effective mass of the photogenerated electrons and, thus, reduces the photo-Dember effect, which is most responsible for THz emission. Consequently, InN is a reliable material for strong THz emission.     

Surface photovoltage studies of n-type and p-type InP

Surface photovoltage spectroscopy (SPV) was used to study the initial stages of oxidation of single crystal InP(110) in an attempt to understand the nature and origin of the surface states that develop. Distinct surface states were seen to develop on n-type as the surface was exposed to oxygen. A surface state, associated with cleavage damage, was also observed on p-type. A detailed fit to the experimental data was made by using a model of the dependence of surface charge on photon energy. This was used to unfold the position and intensity of the states. States trailing into the band gap from the bulk bands were seen on both n- and p-types. The analysis also indicated that pairs of isolated states, a donor and an acceptor state, were produced. On p-type, these were present on the clean, cleaved surface while they developed with oxygen exposure on n-type. These states are consistent with the point defect states proposed by the unified defect model. The time response of the SPV signal was also recorded for these surfaces. They were analysed by careful fitting to a model describing the charging and discharging characteristics. This revealed that the midgap state on n-type had a fast and a slow component.     

Atomic structure for Mg on InN(0001) surface

Structures of Mg adsorbed on InN(0001) surfaces are theoretically investigated by first-principle calculations. Of all the structures examined, the structure of R30° as caused by Mg adsorption at the Top sites with 1/3 monolayers coverage is most energetically favorable. Mg atoms may also substitute indium atoms, or accumulate at the voids inside InN film. The interstitial Mg defects may act as a potential source of compensation for the p-type behavior of Mg-doped InN at the surface.     

Measurement of active carbon on ruthenium (110): Relevance to catalytic methanation

Hall measurements of charge carrier mobility and concentration in the channels appearing at germanium surfaces cleaved in liquid nitrogen, have been carried out to define the surface state charge Q_ss. The n-type germanium samples with various Sb atom concentrations and p-type germanium samples with various Sb and Au atom concentrations have been investigated. It has been established that surface states lie below the valence band top, and ¦Q_ss¦increases with the growth of the bulk doping level. The results obtained imply that the surface state density depends on the bulk impurity concentration. Possible explanation of the found bulk impurity influence on the surface state characteristics is proposed.     

Influence of sputtering power and Ar–N2 flow on the structure and optical properties of indium nitride films prepared by magnetron sputtering

ABSTRACT

This paper discusses the deposition of indium nitride (InN) thin films on Si (100) substrates by using pulsed DC magnetron sputtering. Effects of varying sputtering power and Ar–N₂ flow ratio on the structural, morphological, and optical properties of indium nitride (InN) films were investigated. The structural characterization indicated nanocrystalline InN film with preferred orientation towards (101) plane that exhibited the optimum crystalline quality at 130?W and for 40:60 Ar–N₂ ratio. The surface morphology of InN, as observed through FESEM, contained irregularly shaped nanocrystals with size that increases with higher sputtering power and Ar:N₂ flow ratio. The optical properties of InN films were studied using ellipsometer at room temperature. The band gap of InN was decreased with the increase of sputtering power to 130?W, whereas an increase in the band gap was noticed with the increase of the Ar:N₂ flow ratio.     

Atomic and electronic structures of Mg-doped perfect SrTiO3 and crystals containing oxygen vacancies from first principles

The electronic properties of Mg-doped perfect SrTiO₃ and crystals containing oxygen vacancies systems are investigated by first principles calculation. Dopant formation energy results show that the Mg atoms preferentially enter the Sr site in SrTiO₃. Substitution of Ti by Mg brings some acceptor levels, which introduces the p-type conductivity of SrTiO₃. Creation of oxygen vacancies in SrTiO₃ introduces donor levels, which can contribute to the n-type conductivity. In SrTiO₃ containing oxygen vacancies system, a self-compensation effect will occur when Ti is substituted by Mg, and the system undergoes n-type to p-type transition.     

Transport and optical properties of amorphous carbon and hydrogenated amorphous carbon films

In this paper we report on the electrical and optical properties of amorphous carbon (a-C) and hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) films. Resistivity of both types of films decreases with increase in temperature. At lower temperatures (60-250 K) the electron transport is due to variable range hopping for the a-C films. At higher temperatures (300-430 K) it is thermally activated for both types of films. Analysis of the heterojunction between diamond-like carbon (DLC) and bulk silicon (Si) leads to the conclusion that our a-C films are of n-type and our a-C:H films are of p-type. The optical measurements with DLC revealed a Tauc bandgap of 0.6 eV for the a-C films and 1-1.2 eV for the a-C:H films. An Urbach energy around 170 meV could be determined for the a-C:H films. Strain versus resistance plots were measured resulting in piezoresistive gauge factors around 50 for the a-C films and in between 100 and 1200 for the a-C:H films.     

Fabrication and characterization of Fe-doped titania semiconductor electrodes with p-n homojunction devices

The nano-TiO₂ electrode with a p-n homojunction device was designed and fabricated by coating of the Fe³⁺-doped TiO₂ (p-type) film on top of the nano-TiO₂ (n-type) film. These films were prepared from synthesized sol-gel TiO₂ samples which were verified as anatase with nano-size particles. The semiconductor characteristics of the p-type and n-type films were demonstrated by current-voltage (I-V) measurements. Results show that the rectifying curves of undoped TiO₂ and Fe³⁺-doped TiO₂ sample films were observed from the I-V data illustration for both the n-type and p-type films. In addition, the shapes of the rectifying curves were influenced by the fabrication conditions of the sample films, such as the doping concentration of the metal ions, and thermal treatments. Moreover, the p-n homojunction films heating at different temperatures were produced and analyzed by the I-V measurements. From the I-V data analysis, the rectifying current of this p-n junction diode has a 10 mA order higher than the current of the n-type film. The p-n homojunction TiO₂ electrode demonstrated greater performance of electronic properties than the n-type TiO₂ electrode.     

Periodic Mg distribution in GaN:δ-Mg and the effect of annealing on structural and optical properties

High p-type conductivity of GaN - commonly achieved via doping with Mg - is a challenge to be faced on the way to the realization of a GaN-based diluted magnetic semiconductor showing ferromagnetism at room temperature. In this work we present a study of GaN:Mg films grown in a metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy process where the Mg atoms are incorporated in a δ-doping fashion. The effect of a post-growth annealing step on the diffusivity of magnesium is studied by means of atomic force microscopy and photoluminescence measurements in the ultraviolet regime. A comparison of the presented results with transmission electron microscopy studies leads to the conclusion that a considerable amount of Mg is transported towards the surface where it is thermally removed during the annealing step.     

Analysis of thin thermal silicon nitride films on silicon

We have investigated the chemical and electrical properties of very thin (<32 Å thick) silicon nitride films grown by rapid thermal nitridation of silicon. These films were of interest as a possible means of tailoring the barrier heights of silicon Schottky barrier diodes. Auger and XPS analysis showed that the level of oxygen contamination in the films was very low ([N]/[N]+[O]) =0.85 to 0.95). The oxygen is located primarily at the surface and interface of the films. Metal-nitride-silicon devices were characterized by I-V and C-V techniques. These measurements indicated an increase in barrier heights to p-type substrates and a decrease in barrier heights to n-type substrates compared to values measured in the absence of the nitride layers. The magnitude of the change in barrier height increases with increasing nitride thickness. The barrier height can be varied reproducibly over a wide range. For molybdenum on p-type, this range is greater than half the bandgap. For titanium and molybdenum on p-type diodes, barrier heights higher than 1.0 V can be achieved. These measurements could be explained by a reduction in the density of silicon interface states with increasing nitride thickness or by the presence of positive fixed charge in the nitride layer.