SiN_x插入层的生长位置对GaN外延薄膜性质的影响(英文)

系统研究了纳米量级的多孔SiNx插入层生长位置对高质量GaN外延薄膜性质的影响。高分辨X射线衍射测量结果表明:SiNx插入层生长在GaN粗糙层上能够得到最好的晶体质量。利用测量结果分别计算出了螺位错和刃位错的密度。此外,GaN薄膜的光学、电学性质分别用Raman散射能谱、低温光致发光能谱和霍尔测量的方法进行了表征。实验发现:SiNx插入层的生长位置对GaN薄膜的应变大小基本没有影响;但插入层的位置改变了薄膜中的本征载流子浓度。

国产SiC衬底上利用AlN缓冲层生长高质量GaN外延薄膜

采用高温AlN作为缓冲层在国产SiC衬底上利用金属有机物化学气相外延技术生长GaN外延薄膜。通过优化AlN缓冲层的生长参数得到了高质量的GaN外延薄膜,其对称(0002)面和非对称(1012)面X射线衍射摇摆曲线的半峰宽分别达到130 arcsec和252 arcsec,这是目前报道的在国产SiC衬底上生长GaN最好的结果。文中研究了AlN缓冲层生长参数对GaN晶体质量的影响,还利用拉曼散射研究了GaN外延薄膜中的应力,发现具有越小X射线衍射摇摆曲线半峰宽的GaN外延薄膜受到的张应力也越小。

具有超晶格应力调制结构的绿光InGaN/GaN多量子阱的发光特性

研究了具有InGaN/GaN超晶格(SL)插入结构的绿光InGaN/GaN多量子阱(MQW)的发光特性。结构测试表明,SL插入结构并没有引起MQW中平均In组份的增加,而是改变了In组份的分布,形成了高In组份的量子点和低In组份量子阱。其电致发光(EL)谱和光致发光(PL)谱均出现了双发光峰。我们认为这两个峰分别来自于量子点和量子阱,且存在着载流子从阱向点转移的输运机制。最后变温PL积分强度的Arrhenius拟合表明,SL插入结构并没有在MQW中引入新的缺陷,使其发光效率下降。

矩形永磁体三维空间力场分布

为了解决矩形永磁体的空间力场分布问题,采用理论分析和数值分析相结合的方法,得到了2个由任意多个偶极子组成的偶极子组之间相互作用时力和力偶的表达式.结果表明:推导出的矩形永磁体空间力场解析式可准确表达任意尺寸、任意位置2块相斥的矩形永磁体相互作用时空间力场分布形态,该结果可为永磁体的实际工程应用和磁轨磁场的控制提供理论依据.

基于p-n结中反常光电转换现象的新型带间跃迁量子阱红外探测器

实验发现p-n结中局域载流子具有极高抽取效率,同时伴随着吸收系数的大幅度增加.本文报道上述现象的发现和验证过程,以及基于此现象的新型带间跃迁量子阱红外探测器(interband transition quantum well infrared detector,IQWIP)原型器件的性能.采用共振激发光致发光光谱技术,在InGaN量子阱、InGaAs量子阱、InAs量子点等多个材料体系中均观察到了在p-n结电场作用下的载流子高效逃逸现象,抽取效率分别为95%,87.5%,88%.利用含有InGaAs/GaAs多量子阱的PIN二极管,实验尝试了制备新型的IQWIP原型器件.在无表面减反射膜的实验条件下,利用仅100 nm的有效吸收厚度,实现了31%的外量子效率.基于这个数值推算得到量子阱的光吸收系数达到3.7×10~4cm^(-1),该数值高于传统透射实验测量体材料和量子阱结果.此外,还利用InAsSb/GaSb量子阱材料体系进行了2μm以上波长红外探测的探索.利用上述现象,有望在提高现有器件性能的同时开发出新颖的光-电转换器件.

基于量子阱带间跃迁的红外探测器原型器件（英文）

近期,实验发现PN结中局域载流子具有极高提取效率,并导致吸收系数的大幅度增加.文中报道基于上述现象的新型量子阱带间跃迁红外探测器原型器件的性能.利用含有InGaAs/GaAs多量子阱的PIN二极管,在无表面减反射膜的实验条件下,利用仅100 nm的有效吸收厚度,实现了31%的外量子效率.基于该数值推算得到,量子阱的光吸收系数达3.7×10~4cm^(-1),该数值高于传统透射实验测量结果一个数量级.上述实验结果指出,利用量子阱带间跃迁工作机制,有望实现新颖的器件结构设计和提高现有器件性能.

量子阱带间跃迁探测器基础研究(特邀)

在最近的实验中,PN结型量子阱结构被观察到反常的载流子输运情况,其相应的物理机制和载流子输运模型被提出。通过系统实验观察到,PN结量子阱结构材料在共振激发模式下,仍可测出开路电压或短路电流。对比开路和短路情况下的光致荧光(PL)光谱,发现短路下PL强度明显降低。这说明短路状态下的光生载流子没有被限制在量子阱内,而是逃逸出结区。这种载流子逃出量子阱的现象却没有在等量偏压下的NN型量子阱结构中发现,说明载流子逃出量子阱并非由传统的热激发或隧穿的作用导致。据此,笔者提出了相应的物理机制和载流子输运模型对此现象进行解释,认为光生载流子能在PN结内建电场的作用下直接逃出量子阱,并且辐射复合发光发生在载流子逃逸过程之后。

Relation of V/III ratio of AlN interlayer with the polarity of nitride

N-polar GaN film was obtained by using a high-temperature AlN buffer layer.It was found that the polarity could be inverted by a thin low-temperature AlN interlayer with the same V/III ratio as that of the high-temperature AlN layer.Continuing to increase the V/III ratio of the low-temperature AlN interlayer,the Ga-polarity of GaN film was inverted to N-polarity again but the crystal quality and surface roughness of GaN film greatly deteriorated.Finally,we analyzed the chemical environment of the AlN layer by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS),which provides a new direction for the control of GaN polarity.

Direct Observation of Carrier Transportation Process in InGaAs/GaAs Multiple Quantum Wells Used for Solar Cells and Photodetectors

The resonant excitation is used to generate photo-excited carriers in quantum wells to observe the process of the carriers transportation by comparing the photoluminescence results between quantum wells with and without a p-n junction. It is observed directly in experiment that most of the photo-excited carriers in quantum wells with a p-n junction escape from quantum wells and form photoeurrent rather than relax to the ground state of the quantum wells. The photo absorption coei^cient of multiple quantum wells is also enhanced by a p-n junction. The results pave a novel way for solar cells and photodetectors making use of low-dimensional structure.

Visualizing light-to-electricity conversion process in InGaN/GaN multi-quantum wells with a p-n junction

Absorption and carrier transport behavior plays an important role in the light-to-electricity conversion process, which is difficult to characterize. Here we develop a method to visualize such a conversion process in the InGaN/GaN multiquantum wells embedded in a p-n junction. Under non-resonant absorption conditions, a photocurrent was generated and the photoluminescence intensity decayed by more than 70% when the p-n junction out-circuit was switched from open to short. However, when the excitation photon energy decreased to the resonant absorption edge, the photocurrent dropped drastically and the photoluminescence under open and short circuit conditions showed similar intensity. These results indicate that the escaping of the photo-generated carriers from the quantum wells is closely related to the excitation photon energy.

Absorption Enhancement of Silicon Solar Cell in a Positive-Intrinsic-Negative Junction

Absorption coefficient is a physical parameter to describe electromagnetic energy absorption of materials, which is closely related to solar cells and photodetectors. We grow a series of positive-intrinsic-negative(PIN) structures on silicon wafer by a gas source molecule beam epitaxy system and the investigate the absorption coefficient through the photovoltaic processes in detail. It is found that the absorption coefficient is enhanced by one order and can be tuned greatly through the thickness of the intrinsic layer in the PIN structure, which is also demonstrated by the 730-nm-wavelength laser irradiation. These results cannot be explained by the traditional absorption theory.We speculate that there could be some uncovered mechanism in this system, which will inspire us to understand the absorption process further.

Direct observation of the carrier transport process in InGaN quantum wells with a pn-junction

A new mechanism of light-to-electricity conversion that uses InGaN/GaN QWs with a p-n junction is reported.According to the well established light-to-electricity conversion theory,quantum wells（QWs） cannot be used in solar cells and photodetectors because the photogenerated carriers in QWs usually relax to ground energy levels,owing to quantum confinement,and cannot form a photocurrent.We observe directly that more than 95% of the photoexcited carriers escape from InGaN/GaN QWs to generate a photocurrent,indicating that the thermionic emission and tunneling processes proposed previously cannot explain carriers escaping from QWs.We show that photoexcited carriers can escape directly from the QWs when the device is under working conditions.Our finding challenges the current theory and demonstrates a new prospect for developing highly efficient solar cells and photodetectors.

Carrier transport in III–V quantum-dot structures for solar cells or photodetectors

According to the well-established light-to-electricity conversion theory,resonant excited carriers in the quantum dots will relax to the ground states and cannot escape from the quantum dots to form photocurrent,which have been observed in quantum dots without a p–n junction at an external bias.Here,we experimentally observed more than 88% of the resonantly excited photo carriers escaping from In As quantum dots embedded in a short-circuited p–n junction to form photocurrent.The phenomenon cannot be explained by thermionic emission,tunneling process,and intermediate-band theories.A new mechanism is suggested that the photo carriers escape directly from the quantum dots to form photocurrent rather than relax to the ground state of quantum dots induced by a p–n junction.The finding is important for understanding the low-dimensional semiconductor physics and applications in solar cells and photodiode detectors.

Improvement of green InGaN-based LEDs efficiency using a novel quantum well structure

The green light emitting diodes （LEDs） have lower quantum efficiency than LEDs with other emission wavelengths in the visible spectrum. In this research, a novel quantum well structure was designed to improve the electroluminescence （EL） of green InGaN-based LEDs. Compared with the conventional quantum well structure, the novel structure LED gained 2.14 times light out power （LOP） at 20-mA current injection, narrower FWHM and lower blue-shift at different current injection conditions.

Characteristic improvements of thin film AlGaInP red light emitting diodes on a metallic substrate

We report a type of thin film Al Ga In P red light emitting diode（RLED） on a metallic substrate by electroplating copper（Cu） to eliminate the absorption of Ga As grown substrate.The fabrication of the thin film RLED is presented in detail.Almost no degradations of epilayers properties are observed after this substrate transferred process.Photoluminescence and electroluminescence are measured to investigate the luminous characteristics.The thin film RLED shows a significant enhancement of light output power（LOP） by improving the injection efficiency and light extraction efficiency compared with the reference RLED on the Ga As parent substrate.The LOPs are specifically enhanced by 73.5% and 142% at typical injections of 2 A/cm^2 and 35 A/cm^2 respectively from electroluminescence.Moreover,reduced forward voltages,stable peak wavelengths and full widths at half maximum are obtained with the injected current increasing.These characteristic improvements are due to the Cu substrate with great current spreading and the back reflection by bottom electrodes.The substrate transferred technology based on electroplating provides an optional way to prepare high-performance optoelectronic devices,especially for thin film types.

Effect of In_x Ga_(1-x )N “continuously graded” buffer layer on InGaN epilayer grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

In this paper we report on the effect of an lnxGal xN continuously graded buffer layer on an InGaN epilayer grown on a GaN template. In our experiment, three types of buffer layers including constant composition, continuously graded composition, and the combination of constant and continuously graded composition are used. Surface morphologies, crystalline quality, indium incorporations, and relaxation degrees of InGaN epilayers with different buffer layers are investigated. It is found that the InxGa1-xN continuously graded buffer layer is effective to improve the surface morphology, crystalline quality, and the indium incorporation of the InGaN epilayer. These superior characteristics of the continuously graded buffer layer can be attributed to the sufficient strain release and the reduction of dislocations.

Effects of multiple interruptions with trimethylindium-treatment in the InGaN/GaN quantum well on green light emitting diodes

In this study, the influence of multiple interruptions with trimethylindium(TMIn)-treatment in InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells(MQWs) on green light-emitting diode(LED) is investigated. A comparison of conventional LEDs with the one fabricated with our method shows that the latter has better optical properties. Photoluminescence(PL) full-width at half maximum(FWHM) is reduced, light output power is much higher and the blue shift of electroluminescence(EL) dominant wavelength becomes smaller with current increasing. These improvements should be attributed to the reduced interface roughness of MQW and more uniformity of indium distribution in MQWs by the interruptions with TMIn-treatment.

Influence of Si doping on the structural and optical properties of InGaN epilayers

Influences of the Si doping on the structural and optical properties of the InGaN epilayers are investigated in detail by means of high-resolution X-ray diffraction （HRXRD）, photolumimescence （PL）, scanning electron microscope （SEM）, and atomic force microscopy （AFM）. It is found that the Si doping may improve the surface morphology and crystal quality of the InGaN film and meanwhile it can also enhance the emission efficiency by increasing the electron concentration in the InGaN and suppressing tile formation of V-defects, which act as nonradiative recombination centers in the InGaN, and it is proposed that the former plays a more important role in enhancing the emission efficiency in the InGaN.

Sphere-shaped SiGe micro/nanostructures with tunable Ge composition and size formed by laser irradiation

SiGe spheres with different diameters are successfully fabricated on a virtual SiGe template using a laser irradiation method.The results from scanning electron microscopy and micro-Raman spectroscopy reveal that the diameter and Ge composition of the SiGe spheres can be well controlled by adjusting the laser energy density.In addition,the transmission electron microscopy results show that Ge composition inside the SiGe spheres is almost uniform in a well-defined,nearly spherical outline.As a convenient method to prepare sphere-shaped SiGe micro/nanostructures with tunable Ge composition and size,this technique is expected to be useful for SiGe-based material growth and micro/optoelectronic device fabrication.

Effect of Pt Interlayer on Low Resistivity Ohmic Contact to p-InP Layer and Its Optimization

The contact characteristic between p-InP and metal plays an important role in InP-related optoelectronic and microelectronic device applications.We investigate the low-resistance Au/Pt/Ni and Au/Ni ohmic contacts to p-InP based on the solid phase regrowth principle.The lowest specific contact resistivity of Au(100 nm)/Pt(115 nm)/Ni(50 nm)can reach 2.64×10^(-6)Ω·cm^(2) after annealing at 380℃ for 1 min,while the contact characteristics of Au/Ni deteriorated after annealing from 340℃ to 480℃ for 1 min.The results of scanning electron microscopy,atomic force microscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy show that the Pt layer is an important factor in improving the contact characteristics.The Pt layer prevents the diffusion of In and Au,inhibits the formation of Au3In metal compounds,and prevents the deterioration of the ohmic contact.The metal structures and optimized annealing process is expected to be helpful for obtaining high-performance InP-related devices.