Intersubband transitions in strained Si/Si1 − xGex/Si quantum wells

The energy subbands in pseudomorphic p-type Si/Si_1 − xGe_x /Si quantum wells are calculated within the multiband effective-mass approximation that describes the heavy, light and split-off hole valence bands. We examine the intersubband transitions in this system and the selection rules are obtained for a light polarization vector parallel or perpendicular to the growth direction. Comparison is made with other theories and experiment.     

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.     

Ga-induced restructuring of Si(5 5 12) − 2 × 1 reconstructed surface at room temperature

Motivated by the need to form 1D-nanostructured dopants on silicon surfaces, we have attempted to grow Ga on the high index Si(5 5 12) surface which has a highly trenched (1D) morphology. The evolution of the interface with Ga adsorption in the monolayer regime has been probed by in situ AES, LEED and EELS. Controlling the kinetics by changing the Ga flux rates shows an interesting difference in the 1.0 to 1.5 ML region. The low flux rate (0.03 ML/minute) results in a Frank van der Merwe (layer by layer) growth mode up to 2 ML, while the higher flux rate (0.1 ML/minute) shows a transient island formation after the completion of 1 ML. The low rate shows the formation of 2 × (3 3 7) and (2 2 5) superstructures, while only the 2 × (3 3 7) is observed in a wide coverage range for the higher rate. The results demonstrate the ability to kinetically control the surface phases with different electronic properties of this technologically important interface.     

Accumulation layer and interface effects in doped nonabrupt GaAs/AlxGa1 − xAs single quantum wells

The electron energy levels in doped nonabrupt GaAs/Al_xGa_1 − xAs single quantum wells 100 Å wide are calculated. Interface widths varying from zero to four GaAs unit cells are taken into account, as well as band bendings of 0–90 meV. It is shown that interface effects on the energy levels are important and sensitive to the level of doping. When interfaces of only two GaAs unit cells and a band bending of 40 meV are considered, the ground-state (first excited state) energy level shifts toward energies as high as 4 meV (20 meV).     

Excitonic magnetic polaron dynamics of MBE grown CdTe/Cd1 − xMnxTe,Cd1 − xMnxTe/Cd1 − vMgyTe single quantum wells in magneti fields

Excitonic lifetimes in Cd_1 − xMn_Ue2Te, Cd_1 − xMg_xTe epilayers and CdTe/Cd_1 − xMn_xTe, Cd_1 − xMn_xTe/Cd_1 − vMg_yTe single quantum wells with different well widths and Mn, Mg compositions are investigated. The excitonic lifetimes are found to reduce drastically by applying external magnetic fields to samples with giant Zeeman splittings. The observed phenomenon is interpreted in terms of the PL decay time contribution from the long-life dark excitons which can convert to excitons for recombinations by a spin-flip process. We attribute the lifetime reduction to the depletion of dark excitons due to their crossing over the exciton energies for dipole allowed transitions in magnetic fields.     

Cavity size and temperature dependence of stimulated emission in single Zn1 − xCdxSe/ZnSe quantum-well lasers

We observed stimulated emission originating from light-hole transitions in single Zn_1 − xCd_xSe quantum-well structures, using high excitation photoluminescence spectroscopy as a function of temperature and cavity length. We found that the lasing wavelength depends on the cavity length, and can be switched by varying the sample temperature. The occurrence of lasing from light-hole recombinations in short cavities is also accompanied by an increase in the threshold of stimulated emission, with respect to larger cavities.     

Effect of Eu dopant concentration in SrCe1 − xEuxO3 − δ on ambipolar conductivity

The europium dopant concentration in strontium cerate was studied to achieve maximum hydrogen permeation. In order to determine high ambipolar conductivity, total conductivity and open circuit potential measurements were performed. Among the three different compositions of Eu-doped SrCe_1 ? xEu_xO_3 ? δ (x = 0.1, 0.15 and 0.2) studied, SrCe_0.9Eu_0.1O_3 ? δ showed highest total conductivity between 600 °C and 900 °C. However, transference number measurements showed increasing electronic conductivity with increasing dopant concentration and a stronger temperature dependence for electronic conduction. Therefore, the highest ambipolar conductivity was obtained over the compositional range from SrCe_0.85Eu_0.15O_3 ? δ to SrCe_0.8Eu_0.2O_3 ? δ depending on temperature. Finally, the hydrogen permeation flux was calculated based on the ambipolar conductivity and compared with experimental results.     

Exciton relaxation in Ga1 − xInxAs/GaAs self-organized quantum dots

The exciton dynamics in Ga_1 − xIn_xAs/GaAs self-organized quantum dots grown on GaAs (111)B substrates are studied by the time-resolved photoluminescence (PL). We have found the intra-dot exciton relaxation by the reduction of the linewidth and peak energy and also by the energy-dependent PL rise time in the transient PL spectra. Compared with the energy relaxation in the reference quantum wells, we have confirmed that the exciton relaxation in three-dimensionally confined quantum dots is slower than in the quantum wells.     

H adsorption at Ag/Si interfaces in epitaxially grown Ag(1 1 1) films on Si(1 1 1)7 × 7 substrates

The interaction of atomic H with Ag(1 1 1)/Si(1 1 1)7 × 7 surfaces was studied by thermal desorption (TD) spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) at room temperature. TD spectroscopy revealed an intense peak from mono H–Si bonds, even though the Si surface was covered by the Ag atoms. This peak was not observed from Ag-coated SiO₂/Si substrates. STM observation showed no clear change of the Ag surface morphology resulting from H exposure. All these results indicate that the atomic H adsorbs at neither the Ag surfaces nor Ag bulk sites, but at the Ag/Si interface by diffusing through the Ag film.     

The effect of In/N ratio on the optical quality and lasing threshold in GaxIn1 − xAs1 − yNy/GaAs laser structures

We present a review of published work concerning the effect of In and N compositions on the operation wavelength, optical quality and lasing threshold in Ga_xIn_1 − xAs_1 − yN_y/GaAs QW and double heterostructure lasers. We show that the emission wavelength in the range between 1.0 and 1.4 μ m can be obtained for a wide range of In and/or N concentrations. However, in most Fabry–Perot lasers and vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) reported in the literature, the threshold current density plotted as a function of the relative In/N composition (R =  (1  − x) / y) indicate a broad minima for 40  < R <  70, suggesting an optimum relative composition. We also present the results of our studies concerning the optical quality of Ga_xIn_1 − xAs_1 − yN_y/GaAs single quantum wells for R =  15. We show that the optical quality of GaInAsN can be improved while achieving a red shift in the PL spectra. This is unlike the results obtained by rapid thermal annealing or conventional annealing, which are widely employed as post-growth treatment techniques, where any increase in the PL intensity is almost always accompanied by an undesired blue shift.     

Exciton binding energies in GaN/AlxGa1 − xN pseudomorphic quantum wells

Interband transitions of pseudomorphic GaN/Al_xGa_1 − xN quantum wells are analysed theoretically with respect to the piezoelectric field utilizing a 6  ×  6 Rashba–Sheka–Pikus (RSP) Hamiltonian. Band structure modifications due to the built-in Stark effect explain a shift of the emission peak in GaN/Al_0.15Ga_0.85N of up to 400 meV. Quantum well exciton binding energies are calculated by the variational method and are discussed in terms of spatial separation of electrons and holes by the built-in electric field, as well as the interaction between valence subbands.     

The effect of compositional disorder on electronic band structure in GaxIn1 − xAsySb1 − yalloys lattice matched to GaSb

A pseudopotential formalism coupled with the virtual crystal approximation are applied to study the effect of compositional disorder upon electronic band structure of cubic Ga_xIn_1 − xAs_ySb_1 − yquarternary alloys lattice matched to GaSb. The effects of compositional variations are properly included in the calculations. Our theoretical results show that the compositional disorder plays an important role in the determination of the energy band structure of Ga_xIn_1 − xAs_ySb_1 − y/GaSb and that the bowing parameter is dominated by the group V-anion-based sublattice. Moreover, the absorption at the fundamental optical gaps is found to be direct within a whole range of the x composition.     

Nonlinear properties in InxGa1 − xAs/GaAs multiple quantum well laser structures

In this paper we investigated nonlinear properties and lasing in In_xGa_1 − xAs/GaAs multiple quantum wells grown by metal-organic chemical vapour deposition. A systematic study, performed by high excitation photoluminescence measurements as a function of excitation intensity, allowed us to identify the minimum well width for observing stimulated emission from well states. We also determined the threshold for stimulated emission for well and barrier lasing. Radiative recombination energies are identified by using theoretical data obtained in the effective mass approximation, including boundary conditions and strain.     

Temperature dependence of excitonic transitions in AlxGa1 − xAs/GaAs quantum wells

The temperature dependence of excitonic transitions in double quantum well heterostructures in the temperature range of 2–300 K were investigated. A crossing between excitonic transition experimental curves as a function of temperature in quantum wells of the same thickness and different barrier height is observed. The influence of the barrier height on the temperature dependence of excitonic states in the quantum wells is analyzed.     

Temperature dependent dynamic of excitons in Zn1 − xCdxSe/ZnSe multiple quantum wells

The exciton dynamics in Zn_1 − xCd_xSe/ZnSe multiple quantum wells have been investigated by temperature-dependent time-resolved photoluminescence experiments. A polariton effect (leading to a linearT-dependence of the decay time τ_PL) and thermal escape of carriers from the quantum well at relatively high temperature (resulting in a decrease of τ_PLwith the temperature) are observed in samples of different stoichiometry and well.     

Well-width dependence of interface roughness scattering in GaAs/Ga1 − xAlxAs quantum wells

Well-width dependence of quantum and transport mobilities of electrons in GaAs/GaAlAs multiple quantum wells is studied for wells with widths ranging between 50 Å and 145 Å Experimental results are obtained from the amplitude analysis of the Shubnikov–de Haas (SdH) oscillations and from conventional Hall measurements at temperatures betweenT = 15 K and 4.2 K. A novel technique is employed to estimate, theoretically, the interface roughness parameters from electron quantum and transport lifetimes. The modelling is carried out for a range of layer fluctuations, width (Δ) and lateral size (Λ), as to obtain the best fit to the experimental results for individual samples. Our results indicate that the interface roughness scattering limits equal both quantum and transport mobilities at low temperatures, and that the nature of scattering by interface roughness (small or large angle) depends not only on the size and the width of the fluctuations but also on the distribution of these fluctuations within the samples. Therefore, unlike the predictions of the existing theoretical models, which assume constant values of Δ and Λ for all well widths, the well-width dependence of interface roughness scattering cannot be verified experimentally.     

Pressure and compositional dependence of electric conductivity in the (Mg1 − xFex)1 − δO (x = 0.01–0.40) solid-solution

(Mg_1 ? xFe_x)_1 ? δO (x = 0.01–0.43) single crystals (~ 8 mm in diameter) were made by a melt-growth method. Electrical conductivity measurements were carried out as functions of temperature and frequency by a complex impedance method under pressure (~ 43 GPa and ~ 673 K and at 0.1 MPa and ~ 1400 K). Our experimental results show a change in charge transport mechanism in the (Mg_1 ? xFe_x)_1 ? δO solid solution at high temperature. The temperature of inflection point of the slope in Arrhenius plots depend greatly on both composition and extrinsic factors of crystals. The low-temperature conduction mechanism in (Mg_1 ? xFe_x)_1 ? δO solid solution is small polaron. Pressure effect of the electric conductivity was observed and the conductivity increased to 0.5 at log scale of S/m with increasing pressure up to 43.4 GPa. The activation energy was decreased linearly with increasing pressure. Chemical composition and homogeneity of specimen rather than pressure greatly influence the electric conductivity. The activation energy of 2.37(4) eV for the (Mg_0.99Fe_0.01)_1 ? δO solid solution might correspond to a migration enthalpy of O ions through thermally formed defects. It is proposed that a possible dominant electrical conduction mechanism in ferropericlase under the lower mantle conditions, at least in the higher temperature region, is super ionic conduction.     

Arguments for p-type Si 1 − xGe x/Si quantum well photodetectors for the far- and very-far (terahertz)-infrared

An analysis, by a carrier scattering approach, of the thermionic emission contribution to the dark current is carried out in conventional bound-to-continuum quantum well infrared photodetectors (QWIPs). It is found that the thermionic emission increases with increasing temperature or when extending the detection wavelength from mid- to far-infrared. Considering p-type instead of n-type material, however, the increased effective mass decreases the thermionic emission. Designs for mid- and far-infrared p-type QWIPs based on the Si _1 − xGe _x/Si system are discussed for both normal and non-normal incident geometries.     

Band structure of a cylindrical GaAs/AlxGa1 − xAs superwire

We investigate the existence of a band structure in GaAs/Al_xGa_1 − xsuperlattices with cylindrical symmetry, namely GaAs/Al_xGa_1 − xAs cylindrical superwires. These systems consists of a large number of concentric GaAs and Al_xGa_1 − xAs alternate cylindrical shells around a central GaAs cylindrical wire. Despite the radial configuration (that breaks the translational symmetry) and the electron confinement in the central three-dimensional well, a band structure can emerge depending on the number and thickness of the cylindrical shells.