Tuning and Enhancing Photoluminescence of Light‐Emitting Polymer Nanotubes through Electron‐Beam Irradiation

A new method for the tuning and enhancing photoluminescence (PL) characteristics of light emitting poly (3‐methylthiopnehe) (P3MT) nanotubes through E‐beam irradiation under atmospheric environments is reported. An E‐beam generated from a linear electron accelerator (1 MeV, 1.6 × 10¹³–8.0 × 10¹⁶ electrons cm^–2) is irradiated onto P3MT nanotubes including an Al₂O₃ template. From laser confocal microscope (LCM) PL experiments, significant enhancements in the PL intensity—up to about 90 times of an isolated single strand of the E‐beam irradiated P3MT nanotubes—are observed. The luminescent color of the P3MT nanotubes changes from green to red color depending on the variation of E‐beam dosage. These results might originate from the de‐doping effect and the conformational modification through E‐beam irradiations. Conformational changes of the E‐beam irradiated P3MT nanotubes are confirmed by LCM single Raman and ultraviolet‐visible (UV/Vis) absorption spectra. From UV/Vis absorption spectra, it is observed that the π–π* transition peak and the doping induced bipolaron peaks of the P3MT nanotubes dramatically vary with E‐beam irradiating conditions.     

Optically-controlled switching characteristics of silicon MESFETs

The switching time of a silicon MESFET device can be controlled by photons incident on the transparent or semitransparent gate, which may be treated as the virtual gate in addition to usual gate. Studies have been made on the optically-controlled switching characteristics of the Silicon MESFET which show that the internal gate-source capacitance increases with increasing radiation flux density under normally OFF conditions and decreases under normally ON conditions. Further, the drain-to-source resistance is found to be reduced with increasing radiation flux density at a particular value of absorption coefficient (or wavelength of radiation). The effect of radiation becomes predominant over the impurity concentration at flux-density ≥ 10¹⁸/m². Also it is observed that RC time constant decreases initially with increasing radiation up to 10¹⁸/m². At a radiation intensity equal to 10¹⁹/m², the RC time constant gradually decreases with increased doping level.     

P-type doped ambipolar polymer transistors by direct charge transfer from a cationic organic dye Pyronin B ferric chloride

We report a facile way to improve organic field effect transistor (OFET) performance based on low concentration doping of diketopyrrolopyrrole-thieno[3,2-b]thiophene (DPPT-TT) solution by an organic cationic dye, Pyronin B (PyB). DPPT-TT OFETs show significantly high field effect mobilities (up to 3.5 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹) by optimizing the doping ratio and solvent selection. The devices also exhibit better on/off ratio by suppression of n-channel characteristics. Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy and UV–vis absorption spectra revealed efficient p-type doping in PyB doped DPPT-TT films, which was confirmed by the Fermi level shifting toward the highest occupied molecular orbital and red shift of the absorption spectrum.     

Switching properties of highly doped Gunn devices in resistive circuits

The switching behaviour of Gunn devices in the doping range between 7 × 10¹⁴ cm^?3 and 5 × 10¹⁵ cm^?3 acting in resistive circuits is investigated by numerical methods. Carrier transport equations including diffusion are solved for the device in combination with external circuit equations. The switching time is below 100 psec down to less than 10 psec depending on load and doping. The current pulse amplitude is about 40% of the peak current.     

Dielectric function and degradation process of poly(triarylamine) (PTAA)

We investigated the optical properties and the degradation process of the organic p-type semiconductor poly(triarylamine) (PTAA) in the mid infrared region. The dielectric function of PTAA was determined in the spectral region of 700 up to 6000 cm⁻¹ by modeling ellipsometric measurements. Due to degradation at 65 °C, PTAA thin films developed carbonyl and hydroxyl features in the infrared spectra. Degradation under 85% RH additionally led to absorption signals of water. A degradation of the bare gold substrates was also observed. For bare gold films, morphology changed upon degradation and adsorption of hydrocarbons from the ambience took place.     

Effect of the interface states on the cell parameters of a thin film quasi-monocrystalline porous silicon as an active layer

Unlike crystalline silicon, quasi-monocrystalline porous silicon (QMPS) layers have a top surface with small voids in the body. What is more pertinent to the present study is the fact that, at a given wavelength of interest for solar cells, these layers are often reported, in the literature, to have a higher absorption coefficient than crystalline silicon. The present study builds on existing literature, suggesting an analytical model that simulates the performance of an elementary thin QMPS (as an active layer) solar cell. Accordingly, the effects that the interface states located at the void-silicon interface and that the porosity of this material have on the cell parameters are investigated. Furthermore, the effects of the optimum base doping, QMPS thickness, and porosity on the photovoltaic parameters were taken into consideration. The results show that the optimum base doping depends on the QMPS thickness and porosity. For an 8 μm thickness, the film QMPS layer gives a 35.4 mA/cm² for short-circuit current density, 15% for conversion efficiency, and 527 mV for open-circuit voltage when the value of the interface states is about 10¹² cm⁻² and the base doping is about 2×10¹⁸ cm⁻³ under AM 1.5 conditions.     

Luminescence Properties of Cobalt-Doped ZnO Films Prepared by Sol–Gel Method

Pure ZnO and Co-doped ZnO films have been deposited on coverslip substrates by sol–gel spin coating. The morphological, structural, and optical properties of the films were investigated. The microstructure of the ZnO films became increasingly fine and the crystalline size decreased with Co doping. Analysis of x-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectra reveals that Co²⁺ ions are substituted for Zn²⁺ ions in the ZnO lattice without changing its wurtzite structure. Co doping induces a decrease of the band-gap energy and fluorescence quenching of the emission bands. The spectra related to transitions within the tetrahedral Co²⁺ ions in the ZnO host crystal were observed in absorption and luminescence spectra. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra under different excitation energies and PL excitation spectra for the visible emissions suggest that the orange–red emission and green emission could be related to interstitial zinc (Zn_i) shallow donors and oxygen vacancy (V _O) deep donors, respectively. The red emission of Co-doped ZnO film could be assigned to the radiative transitions within the tetrahedral Co²⁺ ions in the ZnO host crystal after band-to-band excitation. A consistent explanation for the pure and Co-doped ZnO films is that the red emission under the excitation energy below the band gap is probably associated with extended Zn_i states.     

Precipitation in CdTe crystals studied through mie scattering

Below gap optical losses in as-grown n-type CdTe crystals were analyzed in terms of free carrier absorption and Mie extinction due to Te precipitates. Experimental absorption spectra measured between 2 to 20 μm exhibited the well-known free carrier absorption behavior α_FCA∼λ^x with x=3 due to scattering by polar optical phonons. In shorter wavelength regions below 6 μm, however, additional contributions to the light loss due to absorption and scattering by precipitates were also observed. Assuming a log-normal size distribution, the precipitate extinction spectra were calculated according to Mie theory within the electric and magnetic dipole and electric quadrupole approximation. A comparison with the experimental spectra identifies the precipitates and enables estimation of their sizes and total number density. In this investigation, both undoped and In-doped CdTe crystals grown from stoichiometric melts by vertical asymmetric Bridgman method were used. It was found that In doping, in general, suppresses Te precipitation. At high doping level (melt containing∼10¹⁹ In atoms cm⁻³), the formation of In₂Te₂ is also indicated. It is demonstrated that the Mie extinction analysis offers an, expedient method to rapidly analyze the precipitates in CdTe and in similar other wide gap materials in a nondestructive manner.     

Optical properties of photochromatic sulfur-doped chlorosodalite

Synthetic.photochromic sulfo-chlorosodalite, 6(NaAlSiO₄) ·2 NaCl(S), has been thoroughly investigated by measurements of optical absorption, photo-luminescence and cathodoluminescence. Depending on the sulfur ion form and concentration, the doped sodalite exhibits either sensitive tene-brescence or photoluminescence with long wavelength UV excitation. The photo-induced color absorption peaks at 5260A at 300°K with absorption coefficient, Δα_max >200 cm⁻¹ . This is by far the highest photo-induced absorption observed for synthetic chlorosodalite. At 80°K, the peak position of the absorption does not show significant shift within instrumental accuracy. In photoluminescence, the emission spectra as well as the excitation spectra are studied at both 300 and 78°K. Four characteristic spectral bands (IR, blue, red, and a band with oscillation in wavelength) are observed. The oscillatory S₂ ^- ion emission band starting about 2.35 eV and extending to lower energy and the IR band peaked at 1.4 eV are most efficiently excited by 3660A (3.4 eV), whereas the blue luminescence peaked at 2.7 eV has an excitation threshold of 3.9 eV. The red band is often masked by the oscillatory band and can be observed by higher energy excitation. The red and blue bands are also observable in the cathodoluminescence measurements of the sulfur-doped samples but not the undoped samples. Correlating the absorption, luminescence, and excitation spectral results, a quantitative model is derived to interpret the nature and the role of sulfur ions in the photochromic chlorosodalite material.     

Characterization of the switching in tunnel MISS devices

The observed bistable characteristics of metal-insulator-silicon switch (MISS) devices with moderate epi-layer doping levels are proven to be controlled by trap assisted tunneling. The switching current and the switching voltage are shown to depend on the reverse saturation current of the MIS substructure and on fabrication parameters (insulator thickness and epi-layer doping level). A method to obtain the metal-semiconductor barrier height, the injection factor at the interface and the trap density in the insulator is presented. The results have been applied to characterize AlSiO₂Si(n)Si(p⁺) structu in which the switching point and the reverse saturation current have been measured. The observed dispersion in the values of the current can be explained by assuming a unique value of the barrier height and the trap density for all devices, allowing the values of the tunneling damping factors to be different from those obtained in the two-band model, which validity is also discussed.     

Enhanced Electrical Switching and Electrochromic Properties of Poly(p‐phenylenebenzobisthiazole) Thin Films Embedded with Nano‐WO3

The electrical switching and electrochromic phenomena of a novel nanocomposite comprising poly(p‐phenylenebenzobisthiazole) (PBZT) and tungsten oxide (WO₃) nanoparticles are investigated as a function of the nanoparticle loading. Both dissolving PBZT and doping PBZT backbone structure with acid are achieved by one simple step. Chlorosulfonic acid (CSA) is used as a solvent and spontaneously transformed to sulfuric acid upon exposure to moisture. The formed sulfuric acid serves as doping agent to improve the electrical conductivity of PBZT. The most significant enhancement of electrical switching is observed in the nanocomposites with low weight fraction (5%). The electrical conductivity of 5% WO₃/PBZT nanocomposite thin film is increased by about 200 times and 2 times, respectively, as compared to those of the as‐received PBZT and PBZT/CSA thin films. As the nanoparticle loading increases to 20% and 30%, the nanocomposites follow an ohmic conduction mechanism. Stable electrical conductivity switching is observed before and after applying a bias on the pristine PBZT and WO₃/PBZT nanocomposite thin films. Electrochromic phenomena of both PBZT and WO₃/PBZT nanocomposite thin films with high contrast ratio are observed after applying a bias (3 V). The mechanisms of the nanoparticles in enhancing the electrical switching and electrochromic properties are proposed.     

Control of Al and B doping transients in 6H and 4H SiC grown by vapor phase epitaxy

The atomic concentration profiles in 4H and 6H SiC created by Al and B doping turn-on and turn-off during vapor phase epitaxy (VPE) was investigated by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). It was found that dopant traces were adsorbed to the reactor walls and re-evaporated after the dopant precursor flow was switched off. This adsorption/re-evaporation process limits the doping dynamic range to about three orders of magnitude for Al, and two orders of magnitude for B. An order of magnitude in doping dynamics could be gained by simultaneously switching the gases and changing the C:Si precursor ratio. By adding a 10 min growth interruption with an H or HC1 etch at the doping turn-off, the background doping tail could be considerably suppressed. In total, a doping dynamics for Al of almost five orders of magnitude can be controlled within a 30 nm layer. For B, the dynamic range is more than three orders of magnitude, and the abruptness is most probably diffusion limited. Abackground doping level of 2 × 10¹⁵ cm⁻³ for Al and 2 × 10¹⁶ cm⁻³ for B was obtained. For Al, the background doping is most probably due to the adsorption/re-evaporation of dopants at the reactor walls; while for B, the background doping may in addition be limited by diffusion.     

Efficient and color-stable solid-state white light-emitting electrochemical cells employing red color conversion layers

We report efficient and color-stable white light-emitting electrochemical cells (LECs) by combining single-layered blue-emitting LECs with red-emitting color conversion layers (CCLs) on the inverse side of the glass substrate. By judicious choosing of the red-emitting dye doped in CCLs, good spectral overlap between the absorption spectrum of the red-emitting dye and the emission spectrum of the blue-emitting emissive material results in efficient energy transfer and thus sufficient down-converted red emission at low doping concentrations of the red-emitting dye in the CCLs. Low doping concentration is beneficial in reducing self-quenching of the red-emitting dye, rendering efficient red emission. Electroluminescent (EL) measurements show that the peak external quantum efficiency and the peak power efficiency of the white LECs employing red CCLs reach 5.93% and 15.34 lm W⁻¹, respectively, which are among the highest reported for white LECs. Furthermore, these devices exhibit bias-insensitive white EL spectra, which are required for practical applications, due to nondoped emissive layers. These results reveal that single-layered blue-emitting LECs combined with red-emitting CCLs are one of the potential candidates for efficient and color-stable white light-emitting devices.     

InGaAsPN-InP-based photodetectors for long wavelength(λ>1.65 μm) applications

We demonstrate InGaAsPN p-i-n photodetectors lattice-matched to InP substrates with cutoff wavelengths larger than 1.65 μm. The narrow bandgap InGaAsPN absorption layers were grown by gas source molecular beam epitaxy using an RF plasma nitrogen source. Optical absorption spectra reveal that InGaAsPN with 5% P and 2.8% N has a cutoff wavelength λ_CO=1.90 μm Background doping in the absorption layer for a detector with 1.5% N and 5% P is reduced from (1.5±0.5)×10¹⁷ cm^-3 for the as-grown device, to (5±0.5)×10¹⁶ cm^-3 for a thermally annealed device. The unintentional high background doping is due to N-H bond formation or local strain induced defects. Spectral response measurements indicate that λ_CO=1.85 μm is achieved for detectors annealed at 800°C with 2% N and 5% P in the InGaAsPN absorption layer, suggesting that annealed InGaAsPN alloys are promising for use in detectors with response in the near and mid-IR wavelength spectral range     

Influence of Cu doping on physical properties of sol-gel processed SnS thin films

Copper-doped tin sulfide thin films (Cu-SnS) with different Cu doping concentrations were prepared by using the spin coating technique and their structural, electrical, and optical properties were studied. All the prepared films were polycrystalline and exhibited diffraction peaks corresponding to orthorhombic SnS with the preferred (111) orientation. The XRD spectra revealed improvement in the preferential orientation and crystalline quality with up to 4% Cu doping concentration, whereas Cu doping concentrations above 4% deteriorate the preferential orientation and crystalline quality. It has been observed that upon Cu doping the band gap decreased significantly from 1.46 eV (pure SnS) to 1.37 eV (4% of Cu-doped SnS). Hall measurements revealed the p-type semiconducting nature of the SnS thin films. The observations revealed that doping of SnS with Cu causes a noticeable drop in the room-temperature resistivity value from 10⁵ Ω-cm for pure SnS to 10³ Ω-cm for 4% Cu-doped SnS.     

Optical absorption of un-implanted and implanted HgCdTe

Optical absorption coefficients of un-implanted and implanted HgCdTe have been measured in a range of temperatures and compositions. The index of refraction for photon energies larger than bandgap was obtained. With the measured index of refraction, large values of the optical absorption coefficient were extracted from measured transmission spectra. The obtained optical absorption coefficient agrees very well with the Kane’s model. The measured optical absorption coefficient at the bandgap linearly depends on temperature. Cutoff photon energy for highly n-type doped HgCdTe resulted from ion implantation of boron at 150 keV energy and with 1 × 10¹⁵ cm⁻² dose is larger than that for the un-implanted HgCdTe. The magnitude of the shift is consistent with the prediction of the theory of Moss-Burstein shift, using measured doping profile.     

Europium incorporation dynamics and some physical investigations within ZnO sprayed thin films

Europium doped ZnO thin films were deposited on glass substrates using a simple mini spray technique at 460 °C. The structural properties of as-prepared thin films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Both undoped and Eu-doped films show strong preferred c-axis orientation. The maximum value of the volume cells was obtained at 1% doping level. The texture coefficient (TC) of the films along (002) direction changes with the doping level due to Eu incorporation.The optical band gap calculated from transmittance and reflectance spectra show the effect of concentration on this energy. They equally outlined the direct gap absorption of these materials. Analysis of Urbach–Martienssen model parameters allows nano-scale explanations of the doping-related divergence of Urbach tailing evolution.     

Long Distance Enhancement of Nonlinear Optical Properties Using Low Concentration of Plasmonic Nanostructures in Dye Doped Monolithic Sol–Gel Materials

Monolithic sol–gel silica composites incorporating platinum‐based chromophores and various types of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are prepared and polished to high optical quality. Their photophysical properties are investigated. The glass materials show well‐defined localized surface plasmon resonance (SPR) absorbance from the visible to NIR. No redshifts of the AuNP plasmon absorption peaks due to the increase in nanoparticle doping concentration are observed in the glasses, proving that no or very small SPR coupling effects occur between the AuNPs. At 600 nm excitation, but not at 532 nm, the AuNPs improve the nonlinear absorption performance of glasses codoped with 50 × 10^?3 m of a Pt‐acetylide chromophore. The glasses doped with lower concentrations of AuNPs (2–5 μm average distance) and 50 × 10^?3 m in chromophore, show a marked improvement in nonlinear absorption, with no or only small improvement for the more highly AuNP doped glasses. This study shows the importance of excitation wavelength and nanoparticle concentration for composite systems employing AuNPs to improve two‐photon absorption of chromophores.     

Efficiency improvement of polymer solar cells by iodine doping

A series of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)/(6,6)-phenyl C₆₀ butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) bulk hetero-junction polymer solar cells were fabricated with different iodine (I₂) doping concentrations. The short circuit current density (J_sc) was increased to 8.7 mA/cm² from 4 mA/cm², meanwhile the open circuit voltage (V_oc) was decreased to 0.52 V from 0.63 V when the iodine doping concentration is 5%. The optimized power conversion efficiency of polymer solar cells (PSCs) with iodine doping is about 1.51%, which should be attributed to the better charge carrier transport and collection, and the more photon harvesting due to the red shift of absorption peaks and the widened absorption range to the longer wavelength. The morphology and phase separation of polymer thin films were measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The phase separation of P3HT and PCBM has been distinctly increased, which is beneficial to the exciton dissociation. The photocurrent density of PSCs with iodine doping was increased compared with the PSCs without iodine doping under the same effective voltage.     

Doping compensation for increased robustness of fast recovery silicon diodes

High-power diodes with the radiation enhanced diffusion (RED) of Pd are shown to have much higher ruggedness during the reverse recovery compared to that of the Pt. Anode doping profiles measured by spreading resistance technique after a 10 MeV He implantation with subsequent annealing between 500 and 800 °C reveal different compensation effects between the Pd and Pt. The in-diffusing Pd converts the n-type background doping concentration of N_D = 3 × 10¹³ cm⁻³ in the position of radiation defects to that of a p-type with about one order higher concentration. The created low-doped p-layer significantly increases ruggedness of diodes during reverse recovery. In the diodes with the Pt layer, only a modest compensation is observed, a conversion to a p-type layer is missing and robustness is much lower. The DLTS spectra for the Pt and Pd devices show a similar electronic structure and introduction rates of defects at 700 °C, while they differ significantly at 600 and 650 °C both for the majority and minority carriers. It is preliminary suggested that the strong compensation effect after the RED of Pd is caused by a high introduction rate of an acceptor deep level at the lower half of the silicon bandgap.