High temperature defects in electron irradiated semiconductors HgCdTe,PbSnTe

The peculiarities of defect formation in n- and p-type conductivity HgCdTe and PbSnTe crystals after electron irradiation (2 MeV, 300 K) up to 2 × 10¹⁸ cm^-2 are examined. It has been found that irradiation results in formation of n-type conductivity crystals with final parameters that are determined by the composition of initial samples. The annealing of radiation defects occurs in the 360–470 K temperature range. It has been believed that the change of HgCdTe, PbSnTe properties after electron irradiation at 300 K are connected with formation of radiation defects, including Te vacancies.     

Defect study of proton-irradiated liquid-encapsulated Czochralski GaAs using the positron-annihilation technique

The positron lifetime of undoped Liquid-Encapsulated Czochralski (LEC)-GaAs and Si-doped (1.3×10¹⁸ cm^–3) LEC-GaAs was measured before and after irradiation with protons (dose 1×10¹⁵/cm², 15 MeV). In Si-doped GaAs, the decrease of positron lifetime at temperatures between 10 and 300 K are due to the decrease of the positron-diffusion length and the increase of the effective shallow traps such as antisite Ga_As. The annealing stage of the proton-irradiation-induced defects which show the different behavior from that of electron-irradiation-induced defects suggests that proton irradiation creates more complicated defect complexes, containing vacancies rather than isolated vacancy-type defects or simple complexes which have been observed during electron-irradiation processes. Above 700 K, proton-irradiation-induced defects such as vacancy-type defects and simple vacancy complexes are almost annealed out, while Si-induced defects such as Si_Ga-V_Ga complexes cannot be annealed out above 973 K.     

Influence of the defect state of samples on the luminescence spectra of CdS single crystals irradiated by electrons

The photoluminescence spectra of CdS single crystals irradiated by electrons (E = 1.2 MeV, Φ = 2×10¹⁷ cm^?2) are investigated in the visible and near-infrared regions of electromagnetic radiation. Some samples of the CdS single crystals are preliminarily irradiated by neutrons (E = 2 MeV, Φ = 2 × 10¹⁸ cm^?2) with the aim of increasing the concentration of initial structural defects. From analyzing the peak intensities of photoluminescence in the irradiated single crystals at the wavelengths λ_m = 0.720, 1.030, and 0.605 μm, it is concluded that the CdS samples with a low concentration of structural defects in the initial state possess the highest resistance to electron radiation. It is assumed that the observed transformation of the photoluminescence spectra of the imperfect CdS single crystals subjected to electron irradiation is determined by either the mechanisms of subthreshold defect formation or the transformation of the defect complexes in elastic and electric fields near the large structural damages of the crystal lattice.     

中子辐照含氢硅中的一种新EPR谱

氢气氛下生长的区熔硅(磷～10¹⁴/cm³)经镉比为10,总通量为(2.9—6.0)×10¹⁷n/cm²的中子辐照后,在77K,X波段观测到一种S=1/2的新EPR谱(标号为PK2)。g_eff值随(011)平面内磁场的角度关系呈三斜对称性。对应于缺陷在硅中一特定取向下的g张量主值及主轴相对于立方晶轴的方向余弦如下:g(±0.0004) n[100] n[010] n[001] g_{1关键词：}     

Li-defect interactions in electron-irradiated n-type silicon by EPR measurements

Single crystal silicon, both with and without oxygen, has been diffused with lithium to concentrations ～10¹⁷/cm², irradiated with 1 to 1.5 MeV electrons, and the ensuing defects studies by EPR measurements. The presence of oxygen strongly affects the properties of these defects. Measurements have indicated the presence of two new defects which involve Li-one in O-containing material and one in O-free material. The defects are observed in their electron-filled state, and indicate a net electron spinof ½. The defect spectra disappear (with time) at room temperature, and can be explained by the formation of other Li-involved defects which lie deeper in the energy bandgap and are not visible by EPR. Electron irradiation at 40 °K followed by annealing at higher temperatures show that both EPR defects described above begin to form at about 200 °K and begin to decrease at about 275 °K-just as does the 250 °K reverse annealing observed generally for n-type Si. Based on these data, and the work of others, it is suggested that both defects form as a result of the motion of Si interstitials which produce a (Li-O-interstitial) complex in O-containing Si, and a (Li-interstitial) complex in O-free Si.     

Divacancy complexes induced by Cu diffusion in Zn-doped GaAs

Positron annihilation spectroscopy was applied to investigate the nature and thermal behavior of defects induced by Cu diffusion in Zn-doped p-type GaAs crystals. Cu atoms were intentionally introduced in the GaAs lattice through thermally activated diffusion from a thin Cu capping layer at 1100 °C under defined arsenic vapor pressure. During isochronal annealing of the obtained Cu-diffused GaAs in the temperature range of 450?850 K, vacancy clusters were found to form, grow and finally disappear. We found that annealing at 650 K triggers the formation of divacancies, whereas further increasing in the annealing temperature up to 750 K leads to the formation of divacancy-copper complexes. The observations suggest that the formation of these vacancy-like defects in GaAs is related to the out-diffusion of Cu. Two kinds of acceptors are detected with a concentration of about 10¹⁶ ? 10¹⁷ cm^?3, negative ions and arsenic vacancy copper complexes. Transmission electron microscopy showed the presence of voids and Cu precipitates which are not observed by positron measurements. The positron binding energy to shallow traps is estimated using the positron trapping model. Coincidence Doppler broadening spectroscopy showed the presence of Cu in the immediate vicinity of the detected vacancies. Theoretical calculations suggested that the detected defect is V _Ga V _As-2Cu_Ga.     

Compensation effect in undoped polycrystalline CdTe synthesized under nonequilibrium conditions

The compensation effect has been revealed in undoped polycrystalline CdTe synthesized during rapid crystallization. The revealed effect leads to an increase in the electrical resistivity to 10⁸–10¹⁰ Ω cm at a background impurity concentration of ～1015 cm^?3 (Ga_Cd and Cl_Te donors, unidentified acceptors). For some samples, this effect is accompanied by the appearance of persistent photoconductivity, which disappears at a temperature of ～200 K. It has been shown that all the polycrystals studied are characterized by a three-level compensation mechanism in which the fundamental properties of the material are determined by deep donors and/or acceptors with a concentration of 10¹² cm^?3. Depending on the specific growth conditions, the electrical resistivity at room temperature is determined by deep centers with activation energies of 0.59 ± 0.10 and 0.71 ± 0.10 eV, which are supposedly related to intrinsic point defects, and deep centers with activation energies of 0.4 ± 0.1 eV, which belong to the DX center formed by the Ga_Cd donor.     

3 MeV electron irradiation-induced defects in CuInSe2 thin films

3 MeV electron irradiation induced-defects in CuInSe₂ (CIS) thin films have been investigated. Both of the carrier concentration and Hall mobility were decreased as the electron fluence exceeded 1×10¹⁷ cm⁻². The carrier removal rate was estimated to be about 1 cm⁻¹. To evaluate electron irradiation-induced defect, the electrical properties of CIS thin films before and after irradiation were investigated between 80 and 300 K. From the temperature dependence of the carrier concentration in non-irradiated thin films, we obtained N_D=1.8×10¹⁷ cm⁻³, N_A=1.7×10¹⁶ cm⁻³ and E_D=18 meV from the SALS fitting to the experimental data on the basis of the charge balance equation. After irradiation, a new defect level was formed, and N_T0=1.4×10¹⁷ cm⁻³ and E_T=54 meV were also obtained from the same procedure. From the temperature dependence of Hall mobility, the ionized impurity density was discussed before and after the irradiation.     

正电子湮没谱和光致发光谱研究掺锌GaSb质子辐照缺陷

用正电子湮没谱和光致发光谱研究了质子辐照后掺锌GaSb中的缺陷.通过分析正电子的缺陷寿命τ₂及强度I₂的变化发现,在高能质子的辐照下产生了双空位缺陷V_GaV_Sb,可能同时产生了小的空位团.正电子平均寿命τ_av和S参数随着质子辐照剂量的变化也证明了这一结论.通过分析不同质子辐照剂量下掺锌GaS     

The influence of AlN interlayers on the microstructural and electrical properties of p-type AlGaN/GaN superlattices grown on GaN/sapphire templates

AlN with different thicknesses were grown as interlayers (ILs) between GaN and p-type Al_0.15Ga_0.85N/GaN superlattices (SLs) by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE). It was found that the edge-type threading dislocation density (TDD) increased gradually from the minimum of 2.5×10⁹?cm^?2 without AlN IL to the maximum of 1×10¹⁰?cm^?2 at an AlN thickness of 20 nm, while the screw-type TDD remained almost unchanged due to the interface-related TD suppression and regeneration mechanism. We obtained that the edge-type dislocations acted as acceptors in p-type Al _x Ga_1?x N/GaN SLs, through the comparison of the edge-type TDD and hole concentration with different thicknesses of AlN IL. The Mg activation energy was significantly decreased from 153 to 70?meV with a?10-nm AlN IL, which was attributed to the strain modulation between AlGaN barrier and GaN well. The large activation efficiency, together with the TDs, led to the enhanced hole concentration. The variation trend of Hall mobility was also observed, which originated from the scattering at TDs.     

Effect of phosphorus irradiation on the structural,electrical, and optical characteristics of ZnO thin films

Phosphorus irradiation at a low energy (50 keV) and at a dosage of 8×10¹⁴ ions/cm² was carried out on 〈002〉 ZnO films grown by using a pulsed laser deposition technique (Sample A). Subsequent rapid thermal annealing at 650 °C and 750 °C was performed to remove defects resulting from the irradiation (samples B and C, respectively). Atomic force microscopy was used to determine the root mean square roughness, which was 10.07, 8.66, and 9.31 nm for samples A, B, and C, respectively. Low-temperature photoluminescence measurements revealed increased deep-level defect peaks following irradiation; however, the subsequent annealing minimized the defects. Although the dominant donor-bound exciton peak verifies the n-type conductivity of the films, the free–electron–to–acceptor and donor-to-acceptor pair peaks in the irradiated samples confirm an increase in acceptor concentration.     

Study of carbon material surface layers modified by nitrogen and argon ion irradiation

We present the results of the study of the elemental composition and defects of the electronic structure of the surface layer modified by high-dose irradiation (10¹⁸–10¹⁹ ion/cm²) of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (UPV-1T) by 30-keV N ₂ ⁺ and Ar⁺ ions in the temperature range from 180 to 400°C. The EPR spectra observed during irradiation with argon ions at high temperatures and with nitrogen ions at temperatures near the liquid-nitrogen temperature T = 77 K exhibit anomalously narrow lines which probably result from the exchange interaction inside paramagnetic clusters of displaced carbon atoms. During nitrogen ion irradiation at room and higher temperatures, paramagnetic defects typical of many carbon materials (single EPR lines with g = 2.0027–2.0029) and belonging to carbon atoms bound to one or three nitrogen atoms were detected.     

Small-angle neutron scattering study of radiation defects in synthetic quartz

The superatomic structure of synthetic quartz single crystals with dislocation densities ρ = 54 and 570 cm^?2 was studied in the initial state and after irradiation with fast neutrons with energies E _n > 0.1 MeV in a WWRM reactor (St. Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute) in the fluence range F = 0.2 × 10¹⁷?5.0 × 10¹⁸ neutrons/cm². Weak irradiation with F = 0.2 × 10¹⁷ neutrons/cm² causes only slight structural changes, whereas appreciable generation of defects with radii of gyration r _g ～ 1–2 nm and R _G ～ 40–50 nm occurs at F = 7.7 × 10¹⁷?5.0 × 10¹⁸ neutrons/cm². As the fluence increases further, the number and volume fraction of point defects, as well as extended (channels ～2 nm in radius) and globular (amorphous phase nuclei) defects, increase.     

Hole mobility in p-type HgTe

Experimental data concerning the electrical conduction and Hall coefficient in HgTe samples with acceptor states have been collected and analysed. In the analysis three ranges of acceptor concentration have been distinguished: a low concentration range up to about 5 × 10¹⁵ cm^?3 (pure samples), a high concentration range from 10¹⁶ to 10¹⁸ cm^?3 (p-like samples), and an extremely high concentration range above 10¹⁸ cm^?3 (p-type samples). In pure HgTe samples the holes are in the valence band, in p-like samples the “holes” are in the impurity band, and in p-type HgTe samples the holes are in a strong mixing impurity-valence band. The mobility of holes in the valence band is of the order of $\text{10}{}^5\text{cm}{}^2\text{Vs}$. The mobility of “holes” in the impurity band decreases with increasing impurity concentration from about $\text{5 × 10}{}^3\text{cm}{}^2\text{Vs}$ to $\text{125}\text{cm}{}^2\text{Vs}$. The mobility of holes in p-type HgTe samples is independent of the acceptor concentration and is equal to $\text{125}\text{cm}{}^2\text{Vs}$.     

Defect-annealing in neutron-damaged β-Ga2O3

A study is made of the effect of fast neutrons on the electrical conductivity and thermoelectric power and also the neutron-induced defects in β-Ga₂O₃. It is found that the conductivity decreases while the thermoelectric power increases after an irradiation of about 10¹⁷ nvt. This is explained by assuming that the defects introduced into the Ga₂O₃ lattices act as trapping centres for electrons. The defect anneal by thermally activated processes at temperatures up to about 1000 °K with an activation energy of about 2 eV. The defects are the most likely vacancies of the galium atoms.     

Structure and energy level of native defects in as-grown and electron-irradiated zinc germanium diphosphide studied by EPR and photo-EPR

The properties of defects in as-grown p-type zinc germanium disphosphide (ZnGeP₂) and the influence of electron irradiation and annealing on the defect behavior were studied by means of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and photo-EPR. Besides the well-known three native defects (V_Zn, V_P, Ge_Zn), an S=1/2 EPR spectrum with an isotropic g=2.0123 and resolved hyperfine splitting from four equivalent I=1/2 neighbors is observed in electron-irradiated ZnGeP₂. This spectrum is tentatively assigned to the isolated Ge vacancy. Photo-EPR and annealing treatments show that the high-energy electron irradiation-induced changes in the EPR intensities of the zinc and phosphorus vacancies are caused by the Fermi level shift towards the conduction band. Annealing of the electron-irradiated samples induces a shift of the Fermi level back to its original position, accompanied by an increase of the EPR signal associated with the V_Zn⁻ and a proportional increase of the EPR signal assigned to the V_P⁰ under illumination (λ<1 eV) as well as generation of a new defect. The results indicate that the EPR spectra originally assigned to the isolated V_Zn⁻ and V_P⁰ are in fact associated defects and the new defect is probably the isolated phosphorus vacancy V_Pi.     

Electrical characterization of defects introduced in n-GaAs by alpha and beta irradiation from radionuclides

We investigated defect production in n-type GaAs with two different free-carrier densities (4×10¹⁴ and 1×10¹⁶/cm³) by using particles liberated from radionuclides. ⁹⁰Sr and ²⁴¹Am were employed as beta and alpha sources, respectively. The results obtained for electron irradiation showed that the same set of primary defects can be produced by beta irradiation from the Sr source as by electrons produced in an accelerator. Similarly, the defects produced by alpha irradiation from the Am source closely resemble those introduced by alpha irradiation in a Van de Graaff accelerator. It was found that the relative concentrations of the primary defects in electron-irradiated GaAs are different to those in alpha-particle irradiated GaAs. Further, for the first time, an alpha irradiation induced defect which seems to be related to the doping concentration was observed in the 10¹⁶/cm³ Si doped GaAs. It is concluded that the use of radionuclides is an inexpensive and convenient method to introduce and to study radiation induced defects in semiconductors.     

Radiation defects introduced by MeV electrons in argon implanted MOS structures

The influence of MeV electron irradiation on the interface states of argon implanted thin oxide MOS samples has been studied by the thermally stimulated current (TSC) method. The oxide thickness of the structures is 18 nm. Two groups of n-type MOS structures non-implanted and implanted with 20 keV Ar⁺ ions and a dose of 5×10¹² cm⁻² are examined. Both groups are simultaneously irradiated by 23 MeV electrons with doses of 1.2×10¹⁶, 2.4×10¹⁶ or 6.0×10¹⁶ el/cm². The energy position and density of the interface states (generated by electron irradiation, ion implantation or both treatments of the samples) are determined. It is shown that MeV electron irradiation decreases the concentration of interface states (like an oxygen-vacancy and di-vacancy) slightly and creates additional interface states (like an impurity-vacancy) at the Si–SiO₂ interface of argon implanted MOS structures.     

Optically detected electron nuclear double resonance of anion antisite defects in GaP

Anion antisite defects in semi-insulating GaP single crystals (doped with group V atoms) are investigated with optically detected electron paramagnetic resonance and electron nuclear double resonance (ODEPR and ODENDOR) ODEPR and ODENDOR are measured as microwave- and microwave- and rf-induced changes of the magnetic circular dichroism of the optical absorption (MCDA), respectively. In GaP: V two P antisite defects are found in about equal concentration which within ENDOR precision have tetrahedral site symmetry with respect to the nearest P ligands. The two P_GaP₄ defects have only slightly differentg-factors and³¹P superhyperfine interactions, but differ by one order of magnitude in their spin-lattice relaxation times. Their optical properties are also different from those of the P_GaP₄ defects reported earlier in GaP: Cr. It is concluded that there is no experimental prove yet. that any of the P_GaP₄ defects hitherto observed in GaP in an isolated P_GaP₄ defect which is not associated with another defect to form an antisite related defect complex.     

Deep level structure and compensation mechanism in In-doped CdTe crystals

Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy (DLTS) and Optical Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy (ODLTS) experiments have been conducted on a series of In-doped CdTe crystals grown by the Bridgman or the travelling heater (THM) methods using Te as the solvent. The THM samples are n-type but strongly compensated. Annealing at 700°C under high Cd vapour pressure leads to a decompensation of the crystals. The electron concentration is then a measure of the donor (In) concentration, which was in the range 3 × 10¹⁶−1.5 × 10¹⁸cm⁻³. Six and eight electron traps are, respectively detected in the non-annealed and annealed samples at a concentration level 10²–10³ times below the net electron concentration. They cover the energy range 0.2–0.8 eV. Similar traps are found in both types of crystals, the concentration of which increases with In content and after annealing. The presence of In interstitial-type defects is suggested. A main hole trap at 0.12eV is detected by ODLTS in compensated samples with a concentration close to the donor concentration. Low temperature electrical measurements show that this trap is ionized under equilibrium conditions. It appears to be the main compensating acceptor centre. A plausible microscopic structure is In_cdV_cd. This study shows that In-doped CdTe grown by THM is electrically compensated and that In-containing neutral associates or precipitates play a minor role in the compensation mechanism.