Application of micro-Raman spectroscopy for the evaluation of doping profile in Zn δ-doped GaAs structures

Micro-Raman spectroscopy was used to characterize beveled Zn delta (δ)-doped GaAs structures. By adapting procedures previously developed for the study of Si δ-doped GaAs structures, Zn-doping profiles were obtained for a set of structures prepared with different doping levels. Values of the doping spike concentration and the full-width at half-maximum of the doping profile were compared with the values obtained by the electrochemical capacitance-voltage (EC-V) and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) methods. The good correspondence between this Raman procedure and other well-known methods proves the validity of the technique for determining doping profiles in Zn δ-doped GaAs structures.     

Microcrystalline silicon thin films: A review of physical properties

In this work we present a study of the optical, electrical, electronic and structural properties of Boron doped hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon thin films (μc-Si:H). The films were deposited in an RF plasma reactor using as reactive gas a mixture of silane and diborane, both highly diluted in hydrogen. The Boron concentration in the reactive gas was modified from 0 to 100 ppm. The addition of Boron to the silicon films not only moves the Fermi energy level to the center of the gap, but also induces changes in all the physical properties. The Boron effect on structural and morphological properties was studied by X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy (AFM); the rugosity and grain size increased with the Boron concentration. The absorption coefficient measured by the constant photocurrent method (CPM) at low photon energies also showed an increase, which can be explained and correlated with an increase in the density of state (DOS) in the gap, due to Boron's bonding. At high temperatures the controlling transport mechanism is thermally activated; the curves conductivity log versus the inverse of temperature gives straight lines. The activation energy, measured from the valence band, decreases with Boron concentration, as expected, passing through a maximum, corresponding this point to the position of Fermi energy of an intrinsic film. At low temperatures the predominant transport mechanism was variable range hopping (VRH). The behavior of the charge hopping under different electrical fields was followed. Results showed that conductivity remained constant in a VRH regime only for a narrow range of electrical field.     

Morphology and photoluminescence studies of electrochemically etched heavily doped p-type GaAs in HF solution

Porous GaAs layers have been produced by electrochemical anodic etching of (100) heavily doped p-type GaAs substrate in HF solution. Scanning electron microscopy revealed the presence of etch pits ranging in size from 0.01 to 2 μm and they were strongly dependent on the electrochemical etching conditions. The etch pits chemical composition consists of O, Ga and As whereas the porous structure consists predominantly of GaAs as performed by energy dispersive X-ray analyzer. Typical porous structure with pores diameter ranging from 15 to 50 nm has been obtained. Room temperature photoluminescence (PL) investigations reveal the presence of two and in one case three PL bands besides the PL band of the started GaAs. Peaks wavelengths positions were approximately located in 600-900 nm range. The PL bands peaks wavelengths positions depend on the electrochemical etching conditions and they were approximately unchanged with increasing temperature. However, their PL intensity increased slowly with increasing temperature and tend to saturate. The observed PL bands were explained by the quantum confinement effects in GaAs nanocrystallites.     

Nanostructurale nature of the porous GaAs layer formed on p-GaAs substrate by electrochemical anodization

A porous GaAs layer has been formed by electrochemical anodization in HF based solution on extremely doped p-type GaAs substrate. Porous nature of the elaborated sample has been evidenced by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Nanostructurale nature of the porous layer has been demonstrated by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and confirmed by photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL).     

Structural characterisation of CdS layers deposited on porous p-type GaAs

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the initial stage of cadmium sulphide (CdS) layer deposited on porous p-type GaAs substrate by vacuum evaporation technique. The deposited CdS layer was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). SEM imaging shows that the CdS was penetrated deeply in the porous structure down to the bottom and reaching the interface GaAs/porous GaAs. The AFM image demonstrates that the CdS deposited are grains of several nanometres and XRD patterns exhibit that the deposited layer has a hexagonal prominent phase.     

Preparation of ZnO:N films by radical beam gettering epitaxy

ZnO:N epitaxial films are obtained by radical beam gettering epitaxy. The properties of the films are studied using X-ray diffraction, atomic-force microscopy, secondary-ion mass spectroscopy, and photoluminescence. A narrow (002) peak is observed in the X-ray diffraction spectra, which indicates that the ZnO:N films are oriented along the c axis. Secondary-ion mass spectroscopy indicates that N is present in the ZnO films. In the low-energy luminescence spectrum of the ZnO:N films, a peak at 3.31 eV is observed. This peak is presumably attributed to the exciton bound at the neutral acceptor N_O. The postannealing of the ZnO:N films was carried out in atomic oxygen. The nature of the donor-acceptor (3.23 eV) and green (2.56 eV) luminescence bands is discussed.     

Hall effect analysis of high purity p-type GaAs grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

Variable temperature Hall effect and low temperature photoluminescence measurements have been performed on high purityp- andn-type GaAs grown at atmospheric pressure by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. These high purity epitaxial GaAs layers were grown as a function of the arsine (AsH₃) to trimethylgallium (TMG) ratio (V/III ratio). The accurate quantitative assessment of the electronic properties of thep-type layers was emphasized. Analysis of the material focussed on the variation of the concentration of the shallow impurities for different V/III ratios. Surface and interface depletion effects are included to accurately estimate the concentration of impurities. The model of the merging of the excited states of the acceptor with the valence band is used to include the dependence the activation energy of the impurity on the acceptor concentration as well as on acceptor species identity. The characteristicp- ton-type conversion with increasing V/III ratio was observed in these samples and the reason for thep- ton-type conversion is that the background acceptor concentration of carbon decreases and the germanium donor concentration increases as the V/III ratio is increased.     

Effect of annealing on the structural, optical and electrical properties of ITO films by RF sputtering under low vacuum level

Indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films were prepared by RF sputtering of ceramic ITO target in pure argon atmosphere at a high base pressure of 3×10⁻⁴ mbar without substrate heating and oxygen admittance. The use of pure argon during deposition resulted in films with high transparency (80-85%) in the visible and IR wavelength region. The films were subsequently annealed in air in the temperature range 100-400 °C. The annealed films show decreased transmittance in the IR region and decreased resistivity. The films were characterized by electron microscopy, spectrophotometry and XRD. The predominant orientation of the films is (2 2 2) instead of (4 0 0). The transmission and reflection spectra in the wavelength range 300-2500 nm are used to study the optical behaviour of the films. The optical transmittance and reflectance spectra of the films were simultaneously simulated with different dielectric function models. The best fit of the spectrophotometric data was obtained using the frequency-dependent damping constant in the Drude model coupled with the Bruggeman effective medium theory for the surface roughness. It has been found that the sputtering power and the chamber residual pressure play a key role in the resulting optical properties. This paper presents the refractive index profile, the structure determined from the XRD and the electrical properties of ITO films. It has been found from the electrical measurement that films sputtered at 200 W power and subsequently annealed at 400 °C have a sheet resistance of 80 Ω/□ and resistivity of 1.9×10⁻³ Ωcm.     

Effect of high-temperature annealing on GaInP/GaAs HBT structures grown by LP-MOVPE

We have investigated the effect of high-temperature annealing on device performance of GaInP/GaAs HBTs using a wide range of MOVPE growth parameters for the C-doped base layer. Carbon doping was achieved either via TMG and AsH₃ only or by using an extrinsic carbon source. High-temperature annealing causes degradation of carbon-doped GaAs in terms of minority carrier properties even at doping levels of p=1 × 10¹⁹ cm⁻³. The measured reduction in electron lifetime and luminescence intensity correlates with HBT device results. It is shown that the critical temperature where material degradation starts is both a function of doping method and carbon concentration.     

Comparison of InGaSb/InAs superlattice structures grown by MBE on GaSb, GaAs, and compliant GaAs substrates

This paper contains the characterization results for indium arsenide/indium gallium antimonide (InAs/InGaSb) superlattices (SL) that were grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on standard gallium arsenide (GaAs), standard GaSb, and compliant GaAs substrates. The atomic force microscopy (AFM) images, peak to valley (P-V) measurement, and surface roughness (RMS) measurements are reported for each sample. For the 5 μm×5 μm images, the P-V heights and RMS measurements were 37 ? and 17 ?, 12 ? and 2 ?, and 10 ? and 1.8 ? for the standard GaAs, standard GaSb, and compliant GaAs respectively. The high resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD) analysis found different 0^th order SL peak to GaSb peak spacings for the structures grown on the different substrates. These peak separations are consistent with different residual strain states within the SL structures. Depending on the constants used to determine the relative shift of the valance and conduction bands as a function of strain for the individual layers, the change in the InAs conduction band to InGaSb valance band spacing could range from +7 meV to −47 meV for a lattice constant of 6.1532 ?. The cutoff wavelength for the SL structure on the compliant GaAs, control GaSb, and control GaAs was 13.9 μm, 11 μm, and no significant response, respectively. This difference in cutoff wavelength corresponds to approximately a −23 meV change in the optical gap of the SL on the compliant GaAs substrate compared to the same SL on the control GaSb substrate.     

激光诱导击穿光谱技术定量分析原油金属元素

为了对原油中金属元素含量进行分析,利用激光诱导击穿光谱技术分别采用Na光谱的积分强度、峰值强度作定标曲线对高温灼烧后的原油中的Na进行了定量分析。实验中选取Na Ⅰ 588.995nm,Mg Ⅰ 383.230nm,Al Ⅰ 308.215nm,K Ⅰ 404.414nm,Ca Ⅰ 364.441nm,Fe Ⅱ 273.955nm作为分析线对原油样品灼烧后的6种元素进行分析,测得其质量分数分别为0.0592,0.0029,0.0212,0.0019,0.0072,0.1686,并得出了定标曲线的线性相关系数及检出限。结果表明,选用积分强度作定标曲线效果更好;激光诱导击穿光谱技术测量结果与X射线荧光光谱技术对Na的测量结果相对误差为6.28%;激光诱导击穿光谱技术可应用于原油中金属元素含量的测量。     

Surface characterization of epitaxial lateral overgrowth of InP on InP/GaAs substrate by MOCVD

Epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO) of InP on InP/GaAs substrates by low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (LP-MOCVD) was investigated. The lateral overgrowth InP layers were obtained on the SiO₂ masked InP seed layer, which was deposited on the (1 0 0) GaAs substrate by the two-step method. The surface characterization of overgrowth InP was dependent on the V/III ratio, the mask width and the growth time. When decreasing the V/III ratio or reducing the mask width respectively, the sidewalls “competition effect” was obviously observed. After a longer time, new (1 0 0)-like top surfaces were formatted because of the precursors migrating from the sidewall facets to the (1 0 0) top surfaces. The experimental findings will be explained by growth kinetics in conjunction with the different dominant source supply mechanism.     

Morphology and defect structures of GaSb islands on GaAs grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy

The initial nucleation of GaSb on (001) GaAs substrates by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy has been investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high resolution electron microscopy (HREM). TEM results showed that the GaSb islands experience a morphological transition as the growth temperature increases. For growth at 520°C, the islands are longer along the [110] direction; at 540°C, they are nearly square, and at 560°C, they are longer along the direction. Possible mechanisms are proposed to describe such a transition. TEM and HREM examination showed that lattice misfit relaxation mechanisms depend on the growth temperature. For the sample grown at 520°C, the lattice mismatch strain was accommodated mainly by 90° dislocations; for the sample grown at 540°C, the misfit strain was relieved mostly by 90° dislocations with some of 60° dislocations, and for the sample grown at 560°C, the strain was accommodated mainly by 60° dislocations which caused a local tilt of the GaSb islands with respect to the GaAs substrate. The density of threading dislocations was also found to be dependent on the growth temperature. Mechanisms are proposed to explain these phenomena.     

Characterization of Hg0.7Cd0.3Te n- on p-type structures obtained by reactive ion etching induced p- to n conversion

This paper presents transport measurements on both vacancy doped and gold doped Hg_0.7Cd_0.3Te p-type epilayers grown by liquid phase epitaxy (LPE), with N_A=2×10¹⁶ cm⁻³, in which a thin 2 μm surface layer has been converted to n-type by a short reactive ion etching (RIE) process. Hall and resistivity measurements were performed on the n-on-p structures in van der Pauw configuration for the temperature range from 30 K to 400 K and magnetic field range up to 12 T. The experimental Hall coefficient and resistivity data has been analyzed using the quantitative mobility spectrum analysis procedure to extract the transport properties of each individual carrier contributing to the total conduction process. In both samples three distinct carrier species have been identified. For 77 K, the individual carrier species exhibited the following properties for the vacancy and Au-doped samples, respectively, holes associated with the unconverted p-type epilayer with p ≈ 2 × 10¹⁶ cm⁻³, μ ≈ 350 cm²V⁻¹s⁻¹, and p ≈ 6 × 10¹⁵ cm⁻³, μ ≈ 400 cm²V⁻¹s⁻¹; bulk electrons associated with the RIE converted region with n ≈ 3 × 10¹⁵cm⁻³, μ ≈ 4 × 10⁴ cm²V⁻¹s⁻¹, and n ≈ 1.5 × 10¹⁵ cm⁻³, μ ≈ 6 × 10⁴ cm²V⁻¹s⁻¹; and surface electrons (2D concentration) n ≈ 9 × 10¹² cm⁻² and n ≈ 1 × 10¹³ cm⁻², with mobility in the range 1.5 × 10³ cm²V⁻¹s⁻¹ to 1.5 × 10⁴ cm²V⁻¹s⁻¹ in both samples. The high mobility of bulk electrons in the RIE converted n-layer indicates that a diffusion process rather than damage induced conversion is responsible for the p-to-n conversion deep in the bulk. On the other hand, these results indicate that the surface electron mobility is affected by RIE induced damage in a very thin layer at the HgCdTe surface.     

Effect of surface stoichiometry on Be doping in GaAs by intermittent supply of AsH3 and TEG in an ultra-high vacuum

The effects of surface stoichiometry on Be doping in GaAs grown by molecular layer epitaxy have experimentally been investigated. Be-doped p⁺-GaAs layers were grown on (0 0 1)-oriented GaAs substrates by intermittent supply of AsH₃ and triethylgallium (TEG) in an ultra-high vacuum. Be(MeCp)₂ was used as a p-type dopant gas. The surface stoichiometry before introducing the dopant gas was controlled by changing the AsH₃ and TEG injection sequence and supply time. The doping characteristics were evaluated by secondary ion mass spectroscopy analysis. It was found that doping characteristics of Be-doped GaAs are strongly dependent on the doping sequence and surface stoichiometry. This experimental result and the Be doping mechanism are discussed on the basis of rate law of the surface chemical reaction.     

Preliminary comparison of ballistic electron emission spectroscopy measurements on InAs quantum dots in a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure grown by MBE and MOVPE

Self-assembled InAs quantum dots (SAQDs) in GaAs/GaAlAs structures grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and metal-organic vapour phase epitaxy (MOVPE) of similar size was examined by ballistic electron emission spectroscopy. Ballistic current-voltage characteristics through the QD in the voltage range from 0.55 to 0.9 V (range where the presence of resonance states of QD is expected) with its derivative (the derivation of the spectroscopic characteristics represents quantum levels in the QD) are given. Differences in the intensities and sharpnesses of the QD levels for MBE and MOVPE grown QDs are observed.     

Formation of uniform GaAs multi-atomic steps with 20–30 nm periodicity and related structures on vicinal (111)B planes by MBE

We studied morphology of GaAs surfaces and the transport properties of two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) on vicinal (111)B planes. Multi-atomic steps (MASs) are found on the vicinal (111)B facet grown by molecular beam epitaxy, which will affect electron transport on the facet. We also studied how the morphology of GaAs epilayers on vicinal (111)B substrates depends on growth conditions, especially on the As₄ flux. The uniformity of MASs on the substrates have been improved and smooth surfaces were obtained when the GaAs was grown with high As₄ flux, providing step periodicity of 20 nm. The channel resistance of the 2DEG perpendicular to the MASs is reduced drastically with this smooth morphology. These findings are valuable not only for fabricating quantum devices on the (111)B facets but also those on the vicinal (111)B substrates.     

High uniformity of Al0.3Ga0.7As/ln0.15Ga0.85As doped-channel structures grown by molecular beam epitaxy on 3″ GaAs substrates

Al_0.3Ga_0.7As/ln_0.15Ga_0.85As doped-channel structures were grown by molecular beam epitaxy on 3″ GaAs substrates. The uniformities of electrical and optical properties across a 3″ wafer were evaluated. A maximum 10% variation of sheet charge density and Hall mobility was achieved for this doped-channel structure. A1 μm long gate field-effect transistor (FET) built on this layer demonstrated a peak transconductance of 350 mS/mm with a current density of 470 mA/mm. Compared to the high electron mobility transistors, this doped-channel FET provides a higher current density and higher breakdown voltage, which is very suitable for high-power microwave device applications.