Vapor phase synthesis of ZnO structures

We observed zinc oxide structures formed in an oxygen-containing atmosphere as a result of oxidation of the surface of zinc droplets. The gas-phase oxidation leads to the formation of hollow ZnO whiskers on the metal surface, which grow due to the transport of zinc vapor through their channels. It was found that high partial pressures of zinc and atomic oxygen give rise to fractal structures, which appear in a cascade process involving the sequential formation of zinc oxide vapor, ZnO clusters, and cluster aggregates as a result of the cluster-cluster interaction. A deposit of ZnO synthesized on the cathode surface exhibits a columnar structure.     

Photosensitive structures based on ZnIn<Subscript>2</Subscript>Se<Subscript>4</Subscript> single crystals

Photosensitive structures of surface-barrier and homojunction types have been fabricated for the first time on the basis of ZnIn₂Se₄ single crystals. The spectral dependence of the quantum efficiency of photoconversion has been studied and discussed. It is concluded that the structures are promising for commercial applications.     

Mössbauer study of the Ge two-electron donor centers in PbSe

Mössbauer emission spectroscopy at ⁷³As(⁷³Ge) is used to show that the charge state of the ⁷³Ge antisite defect formed in the anion sublattice after the radioactive transformation of ⁷³As is independent of the position of the Fermi level. In contrast, the ⁷³Ge center in the cation sublattice of PbSe is an electrically active substitutional impurity. For the n-type samples, the spectrum corresponds to the neutral state of the donor center (⁷³Ge²⁺), and for the p-type samples, the spectrum corresponds to the doubly ionized state (⁷³Ge⁴⁺) of this center.     

A model of density of states in amorphous Si, C and SiC from time-of-flight measurement

The temperature dependence of the electron drift mobility in glow-discharged undoped hydrogenated amorphous silicon, carbon and silicon carbide films with stoichiometric compositional (a-Si_0.5C_0.5:H) has been measured by the time-of-flight method. All films displayed the same behaviour of the transient current and dispersion parameters, which can be explained by assuming a gaussian distribution of tail states near the conduction band. The results obtained results corroborated the common nature and degree of disorder of the conduction band tail in all four-coordinated amorphous semiconductors.     

Photoluminescence and Electrical Conductivity of As<Subscript>2</Subscript>S<Subscript>3</Subscript>〈Au〉 and As<Subscript>2</Subscript>S<Subscript>5</Subscript>〈Au〉 Glasses

The 77-K photoluminescence spectra of (As₂S₃)_{100 − x} Au_x and (As₂S₅)_{100 −x} Au_x (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.04) semiconducting glasses are measured for the first time. At low doping levels, the spectra of the (As₂S₅)_{100 − x} Au_x glasses are split into two components, one of which arises from the Au dopant. The temperature-dependent conductivity of the glasses shows two breaks at low Au concentrations and anomalous behavior in the range 300–360 K. Qualitative analysis of the conductivity data suggests that most of the impurity atoms have saturated valence bonds and form solid solutions with host atoms, changing the band gap of the material. A small fraction of the impurity atoms, those having unsaturated valence bonds, produce an electrically active level responsible for impurity conduction.__________Translated from Neorganicheskie Materialy, Vol. 41, No. 7, 2005, pp. 876–880.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Babaev, Kamilov, Sultanov, Askhabov, Terukov.     

On the collection of photocarriers in high-resistance silicon amorphous-crystalline heterostructures

The mechanism of electron transport in amorphous-crystalline heterostructures fabricated on the basis of high-resistivity p-Si is considered in order to explain the features of experimental photosensitivity spectra for the specified structures prepared on substrates with various resistivities. The cause of the formation of an inversion layer at the heteroboundary in these structures and the effect of resistivity on the value of surface potentials is clarified. Nontrivial data on the effect of the work function of metallic contacts to an amorphous film on the mechanism of photocurrent formation are presented.     

Analysis of light-induced degradation mechanisms in α-Si:H/μc-Si:H solar photovoltaics

The photoinduced degradation of the i-α-Si:H layer in tandem photovoltaic converters based on α-Si:H/μc-Si:H structures is analyzed in terms of the “H-collision-” and “floating-bond” models and modifications of these. It is shown that the form of the degradation dependence is well described by all models under consideration. Compared with the modified models, the original “H-collision-” and “floating-bond” models yield estimates for saturated dangling-bond concentrations, which are always dependent on the intensity of the light that caused the degradation. The modified “floating-bond” model makes it possible to exclude this dependence, and the modified “H-collision” model describes the occurrence of this dependence in a certain range of illumination intensities and its absence in another range, which is in best agreement with experimental data.     

Influence of irradiation with neutrons on the characteristics of the voltage terminating structure in silicon radiation detectors

The distribution of potentials over a voltage terminating structure (VTS) has been studied in silicon nuclear-radiation detectors irradiated with neutrons in the range of doses from 1 × 10¹⁰ to 5 × 10¹⁵ n_eq/cm², where the VTS represents a system of floating ring p ⁺-n junctions. It is shown that variation in the profile of an electric field in the bulk of the detector as the radiation dose is increased is the determining factor in the distribution of potentials over the VTS. The mechanisms of VTS operation at irradiation doses lower than 5 × 10¹⁴ n_eq/cm² are established: the distribution of potentials between the rings is accomplished by a punch-through mechanism in the inter-ring gap, while, at higher doses, the distribution is controlled by a current-related mechanism, which is based on the density of the electron??hole generation current flowing in the bulk of the detector. The suggested mechanisms of VTS operation are confirmed experimentally and by simulation.     

A new type of gas sensor based on the thermovoltaic effect in zinc oxide inhomogeneously doped with mixed-valence impurities

We propose a new type of potentiometric gas sensor operating on the basis of the thermovoltaic effect in uniformly heated (without temperature gradients) ZnO/ZnO–Fe sandwich structures obtained by the sol–gel method. It is established that a significant contribution to the gas responsivity of sensors is related to the thickness of the upper doped layer of the structure.     

p-GaSb(Ox)/n-GaSb native-oxide heterojunctions: Non-vacuum process and photoelectric properties

A new non-vacuum technology is proposed and anisotype photosensitive heterojunctions (native oxide of a narrow-gap III–V semiconductor)-(binary compound) p-GaSb(Ox)/n-GaSb are fabricated for the first time. The developed technological process is based on the surface thermal interaction of a GaSb crystal with components of the normal Earth atmosphere. Based on original physical-technological studies of interaction in the GaSb/(air medium) system, it is found that p-GaSb(Ox) native-oxide films obtained in such a way exhibit high adhesion to the surface of the initial gallium antimonide n-GaSb. The steady-state current-voltage characteristics and spectral dependences of the relative photoconversion quantum efficiency of the obtained p-GaSb(Ox)/n-GaSb heterojunctions are first measured. On this basis, the systematic features of charge transport and photosensitivity are discussed. A new possible application of the non-vacuum thermal oxidation of GaSb films in the development of optical radiation photodetectors on substrates of homogeneous gallium antimonide n-GaSb crystals is first detected and implemented.