Resonant Raman scattering and atomic force microscopy of InGaAs/GaAs multilayer nanostructures with quantum dots

The transition from two-dimensional (2D) pseudomorphic growth to the three-dimensional (3D) (nanoisland) growth in In_xGa_1?xAs/GaAs multilayer structures grown by molecular-beam epitaxy was investigated by atomic force microscopy, photoluminescence, and Raman scattering. The nominal In content x in In_xGa_1?xAs was varied from 0.20 to 0.50. The thicknesses of the deposited In_xGa_1?xAs and GaAs layers were 14 and 70 monolayers, respectively. It is shown that, at these thicknesses, the 2D-3D transition occurs at x ≥ 0.27. It is ascertained that the formation of quantum dots (nanoislands) does not follow the classical Stranski-Krastanov mechanism but is significantly modified by the processes of vertical segregation of In atoms and interdiffusion of Ga atoms. As a result, the In_xGa_1?xAs layer can be modeled by a 2D layer with a low In content (x < 0.20), which undergoes a transition into a thin layer containing nanoislands enriched with In (x > 0.60). For multilayer In_xGa_1?xAs structures, lateral alignment of quantum dots into chains oriented along the \([\overline 1 10]\) direction can be implemented and the homogeneity of the sizes of quantum dots can be improved.     

Laser-annealing-induced features of the Raman spectra of quartz/Si and glass/Si structures

The effect of laser radiation on the characteristics of amorphous silicon films on glassy or quartz substrates are studied by Raman spectroscopy. It is established that an increase in the laser-treatment power yields a phase transition from amorphous silicon to nanocrystalline silicon. The variation in the relation between the nanocrystalline and amorphous silicon fractions in the films is described in the context of the critical impact model.     

Comparative characteristics of the Raman scattering spectra of graphene films on conductive and semi-insulating 6H-SiC substrates

The raman scattering (RS) spectra of graphene on semi-insulating and conductive 6H-SiC substrates formed by preliminary and additional annealing of silicon carbide at various temperatures are studied. The degree of perfection of the graphene films and sizes of its clusters are estimated. It is shown that the temperature of additional annealing in the case of conductive substrates should be higher than that for semi-insulating substrates to obtain graphene layers with the same structural perfection.     

Excitonic recombination near the mobility edge in CdSe/ZnSe nanostructures

The low-temperature photoluminescence and Raman scattering in CdSe/ZnSe nanostructures with individual CdSe inserts of 1.5 and 3.0 monolayers in nominal thickness were studied. The energy position of the photoluminescene band is governed by interdiffusion of Cd and Zn into the insert regions, whereas the shape of this band is controlled by strong interaction of localized excitons with optical phonons in the Zn_1?xCd_xSe solid-solution insert. Multiphonon processes of excitonic relaxation with involvement of acoustic phonons at the Brillouin zone edges are also important. The results obtained are interpreted in the context of a model for the effective excitonic mobility edge.     

Effect of erbium fluoride doping on the photoluminescence of SiO<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript> films

The photoluminescence of SiO _x films deposited on c-Si wafers by the thermal evaporation of SiO in a vacuum and, for the first time, doped with ErF₃ by coevaporation is studied. It is shown that, like undoped SiO _x films, the unannealed SiO _x :ErF₃ films passivate the surface of the Si wafers and, thus, increase their edge photoluminescence intensity almost fivefold. A similar increase is observed after annealing of the doped films in air at 750°C. Doping with ErF₃ suppresses the photoluminescence of Si nanoclusters, if the films have been subjected to high-temperature annealing (at 750°C). In this case, the PL intensity of the band with a peak at ∼890 nm decreases as well. The ∼890 nm band is observed for the first time and, due to its features, is attributed to transitions in SiO _x matrix defects. The experimentally observed effect of ErF₃ doping on SiO _x film photoluminescence is interpreted. An intense photoluminescence signal from Er³⁺ ions in the nearinfrared spectral region (the ⁴ I _11/2 → ⁴ I _15/2 and ⁴ I _13/2 → ⁴ I _15/2 transitions) is observed in the SiO _x :ErF₃ films annealed in air at 750°C. This finding shows that 1.54 μm luminescent emitters, which are currently in popular demand, can be produced by a simple low-cost method.     

Polarized Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffuse scattering in InGaAs/GaAs(100) quantum-dot chains

Using polarized Raman spectroscopy and high resolution X-ray diffraction we have investigated self-organized In_0.45Ga_0.55As quantum-dot chains in InGaAs/GaAs multilayer structures. It is shown that the formation of InGaAs QDs in InGaAs/GaAs multilayered structures is accompanied by a strong improvement in the uniformity of size and shapes of QDs as well as vertical alignment and lateral ordering. At mean densities, extended chains of QDs (up to 5 μm) appear along the $ [1\bar 10] $ direction; however, increased ordering of QDs along the [110] direction could be observed, too. For the first time, InGaAs dot-chains were investigated using polarized Raman scattering. Observation of optical phonons localized in InGaAs QDs and two-dimensional (2D) layers is demonstrated. An obvious anisotropy in the intensity of Raman modes was observed when the electric field vector of the exciting laser beam is parallel or perpendicular to the wire-like axis $ [1\bar 10] $ of dot-chains. This effect may be related to symmetry lowering effects and real anisotropic geometry of the QDs and 2D wetting layers.     

High quality ZnO films deposited by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering using layer by layer growth method

Three-layered ZnO films were deposited on Si substrates by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering using layer by layer growth method. The Raman scattering confocal analysis confirms that ZnO film quality is improving at increasing the number of ZnO layers at film deposition.Applied method of deposition was used to realize homoepitaxial growth of ZnO films on c-Al₂O₃, Si, SiN_x/Si, glass and ITO/glass substrates. In order to improve the film quality we increased the number of deposition stages up to 5. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmittance measurements were used to testify the quality of grown five-layered ZnO films. XRD results showed that all five-layered ZnO films have (002) texture. The second order diffraction peak (004) on XRD spectra additionally testifies to the high quality of all five-layered ZnO films. SEM results demonstrated that no defects such as cracks and dislocations caused by interruption of deposition ZnO films were observed. Transmittance measurement results showed that ZnO films deposited on transparent substrates have abrupt absorption edge and high optical transmission in the visible region of the spectrum.     

Photovoltaic properties and photoconductivity in multilayer Ge/Si heterostructures with Ge nanoislands

Interband optical transitions in multilayer heterostructures with SiGe nanoislands were investigated using photocurrent spectroscopy and photo-emf. The n-p heterostructures containing Ge nanoislands in the area of the potential barrier were prepared by molecular-beam epitaxy at the temperature about 500 °C. It was shown that electron transitions from the ground state of the valence band in a nanoislands to the conduction band of Si surrounding made the main contribution into the vertical photo-emf in the range 0.75–1.05 eV, which is below the interband absorption edge of Si. The lateral photoconductivity observed in the range 0.63–0.8 eV at 77 K can be attributed to indirect interband transitions from the ground state of a nanoisland to L-state of the conduction band of a nanoisland. Analysis of Raman scattering spectra revealed that the Ge composition x in a nanoisland is about 0.87, while elastic deformation value amounts to ε _xx  = −0.016. The calculated energies of interband transitions from the ground state of a nanoisland to the conduction band of Si surrounding (0.63 eV) and to L-state of the conduction band of a nanoisland (0.81 eV) fit the experimental data with a rather good accuracy.     

Structural,Electrical, and Optical Properties of 4H–SiC for Ultraviolet Photodetectors

Semiconductors - The results of investigations of initial n-4H–SiC structures by various methods are presented. The structures represent a highly doped n+ substrate with epitaxial layers 5...     

Microstructural Aspects of Nucleation and Growth of (In,Ga)As-GaAs(001) Islands with Low Indium Content

Molecular beam epitaxy growth of multilayer In _x Ga_1-x As/GaAs(001) structures with low indium content (x = 0.20–0.35) was studied by X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence in order to understand the initial stage of strain-driven island formation. The structural properties of these superlattices were investigated using reciprocal space maps, which were obtained around the symmetric 004 and asymmetric 113 and 224 Bragg diffraction, and ω/2θ scans with a high-resolution diffractometer in the triple axis configuration. Using the information obtained from the reciprocal space maps, the 004 ω/2θ scans were simulated by dynamical diffraction theory and the in-plane strain in the dot lattice was determined. We determined the degree of vertical correlation for the dot position (“stacking”) and lateral composition modulation period (LCM) (lateral ordering of the dots). It is shown that initial stage formation of nanoislands is accompanied by LCM only for [110] direction in the plane with␣a period of about 50 to 60 nm, which is responsible for the formation of a quantum wire like structure. The role of In _x Ga_1-x As thickness and lateral composition modulation in the formation of quantum dots in strained In _x Ga_1-x As/GaAs structures is discussed.