Effect of temperature on the current–voltage characteristics of GaAs/AlGaAs quantum cascade photodetectors

Transport of electrons within a quantum cascade photodetector structure takes place with the help of the scattering of electrons by phonons. By calculating scattering rates of the electrons mediated by longitudinal optical phonons (the dominant scattering mechanism), current–voltage characteristic of a quantum cascade photodetector is calculated. The results indicate that with the increase of bias voltage dark current increases rapidly, then the increase becomes slow at higher voltages, whilst photocurrent remains approximately constant with only slight variations in its magnitude. With the increase of temperature from 80 K to 160 K dark current increases by about two orders of magnitude while photocurrent varies slightly, so that at the illuminating power of 1 mW/m² photocurrent density increases in mean from 1.10×10⁻⁹ A/cm² at 80 K to 1.14×10⁻⁹ A/cm² at 160 K and then decreases to 1.03×10⁻⁹ A/cm² at 240 K. Thus the responsivity of the detector varies only slightly with temperature. However owing to the decrease in the resistivity of the photodetector with the increase of temperature, Johnson noise limited detectivity decreases considerably.     

Proton radiation effect on GaAs/AlGaAs core–shell ensemble nanowires photo-detector

We demonstrate that the GaAs/AlGaAs nanowires(NWs) ensemble is fabricated into photo-detectors. Current–voltage(I–V) characteristics are measured on Ga As/Al Ga As core–shell ensemble NW photo-detectors at room-temperature before and after 1-MeV proton irradiation with fluences from 1.0 × 10~(13) cm~(-2) to 5.0 × 10~(14) cm~(-2). The degradation of photocurrent suggests that the point defects induced by proton radiation could cause both carrier lifetime and carrier mobility to decrease synchronously. Comparing with a GaAs quantum well, the degradations of light and dark current for the irradiated NWs photo-detector indicate that NWs material is a preferable potential candidate for space applications.     

Quantum transport andI–Vcharacteristics of quantum size field effect transistor

Quantum electron transport is expected to occur in nanometer-size field effect transistors. We show that the amplitude of the transmitted wave equals 1 only when the electric field in the conducting channel is zero. By reducing the dimension of the quantum transport from bulk to a two-dimensional electron gas system, and further to a one-dimensional quantum wire, the current-bias relation is not affected while the gate control over the drain current weakens. Starting from the Poisson and Schrödinger equations, we have studied numerically the quantum wave transport through the conduction channel where scattering processes are neglected, theI–Vcharacteristic of a typical heterojunction high electron mobility transistor shows a linear relationship between drain current and voltage at low drain bias, but the drain current decreases with increasing drain voltage at a high bias.     

Effect of Bias Step on the I-V Curve in Double-Barrier AlGaAs/GaAs/AlGaAs Resonant-Tunnelling Devices

We investigate the non-equilibrium electron transport properties of double-barrier AlGaAs/GaAs/AlGaAs resonant- tunnelling devices in nonlinear bias using the time-dependent simulation technique. It is found that the bias step of the external bias voltage applied on the device has an important effect on the final current-voltage （I - V） curves. The results show that different bias step applied on the device can change the bistability, hysteresis and current plateau structure of the I - V curve. The current plateau occurs only in the case of small bias step. As the bias step increases, this plateau structure disappears.     

Transient characteristics of the InGaP–GaAs–InGaAs–GaAs transistor laser

Transient characteristics of the InGaP–GaAs–InGaAs (quantum well)-GaAs transistor laser are studied. Rate equations are numerically solved to obtain the response of current density and photon density. Expression of resonance frequency $f_{r}$ is obtained by solving the rate equations analytically. It has been found that the $f_{r}$ increases with decreasing spontaneous carrier lifetime and with increasing value of the bias current density.     

Photoluminescence spectroscopy on excitonic states of narrow GaAs–AlGaAs single quantum wells in high magnetic field

Magneto-photoluminescence (PL) experiments of very thin GaAs/Al_0.3Ga_0.7As quantum wells were performed in a magnetic field (B) of up to 20 T. It has been observed that the diamagnetic shift changes abruptly from βB²to αBaround 5 T asBincreases, and both α and β become larger as the well-width increases. ThisB-dependent transition is indicative of the change of electron–hole (e–h) coupling as the cyclotron radius becomes comparable with that of the exciton. The change of PL linewidth byBalso supports the concept that thee–hrecombination is sensitive to the dimensionality.     

I–V characteristics of ZnO/Cu2O thin film n–i–p heterojunction

ZnO/Cu₂O thin film n–i–p heterojunctions were fabricated by magnetron sputtering. The microstructure, optical, and electrical properties of n-type (n‐) ZnO, insulating (i‐) ZnO, and p-type (p‐) Cu₂O films deposited on glass substrates were characterized by X-Ray diffraction (XRD), spectrophotometer, and the van der Pauw method, respectively. XRD results show that the mean grain size of i-ZnO film is much larger than that of n-ZnO film. The optical band gap energies of n-ZnO, i-ZnO, and p-Cu₂O film are 3.27, 3.47, and 2.00 eV, respectively. The carrier concentration of n-ZnO film is two orders of magnitude larger than that of p-Cu₂O film. The current–voltage (I–V) characteristics of ZnO/Cu₂O thin film n–i–p heterojunctions with different i-ZnO film thicknesses were investigated. Results show that ZnO/Cu₂O n–i–p heterojunctions have well-defined rectifying behavior. All ideality factors of these n–i–p heterojunctions are larger than 2.0. The forward bias threshold voltage and ideality factor increase when i-ZnO layer thickness increases from 100 to 200 nm. An energy band diagram was proposed to analyze the I–V characteristics of these n–i–p heterojunctions.     

On the effect of boundary conditions on I–V characteristics of HTSC tunnel junctions

The pairing potential distribution over the thickness of superconducting CuO₂ layers in cuprate HTSCs is determined within the Ginzburg–Landau (GL) theory using the microscopic justification of this theory by Gor’kov. It is found that the pairing potential in them is significantly suppressed due to the effect of non-superconducting interlayers, which results in a decrease in the critical temperature of these superconductors. The temperature dependences of the effective energy gap and current–voltage (I–V) characteristic of tunnel junctions of the “break junction” type made of these superconductors are calculated.     

The effect of gradually constricted channel on the I–V characteristics of graphene sheets

Ideal graphene is a gapless semiconductor consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms regularly arranged in a honeycomb lattice having infinite spatial extent in the (x,y)-plane, in which electrons behave as Dirac massless fermions. Even neglecting interactions with the anchoring substrate, a graphene sheet in real world has finite extent, leading to distinctive features in the conductivity of a given sample. In this letter we study the effect of a gradual channel constriction in graphene nanoribbons on their I–V characteristics, using non-equilibrium Green's function formalism. The constriction width and the border cutting angle are the main parameters to be varied. We found that transmission through the channel is considerably affected by these parameters, presenting sharp peaks at specific energies, which can be attributed to a resonance due to the tuning of energy eigenvalues.     

Stacked lateral double-diffused metal–oxide–semiconductor field effect transistor with enhanced depletion effect by surface substrate

A stacked lateral double-diffused metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor(LDMOS) with enhanced depletion effect by surface substrate is proposed(ST-LDMOS), which is compatible with the traditional CMOS processes. The new stacked structure is characterized by double substrates and surface dielectric trenches(SDT). The drift region is separated by the P-buried layer to form two vertically parallel devices. The doping concentration of the drift region is increased benefiting from the enhanced auxiliary depletion effect of the double substrates, leading to a lower specific on-resistance(Ron,sp). Multiple electric field peaks appear at the corners of the SDT, which improves the lateral electric field distribution and the breakdown voltage(BV). Compared to a conventional LDMOS(C-LDMOS), the BV in the ST-LDMOS increases from 259 V to 459 V, an improvement of 77.22%. The Ron,sp decreases from 39.62 m?·cm~2 to 23.24 m?·cm~2 and the Baliga's figure of merit(FOM) of is 9.07 MW/cm~2.     

Effect of in-plane magnetic field on spin polarization in the presence of the Dresselhaus spin–orbit effect

In this paper, we theoretically study the effect of the in-plane magnetic field on spin polarization in the presence of the Dresselhaus spin–orbit effect. It is shown that the large spin polarization can be achieved in such a nanostructure due to the effects of both the Dresselhaus spin–orbit term and the in-plane magnetic field, but the latter plays a main role in the tunneling process. It is also shown that with the increase of in-plane magnetic field, the degree of spin splitting obviously becomes larger.     

Effect of PECVD SiN_x/SiO_yN_x–Si interface property on surface passivation of silicon wafer

It is studied in this paper that the electrical characteristics of the interface between Si O_y N_x/Si N_x stack and silicon wafer affect silicon surface passivation. The effects of precursor flow ratio and deposition temperature of the Si O_y N_x layer on interface parameters, such as interface state density Ditand fixed charge Qf, and the surface passivation quality of silicon are observed. Capacitance–voltage measurements reveal that inserting a thin Si O_y N_x layer between the Si N_x and the silicon wafer can suppress Qfin the film and Ditat the interface. The positive Qfand Ditand a high surface recombination velocity in stacks are observed to increase with the introduced oxygen and minimal hydrogen in the Si O_y N_x film increasing. Prepared by deposition at a low temperature and a low ratio of N_2O/Si H_4 flow rate, the Si O_y N_x/Si N_x stacks result in a low effective surface recombination velocity(Seff) of 6 cm/s on a p-type 1 ?·cm~(–5) ?·cm FZ silicon wafer.The positive relationship between Seffand Ditsuggests that the saturation of the interface defect is the main passivation mechanism although the field-effect passivation provided by the fixed charges also make a contribution to it.     

Effect of an electric field on the I–V curves of DyBa2Cu3−x Oy/1 wt % Pt HTSC ceramics

This paper reports on an experimental study of the effect of a magnetic field, B≤70 G, and an electric field, E=120 MV/m, on the critical current I _c and I–V curves of DyBa₂Cu_3?x O_y HTSC ceramics (x=0 and 0.2), both undoped and doped with 1 wt % Pt. It has been established that, in stoichiometric ceramics (x=0) at 77 K, I _c drops sharply (by more than an order of magnitude) already at very low B<1 G. In copper-deficient ceramics (x=0.2), I _c decreases with increasing B slowly, with Pt-doped samples exhibiting [on the dropping I _c (B) dependence] a peak effect, i.e., an increase rather than decrease of I _c at B≈10 G. As for the effect of an electric field on I _c and the I–V curves (the E effect), it is not observed in ceramics of a stoichiometric composition. DyBa₂Cu_2.8O _y samples acted upon by an electric field reveal a substantial increase in I _c and a decrease in the resistance R for I>I _c . In the case of DyBa₂Cu_2.8O_y/Pt, the electric field practically does not affect I _c but R decreases for I>I _c . In a sample placed in a magnetic field, the magnitude of the E effect is observed to correlate with the I _c (B) dependence. In particular, in Pt-doped samples, the E effect decreases with increasing magnetic field B not gradually but with a maximum appearing at B ≈10 G, i.e., in the region of the peak effect in the I _c (B) dependence. The data obtained suggest the conclusion that the electric-field effect in ceramics exhibiting weak links of the superconductor-insulator-superconductor (SIS) type correlates with magnetic vortex pinning.     

Effect of gamma and beta radiation on I–V characterization of the solar cell panel

ABSTRACT

Optoelectronic devices, widely used in high energy and nuclear physics applications, suffer severe radiation damage that leads to degradations in its efficiency. In this paper, the influence of gamma radiation (¹³⁷Ce source) and beta radiation (⁹⁰Sr source) on the photoelectric parameters of the Si solar cell, based on the I–V characterization at different irradiation exposer, has been studied. The penetrating radiation produces defects in the base material, may be activated during its lifetime, becoming traps for electron–hole pairs produced optically and, this will, decrease the efficiency of the solar cell. The main objective of the paper is to study and measure changes in the I–V characteristics of solar cells, such as efficiency, maximum current, maximum power, and efficiency, due to the exposure of solar systems to different doses of γ and β irradiations.     

Study of In0.49Ga0.51P/GaAs/In0.49Ga0.51P doubleδ-doped heterojunction bipolar transistor

A lattice-matched In_0.49Ga_0.51P/GaAs/In_0.49Ga_0.51P doubleδ -doped heterojunction bipolar transistor, prepared by low-pressure metal organic chemical vapor deposition (LP-MOCVD), is fabricated successfully and reported. Due to the insertion of δ -doped sheets and setback layers both at base–emitter (B–E) and base–collector (B–C) heterojunctions, the potential spikes are suppressed significantly. In addition, the electron blocking effect is removed and a dramatic improvement of current gain is obtained. A modified Ebers–Moll model is employed to study and analyse the device performances. The experimental results show that the common-emitter current gain over 210 at the collector current of 35 mA and an offset voltageΔV_CE smaller than 50 mV are obtained. Also, a lower knee-shaped voltage of 1.4 V at the collector current of 40 mA is observed. These results indicate that the device studied is a good candidate for high-speed and high-power circuit applications.     

Low frequency effects of surface states on 4H—SiC metal—semiconductor field effect transistor

The process-related surface state effect is investigated the fabrication of SiC devices, and a nonllnear model for 4H-SiC power metal-semiconductor field effect transistor (MESFET) is propose, which takes into account the surface related parameters. The frequency-and temperature-dependent transconductance dispersion is readily demonstrated in terms of the improved model. Simulation results show that larger dispersion and higher transition frequency occur in 4H-SiC MESFET than in GaAs MESFET. The advantage of this analytical model over the two-dimensional numerical simulation is the simplicity of calculations, therefore it is suitable for the processing improvement of SiC devices     

The effect of series resistance and interface states on the frequency dependent C–V and G/w–V characteristics of Al/perylene/p-Si MPS type Schottky barrier diodes

The capacitance–voltage–frequency (C–V–f) and conductance–voltage–frequency (G/w–V–f) characteristics of Al/perylene/p-Si Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) fabricated with spin coating system have been investigated in the frequency range of 30 kHz–2 MHz at room temperature. In order to elucidate the electrical characteristics of SBDs with perylene interface, the voltage and frequency dependent series resistance (R_s), frequency dependent density distribution profile of interface state (N_ss) were obtained. The measurements of C and G/w were found to be strongly dependent on bias voltage and frequency for Al/perylene/p-Si SBDs. For each frequency, the R_s–V plot gives a peak, decreasing with increasing frequencies. Also, it has been shown that the interface states density exponentially decreases with increasing frequency. The C–V–f and G/w–V–f characteristics confirm that the N_ss and R_s of the diode are important parameters that strongly influence the electric parameters in metal/polymer/semiconductor (MPS) structure.     

Effect of temperature on the morphology of nanobubbles at mica/water interface

The great implication of nanobubbles at a solid/water interface has drawn wide attention of the scientific community and industries. However, the fundamental properties of nanobubbles remain unknown as yet. In this paper, the temperature effects on the morphology of nanobubbles at the mica/water interface are explored through the combination of AFM direct image with the temperature control. The results demonstrate that the apparent height of nanobubbles in AFM images is kept almost constant with the increase of temperature, whilst the lateral size of nanobubbles changes significantly. As the temperature increases from 28℃ to 42℃, the lateral size of nanobubbles increases, reaching a maximum at about 37℃, and then decreases at a higher temperature. The possible explanation for the size change of nanobubbles with temperature is suggested.     

High Speed 2×2 Optical Switch Based on Carrier Injection Effect in GaAs/AlGaAs

A 2×2 optical switch based on the carrier injection effect is demonstrated on GaAs/AlGaAs epitaxial material. At an injection current of 80 mA, the extinction ratio exceeds 25 dB at 1.55 μm. The polarization sensitivity of the crosstalk is within ±0.5 dB. The switching speed is below lOns. The fiat response spectrum throughout the 1542-1562 nm wavelength range indicates that this device is insensitive to wavelength.