Investigation of defect modes in a defective photonic crystal with a semiconductor metamaterial defect

In this work, we theoretically investigate the properties of defect modes in a defective photonic crystal containing a semiconductor metamaterial defect. We consider the structure, (LH)^N/D^P/(LH)^N, where N and P are respectively the stack numbers, L is SiO₂, H is InP, and defect layer D is a semiconductor metamaterial composed of Al-doped ZnO (AZO) and ZnO. It is found that, within the photonic band gap, the number of defect modes (transmission peaks) will decrease as the defect thickness increases, in sharp contrast to the case of using usual dielectric defect. The peak height and position can be changed by the variation in the thickness of defect layer. In the angle-dependent defect mode, its position is shown to be blue-shifted as the angle of incidence increases for both TE and TM waves. The analysis of defect mode provides useful information for the design of tunable transmission filter in semiconductor optoelectronics.     

Properties of defect modes in one-dimensional symmetric defective photonic crystals

We theoretically investigate the properties of defect modes in one-dimensional symmetric defective photonic crystals. We consider three defective photonic crystal structures, air/[(AB)^NsA^α(BA)^Ns]^Np/air, air/[(AB)^NsAB^βA(BA)^Ns]^Np/air, and air/{[(AB)^NsAB^βA(BA)^Ns]B^γ}^Np−1[(AB)^NsAB^βA(BA)^Ns]/air, where A and B are respectively taken to be the high- and low-index dielectric materials. The first has a defect layer of A^α, the second has a composite defect, AB^βA, and the third has a interleaving defect B^γ. The effect of thickness on the defect mode is studied by varying the parameters α, β, and γ, respectively, for the above model structures. It is found that the positions and the number of defect modes can be significantly changed due to the change in the defect thickness. In addition, by increasing the repeated number N_p, we can have multiple defect modes, leading to a possible design of tunable multichannel filter.     

Defect modes properties in periodic lossy multilayer containing negative index materials with symmetric and asymmetric geometric structures

In this paper, the characteristic matrix method is used to study the propagation of electromagnetic waves through one-dimensional lossy photonic crystals composed of negative and positive refractive index material layers with symmetric and asymmetric geometric structures with a defect layer at the center of the structure. First, the positive index material defect layer is considered, and the effects of the polarization and the angle of incidence on the defect mode in the transmission spectra of the both structures are investigated. The results show that the number of the defect modes in the transmission spectra depends on the geometry (symmetric or asymmetric) of the structure. In addition, it is shown that the defect mode frequency increases as the angle of incidence increases. This property is independent of the geometry of the structure. Then, for normal incidence, the negative index material defect layer is considered, and the properties of defect modes for both structures are investigated. The results can lead to designing new types of transmission narrow filters.     

Ion irradiation induced spontaneous hypersonic long-range stimulation of silicon nitride synthesis in silicon

We studied the nature of the effect of medium-energy ion implantation on the defect system of a crystal target over distances exceeding by three to four orders of magnitude the average projected range of ions in the target material. Recently, we discovered an especially strong manifestation of this long-range effect in crystal targets: argon ion bombardment stimulated the formation of a Si₃N₄ phase in nitrogen-saturated layers of a silicon wafer, the effect being observed at a distance of up to 600 μm away from the ion stopping zone. An analysis of changes in the electrical and optical properties of the nitrogen-saturated layer depending on the argon ion dose, in comparison to the morphology development on the ion-irradiated silicon surface, suggests that sufficiently effective pulsed sources of hypersonic (in the initial propagation stage) shock waves appear in the Ar⁺ ion stopping zone. These shock waves arise as a result of the jumplike formation and evolution of a network of dislocation loops and argon blisters, accompanied by explosions of the blisters. These processes probably proceed in a self-synchronized or spontaneous manner. Argon in the blisters occurs at T = 773 K in a solid state under a pressure of 4.5×10⁹ Pa, the blister energy reaching up to 5×10⁸ eV. Estimates show that the synchronized explosions of blisters in the region of a nitrogen-saturated layer at the rear side of a 600-μm-thick silicon wafer may produce a peak pressure at the wave front exceeding 10⁸ Pa, which is sufficient to cause the experimentally observed changes.     

Optimization of microcavity OLED by varying the thickness of multi-layered mirror

We optimized the emission efficiency from a microcavity OLEDs consisting of widely used organic materials, N,N′-di(naphthalene-1-yl)-N,N′-diphenylbenzidine (NPB) as a hole transport layer and tris (8-hydroxyquinoline) (Alq₃) as emitting and electron transporting layer. LiF/Al was used as a cathode, while metallic Ag was used as an anode material. A LiF/NPB bi-layer or NPB layer on top of the cathode was considered to alter the optical properties of the top mirror. The electroluminescence emission spectra, electric field distribution inside the device, carrier density, recombination rate and exciton density were calculated as a function of the position of the emission layer. The results show that for optimal capping layers thicknesses, light output is enhanced as a result of the increase in both the reflectance and transmittance of the top mirror. Once the optimum structure has been determined, the microcavity OLED devices were fabricated and characterized. The experimental results have been compared to the simulations and the influence of the thickness of the mirror layers, emission region width and position on the performance of microcavity OLEDs was discussed.     

Blue organic light-emitting diodes with 2-methyl-9,10-bis(naphthalen-2-yl)anthracene as hole transport and emitting layer and the impedance spectroscopy analysis

2-methyl-9,10-bis(naphthalen-2-yl)anthracene (MADN) based fluorescent blue organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are demonstrated. With MADN as emitting layer, experiments indicate that thick MADN (40–60 nm) is preferable for constructing efficient blue OLED. With MADN as hole-transport and emitting layer and tris(8-hydroxy-quinolinato)aluminium (Alq₃) as electron-transport layer, the OLED electroluminescent characteristics show a mixture emission of MADN and Alq₃ with Commission Internationale d'Eclairage (CIE) color coordinates of (0.25, 0.34), indicating feasible hole transporting in MADN. Using 4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline (BPhen) replacing Alq₃ as electron-transport layer, the OLED shows deep blue emission with a maximum luminous efficiency of 4.8 cd/A and CIE color coordinates of (0.16, 0.09). The hole transport characteristics of MADN are further clarified by constructing hole-only device and performing impedance spectroscopy analysis. The results indicate that MADN shows superior hole-transport ability which is almost comparable to typical hole-transport material of N,N′-bis(naphthalen-1-yl)-N,N′-bis(phenyl)-benzidine (NPB), suggesting a promising application for constructing efficient blue OLED with integrated hole-transport layer and emitting layer.     

Color-tunable organic light-emitting devices using a thin N,N′-bis-(1-naphthyl)-N,N′-diphenyl-1,1′-biphenyl-4,4′-diamine layer at heterojunction interface

Novel types of multilayer color-tunable organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) with the structure of indium tin oxide (ITO)/N,N′-bis-(1-naphthyl)-N,N′-diphenyl-1,1′-biphenyl-4,4′-diamine (NPB)/aluminum (III)bis(2-methyl-8-quinolinato)4-phenylphenolato (BAlq)/tris-(8-hydroxyquinolate)-aluminum (Alq₃)/Mg:Ag were fabricated. By inserting a thin layer with different thickness of a second NPB layer at the heterojunction interface of BAlq/Alq₃, the emission zone of devices shifted greatly and optoelectronic characteristics underwent large variation. Although BAlq was reported as a very good hole-blocking and blue-light-emission material, results of measurements in this paper suggested that a certain thickness of NPB layer between BAlq and Alq₃ plays an important role to modify device characteristics, which can act as recombination-controlling layer in the multilayer devices. It also provides a simple way to fabricate color-tunable OLEDs by just changing the thickness of this “recombination-controlling” layer rather than doping by co-evaporation.     

Effects of oxygen plasma pre-treatments on the characteristics of n-ZnO/p-Si heterojunction diodes

We examine the effects of the oxygen plasma pre-treatments on the material properties of n-ZnO grown on p-Si and characterize the electrical properties of n-ZnO/p-Si heterojunction diodes. The lattice spacing of ZnO becomes larger when the ZnO thin film is grown on the oxygen plasma pre-treated Si substrate. This might be relevant to the growth of (101) ZnO onto the ultra-thin SiO₂ interfacial layer, which is formed during the oxygen plasma pre-treatment onto the Si substrate. The formation of SiO₂ gives rise to the increase in the donor-like defect Zn interstitial, and the increased grain size improves the carrier mobility. Because of all the above, the differential conductance at the on-state is increased for the n-ZnO/p-Si heterojunction diode.     

Electrical characteristics and efficiency of organic light-emitting diodes depending on hole-injection layer

In a device structure of ITO/hole-injection layer/N,N′-biphenyl-N,N′-bis-(1-naphenyl)-[1,1′-biphthyl]4,4′-diamine(NPB)/tris(8-hydroxyquinoline)aluminum(Alq₃)/Al, we investigated the effect of the hole-injection layer on the electrical characteristics and external quantum efficiency of organic light-emitting diodes. Thermal evaporation was performed to make a thickness of NPB layer with a rate of 0.5–1.0 Å/s at a base pressure of 5 × 10⁻⁶ Torr. We measured current–voltage characteristics and external quantum efficiency with a thickness variation of the hole-injection layer. CuPc and PVK buffer layers improve the performance of the device in several aspects, such as good mechanical junction, reducing the operating voltage, and energy band adjustment. Compared with devices without a hole-injection layer, we found that the optimal thickness of NPB was 20 nm in the device structure of ITO/NPB/Alq₃/Al. By using a CuPc or PVK buffer layer, the external quantum efficiencies of the devices were improved by 28.9% and 51.3%, respectively.     

Studies of luminescence properties of ZnO and ZnO:Zn nanorods prepared by solution growth technique

Pyramidal ZnO nanorods with hexagonal structure having c-axis preferred orientation are grown over large area silica substrates by a simple aqueous solution growth technique. The as-grown nanorods were studied using XRD, SEM and UV-vis photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy for their structural, morphological and optical properties, respectively. Further, the samples have also been annealed under different atmospheric conditions (air, O₂, N₂ and Zn) to study the defect formation in nanorods. The PL spectra of the as-grown nanorods show narrow-band excitonic emission at 3.03 eV and a broad-band deep-level emission (DLE) related to the defect centers at 2.24 eV. After some mild air annealing at 200 °C, fine structures with peaks having energy separation of ∼100 meV were observed in the DLE band and the same have been attributed to the longitudinal optical (LO) phonon-assisted transitions. However, the annealing of the samples under mild reducing atmospheres of N₂ or zinc at 550 °C resulted in significant modifications in the DLE band wherein high intensity green emission with two closely spaced peaks with maxima at 2.5 and 2.7 eV were observed which have been attributed to the V_O and Zn_i defect centers, respectively. The V-I characteristic of the ZnO:Zn nanorods shows enhancement in n-type conductivity compared to other samples. The studies thus suggest that the green emitting ZnO:Zn nanorods can be used as low voltage field emission display (FED) phosphors with nanometer scale resolution.     

Properties of Defect Modes in Periodic Lossy Multilayer with Negative-Index-Materials

Employing the characteristic matrix method, this study investigates transmission properties of onedimensional defective lossy photonic crystals composed of negative and positive refractive index layers with one lossless defect layer at the center of the crystal. The results of the study show that as the refractive index and thickness of the defect layer increase, the frequency of the defect mode decreases. In addition, the study shows that the frequency of the defect mode is sensitive to the incidence angle, polarization, and physical properties of the defect layer, but it is insensitive to the small lattice loss factor. The peak of the defect mode is very sensitive to the loss factor, incidence angle, polarization, refractive index, and thickness of the defect layer. This study also shows that the peak and the width of the defect mode are affected by the numbers of the lattice period and the loss factor. The results can lead to designing new types of narrow filter structures and other optical devices.     

High extinction ratio metal-insulator-semiconductor waveguide surface plasmon polariton polarizer

The attenuation characteristics of a multilayer metal clad GaAs-AlGaAs optical waveguide polarizer are theoretically investigated. The dispersion relations and field distribution of the multilayer structures are calculated for different geometrical parameters and material properties. The polarizer studied consists of a single mode finite/infinite metal clad GaAs-AlGaAs waveguide with a dielectric (SiO₂/Si₃N₄) buffer layer inserted between the metal and the waveguide.Conventionally, the TM polarized waves are found to exhibit an absorption peak at a particular buffer thickness (called critical buffer thickness).We shall show that the maximum TM absorption can be improved by a multiple factor up to 7 by choosing a buffer layer thicker than its critical value. This corresponds to an extinction ratio of 1470 dB for a polarizer length of 1 mm. Further, thicker buffers reduce the insertion losses and values as low as 0.1 dB can be obtained. The strong TM absorption in these structures is interpreted as resonant coupling of the guided mode to the lossy surface plasmon polariton supported by the thin metal film. Thicker buffer also reduces the TE losses (insertion losses) and hence increases the extinction ratio (ratio of TM to TE losses).This can be achieved by optimizing the buffer and the metal thicknesses. Another equally efficient polarizer can be designed by positioning a dielectric (same as buffer) layer (superstrate layer) above the metal film and then optimizing the buffer, metal and the superstrate thicknesses. We also show that the proposed polarizer with the superstrate layer is highly stable even when exposed to the extreme atmospheric changes.     

Size effect on magnetic properties of a nano-graphene bilayer structure: A Monte Carlo study

In this paper we use the Monte Carlo simulations to investigate the magnetic properties of an Ising ferromagnetic–antiferromagnetic model. The system is based on a nano-graphene structure-like bilayer with two bloc sizes: N=24 and 42 spins. For each size N, the upper layer A is formed with spin −3/2, whereas the lower layer B is composed of spin −5/2. We only consider the first nearest-neighbor interactions between the sites i and j. The magnetic properties are studied, in the absence as well as in the presence of a crystal magnetic field, and an external magnetic field. The increasing temperature and crystal field as well as the inter-layer coupling constant, are also studied for this system sizes N=24 and 42 spins. The zero-field-cooled and the field cooled magnetization behaviors are investigated for different values of external magnetic field and a fixed value of exchange interaction between the two blocs. The magnetizations as well as the magnetic susceptibilities versus the temperature are used in order to obtain blocking temperature.     

Ta2Si short time thermal oxidized layers in N2O and O2 to form high-k gate dielectric on SiC

In this work, we report on two properties of the oxidation of tantalum silicide (Ta₂Si) on SiC substrates making this material of interest as insulator for many wide bandgap or compound semiconductors. The relatively high oxidation rate of tantalum silicide to form high-k insulator layers and its ability for being oxidized in diluted N₂O ambient in a manner similar to the oxidation in O₂ are investigated. Metal-insulator-semiconductor capacitors have been used to establish the actual applicability and constrain of the high-k insulator depending on the oxidation conditions. At 1050 °C, the reduction of the oxidation time from 1 h to 5 min affects primordially the SiO_x interfacial layer formed between the bulk insulator and the substrate. This interfacial layer strongly influences the metal-insulator-semiconductor performances of the oxidized Ta₂Si layer. The bulk insulator basically remains unaffected although some structural differences arise when the oxidation is performed in N₂O.     

The effect of SixNy interlayer on the quality of GaN epitaxial layers grown on Si(1 1 1) substrates by MOCVD

In the present paper, the effects of nitridation on the quality of GaN epitaxial films grown on Si(1 1 1) substrates by metal–organic chemical vapor phase deposition (MOCVD) are discussed. A series of GaN layers were grown on Si(1 1 1) under various conditions and characterized by Nomarski microscopy (NM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), high resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD), and room temperature (RT) photoluminescence (PL) measurements. Firstly, we optimized LT-AlN/HT-AlN/Si(1 1 1) templates and graded AlGaN intermediate layers thicknesses. In order to prevent stress relaxation, step-graded AlGaN layers were introduced along with a crack-free GaN layer of thickness exceeding 2.2 μm. Secondly, the effect of in situ substrate nitridation and the insertion of an Si_xN_y intermediate layer on the GaN crystalline quality was investigated. Our measurements show that the nitridation position greatly influences the surface morphology and PL and XRD spectra of GaN grown atop the Si_xN_y layer. The X-ray diffraction and PL measurements results confirmed that the single-crystalline wurtzite GaN was successfully grown in samples A (without Si_xN_y layer) and B (with Si_xN_y layer on Si(1 1 1)). The resulting GaN film surfaces were flat, mirror-like, and crack-free. The full-width-at-half maximum (FWHM) of the X-ray rocking curve for (0 0 0 2) diffraction from the GaN epilayer of the sample B in ω-scan was 492 arcsec. The PL spectrum at room temperature showed that the GaN epilayer had a light emission at a wavelength of 365 nm with a FWHM of 6.6 nm (33.2 meV). In sample B, the insertion of a Si_xN_y intermediate layer significantly improved the optical and structural properties. In sample C (with Si_xN_y layer on Al_0.11Ga_0.89N interlayer). The in situ depositing of the, however, we did not obtain any improvements in the optical or structural properties.     

Dynamics of layer-by-layer thinning of free-standing smectic films

A dynamic model has been proposed for describing the extrusion of a single layer of a liquid-crystal (LC) material into a meniscus from an N-layer circular free-standing smectic film (FSSF). In the framework of this model, the main mechanism responsible for the process of the thinning (extrusion) of the LC material from the N-layer FSSF is based on the appearance of a spatial pressure gradient directed along the radius of the circular FSSF. This gradient is formed due to the difference in the disjoining pressures on both sides of the front separating the N- and (N–1)-layer domains of the smectic film. The proposed model allows taking into account the influence of the meniscus on dynamic characteristics, such as the time required for the complete extrusion of a single layer from the N-layer FSSF and the velocity of propagation of the front separating the N- and (N–1)-layer domains in the process of the thinning of the smectic film formed by molecules of 5-n-alkyl-2-(4-n-(perfluoroalkyl-methyleneoxy))pentyl.     

Periodic defect modes of one-dimensional crystals containing single-negative materials

The transmission properties of a one-dimensional (1D) photonic crystal containing two kinds of single-negative (permittivity or permeability negative) material with an inserted array of defects (RHM and LHM) were presented by the transfer matrix method (TMM). The dependence of the defect modes on the structure parameters was discussed by using the TMM. In contrast to the Bragg gaps, the properties (the central frequency and width of the gap) of zero effective phase (zero−φ_eff) and gap are invariant with a change in scale length and insensitive to the incident angles. The property of the periodic defect modes in the SNG host periodic structure was studied. It illustrates that the defect modes properties changed more by insert periodic defect than by single-media defect. The defect modes are sensitive to the parameters of the defect layers and the incident angle.     

Modification of anode surface in organic light-emitting diodes by chalcogenes

Influence of thin chalcogen X (S, Se, Te) interlayer between anode (indium-tin oxide, ITO) and a layer of N,N′-bis(3-methylphenyl)-N,N′-diphenylbenzidine (TPD) used as a hole-transport layer (HTL) on the operating characteristics of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) of composition ITO/X/TPD/Alq₃/Yb (Alq₃ - aluminum 8-quinolinolate) has been investigated. It was found that the sulphur layer decreases operating voltage and enhances operating stability of a device while the selenium or tellurium interlayers impair these characteristics.     

Impact of rough silicon buffer layer on electronic quality of GaAs grown on Si substrate

The electronic and the structural properties of n-GaAs layers grown on rough surface of silicon substrate by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) has been investigated by photoluminescence (PL), time resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) and high resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD). The relationship between electronic and structural properties of the n-GaAs layer was checked, showing that the defect density is a strong cause for trapping the minority carriers. The impact of introducing intermediate rough silicon layer between silicon substrate and n-GaAs layer on the electronic properties was observed, showing that the structure grown on rough Si involves higher lifetime than those developed on flat silicon substrate. Such structure could be used for economic solar cells fabrication.