Hydrothermal growth of boron nitride microcrystals

Boron nitride (BN) crystals with size of several micrometers have been successfully synthesized by hydrothermal method. The reactants used in our experiments were boric acid (H₃BO₃), sodium azide (NaN₃) and white phosphor (P). The samples were characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), selective area electron diffraction (SAED). It is found that the existence of Cl^‐ in the reaction mixture has much effect on the synthesis of BN. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Nature of luminescence and strain in gallium nitride nanowires

Photo- and cathodo-luminescence measurements of a variable-diameter ensemble of GaN nanowires revealed a diameter-dependent, spectral emission distribution between 350 nm and 850 nm. Spectral analysis indicated that wires with a diameter less than 400 nm were dominated by a yellow luminescence with a weaker near UV/violet emission also present. Examination of this ensemble showed that there was a general trend in the ratio of near-UV-to-yellow emission intensities with increasing nanowire diameter. Additionally, a broad green emission appears in the nanowires with a diameter above approximately 200 nm. A calculation based on the nanoheteroepitaxy model indicates that this diameter represents a transitional thickness where strain is relieved by defect formation mechanisms with a characteristic green emission.     

The local distribution of luminescence generation in LED's

Using the temperature dependence of the cathodo and injection-luminescence intensity the local light generation distribution is analyzed as a function of the foreward current and the preparation technology on GaA_1−xP_x light-emitting diodes. Whereas the excess carriers recombine in a highly compensated layer at low injection level the light is generated in the volume of the n and p-region with increasing foreward current. The injection ratio is determined by the preparation technology of the p-n junction.     

Recombination luminescence of oxygen-deficient centers in silica

The luminescence of silica glass, prepared by plasma chemical vapor deposition (PCVD) and quartz glass of type IV (trade mark KS-4V) methods, were studied while irradiated with pulses of ArF laser (193 nm) light in the range of sample temperatures between 10 and 300 K. The samples contain less than 0.1 ppm metallic and hydroxyl impurities. The samples synthesized by PCVD were of two kinds. The first one (amorphous) was as-deposited from plasma at a substrate tube temperature of ～1200 °C. The second one (fused) was prepared from the first by the tube collapsing with an external burner. In this process, a section of the substrate tube with the deposited glass was installed in a lathe and processed at a temperature of ～2100 °C during ～20 min until the tube was transformed to a rod. After such processing, the rod was cooled down to room temperature in air at an average rate of about 400 °C per min. The only observed luminescence possesses two broad bands, with not well defined position, one at 2.6–2.9 eV (a blue band) and another in the range of 4.4 eV (an UV band). There is a correspondence in luminescence properties between KS-4V silica and fused PCVD silica. Those bands have been attributed to oxygen deficient centers (ODC). No luminescence is observed in amorphous PCVD silica under irradiation with 193 nm laser light. So, formation of the sample by melting at least stimulates formation of ODCs at 193 nm. The blue band decays obeys to power law ～t^?1 and is detected in the range of time 10 ns to 300 μs. The UV band possesses a fast, practically repeating excitation pulse, and a slow component (～30 μs). The obtained new kinetics data are compared with known in literature for lone twofold-coordinated silicon having exponential decay for the blue band equal to 10 ms and 4.5 ns for the UV band. That shows the blue band of new studied samples under ArF laser possesses decay component faster and the UV band slower than that of the twofold-coordinated silicon center. This corresponds to the recombination process of luminescence excitation by laser. We propose a model of the processes as charge separation under excitation with creation of a nearest self-trapped hole and electron trapped on the twofold-coordinated silicon, modified by its surrounding atoms or ions. This pair is recombining then with luminescence.     

Flow of space-charge-limited currents in cubic boron nitride

Current-voltage characteristics of polycrystal cubic nitride samples are studied at various temperatures. The samples were undoped crystals obtained by the method of direct phase transformation of pyrolytic graphite-like boron nitride and crystals doped with sulfur to obtain n-type conductivity. The current-voltage characteristics consist of three different parts: linear and quadratic segments and the region of dramatic increase in the current, which indicates the existence of space-charge-limited currents. The activation energy, E_t, and concentration of the trapping centers, N_t, are determined. The experimental data obtained allowed us to calculate, for the first time, the mobility and concentration of free carrier in the conduction band. Possible mechanisms giving rise to a dramatic increase in are made the current on the current-voltage characteristics are discussed.     

Growth and low-energy electron microscopy characterizations of graphene and hexagonal boron nitride

Graphene and related two-dimensional (2D) materials are attracting huge attention due to their wide-range potential applications. Because large-scale, high-quality 2D crystals are prerequisites for many of the applications, crystal growth of 2D materials has been intensively studied. We have also been conducting research to understand the growth mechanism of 2D materials and have been developing growth techniques of high-quality materials based on the understandings, in which detailed structural characterizations using low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM) have played essential roles. In this paper, we explain the principles of obtaining various structural features using LEEM, and then we review the status of our current understanding on the growth of graphene and hexagonal boron nitride.     

Synthesis and optical properties of purified translucent,orthorhombic boron nitride films

Large-area (>1 cm²) freestanding translucent orthorhombic boron nitride (oBN) films have been synthesized by magnetron sputtering at a low radio-frequency power of 120 W. The structural characterizations were performed by means of X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It is demonstrated that oBN is a direct band gap semiconductor (E_g∼3.43 eV). Excited by ultraviolet laser (wavelength at 325 nm), the oBN films emit strong white light, which can be seen by the naked eyes in the dark. In the photoluminescence spectrum, besides the ultraviolet near-band-edge radiative recombination emission, there are three visible emission bands (centered at 400, 538, and 700 nm) arising from the defect-related deep-level centers of oBN, which are mixed to form the white light emission. The hardness and elastic modulus of oBN films are 11.5 and 94 GPa, respectively, examined by nanoindentation measurements.     

The effect of electron irradiation on the luminescence of cadmium and lead tungstates

It is shown that the intensity of luminescence of cadmium tungstate crystals changes nonmonotonically under electron irradiation. At low irradiation doses, an increase in the luminescence intensity can be observed. However, with an increase in the irradiation dose, the luminescence intensity decreases. The effect observed can be explained by the competition of two processes: increase in the number of luminescence centers and nonradiative recombination under the action of irradiation.     

The effect of silica substitution on electrical conduction in nickel ferrite

The electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient for nickel ferrite and nickel ferrite with 5% silica has been studied as a function of temperature. The lattice constant and the existence of a single phase are established from X-ray studies. Both the ferrites exhibit a transition near the Curie temperature with a change in slope of the conductivity (log σT) versus temperature (10³/T) curves. It is found that the activation energy in the paramagnetic region is higher than that in the ferrimagnetic region for both the ferrites.     

Influence of the nitrogen flow rate on the order and structure of PECVD boron nitride thin films

Three sets of boron nitride (BN) thin films are deposited with different N₂/B₂H₆ flow ratios (r = 4, 10 and 25) by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). The variations of physical properties in different deposition sets are analyzed by optical (XPS, FTIR, UV–visible spectroscopies), mechanical and electrical measurements. The films are considered to be deposited in a turbostratic phase (t-BN). Evolution of bonding configurations with increasing r is discussed. Relatively higher nitrogen flow rate in the source gas mixture results in lower deposition rates, whereas more ordered films, which tend to reach a unique virtual crystal of band gap 5.93 eV, are formed. Anisotropy in the film structure and film inhomogeneity along the PECVD electrode radial direction are investigated.     

Structural characteristics of the boron nitride sphalerite modification synthesized in a shock wave

Crystallography Reports - The real structure of ultradispersed powders of sphalerite boron nitride synthesized under shock compression has been studied by X-ray diffraction. The lattice microstrain...     

Ultrafast modification of elements distribution and local luminescence properties in glass

The success in construction of three-dimensional micro optical components or devices inside transparent materials is highly dependent on the ability to modify materials’ local structure. Especially, the realization of space-selective manipulation of element distribution is highly desirable since most of optical parameters such as refractive index and luminescence are closely related to element distribution. Up to present, the only way to control selective element distribution is local melting of glass. Here, we reported, for the first time to our knowledge, the success in realization of space-selective manipulation of element distribution in glassy state region (i.e., un-melted region) inside glass with the irradiation of high repetition rate femtosecond laser. Confocal fluorescence spectra and micro-Raman spectra show that the luminescence distribution of Cu⁺ ions and the glass network structure can be controlled with femtosecond laser irradiation, revealing the potential applications of this technique in the fabrication of functional waveguides and integrated optical devices.     

Dependence of RF power on the phase transformation for boron nitride films deposited on graphite at room temperature

Cubic boron nitride (cBN) thick films deposited on mainly c-axis-oriented graphite substrate at room temperature and zero bias by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering were studied. In the growth process, RF power plays a key role in determining the content of cubic phase in films, while the conventional substrate heating and biasing have been neglected. With increase in RF power, the dominated content of films converts from explosion boron nitride (eBN) to cBN. The transformation mechanism has been discussed. The unique structural properties of the “soft” graphite are favorable to propose simple conditions for growing “hard” cBN films. Furthermore, the optical band gap of BN films having ∼90% cubic phase is of ∼5.8 eV obtained from ultraviolet–visible optical transmission measurement. The electron field emission examination shows that cBN film on graphite has a high emission current density of 2.8×10⁻⁵ A/cm² at an applied field of ∼30 V/μm.     

The effect of ZnF2 on the near-infrared luminescence from thulium doped tellurite glasses

In the present study, the low OH content, thulium doped fluorotellurite glasses are defined as low-quenching materials. Two lines of evidence, lifetime and emission spectra measurements, have shown that the depletion of the ³H₄ state by cross relaxation processes was highly efficient. The links in question, together with the linear concentration-quenching dependence of the ³F₄ state, indicated the regime of fast diffusion processes. The addition of ZnF₂ to a tellurite based host significantly improved self-quenching reduction especially for highly doped samples. The increase of the ³F₄ state lifetime value for a different ZnF₂/ZnO ratio in the glass samples, fabricated inside a glove box, has been demonstrated and discussed.     

The effect of boron addition on texture and structure of NiMo/Al2O3 catalysts

The effect of support (Al₂O₃) modification with borate ions and the effect of their concentration on the texture and structure of nickel-molybdena catalysts were studied. The surface area and pore volume of the samples were determined using the BET method, whereas pores distribution – besides the BET method also by mercury porosimetry. FT-IR, derivatographic, and diffractometric studies were also performed. Modification with borate ions does not bring about any change in the type of the support pores, nor does it change its crystallic structure. However, a considerable decrease in the surface area of the support was observed. It was shown that modification with borate ions leads to a decrease in thermal stability of catalysts, yet increase in concentration of borate ions raises the thermal stability of the samples. It was found that on the catalyst surface borate ions form a well-dispersed monolayer structure.     

The effect of inserting strain-compensated GaNAs layers on the luminescence properties of GaInNAs/GaAs quantum well

Photoluminescence (PL) properties of GaInNAs/GaAs quantum wells (QWs) with strain-compensated GaNAs layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy are investigated. The temperature-dependent PL spectra of GaInNAs/GaAs QW with and without GaNAs layers are compared and carefully studied. It is shown that the introduction of GaNAs layers between well and barrier can effectively extend the emission wavelength, mainly due to the reduction of the barrier potential. The PL peak position up to 1.41 μm is observed at the room temperature. After adding the GaNAs layers into QW structures, there is no essential deterioration of luminescence efficiency. N-induced localization states are also not remarkably influenced. It implies that with optimized growth condition, high-quality GaInNAs/GaAs QWs with strain-compensated GaNAs layers can be achieved.