Hydrogen-enhanced recrystallization in N<Superscript>+</Superscript>-implanted GaAs

The hydrogen-enhanced recrystallization during thermal annealing in N⁺-implanted GaAs has been studied by combinatorial implantation process. Raman spectroscopy was used to study the crystallization properties of a set of hydrogenated cells on the N⁺-implanted GaAs wafer. A whole competitive process between H⁺ implantation-induced damage and recovery in the regrowth process of amorphous GaAs was observed within the proton dose region of 1.6×10¹⁵ to 1.1×10¹⁷ cm^-2. In H⁺ dose region of 2.1×10¹⁶ to 5.4×10¹⁶ cm^-2, H-enhanced recovery of crystal dominates the regrowth process. The crystal quality is better than that of unhydrogenated cell of N⁺-implanted GaAs in the H⁺ dose range from 4.7×10¹⁶ to 8.1×10¹⁶ cm^-2. It is suggested that the vacancy supersaturation produced during hydrogen irradiation is dominantly responsible for the enhancement of thermal regrowth in the N⁺-implanted GaAs. Both the crystallization and amorphization process are clearly observed in different proton implantation dose regions. PACS 61.72.Vv; 63.20.Dj; 81.05.Ea     

Influence of N+ ion implantation at different temperatures on nanostructural modifications and characteristics of Al alloy surface

Thick (3.0 mm) Al samples (7049 an alloy with 15 elements) were implanted by N⁺ ions of 30 keV energy and fluence of 5 × 10 ¹⁷ N⁺ cm^?2 at different temperatures. The surface modification of the samples was studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscope (AFM) analysis. XRD spectra of the samples clearly showed the formation of different phases of AlN. Crystallite sizes (coherently diffracting domains) obtained from AlN diffraction lines showed that at a certain substrate temperature the crystallite size decreases considerably. AFM images showed the formation of grains on Al samples, and it was observed that both grain size and sample surface roughness first decrease and then increase with temperature (i.e. a minimum at a certain temperature is observed). In addition at this temperature, a minimum of intensity is also observed for the intensity of different phases of AlN and the intensity ratio of AlN (200)/AlN (311). This phenomenon is similar to those obtained for thin films and pure metal foils though the sample studied in this work is an Al alloy and the minimum for Al occurred at a value three times larger than that reported for the above cases. Alloy nature of this sample with 14 elements is responsible for the observed results because they may act as defects. Results may also be affected by the residual gases, substrate temperature, dissociation of water in the chamber and the ion energy. Results also showed that the processes of Al nitride and Al oxide formations are competing with each other; decrease of aluminium nitride phases are associated with increase of aluminium oxide phases.     

Tunneling resonances in structures with a two-step barrier

Electron transport through an asymmetric heterostructure with a two-step barrier N⁺GaAs/N⁻GaAs/Al_0.4Ga_0.6As/Al_0.03Ga_0.97As/N⁻GaAs/N⁺GaAs was investigated. Features due to resonance tunneling both through a size-quantization level in a triangular quantum well, induced by an external electric field in the region of the bottom step of the barrier (Al_0.03Ga_0.97As layer), and through virtual levels in two quantum pseudowells of different width are observed in the tunneling current. The virtual levels form above the bottom step or above one of the spacers (N⁻GaAs layer) as a result of interference of electrons, in the first case on account of reflection from the Al_0.4Ga_0.6As barrier and a potential jump at the Al_0.03Ga_0.97As/N⁻GaAs interface and in the second case — from the Al_0.4Ga_0.6As barrier and the potential gradient at the N⁻GaAs/N⁺GaAs junction, reflection from which is likewise coherent. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 67, No. 10, 814–819 (25 May 1998)     

Influence of activation of Si29+ ion-implantation in GaAs on ohmic contact resistance and electrical performances of MESFETs

The active layers of Metal Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors (MESFETs) are obtained by Si²⁹⁺ ion implantation in GaAs. Implantation was done at 35 keV with a higher dose near the wafer surface for facilitating easier formation of ohmic contacts, and at 180 keV with a lower dose for obtaining the device channel. Post-implantation annealing was carried out in a rapid thermal processor for activating the implants. Very high activation levels of about 60% for the n⁺ GaAs layer, and 85% for the n-GaAs channel layer were achieved by annealing at 955 °C for 25 s. Activation was characterized using C–V profiling, secondary ion mass spectrometry and by electrical device data of fabricated MESFETs. We attempt an experimental correlation between the ohmic contact resistance (R _c) and activation of both the n⁺ and the channel layer. It was found that very high and simultaneous activation of the n⁺ and channel layers results in very low contact resistances. The conduction of source-drain current into the channel is easily facilitated due to reduction in the resistance of the transition region at the interface of n⁺-contact and n-channel layers.     

Photoinduced electron transfer of Rhodamine 6G/N,N-diethylaniline revealed by multiplex transient grating and transient absorption spectroscopies

The dynamics and spectroscopic characteristics of the ultrafast photoinduced electron transfer (ET) of Rhodamine 6G (Rh6G⁺) in N,N-diethylaniline (DEA) were studied using femtosecond time-resolved multiplex transient grating and transient absorption spectroscopies. The ultrafast photoinduced forward ET from DEA to the Rh6G⁺* cation radical excited state has a time constant of τ _FET = 219–318 fs. The much slower backward ET from the neutral radical Rh6G^· to DEA⁺ with a time constant of τ _BET = 22.76–42.31 ps occurs in the inverted region. Intramolecular vibrational relaxation of the excited state takes place in τ _IVR = 2.18–6.91 ps.     

氮团簇离子注入单晶硅的光致发光谱研究

氮团簇离子N⁺₁₀注入单晶硅直接诱发其表层转化为纳米晶结构, 导致光学性质发生显著变化. 在250—320nm波段的紫外光激励下,在330—500nm光区出现明显的光发射带,并在360nm附近产生强度极高、单色性良好的发射峰,其强度达到N⁺注入试样或基底的5倍,是N⁺₂注入试样的1.5倍. 在可见光区的730nm附近和近红外区的830nm附近也出现发光带. 所有上述发光都非常稳定,可长时间保持其发 关键词： 光致发光 团簇离子注入 硅单晶 纳米晶结构     

Alteration of the Axial Met Ligand to Electron Acceptor A0 in Photosystem I: Effect on the Generation of P 700 ·+ A 1 ·− Radical Pairs as Studied by W-band Transient EPR

Photosystem I (PS I) mutants from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 bearing point mutations to the axial ligands of A_0A (M688N_PsaA) and A_0B (M668N_PsaB) were studied by high-field W-band electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. It was found that the EPR observables of PS I from the M668N_PsaB mutant were virtual identical to that of the wild type (WT), and are clearly distinct from the M688N_PsaA mutant. In particular, the P ₇₀₀ ^·+ decay kinetics in the M688N_PsaA mutant is significantly slower than in the WT or the M668N_PsaB mutant. The analysis of the out-of-phase electron–electron dipolar electron spin echo envelope modulation shows that in the M668N_PsaB mutant, the estimated distance of 26.0 ± 0.3 Å agrees well with the 25.8 Å distance for the P ₇₀₀ ^·+ A _1A ^·? radical pair measured in the X-ray crystal structure. In the M688N_PsaA mutant, two populations are found with estimated distances of 26.0 ± 0.3 and 25.0 ± 0.3 Å in a ratio of 0.7–0.3, which agree well with the 25.8 Å distance for the P ₇₀₀ ^·+ A _1A ^·? radical pair and the 24.6 Å distance for the P ₇₀₀ ^·+ A _1B ^·? radical pair measured in the X-ray crystal structure. The data confirm that under the experimental conditions employed in this work, which involve dark-adapted samples without the pre-reduction of the iron–sulfur clusters, electron transport in cyanobacterial PS I is asymmetrical at 100 K, with the majority of electron transfer taking place through the A-branch of cofactors.     

Study of S ion-assisted sulfurization of n-GaAs (1 0 0) surface

The chemical structure and site location of sulfur atoms on n-GaAs (1 0 0) surface treated by bombardment of S⁺ ions over their energy range from 10 to 100 eV have been studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and low energy electron diffraction. The formation of Ga-S and As-S species on the S⁺ ion bombarded n-GaAs surface is observed. An apparent donor doping effect is observed for the n-GaAs by the 100 eV S⁺ ion bombardment. It is found that the S⁺ ions with higher energy are more effective in the formation of Ga-S species, which assists the n-GaAs (1 0 0) surface in reconstruction into an ordered (1 × 1) structure upon subsequent annealing. The treatment is further extended to repair Ar⁺ ion damaged n-GaAs (1 0 0) surface. It is found that after a n-GaAs (1 0 0) sample is damaged by 150 eV Ar⁺ ion bombardment, and followed by 50 eV S⁺ ion treatment and subsequent annealing process, finally an (1 × 1) ordering GaAs (1 0 0) surface with low surface states is obtained.     

An alternative method for the dechannelling correction in channelling-backscattering experiments

An alternative procedure to evaluate the dechannelling correction for the extraction of disorder depths distributions, particularly for high levels of disorder, in channelling-backscattering studies is described. It involves the use of experimentally determined values of dechannelling and was used for the extraction of damage distributions in a study of disorder generated by 40 keV N⁺, P⁺, As⁺ and Bi⁺ and 20-200 keV Sb⁺ bombardment of (100) GaAs at 40°K. As a result the method appears applicable at least when thermal annealing of disorder is absent. A comparison with various models of small angle scattering is also made.     

Formation and decomposition of nitrides under ion bombardment

The chemical processes of formation and decomposition of narrow-gap nitrides InN and GaAs_{1 ? x} N _x under ion bombardment have been investigated by Auger electron spectroscopy. It is shown that, due to chemical instability, a large fraction of InN decomposes with formation of metal clusters under ion bombardment. It is established that bombardment of GaAs with a beam of N ₂ ⁺ and Ar⁺ ions makes it possible to obtain a chemically homogeneous GaAs_{1 ? x} N _x solid solution with a high nitrogen content (x = 0.1), whereas implantation of only N ₂ ⁺ ions leads to the formation of a mixture of GaN, GaAsN, and GaAs phases. It is concluded that secondary ion cascades, induced by heavy ions, stimulate nitridation reaction, homogenize the spatial atomic distribution, and shift the dynamic equilibrium to the formation of a single-phase solution.     

Synthesis of LiCoO<Subscript>2</Subscript> via sol-gel method for aqueous rechargeable lithium batteries

A crystalline structure of LiCoO₂ sample was synthesized at different stirring times via sol-gel method. This was followed by the electrochemical characterization of LiCoO₂ in 5 M LiNO₃ aqueous electrolyte. The hexagonal LiCoO₂ was stirred for 30 h produced the highest peak intensity and smallest particle size. A morphological analysis showed the particle size distribution within the range of 0.32–0.47 μm. At lower scan rates of cyclic voltammetry, three pairs of redox peaks at E_SCE = 0.81/0.65, 0.89/0.83 and 1.01/0.95 V were observed. The peak separation was proportionally consistent with Li⁺ diffusion coefficients of 7.42 × 10^?8 cm² s^?1 (anodic) and 3.59 × 10^?8 cm² s^?1 (cathodic). For specific capacity, the LiCoO₂ demonstrated a higher initial specific capacity (115.49 mA h g^?1). A small difference (1.92 Ω) in the charge transfer resistance before and after a charge discharge analysis indicated that the Li⁺ ions had been well-diffused during the intercalation/de-intercalation process.     

Modified dislocation filter method: toward growth of GaAs on Si by metal organic chemical vapor deposition

In this paper, metamorphic growth of GaAs on (001) oriented Si substrate, with a combination method of applying dislocation filter layer (DFL) and three-step growth process, was conducted by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. The effectiveness of the multiple InAs/GaAs self-organized quantum dot (QD) layers acting as a dislocation filter was researched in detail. And the growth conditions of the InAs QDs were optimized by theoretical calculations and experiments. A 2-μm-thick buffer layer was grown on the Si substrate with the three-step growth method according to the optimized growth conditions. Then, a 114-nm-thick DFL and a 1-μm-thick GaAs epilayer were grown. The results we obtained demonstrated that the DFL can effectively bend dislocation direction via the strain field around the QDs. The optimal structure of the DFL is composed of three-layer InAs QDs with a growth time of 55 s. The method could reduce the etch pit density from about 3 × 10⁶ cm^?2 to 9 × 10⁵ cm^?2 and improve the crystalline quality of the GaAs epilayers on Si.     

ΛN and ΣN Interactions from Lattice QCD

We present our recent study on ΛN and ΣN (isospin I = 3/2) interactions by measuring Nambu–Bethe–Salpeter wave functions on the Lattice QCD. The lattice QCD calculation is performed by using the N _f  = 2 + 1 gauge configurations generated by PACS-CS collaboration together with employing an improved method to obtain potentials in lattice QCD simulations. For the ¹ S ₀ channel, the central ΣN (I = 3/2) potential and the central ΛN (¹ S ₀) potential are found to be very similar. For the spin triplet (³ S ₁?³ D ₁) channels, the central ΛN(³ S ₁?³ D ₁) potential is attractive while the central ΣN(I = 3/2, ³ S ₁?³ D ₁) potentials is repulsive. Tensor potentials, on the other hand, are rather weak in both ΛN and ΣN(I = 3/2) systems.     

Ion beam shaping of embedded metal nanoparticles by Si+ ion irradiation

Fine Co and Pt nanoparticles are nucleated when a silica sample is implanted with 400 keV Co⁺ and 1370 keV Pt⁺ ions. At the implanted range, Co and Pt react to form small Co _x Pt_(1?x) nanoparticles during Si⁺ ion irradiation at 300 °C. Thermal annealing of the pre-implanted silica substrate at 1000 °C results in the formation of spherical nanoparticles of various sizes. When irradiated with Si⁺ ions at 300 °C, particles in the size range of 5–17 nm undergo rod-like shape transformation with an elongation in the direction of the incident ion beam, while those particles in the size range of 17–26 nm turn into elliptical shape. Moreover, it is suspected that very big nanoparticles (size >26 nm) decrease in size, while small nanoparticles (size <5 nm) do not undergo any transformation. During Si⁺ ion irradiation, the crystalline nature of the nanoparticles is preserved. The results are discussed in the light of the thermal spike model.     

Kinetic ion-acoustic solitary waves in collisional plasmas

In this study, a bipolar high-voltage pulse with 20 ns rising time is employed to generate diffuse dielectric barrier discharge plasma using wire-plate electrode configuration in nitrogen at atmospheric pressure. The gas temperature of the plasma is determined by comparing the experimental and the best fitted optical emission spectra of the second positive bands of N₂(C³Π_u → B³ Π_g, 0-2) and the first negative bands of N₂ ⁺ (B² Σ_u ⁺ → X² Σ_g ⁺, 0-0). The effects of the concentration of argon and oxygen on the emission intensities of N₂ (C³Π_u → B³Π_g, 0-0, 337.1 nm), OH?(A ²Σ → X²Π, 0-0) and N₂ ⁺ (B² Σ_u ⁺ → X² Σ_g ⁺, 0-0, 391.4 nm) are investigated. It is shown that the plasma gas temperature keeps almost constant with the pulse repetition rate and pulse peak voltage increasing. The emission intensities of N₂ (C³Π_u → B³Π_g, 0-0, 337.1 nm), OH(A²Σ → X²Π, 0-0) and N₂ ⁺ (B² Σ_u ⁺ → X² Σ_g ⁺, 0-0, 391.4 nm) rise with increasing the concentration of argon, but decrease with increasing the concentration of oxygen, and the influences of oxygen concentration on the emission intensities of N₂(C³Π_u → B³Π_g, 0-0, 337.1 nm) and OH (A²Σ → X²Π, 0-0) are more greater than that on the emission intensity of N₂ ⁺ (B² Σ_u ⁺ → X² Σ_g ⁺, 0-0, 391.4 nm).     

Electrical characteristics of GaAs MOS capacitor and field effect transistor with atomic layer-deposited TiO2/Al2O3 dielectrics

The (NH₄)₂S treatment can reduce native oxides and passivate GaAs. Atomic layer-deposited Al₂O₃ can further remove the residue native oxides by self-cleaning. Stacked with high dielectric constant TiO₂ prepared by atomic layer deposition on Al₂O₃/(NH₄)₂S-treated GaAs MOS capacitor, the leakage current densities can reach 4.5 × 10^?8 and 3.4 × 10^?6 A/cm² at ±2 MV/cm. The net effective dielectric constant of the entire stack is 18 and the interface state density is about 4.2 × 10¹¹/cm²/eV. The fabricated enhancement-mode n-channel GaAs MOSFET exhibited good electrical characteristics with a maximum g _m of 122 mS/mm and electron mobility of 226 cm²/V s.     

Electron temperature and ion density measurements in a glow discharge of an Ar–N2 mixture

A DC glow discharge produced in N₂ gas can generate several species that are important in different applications, such as the modification of surface properties of materials. A low-pressure glow discharge apparatus was used for the the analysis of the Ar–N₂ mixture at a total pressure of 2.0 Torr, a power of 20 W and 40 l/min flow rate of gases. The emission bands were measured in the wavelength range of 200–1100 nm. The principal elements are N₂, N ₂⁺ and Ar I. The electron temperature was found in the range of 1.72–2.08 eV, and the ion density was in the order of 10¹⁰ cm^?3.     

XPS investigation of ion beam induced conversion of GaAs(0 0 1) surface into GaN overlayer

For the advance of GaN based optoelectronic devices, one of the major barriers has been the high defect density in GaN thin films, due to lattice parameter and thermal expansion incompatibility with conventional substrates. Of late, efforts are focused in fine tuning epitaxial growth and in search for a low temperature method of forming low defect GaN with zincblende structure, by a method compatible to the molecular beam epitaxy process. In principle, to grow zincblende GaN the substrate should have four-fold symmetry and thus zincblende GaN has been prepared on several substrates including Si, 3C-SiC, GaP, MgO, and on GaAs(0 0 1). The iso-structure and a common shared element make the epitaxial growth of GaN on GaAs(0 0 1) feasible and useful. In this study ion-induced conversion of GaAs(0 0 1) surface into GaN at room temperature is optimized. At the outset a Ga-rich surface is formed by Ar⁺ ion bombardment. Nitrogen ion bombardment of the Ga-rich GaAs surface is performed by using 2-4 keV energy and fluence ranging from 3 × 10¹³ ions/cm² to 1 × 10¹⁸ ions/cm². Formation of surface GaN is manifested as chemical shift. In situ core level and true secondary electron emission spectra by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy are monitored to observe the chemical and electronic property changes. Using XPS line shape analysis by deconvolution into chemical state, we report that 3 keV N₂⁺ ions and 7.2 × 10¹⁷ ions/cm² are the optimal energy and fluence, respectively, for the nitridation of GaAs(0 0 1) surface at room temperature. The measurement of electron emission of the interface shows the dependence of work function to the chemical composition of the interface. Depth profile study by using Ar⁺ ion sputtering, shows that a stoichiometric GaN of 1 nm thickness forms on the surface. This, room temperature and molecular beam epitaxy compatible, method of forming GaN temperature can serve as an excellent template for growing low defect GaN epitaxial overlayers.     

A novel and shortcut method to prepare ionic liquid gel polymer electrolyte membranes for lithium-ion battery

The ionic liquid polymer electrolyte (IL-PE) membrane is prepared by ultraviolet (UV) cross-linking technology with polyurethane acrylate (PUA), methyl methacrylate (MMA), ionic liquid (Py₁₃TFSI), lithium salt (LiTFSI), ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA), and benzoyl peroxide (BPO). N-methyl-N-propyl pyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (Py₁₃TFSI) ionic liquid is synthesized by mixing N-methyl-N-propyl pyrrolidinium bromide (Py₁₃Br) and lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI). The addition of Py₁₃TFSI to polymer electrolyte membranes leads to network structures by the chain cross-linking. The resultant electrolyte membranes display the room temperature ionic conductivity of 1.37 × 10^?3 S cm^?1 and the lithium ions transference number of 0.22. The electrochemical stability window of IL-PE is about 4.8 V (vs. Li⁺/Li), indicating sufficient electrochemical stability. The interfacial resistances between the IL-PE and the electrodes have the less change after 10 cycles than before 10 cycles. IL-PE has better compatibility with the LiFePO₄ electrode and the Li electrode after 10 cycles. The first discharge performance of Li/IL-PE/LiFePO₄ half-cell shows a capacity of 151.9 mAh g^?1 and coulombic efficiency of 87.9%. The discharge capacity is 131.9 mAh g^?1 with 95.5% coulombic efficiency after 80 cycles. Therefore, the battery using the IL-PE exhibits a good cycle and rate performance.     

Temperature behavior of Franz-Keldysh oscillation and evaluation of interface electric fields attributed to strain effect of InAs/GaAs quantum dot

In this work, the electric field-induced Franz-Keldysh effect was used to investigate the localized electric fields in GaAs interfaces attributed to strain effect of InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QD). The electric fields were investigated by photoreflectance spectroscopy (PR). PR spectra of the InAs/GaAs QDs showed complex Franz-Keldysh oscillations (FKOs) with various temperatures. It is suggested that the FKOs originated from the interface electric fields predominately caused by the strain-induced polarization at GaAs interface near the InAs QDs. The InAs/GaAs QDs have a broad range of interface electric fields from ～10⁴ V/cm to ～2х10⁵ V/cm. Temperature behavior of FKO amplitude distribution is explained by temperature dependent carrier confinement effect.