Thermal Analysis of LiGaO2 and NaGaO2

The high-temperature thermal properties of the ternary oxides LiGaO₂ and NaGaO₂ are studied by simultaneous differential thermal analysis and thermogravimetry between room temperature and about 1700 °C. For the melting temperature of LiGaO₂ a value of 1595 ± 10 °C is determined. NaGaO₂ undergoes a solid state phase transition at 1280 ± 10 °C and melts at 1395 ± 10 °C.     

On Measuring Impurity Absorption Spectra of Semiconductors by Photoacoustic Spectroscopy

Theoretical relations are derived for the amplitude of the photoacoustic signal of a gas-coupled cell for thick semiconductor samples including the influence of multiple reflections of light within the sample. It is shown that in the range of low absorption coefficients characteristic of impurity absorption spectra the sensitivity of the cell can be enhanced by using a highly reflecting metal as backing material. Numerical estimates for CuInSe₂ are given to illustrate this effect.     

Characterization of the Microhardness of Ion-implanted GaP

Implantation induced changes of the microhardness are studied in GaP single crystals which were bombarded with ions in the range of mass numbers M = 1–40. It is observed that point defects and incorporated hydrogen have a stronger hardening effect. The effect of defect complexes is lower, and amorphized layers are softer than crystalline layers.     

Infrared Optical Characterization of Thermally Oxidized CuInSe2 Single Crystals

Infrared reflectivity spectra of thermally oxidized CuInSe₂ single crystals are measured at room temperature in the wavenumber range from 180 to 4000 cm⁻¹. A Kramers-Kronig analysis of the spectra reveals seven vibrational modes with frequencies which agree with mode frequencies in In₂O₃. No vibrational modes due to Cu–O and Se–O bonds could be observed. The results obtained are compared with previous studies of oxidized CuInSe₂ crystals.     

Lattice Vibrations and Interatomic Forces in AIIB2IIIC4VI Defect-Chalcopyrite Compounds (I) Keating Model Considerations

The lattice vibrations of the A^IIB^III₂C^VI₄ semiconductors with defect-chalcopyrite structure are treated in a simplified version of the Keating model considering only interaction with nearest neighbours and assuming that all anions occupy their ideal lattice sites. It is found that in this model the frequencies of the nonpolar and polar modes with highest energy are determined by the properties of the B^III–C^VI sublattice alone. The frequencies of all the other optical modes depend not only on the A^II–C^VI and B^III–C^VI interactions but are also influenced by the presence of the ordered array of vacancies. The results obtained are compared with previous model considerations.     

Photoacoustic Spectroscopy of Defect States in Etched and Air-annealed CuInSe2 Single Crystals

Photoacoustic spectra of cleaved, polished and etched, and air-annealed n-type CuInSe₂ single crystals are measured at different frequencies between 30 and 312 Hz. The spectra related to the bulk of the crystals exhibit five structures due to defects that are also present in p-type crystals. Polishing and etching as well as subsequent air annealing at 100, 200 and 300 °C reveal rather complex changes of the defect equilibrium in the near-surface region of the crystals which include both relative concentration changes of existing defects and creation of new defects. The results for polished and etched crystals correspond to trends expected from etching induced local modifications of the composition and structure as revealed by electron spectroscopies and ion channeling. Air annealing is found to affect all existing defects and to create up to five new defects which cannot be explained in terms of the related point defect model proposed by CAHEN and NOUFI.     

Effect of plasma hydrogenation on the defect properties of CuInSe2 single crystals

The defect properties of p-type CuInSe₂ single crystals hydrogenated by diffusion from a plasma source are investigated using the Rutherford backscattering/channeling technique and photoacoustic spectroscopy. Plasma hydrogenation is found to produce severe lattice damage, to affect the intrinsic defect equilibrium in the near surface region of the crystals and to create an additional donor. A defect formation model including both defect passivation by hydrogen and damage induced defect creation is proposed to explain the experimental data. The thermal stability of the property modifications is limited to temperatures below about 100 °C.