Escape time model for the current self-oscillation frequencies. in weakly coupled semiconductor superlattices

A semiclassical model was developed to predict the frequencies of current self-oscillations in weakly coupled semiconductor superlattices (SLs). The calculated frequency is derived from the classical round trip time in one well and the tunneling probability through the barrier, using the well and barrier width, effective masses and band offsets as well as the resulting energies of the sub- and minibands as input parameters. For all SLs, the measured frequency dependence on the sample parameters can be well described by our model. For weakly (strongly) coupled SLs, the calculated frequencies are somewhat above (below) the observed ones. The changeover from one behavior to the other occurs for SLs with miniband widths of a few meV. Received: 2 August 2000 / Accepted: 27 October 2000 / Published online: 28 February 2001     

Effects of Coulomb interactions on spin states in vertical semiconductor quantum dots

The effects of direct Coulomb and exchange interactions on spin states are studied for quantum dots contained in circular and rectangular mesas. For a circular mesa a spin-triplet favored by these interactions is observed at zero and nonzero magnetic fields. We tune and measure the relative strengths of these interactions as a function of the number of confined electrons. We find that electrons tend to have parallel spins when they occupy nearly degenerate single-particle states. We use a magnetic field to adjust the single-particle state degeneracy, and find that the spin-configurations in an arbitrary magnetic field are well explained in terms of two-electron singlet and triplet states. For a rectangular mesa we observe no signatures of the spin-triplet at zero magnetic field. Due to the anisotropy in the lateral confinement single-particle state degeneracy present in the circular mesa is lifted, and Coulomb interactions become weak. We evaluate the degree of the anisotropy by measuring the magnetic field dependence of the energy spectrum for the ground and excited states, and find that at zero magnetic field the spin-singlet is more significantly favored by the lifting of level degeneracy than by the reduction in the Coulomb interaction. We also find that the spin-triplet is recovered by adjusting the level degeneracy with magnetic field. Received: 14 April 2000 / Accepted: 17 April 2000 / Published online: 6 September 2000     

Schottky diode based on porous GaN for hydrogen gas sensing application

This article reports the study of Pd Schottky contact on porous n-GaN for hydrogen gas sensing. Upon exposure to 2% H₂ in N₂, porous GaN sensor exhibited significant change of current. Morphological studies revealed that Pd contact deposited on porous GaN has ridge-trench-like morphology, a dense porous network was found in between the ridges. The dramatic change of current was attributed to the unique microstructure at Pd/porous GaN interface, which allowed higher accumulation of hydrogen; this resulted in a stronger effect of H-induced dipole layer and led to a significant change in the electrical characteristics of the porous sensor.     

Photoreflectance characterization of InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots grown by ALMBE

We report on a photoreflectance investigation in the 0.8-1.5 eV photon energy range and at temperatures from 80 to 300 K on stacked layers of InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots (QDs) grown by Atomic-Layer Molecular Beam Epitaxy. We observed clear and well-resolved structures, which we attribute to the optical response of different QD families. The dependence of the ground state transition energy on the number of stacked QD layers is investigated and discussed considering vertical coupling between dots of the same column. It is shown that Coulomb interaction can account for the observed optical response of QD families with different morphology coexisting in the same sample. Received 17 November 1999     

Electric field effect in the spin dynamics of self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots

We identify fundamental mechanisms of electron and hole dynamics in self-organized InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) subject to vertical electric fields by photocurrent investigations. We propose a spin–flip mechanism involving a spin exchange between neighboring QDs. The spin–flip process is revealed in the photocurrent dynamics when the exciton population increases unexpectedly with reverse bias.     

InAs自组装量子点GaAs肖特基二级管的电学特性研究

分析研究了GaAsInAs自组装量子点的电输运性质,通过对实验数据的分析,讨论了Schottky势垒对InAs量子点器件的影响和IV曲线中迟滞回路以及电导曲线中台阶结构产生的原因.迟滞回路和台阶的出现与电场中量子点的充放电过程相关:迟滞回路反映了量子点充电后对载流子的库仑作用,而电导台阶则反映了量子点因共振隧穿的放电现象 关键词： 迟滞现象 自组装量子点 共振隧穿     

A Physics-Based Compact Direct-Current and Alternating-Current Model for AlGaN/GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors

A set of analytical models for the dc and small signal characteristics of AIGaN/GaN high electron mobility transis- tors （HEMTs） are presented. A modified transferred-electron mobility model is adapted and a phenomenological low-field mobility model is developed. We calculate the channel charge considering the neutralization of donors and the contribution of free electrons in the AlGaN layer. The gate-to-source and gate-to-drain capacitances are obtained analytically, and the cut-off frequency is predicted. The models are implemented into the HSPICE simulator for the dc, ac and transient simulations and verified by experimental data for the first time. A high efficiency class-E GaN HEMT power amplifier is designed and simulated by the HSPICE to verify the applicability of our models.     

Polaron relaxation dynamics in InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots

Polaron decay in n-type InAs quantum dots has been investigated using energy dependent, mid-infrared pump–probe spectroscopy. By studying samples with differing ground state to first excited state energy separations the relaxation time has been measured between 40 and 60 meV. The low-temperature decay time increases with increasing detuning between the pump energy and the optical phonon energy and is maximum (55 ps) at 56 meV. From the experimentally determined decay times we are able to extract a low-temperature optical phonon lifetime of 13 ps for InAs QDs. We find that the polaron decay time decreases by a factor of 2 at room temperature due to the reduction of the optical phonon lifetime.     

Thermal and carrier transport originating from photon recycling and non-radiative recombination in laser micromachining of GaAs thin films

Coupled thermal and carrier transports (electron/hole generation, recombination, diffusion and drifting) in laser photoetching of GaAs thin film is investigated. A new volumetric heating mechanism originating from SRH (Shockley–Read–Hall) non-radiative recombination and photon recycling is proposed and modeled based on recent experimental findings. Both volumetric SRH heating and Joule heating are found to be important in the carrier transport, as well as the etching process. SRH heating and Joule heating are primarily confined within the space-charge region, which is about 20 nm from the GaAs surface. The surface temperature rises rapidly as the laser intensity exceeds 10⁵ W/m². Below a laser intensity of 10⁵ W/m², the thermal effect is negligible. The etch rate is found to be dependent on the competition between photovoltaic and photothermal effects on surface potential. At high laser intensity, the etch rate is increased by more than 100%, due to SRH and Joule heating. Received: 24 January 2002 / Accepted: 11 April 2002 / Published online: 10 September 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +1-310/206-2302, E-mail: xiang@seas.ucla.edu     

Characteristics of quantum conductance in a quasi-one-dimension quantum wire containing cavity structures

Quantum-mechanical calculations of the conductance for model devices, consisting of dual semi-infinite quantum wires connected in series by a cavity, are carried out with use of the coupled-mode transfer method and mode matching technique. The effects of the mode-mode coupling and geometry-induced scattering on the quantum conductance are in detail studied by varying the geometric structure of the cavity. There are no traces of quantization conductance. The pattern of the conductance displays many peaks and dips. The threshold energy of the first onset of the conductance is lower than the normal value for opening the propagation channel of the lowest subband in the quantum wire. The overall character of the conductance exhibits heavy fluctuations around the classical conductance for the relevant point contact. The fluctuation amplitude is of order of 2e ²/h, similar to universal conductance fluctuations. The oscillatory structure becomes rich and dense as the scale of the cavity increases. There is a global trend for the conductance to rise as the cavity is compressed. The structures of resonant peaks and antiresonance dips in the conductance are originated from the mode coupling among the subbands in the cavity and quantum wires. The heavy conductance fluctuation may be caused by the quantum interference of the electron waves due to the multiple scattering (reflections) of electrons by the cavity boundaries.     

Investigation of electrical properties of organic 4-tricyanovinyl-N,N-diethylaniline thin film

Thin films of 4-tricyanovinyl-N,N-diethylaniline (TCVA) with different thickness were prepared using thermal evaporation technique. A relative permittivity, ?_r, of 3.04 was estimated from the dependence of capacitance on film thickness. The current density-voltage (J-V) characteristics of TCVA thin films have been investigated at different temperatures. At low-voltage region, the current conduction in the Au/TCVA/Au sandwich structures obeys Ohm's law. At the higher-voltage regions, the charge transport phenomenon appears to be space-charge-limited current (SCLC) dominated by an exponential distribution of traps with total trap concentration of 1.21 × 10²² m⁻³. In addition, various electrical parameters were determined.     

Electrical transport in superlattices containing InAs quantum dots in GaAs and InP

Selectively-doped heterostructures based on both GaAs and InP containing several atomic layers coverage of InAs as both strained 2D and partially relaxed 3D (quantum dot) have been grown by gas source molecular beam epitaxy and the transport properties have been investigated. We show that while coherently strained InAs in 2D layers results in increased electron mobilities, the formation of 3D quantum dots appear to trap electrons and decrease significantly the mobility of those remaining. The degree of trapping is dependent on the size and density of the dots.     

Extremely low density self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots

The self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) with extremely low density of 8×106 cm-2 are achieved using higher growth temperature and lower InAs coverage by low-pressure metal-organic chemical vapour deposition (MOVCD). As a result of micro-photoluminescence (micro-PL), for extremely low density of 8×106 cm-2 InAs QDs in the micro-PL measurements at 10 K, only one emission peak has been achieved. It is believed that the InAs QDs have a good potential to realize single photon sources.     

Single-electron quantum dots in silicon MOS structures

We present experimental results for two types of quantum dots, which are embedded within a silicon metal-oxide-semiconductor structure. Evidence is found for single-electron charging at low temperature, and for an asymmetric shape of the dot. First results of simulations of these dots are presented. Received: 14 April 2000 / Accepted: 17 April 2000 / Published online: 6 September 2000     

Carrier injection level dependence of post-breakdown metastability in semi-insulating GaAs

Recently, a room temperature electrically induced metastability in semi-insulating (SI)-GaAs has been reported in which the normally high resistance state of SI-GaAs converts into a low resistance state when breakdown electric fields are applied to the metal/SI-GaAs/metal system. The low resistance state continues to persist when the electric field is lowered below the breakdown bias and as such may be treated as metastable state of the material. This phenomenon is believed to be closely related to the ‘lock-on’ effect utilized in high power photoconductive semiconductor switches made from SI-GaAs. The present study seeks to understand the mechanism for this electrically induced metastability by studying the influence of the injection current on the metastable phase. The data favor an interpretation of the high current state of the SI-GaAs in terms of double carrier injection and the sustaining of an internal electron-hole plasma in the material.     

Single-electron tunneling in silicon nanostructures

We present a brief overview on different realizations of single-electron devices fabricated in silicon-on-insulator films. Lateral structuring of highly doped silicon films allows us to observe quasi-metallic Coulomb blockade oscillations in shrunken wires where no quantum dot structure is geometrically defined. Embedding quantum dot structures into the inversion channel of a silicon-on-insulator field-effect transistor Coulomb blockade up to 300 K is observed. In contrast to the quasi-metallic structures, in these devices the influence of the quantum mechanical level spacing inside the dot becomes visible. Suspending highly doped silicon nanostructures leads to a novel kind of Coulomb blockade devices allowing both high-power application as well as the study of electron–phonon interaction. Received: 14 April 2000 / Accepted: 17 April 2000 / Published online: 6 September 2000     

Long polaron lifetime in InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots

We have investigated the polaron dynamics in n-doped InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots by pump-probe midinfrared spectroscopy. A long T1 polaron decay time is measured at both low temperature and room temperature, with values around 70 and 37 ps, respectively. The decay time decreases for energies closer to the optical phonon energy. The relaxation is explained by the strong coupling for the electron-phonon interaction and by the finite lifetime of the optical phonons. We show that, even for a large detuning of 19 meV from the LO photon energy in GaAs, the carrier relaxation remains phonon assisted.     

Optical and transport studies in coupled InAs quantum dots embedded in GaAs

We studied optical and electron transport properties of coupled InAs quantum dots (QDs) embedded in GaAs. Photoluminescence (PL) from the high dot density samples indicated asymmetry in the PL spectra when the ambient temperature is lower than about 50 K. Comparing this result with theoretical calculations, it is shown that this phenomenon is explained by the inter-dot electronic coupling effect. In the photo-conductance measurement, resonance peaks in the current–voltage characteristics were observed in the low-temperature region. The dependence of the resonance voltage on the magnetic field intensity was studied to extract the g-factor. It is also shown that the resonances are attributed to the current corresponding to the electron transport through QDs. According to these results, it is concluded that the inter-dot electronic coupling in the self-assembled InAs/GaAs QD systems occurs when the inter-dot spacing is as low as several nanometers and the ambient temperature is less than about 50 K.     

AlGaAs capping effect on InAs quantum dots self-assembled on GaAs

The effects of AlGaAs capping on InAs quantum dots self-assembled on GaAs are investigated. It is observed that, the photoluminescence intensity becomes stronger up to twice when Al is incorporated into the cap layer. In the mean time, the full width at half maximum of the photoluminescence spectrum becomes narrower, the peak splitting between the ground and first excited exciton levels becomes wider, and the photoluminescence peak wavelength becomes longer. With considerations of the increased barrier height and the changed microstructures of the quantum dots induced by AlGaAs capping, the mechanisms of the observed improvements are discussed.     

High-k Al2O3 MOS structures with Si interface control layer formed on air-exposed GaAs and InGaAs wafers

This paper attempts to realize unpinned high-k insulator-semiconductor interfaces on air-exposed GaAs and In_0.53Ga_0.47As by using the Si interface control layer (Si ICL). Al₂O₃ was deposited by ex situ atomic layer deposition (ALD) as the high-k insulator. By applying an optimal chemical treatment using HF acid combined with subsequent thermal cleaning below 500 °C in UHV, interface bonding configurations similar to those by in situ UHV process were achieved both for GaAs and InGaAs after MBE growth of the Si ICL with no trace of residual native oxide components. As compared with the MIS structures without Si ICL, insertion of Si ICL improved the electrical interface quality, a great deal both for GaAs and InGaAs, reducing frequency dispersion of capacitance, hysteresis effects and interface state density (D_it). A minimum value of D_it of 2 × 10¹¹ eV⁻¹ cm⁻² was achieved both for GaAs and InGaAs. However, the range of bias-induced surface potential excursion within the band gap was different, making formation of electron layer by surface inversion possible in InGaAs, but not possible in GaAs. The difference was explained by the disorder induced gap state (DIGS) model.