Basic ammonothermal growth of Gallium Nitride – State of the art,challenges, perspectives

Recent progress in ammonothermal technology of bulk GaN growth in basic environment is presented and discussed in this paper. This method enables growth of two-inch in diameter crystals of outstanding structural properties, with radius of curvature above tens of meters and low threading dislocation density of the order of 5?×?10⁴ cm^?2. Crystals with different types of conductivity, n-type with free electron concentration up to 10¹⁹ cm^?3, p-type with free hole concentration of 10¹⁶ cm^?3, and semi-insulating with resistivity exceeding 10¹¹ Ω cm, can be obtained. Ammonothermal GaN of various electrical properties is described in terms of point defects present in the material. Potential applications of high-quality GaN substrates are also briefly shown.     

Inkjet Printed Poly(3-hexylthiophene) Thin-Film Transistors: Effect of Self-Assembled Monolayer

Organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) with bottom gate and top contact structure had been prepared by inkjet printing. It is found that the surface properties of the substrates have a great influence on the morphology of the inkjet printed droplet and film. An appropriate surface was vital to form a uniform semiconducting film by inkjet printing and also strongly improved the electric characteristics. When a bare SiO₂ layer was applied, the best field-effect mobility of inkjet printed OTFT devices was only 2.37 × 10^?3 cm²V^?1s^?1, with an on/off current ratio of 10². When the PETS treatment or the PTS treatment was applied on the SiO₂ dielectric layer, the field-effect performances were substantially improved and the best field-effect mobility was enhanced to 8.07 × 10^?3 cm^?2V^?1s^?1 and 7.95 × 10^?3 cm^?2V^?1s^?1, respectively and with an on/off current ratio of 10³.     

The field effect in amorphous chalcogenides: An investigation of localized states and electronic transport

The temperature dependence of the field effect response permits an unambiguous determination of the identity of those states responsible for electrostatic screening in the amorphous chalcogenides. We observe (1) in As₂Te₃, field effect screening by localized states at the Fermi level at low temperatures (～ 10¹⁹ cm^?3 eV^?1) and by mobile charge carriers (～ 10¹⁸ cm^?3 at 300 K) at high temperatures, and a transition from p-type to two-carrier (primarily n-type) conductivity as the temperature is raised above ～320 K; (2) in As₂SeTe₂, screening by mobile charge carriers (～ 10¹⁸ cm^?3 at 300 K) with strongly type conductivity; (3) in As₂Se₂Te, screening by localized states at the Fermi level (～ 10¹⁹ cm^?3 eV^?1) with strongly p-type conductivity; and (4) in Sb₂Te₃, a very high density of localized states at the Fermi level (～ 2 × 10²⁰ cm^?3 eV^?1) with both electron and hole contributions to the conductivity. Correlation with thermoelectric power results suggests that the p-type conductivity in As₂Te₃ is due to near-equal contributions from two processes: hopping in localized states plus extended state conduction. Aging and annealing behavior is described with the aid of a “chaotic potential model” that appears to be able to account for large changes in mobile carrier density that leave the conductivity unaltered.     

Specific features of the formation of dislocation structure in gallium arsenide single crystals obtained by the Czochralski method

The influence of the deviation of seed orientation from the [100] direction on the formation of a dislocation structure of gallium arsenide single crystals grown by the Czochralski method has been revealed. The intensive multiplication of dislocations and formation of a block structure occur at deviation by an angle of more than 3° in the region that is radially shifted to one of crystal sides. The linear density of dislocations in the walls changes from 1 × 10⁴ cm^–1 in low-angle boundaries to 6 × 10⁴ cm^–1 in subboundaries.     

Precipitation of supersaturated chromium solutions in gallium arsenide

Transmission electron microscopy has been used to investigate precipitation processes in gallium arsenide doped with chromium and Cr₂O₃. Whatever the doping technique, at concentrations of chromium 4 × 10¹⁶ cm⁻³ the solid solution was observed to contain precipitates which grew, at least partially, due to the migration of substitutional atoms and their transformation into the precipitates. The process is accompanied by generation of vacancies from dislocation loops.     

The influence of ambient gas atmosphere on the liquid and solid composition at liquid phase epitaxial growth of GaAs–Alx-Ga1−xAs layers

Epitaxial gallium arsenide and gallium aluminium arsenide layers were grown from gallium solution on chromium-doped semi-insulating gallium arsenide. The effect of residual water concentration in the ambient gas atmosphere on change of aluminium in Al_xGa_1−xAs was determined. It was shown that a water concentration less than 5 ppm is necessary to grow epitaxial layers with high reproducible XAlAs-content and low carrier concentration.     

Bulk single crystals of β-Ga2O3 and Ga-based spinels as ultra-wide bandgap transparent semiconducting oxides

In the course of development of transparent semiconducting oxides (TSOs) we compare the growth and basic physical properties bulk single crystals of ultra-wide bandgap (UWBG) TSOs, namely β-Ga₂O₃ and Ga-based spinels MgGa₂O₄, ZnGa₂O₄, and Zn_1-xMg_xGa₂O₄. High melting points of the materials of about 1800 -1930 °C and their thermal instability, including incongruent decomposition of Ga-based spinels, require additional tools to obtain large crystal volume of high structural quality that can be used for electronic and optoelectronic devices. Bulk β-Ga₂O₃ single crystals were grown by the Czochralski method with a diameter up to 2 inch, while the Ga-based spinel single crystals either by the Czochralski, Kyropoulos-like, or vertical gradient freeze / Bridgman methods with a volume of several to over a dozen cm³. The UWBG TSOs discussed here have optical bandgaps of about 4.6 - 5 eV and great transparency in the UV / visible spectrum. The materials can be obtained as electrical insulators, n-type semiconductors, or n-type degenerate semiconductors. The free electron concentration (n_e) of bulk β-Ga₂O₃ crystals can be tuned within three orders of magnitude 10¹⁶ - 10¹⁹ cm^?3 with a maximum Hall electron mobility (μ) of 160 cm²V^?1s^?1, that gradually decreases with n_e. In the case of the bulk Ga-based spinel crystals with no intentional doping, the maximum of n_e and μ increase with decreasing the Mg content in the compound and reach values of about 10²⁰ cm^?3 and about 100 cm²V^?1s^?1 (at n_e > 10¹⁹ cm^?3), respectively, for pure ZnGa₂O₄.     

Electrical Properties of CuInSe2 Single Crystals Implanted with Xenon

Both p-type and n-type CuInSe₂ single crystals were implanted with 40 keV ¹³⁰Xe⁺ ions up to doses of 5 · 10¹⁶ cm⁻². Implanted layers on p-type substrates showed an initial increase of the resistivity followed by a continuous decrease of the resistivity at higher doses. Implanted layers on n-type substrates gave also an increase of the resistivity at lower doses, but at higher doses a conductivity type conversion from n-type to p-type took place, followed by a decrease of the resistivity. To explain the experimental results it is supposed that the increase of the resistivity is mainly due to charge carrier scattering at extended defects while the decrease of the resistivity at high doses is due to the predominant creation of intrinsic acceptor states during implantation.     

Triplet Excitions in Crystalline Trans-Stilbene I. Spectroscopy of the So → T1 Transition

Abstract

The first singlet → triplet absorption of trans-stilbene has been studied between 10 and 300 K. The triplet exciton energy (energy of the lowest 0–0 line) is 17380 cm^?1 at 10 K, and does not change significantly with temperature. Vibrational A_g modes of 206. 1250 and 1570 cm^?1 are active. The Franck-Condon factor of the origin region is small. The low temperature spectra of the 0–0 and 206 cm^?1 regions show a doublet structure with a splitting of 82 ± 1 cm^?1 which is attributed to the site splitting. Further structure shown by the lines is discussed. The lines are approximately lorentzian. From curve fitting, line-widths and exciton-phonon coupling constants, increasing linearly with T, are deduced. Exciton-phonon coupling appears to be different on the two sites. The product of absorption coefficient at 4880 Å, α, by the total triplettriplet interaction rate constant has been measured at 295 K: αγ=2.3 ± 0.3. 10^?15 cm² sec^?1, corresponding for γ_total to a value of a few 10^?12 cm³ sec^?1.     

Investigation of the nature of point defects in in Te-doped gallium antimonide

Precision lattice constant and density measurements held on gallium antimonide single crystals grown from stoichiometric melts showed that doping of such crystals with Te lead to the intensification of Ga-supersaturated solid solution decomposition process with initial Frenkel defect (Ga_i + V_Ga) production. It is supposed that Te_sb — simple donors form complexes with V_Ga which are believed to be acceptors. Doping of GaSb with Te up to the levels above 2 · 10¹⁸ cm⁻³ leads to partial decomposition of GaSb(Te) solid solution supersaturated with Te.     

Selection of post-growth treatment parameters for atomic layer deposition of structurally disordered TiO2 thin films

Routes to atomic layer-deposited TiO₂ films with decreased leakage have been studied by using electrical characterization techniques. The combination of post-deposition annealing parameters, time and temperature, which provides measurable aluminum–titanium oxide–silicon structures – i.e., having capacitance–voltage curves which show accumulation behavior – are 625 °C, 10 min for p-type substrates, and 550 °C, 10 min for n-type substrates. The best annealing conditions for p-type substrates are 625 °C with the length extended to 30 min, which produces an interfacial state density of about 5–6 × 10¹¹ cm^?2 eV^?1, and disordered-induced gap state density below our experimental limits. We have also proved that a post-deposition annealing must be applied to TiO₂/HfO₂ and HfO₂/TiO₂/HfO₂ stacked structures to obtain adequate measurability conditions.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Polyphenothiazene Iodine Complexes

Abstract

N-methyl 3,6 dibromophenothiazene has been polymerized by using a nickel complex-assisted Grignard coupling. Vapor phase iodine doping of the organometallic polymerized material led to a conductivity increase of 10^?11 ohm^?1 cm^?1 to 10^?5 ohm cm^?l at room temperature. The complex thus formed exhibited a semiconductor behavior with a thermal activation energy of 0.1 eV and a strong electronic IR absorbance from 4000–400 cm^?1. However, the complexed polymer could be dissolved in liquid I₂ and cast into films with air stable, room temperature conductivities as high as 1 ohm^?l cm^?l. The mechanisms that could give rise to these differences in behavior will be discussed.     

Growth kinetics,morphology, and electrical properties of nGaAs?nGaN heterojunctions

nGaAs nGaN heterojunctions were fabricated by one-stage conversion of monocrystalline GaAs under varying conditions. Surface and cross section study, performed by means of optical and electron microscopy, indicates that the growth kinetics is essentially controlled by transfer of ammonia molecules across the already grown nitride layer; the diffusion coefficient value at 700°C being 3.1 × 10⁻¹⁰ cm² sec⁻¹. Current-voltage behaviour, describable by relations of the type I = I₀(T) exp (αV), appears to be dominated by tunneling processes.     

Epitaxial ZnS/Si core–shell nanowires and single-crystal silicon tube field-effect transistors

Epitaxial single-crystal ZnS/Si core–shell nanowires have been synthesized via a two-step thermal evaporation method. The epitaxial growth is due to the close match of crystal structure between zinc blende ZnS and diamond-like cubic Si. The nanowires have a uniform diameter of 80–200 nm and a length of several to several tens of micrometers. Single-crystal Si nanotubes can be obtained by chemical etching of the ZnS/Si core–shell structure. Characteristics of field-effect transistors (FETs) fabricated from the Si nanotubes suggests that the Si tubes show weak n-type semiconductivity with a mobility of about 3.7×10^?2 cm²/(V s), which is 1 order larger than that of intrinsic Si.     

Diffuse X-ray scattering study of the temperature variation of elastic constants in indium arsenide

The elastic constants of indium arsenide have been determined in the temperature range from 80 to 750 K on n-type samples with a carrier concentration of about 8 · 10¹⁷ cm⁻³ by Wooster's method from the measurements of the thermal X-ray diffuse scattering intensities. An average decrease in the elastic constants with increasing temperature over the above mentioned temperature range is found to be about 8%.     

Properties of gallium- and aluminum-doped bulk ZnO obtained from single-crystals grown by liquid phase epitaxy

Bulk properties of gallium (Ga)- and aluminum (Al)-doped zinc oxide (ZnO) were studied using bulky single-crystalline thick films grown by liquid phase epitaxy (LPE). The highest possible dopant concentration was 1×10¹⁹ cm^–3 for LPE growth at around 800 °C. The electron concentration was nearly same to the Ga and Al concentrations. The donor binding energy decreased to nearly zero with an increase in dopant concentration, and electron mobility of the sample with relatively high dopant concentration (1×10¹⁹ cm^–3) was more than 60 cm² V^–1 s^–1 at room temperature. The LPE technique is a potential solution for the production of ZnO for optical applications because the well-defined excitonic luminescence could be seen from the LPE-grown-doped single-crystals.     

Effect of electrical field on growth of gallium arsenide layers from vapour phase

The effect of electrical fields on the growth rate and morphology of gallium arsenide layers in the GaAs AsCl₃ H₂ system is investigated. The fields both parallel and perpendicular to the substrate surface are used. It is found that application of the parallel field results n increase of growth rate of (111)A face but does not change that of 2° (001). The morphology of layers grown in such a field is better than that grown without any. The application of perpendicular field results in decrease of growth rate for both crystallographic orientations, the layer morphology worthening. In both cases the effect is greater when the substrate has a negative potential. Possible mechanisms of the field influence on the growth rates of gallium arsenide layers are discussed such as: supersaturation decrease because of nucleation in vapour phase and the change in the rates of surface processes.     

Defect formation in subsurface Be+-and Se+-doped GaAs layers

The structure of subsurface Be⁺ and Se⁺ doped GaAs layers was studied by the X-ray diffraction technique. The implantation of Be⁺ ions into gallium arsenide substrates causes the formation of distorted layers with elastic strains. With an increase of the energy of implanted ions from 50 to 100 keV, the maximum distortion remains almost constant, whereas the thickness of the distorted layer, with a lattice constant which exceeds that of the host material, increases. At higher energies (≥150 keV), the thickness of the distorted layer continues increasing, but the maximum strain drops. The Se⁺ ions implantation into the GaAs substrates also provides the formation of layers distorted by positive tensile strain. The analysis of defect distributions and concentrations at various irradiation doses and the implanted-ion energies shows that the latter does not considerably affect these parameters. At the same time, an increase of the implanted-ion dose from 5 × 10¹⁴ to 5 × 10¹⁵ cm^?2 increases the strains observed. The role of the Frenkel-pair annihilation and ion channeling in the formation of a defect layer is also discussed.     

Die Herstellung von einkristallinen Dünnschichten aus Halbleitern mit ausgeprägter Anisotropie durch gerichtete Kristallisation der Schmelze zwischen zwei Substraten

Investigation of monocrystalline thin layers (5 to 150 μm in thickness) of Te and CdSb orientedly grown between two substrates. The form of the solidifying front strongly influencing crystal perfection can be controlled. Thin layers grown with velocities < 0.25 cm · min⁻¹ are monocrystalline with etch pit densities of 6 · 10² cm⁻². The electrical quantities R_H, σ and α of the layers are nearly identical with those of bulk material. Doped monocrystalline CdSb layers had a minority carrier concentration of ∼ 10¹⁴ cm⁻³ at 77°K.     

Characteristics of heteroepitaxial Cu2−xMnxO/Nb–SrTiO3 p–n junction

Mn-doped cuprous oxide Cu_2?xMn_xO (CMO), where x = 0.03, is a p-type diluted magnetic semiconductor (DMS) with Curie temperature above room temperature [M. Wei, N. Braddon, et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 86 (2005) 0725141; Y.L. Liu, S. Harrington, et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 87 (2005) 222108]. We have grown CMO (x = 0.03) thin films of about 200 nm thick on n-type semiconducting (0 0 1)Nb–SrTiO₃(NSTO) single crystal substrates by pulsed laser deposition. Cubic crystalline phases of CMO layers were obtained in a narrow deposition pressure window of about 20 mTorr at growth temperature of 650 °C. X-ray diffraction and TEM studies of these heterostructures reveal a cube-on-cube epitaxial relationship of [CMO]₀₀₁/[NSTO]₀₀₁. All the oxide p–n junctions with the size of 500 × 500 μm were fabricated by the shadow masking technique. These junctions show highly asymmetric I–V characteristics. The rectification ratio at room temperature is about 10³ at ±2 V. Leakage current density of 10^?4 A cm^?2 at ?1 V is observed. No apparent junction breakdown is recorded at reverse bias voltages down to ?5 V. From the 1/C²–V plots, the forward bias turn on voltage is ～1.4 V. Clear junction current rectifying property is maintained at up to 200 °C. Our results have demonstrated that epitaxial CMO films can be fabricated on lattice matched cubic substrates. They are suitable DMS for above room temperature spintronic junction applications.