Interaction of infrared radiation with free carriers in mesoporous silicon

Features of absorption and reflection of infrared radiation in the range 500–6000 cm^?1 are investigated; these features are associated with free carriers in the layers of mesoporous Si (porosity, 60–70%) formed in single-crystal p-Si(100) wafers with a hole concentration of N _p ≈10²⁰ cm^?3. It is found that the contribution of free holes to the optical parameters of the samples decreases as the porosity of the material increases and further falls when the samples are naturally oxidized in air. The experimental results are explained in the context of a model based on the Bruggeman effective medium approximation and the Drude classical theory with a correction for additional carrier scattering in silicon residues (nanocrystals). A comparison between the calculated and experimental dependences yields a hole concentration in nanocrystals of N _p ≈10¹⁹ cm^?3 for as-prepared layers and shows a reduction of N _p when they are naturally oxidized.     

Effect of Dislocation-related Deep Levels in Heteroepitaxial InGaAs/GaAs and GaAsSb/GaAs <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>–<Emphasis Type="Italic">i</Emphasis>–<Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis> Structures on the Relaxation time of Nonequilibrium Carriers

The results of an experimental study of the capacitance–voltage (C–V) characteristics and deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) spectra of p⁺–p⁰–i–n⁰ homostructures based on undoped dislocationfree GaAs layers and InGaAs/GaAs and GaAsSb/GaAs heterostructures with homogeneous networks of misfit dislocations, all grown by liquid-phase epitaxy (LPE), are presented. Deep-level acceptor defects identified as HL2 and HL5 are found in the epitaxial p⁰ and n⁰ layers of the GaAs-based structure. The electron and hole dislocation-related deep levels, designated as, respectively, ED1 and HD3, are detected in InGaAs/GaAs and GaAsSb/GaAs heterostructures. The following hole trap parameters: thermal activation energies (E _t ), capture cross sections (σ _p ), and concentrations (N _t ) are calculated from the Arrhenius dependences to be E _t = 845 meV, σ _p = 1.33 × 10^–12 cm², N _t = 3.80 × 10¹⁴ cm^–3 for InGaAs/GaAs and E _t = 848 meV, σ _p = 2.73 × 10^–12 cm², N _t = 2.40 × 10¹⁴ cm^–3 for GaAsSb/GaAs heterostructures. The concentration relaxation times of nonequilibrium carriers are estimated for the case in which dislocation-related deep acceptor traps are involved in this process. These are 2 × 10^–10 s and 1.5 × 10^–10 s for, respectively, the InGaAs/GaAs and GaAsSb/GaAs heterostructures and 1.6 × 10^–6 s for the GaAs homostructures.     

Effect of copper doping on kinetic phenomena in <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-Bi<Subscript>2</Subscript>Te<Subscript>2.85</Subscript>Se<Subscript>0.15</Subscript>

In single crystals of copper-doped and undoped Bi₂Te_2.85Se_0.15 solid solutions with an electron concentration close to 1 × 10¹⁹ cm^?3, the temperature dependences are investigated for the Hall (R ₁₂₃, R ₃₂₁) and Seebeck (S ₁₁) kinetic coefficients, the electrical-conductivity (σ ₁₁), Nernst-Ettingshausen (Q ₁₂₃), and thermalconductivity (k ₁₁) coefficients in the temperature range of 77–400 K. The absence of noticeable anomalies in the temperature dependences of the kinetic coefficients makes it possible to use the one-band model when analyzing the experimental results. Within the framework of the one-band model, the effective mass of density of states (m _d ≈ 0.8m ₀), the energy gap (ε_g ≈ 0.2 eV), and the effective scattering parameter (r _eff ≈ 0.2) are estimated. The obtained value of the parameter r _eff is indicative of the mixed electron-scattering mechanism with the dominant scattering by acoustic phonons. Data on the thermal conductivity and the lattice resistivity obtained by subtracting the electron contribution according to the Wiedemann-Franz law are presented.     

CdHgTe heterostructures for new-generation IR photodetectors operating at elevated temperatures

The parameters of multilayer Cd_xHg_1–xTe heterostructures for photodetectors operating at wavelengths of up to 5 μm, grown by molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) on silicon substrates, are studied. The passivating properties of thin CdTe layers on the surface of these structures are analyzed by measuring the C–V characteristics. The temperature dependences of the minority carrier lifetime in the photoabsorption layer after growth and thermal annealing are investigated. Samples of p ⁺–n-type photodiodes are fabricated by the implantation of arsenic ions into n-type layers, doped with In to a concentration of (1–5) × 10¹⁵ cm^–3. The temperature dependences of the reverse currents are measured at several bias voltages; these currents turn out to be almost two orders of magnitude lower than those for n ⁺–p-type diodes.     

Electrical and thermoelectric properties of <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-Ag<Subscript>2</Subscript>Te

Temperature dependences of the Hall coefficient R, electrical conductivity σ, and thermopower α₀ are investigated in the range of 4–300 K. The specific features observed in temperature dependences R(T), σ(T), and α₀(T) are interpreted in the context of a model with two types of charge carriers.     

The temperature and concentration dependences of the charge carrier mobility in PbTe-MnTe solid solutions

The temperature dependences of conductivity (σ), the Hall coefficient (R_H), and the charge carrier mobility (μ_H) for cast and pressed samples of PbTe-MnTe solid solutions (0–2.5 mol % of MnTe) were studied in the temperature range of 80–300 K. The mobility of cast samples varies only slightly in the temperature range of 80–140 K. At higher temperatures, μ_H decreases according to the power law μ_H=aT^?v. The mobility μ_H of pressed samples exponentially increases with temperature in the temperature range of 100–160 K, which is related to the energy barriers ΔE_a formed by oxide films at the grain boundaries. The dependences of μ_H, ν, and ΔE_a on the MnTe content have anomalies in the composition range of 0.75–1.25 mol %, which are related to the concentration phase transition of the percolation type.     

The effect of erbium and oxygen on the photoluminescence intensity of erbium and the composition of <Emphasis Type="Italic">a</Emphasis>-SiO<Subscript>x</Subscript>:(H,Er, O) films deposited by DC magnetron sputtering

The effect of the oxygen content (\(C_{O_2 } \)) in the gas mixture (20% of SiH₄ + 80% of Ar) + O₂ and the surface area of an erbium target (S_Er) on the composition and Er³⁺ photoluminescence of amorphous a-SiO_x:(H, Er, O) films prepared by dc magnetron sputtering has been investigated. Analysis of the experimental data shows that [Er-O] and [Er-O-Si-O] clusters are formed in the gas plasma due to the competing processes of oxidation and sputtering of Si and Er targets and to the interaction of [Si-O] and [Er-O] clusters with each other and with the oxygen in the gas phase. The discontinuities in the dependences of the contents of erbium-bound oxygen and erbium in a film, and N _O ^Er-O and N_Er = f(\(C_{O_2 } \), S_Er), at \(C_{O_2 } \) ≈ (5–6.5) mol % supports the hypothesis on the existence of different erbium clusters. The necessary conditions for preparing a-SiO_x:(H, Er, O) films with the highest photoluminescence intensity of erbium ions at a wavelength of 1.54 μm are determined.     

X-ray conductivity of ZnSe single crystals

The experimental I–V and current–illuminance characteristics of the X-ray conductivity and X-ray luminescence of zinc-selenide single crystals feature a nonlinear shape. The performed theoretical analysis of the kinetics of the X-ray conductivity shows that even with the presence of shallow and deep traps for free charge carriers in a semiconductor sample, the integral characteristics of the X-ray conductivity (the current–illuminance and I–V dependences) should be linear. It is possible to assume that the nonlinearity experimentally obtained in the I–V and current–illuminance characteristics can be caused by features of the generation of free charge carriers upon X-ray irradiation, i.e., the generation of hundreds of thousands of free charge carriers of opposite sign in a local region with a diameter of <1 μm and Coulomb interaction between the free charge carriers of opposite signs.     

Method for optimizing the parameters of heterojunction photovoltaic cells based on crystalline silicon

An approach is proposed to calculate the optimal parameters of silicon-based heterojunction solar cells whose key feature is a low rate of recombination processes in comparison with direct-gap semiconductors. It is shown that at relatively low majority-carrier concentrations (N_d ～ 10¹⁵ cm^–3), the excess carrier concentration can be comparable to or higher than N_d. In this case, the efficiency η is independent of N_d. At higher N_d, the dependence η(N_d) is defined by two opposite trends. One of them promotes an increase in η with N_d, and the other associated with Auger recombination leads to a decrease in η. The optimum value N_d ≈ 2 × 10¹⁶ cm^–3 at which η of such a cell is maximum is determined. It is shown that maximum η is 1.5–2% higher than η at 10¹⁵ cm^–3.     

Transport coefficients of <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-Bi<Subscript>2</Subscript>Te<Subscript>2.7</Subscript>Se<Subscript>0.3</Subscript> in a two-band model of the electron spectrum

The Hall factor and thermoelectric properties of an n-Bi₂Te_2.7Se_0.3 solid solution with the roomtemperature Seebeck coefficient |S| = 212 μV/K have been studied in the temperature range 77–350 K. The observed temperature dependences demonstrate a number of specific features, which were earlier found in samples with a lower electron density N. The effect of these specific features on the thermoelectric figure of merit Z appears to be more favorable for the sample under study: this sample is most efficient in the temperature range 120–340 K, and the average value of ZT is 0.71. It is found that a rise in the density N enhances the factor responsible for the effective mass decreasing as the temperature increases. This effect appears when the analysis is carried out in terms of a single-band parabolic model with N = const(T). This finding suggests that the most probable reason for the unusual behavior of these properties is the complex structure of the electron spectrum. Temperature dependences obtained from calculations of the transport coefficients show good agreement with the experimental data for two samples of the mentioned composition with different electron densities. The calculations have been performed in terms of a two-band model and an acoustic scattering mechanism and take into account the anisotropy and nonparabolicity of the light-electron spectrum.     

Investigation of the ZnS-CdHgTe interface

The ZnS-Cd_xHg_1?xTe interface was investigated using the capacitance-voltage characteristics of MIS structures in experimental samples. During fabrication of the n⁺-p junctions based on p-Cd_xHg_1?xTe, the density of states within the range N _ss =(1–6)×10¹¹ cm^?2 eV^?1 at T=78 K was obtained. The experiments showed that the conditions in which n⁺-p junctions are fabricated only slightly affect the state of the ZnS-CdHgTe interface. The negative voltages of the at bands V _FB , even if immediately after deposition of the ZnS films V _FB >0, point to the enrichment of the ZnS-p-CdHgTe near-surface layer with majority carriers, specifically, holes. This led to a decrease in the leakage current over the surface. During long-term storage (as long as ～15 years) in air at room temperature, no degradation of differential resistance R _d , current sensitivity S _i , and detectivity D* of such n⁺-p junctions with a ZnS protection film was observed.     

Increase in the rate and discretization of the kinetics of isothermal surface generation of minority charge carriers in metal-insulator-semiconductor structures with a planar-inhomogeneous insulator

Surface generation of minority charge carriers in silicon metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) structures is efficient only at the initial recombinationless stage. Quasi-equilibrium between surface generation centers and the minority-carrier band is established in a time t ～ 10^?5 s. In the absence of other carrier generation channels, an equilibrium inversion state at 300 K would need t = t_∞ > 10³ years to become established. In fact, the time t ∞ is much shorter, due to excess-carrier generation via centers located at the SiO₂/Si interface over the gate periphery. This edge-related generation can easily be simulated in an MOS structure with a single gate insulated from Si by oxide layers of various thicknesses. At gate depleting voltages V _g , the role of the periphery is played by a shallow potential well under a thicker oxide, and the current-generation kinetics becomes unconventional: two discrete steps are observed in the dependences I(t), and the duration and height of these steps depend on V _g . An analysis of the I(t) curves allows determination of the electric characteristics of the Si surface in the states of initial depletion (t = 0) and equilibrium inversion (t = t_∞), as well as the parameters of surface lag centers, including their energy and spatial distributions. The functionally specialized planar inhomogeneity of a gate insulator is a promising basis for dynamic sensors with integrating and threshold properties.     

Spontaneous spin polarization of electrons in quantum wires

The quantum conductance staircase of the one-dimensional (1D) channel is analyzed for a weak filling of the lower 1D subbands, when the exchange electron-electron interaction of carriers dominates over their kinetic energy. Main attention is paid to considering the behavior of the “0.7(2e²/h)” feature split off from the first quantum step, which is identified as a result of the spontaneous spin polarization of the 1D electronic gas through exchange interaction at zero magnetic field. The critical linear concentration of electrons above which fully polarized electron gas starts to depolarize, with the resulting evolution of the split-off substep height from e²/h to 2e²/h, is determined within the framework of phenomenological theory. Moreover, the temperature dependence of the height of this substep at the range 0.5(2e²/h)–0.75(2e²/h), resulting from the partial depolarization of the electron gas near the 1D subband bottom, is predicted. The quantum-mechanical consideration carried out analytically in the context of the Hartree-Fock-Slater approximation with localized exchange potential shows that consideration of the electron-electron interaction in a quantum wire with an arbitrary carrier density leads to spontaneous polarization of the quasi-1D electronic gas in zero magnetic field at small linear concentrations of carriers.     

Growth,structure, and properties of GaAs-based (GaAs)1–x–y (Ge2) x (ZnSe) y epitaxial films

The possibility of growing the (GaAs)_1–x–y (Ge₂) _x (ZnSe) _y alloy on GaAs substrates by the method of liquid-phase epitaxy from a tin solution–melt is shown. X-ray diffraction shows that the grown film is single-crystal with the (100) orientation and has the sphalerite structure. The crystal-lattice parameter of the film is a _f = 0.56697 nm. The features of the spectral dependence of the photosensitivity are caused by the formation of various complexes of charged components. It is established that the I–V characteristic of such structures is described by the exponential dependence I = I ₀exp(qV/ckT) at low voltages (no higher than 0.4 V) and by the power dependence J ~ V ^α, where the exponent α varies with increasing voltage at high voltages (V > 0.5 V). The results are treated within the framework of the theory of the drift mechanism of current transfer taking into account the possibility of the exchange of free carriers within the recombination complex.     

Mobility of minority charge carriers in <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-HgCdTe films

Temperature dependences of electron mobility in p-Hg_1?xCd_xTe films (x=0.210–0.223) grown by molecular beam epitaxy are investigated. In the temperature range 125–300 K, mobility was found by the mobility-spectrum method, and for the range 77–125 K, it was found using a magnetophotoconductivity method suggested in this study. The method is based on the measurement of the magnetic-field dependence of photoconductivity. The magnetic field is parallel to the radiation and normal to the sample surface. The electron mobility is determined using the simple expression μ _n [m²/(V s)]=1/B _H [T]. Here, B _H is the induction of the magnetic field corresponding to a half-amplitude of the photoconductivity signal under zero magnetic field. In the temperature range 100–125 K, the results obtained by the magnetophotoconductivity and mobility-spectrum methods coincide. For the samples investigated, the electron mobility at 77 K is in the range 5–8 m²/(V s).     

Surface roughness and magnetic properties of Co/SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>/Si(100) polycrystalline films deposited via DC magnetron sputtering

For polycrystalline films of cobalt that have the thickness t ≈ 1.3–133 nm and that are deposited via DC magnetron sputtering on SiO₂(0.1 μm)/Si(100) substrates, surface-roughness root-mean-square amplitude σ and surface correlation length ξ, which characterize the roughness of film surfaces, as well as saturation magnetization 4πM ₀, width of ferromagnetic-resonance line ΔH, coercitivity H _C, and saturation fields H _S, are studied as functions of film thickness t. It is shown that the behavior of dependences H _C(t) and H _S(t) coincides with the behavior of dependence σ(t)/t, whereas the behavior of 4πM ₀(t) depends on ratio t/σ(t). The dependence of the FMR line width on the film thickness, ΔH(t), is characterized by a minimum of ΔH ≈ 60 Oe present in the region of thicknesses of 30 to 60 nm. The behavior of dependence ΔH(t) is determined by ratio σ(t)/t at small thicknesses t ≤ 5 nm and by the behavior of σ(t) at t ≥ 5 nm.     

On Measurements of the Electrons and Holes Impact-Ionization Coefficients in 4<Emphasis Type="Italic">H</Emphasis>–SiC

All published results of measurements (at 300 K) of the impact ionization coefficients for electrons α_n and holes α_p in 4H–SiC are analyzed. It is shown that the most plausible approximations of dependences of α_{n, p} on electric-field strength E have the usual form α_{n, p} = a_{n, p} exp(–E_{n, p}/E) at fitting-parameter values of a_n = 38.6 × 106 cm^–1, E_n = 25.6 MV/cm, a_p = 5.31 × 106 cm^–1, and E_p = 13.1 MV/cm. These dependences α_{n, p}(E) are used to calculate the highest field strength E_b and thickness w_b of the space-charge region at the breakdown voltage U_b. A number of new formulas for calculating α_{n, p}(E) are obtained from the results of measuring the avalanche-multiplication coefficients and the excess-noise factors under the single-sided illumination of photodiodes with stepped doping.     

High-voltage (900 V) 4 <Emphasis Type="Italic">H</Emphasis>-SiC Schottky diodes with a boron-implanted guard <Emphasis Type="Italic">p-n</Emphasis> junction

High-voltage (900 V) 4H-SiC Schottky diodes terminated with a guard p-n junction were fabricated and studied. The guard p-n junction was formed by room-temperature boron implantation with subsequent high-temperature annealing. Due to transient enhanced boron diffusion during annealing, the depth of the guard p-n junction was equal to about 1.7 μm, which is larger by approximately 1 μm than the projected range of 11 B ions in 4H-SiC. The maximum reverse voltage of fabricated 4H-SiC Schottky diodes is found to be limited by avalanche breakdown of the planar p-n junction; the value of the breakdown voltage (910 V) is close to theoretical estimate in the case of the impurity concentration N = 2.5 × 10¹⁵ cm^?3 in the n-type layer, thickness of the n-type layer d = 12.5 μm, and depth of the p-n junction r _j = 1.7 μm. The on-state diode resistance (3.7 mΩ cm²) is controlled by the resistance of the epitaxial n-type layer. The recovery charge of about 1.3 nC is equal to the charge of majority charge carriers that are swept out of an epitaxial n-type layer under the effect of a reverse voltage.     

Integer quantum Hall effect and correlated disorder

The effect of the form of the random potential of impurities and defects on the longitudinal σ _xx and Hall σ _xy components of conductivity in the mode of the integer quantum Hall effect is theoretically investigated. It is shown that the width of the Hall conductivity plateau as well as the peak values of the longitudinal conductivity heavily depend on the ratio λ/a _H between the random potential correlation length and the magnetic length. For the first time, it is established that in the case of the short-wavelength potential λ ? a _H, the peak values of σ _xx ^(N) are directly proportional to the Landau level number N ≥ 1, σ _xx = 0.5Ne ²/h, whereas the peak values of σ _xx ^(N) are independent of the Landau level number in the case of the long-wavelength potential λ ? a _H, and their magnitude is much lower than 0.5e ²/h. The obtained results are in good agreement with the available experimental data.     

Effect of electron-electron and electron-hole collisions on intraband population inversion of electrons in stepped quantum wells

The effect of intersubband electron-electron (e-e) and electron-hole (e-h) scattering on intraband population inversion of electrons in a stepped InGaAs/AlGaAs quantum well is investigated. The characteristic times of the most probable e-e and e-h processes, which affect the electron densities on the excited levels, are calculated for the temperature range 80–300 K. Dependences of these times on the electron and hole density on the ground levels are studied. Temperature dependences of the intraband inversion of population for two nonequilibrium densities are calculated by solving a system of rate equations. It is shown that the intersubband e-e and e-h scattering only slightly affects the population inversion for electron densities below 1×10¹² cm^?2.