Suppression and compensation effect of oxygen on the behavior of heavily boron-doped diamond films

This work investigates the suppression and compensation effect of oxygen on the behaviors and characteristics of heavily boron-doped microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition(MPCVD)diamond films.The suppression effect of oxygen on boron incorporation is observed by an improvement in crystal quality when oxygen is added during the diamond doping process.A relatively low hole concentration is expected and verified by Hall effect measurements due to the compensation effect of oxygen as a deep donor in diamond.A low acceptor concentration,high compensation donor concentration and relatively larger acceptor ionization energy are then induced by the incorporation of oxygen;however,a heavily boron-doped diamond film with high crystal quality can also be expected.The formation of an oxygen–boron complex structure instead of oxygen substitution,as indicated by the results of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,is suggested to be more responsible for the observed enhanced compensation effect due to its predicted low formation energy.Meanwhile,density functional theory calculations show that the boron–oxygen complex structure is easily formed in diamond with a formation energy of-0.83 eV.This work provides a comprehensive understanding of oxygen compensation in heavily boron-doped diamond.

Effects of oxygen/nitrogen co-incorporation on regulation of growth and properties of boron-doped diamond films

Regulation with nitrogen and oxygen co-doping on growth and properties of boron doped diamond films is studied by using laughing gas as dopant. As the concentration of laughing gas(N2O/C) increases from 0 to 10%, the growth rate of diamond film decreases gradually, and the nitrogen-vacancy(NV) center luminescence intensity increases first and then weakens. The results show that oxygen in laughing gas has a strong inhibitory effect on formation of NV centers, and the inhibitory effect would be stronger as the concentration of laughing gas increases. As a result, the film growth rate and nitrogen-related compensation donor decrease, beneficial to increase the acceptor concentration(~3.2×10^(19)cm^(-3)) in the film. Moreover, it is found that the optimal regulation with the quality and electrical properties of boron doped diamond films could be realized by adding appropriate laughing gas, especially the hole mobility(~700cm^(2)/V·s), which is beneficial to the realization of high-quality boron doped diamond films and high-level optoelectronic device applications in the future.

Transition of photoconductive and photovoltaic operation modes in amorphous Ga_2O_3-based solar-blind detectors tuned by oxygen vacancies

We report on the transition of photovoltaic and photoconductive operation modes of the amorphous Ga_2O_3-based solar-blind photodetectors in metal–semiconductor–metal(MSM) configurations. The conversion from Ohmic to Schottky contacts at Ti/Ga_2O_3 interface is realized by tuning the conductivity of amorphous Ga_2O_3 films with delicate control of oxygen flux in the sputtering process. The abundant donor-like oxygen vacancies distributed near the Ti/Ga_2O_3 interface fascinate the tunneling process across the barrier and result in the formation of Ohmic contacts. As a consequence, the serious sub-gap absorption and persistent photoconductivity(PPC) effect degrades the performance of the photoconductive detectors. In contrast, the photovoltaic device with a Schottky contact exhibits an ultra-low dark current less than 1 pA,a high detectivity of 9.82×10^(12) cm·Hz^(1/2)·W^(-1), a fast response time of 243.9 μs, and a high ultraviolet C(UVC)-toultraviolet A(UVA) rejection ratio of 103. The promoting performance is attributed primarily to the reduction of the subgap states and the resultant suppression of PPC effect. With simple architecture, low fabrication cost, and easy fusion with modern high-speed integrated circuitry, these results provide a cost-effective way to realize high performance solar-blind photodetectors towards versatile practical applications.

Effect of a Single Threading Dislocation on Electrical and Single Photon Detection Characteristics of 4H-SiC Ultraviolet Avalanche Photodiodes

We fabricated 4H-SiC ultraviolet avalanche photodiode(APD)arrays and systematically investigated the effect of threading dislocations on electrical and single photon detection characteristics of 4H-SiC APDs.Based on a statistical correlation study of individual device performance and structural defect mapping revealed by molten KOH etching,it is determined with high confidence level that even a single threading dislocation within APD active region would lead to apparent device performance degradation,including increase of dark current near breakdown voltage,premature breakdown and reduction of single photon detection efficiency at fixed dark count rate.

Growth of β-Ga_2O_3 Films on Sapphire by Hydride Vapor Phase Epitaxy

Two-inch Ga_2O_3 films with（ˉ201）-orientation are grown on c-sapphire at 850–1050°C by hydride vapor phase epitaxy. High-resolution x-ray diffraction shows that pure β-Ga_2O_3 with a smooth surface has a higher crystal quality, and the Raman spectra reveal a very small residual strain in β-Ga_2O_3 grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy compared with bulk single crystal. The optical transmittance is higher than 80% in the visible and near-UV regions, and the optical bandgap energy is calculated to be 4.9 e V.

Fabrication and Characterization of GaN-Based Micro-LEDs on Silicon Substrate

GaN-based micro light emitting diodes(micro-LEDs) on silicon(Si)substrates with 40μm in diameter are developed utilizing standard photolithography and inductively coupled plasma etching techniques.From currentvoltage curves,the relatively low turn-on voltage of 2.8 V and low reverse leakage current in the order of 10-8 A/cm2 indicate good electrical characteristics.As the injection current increases,the electroluminescence emission wavelength hardly shifts at around 433 nm, and the relative external quantum efficiency slightly decays,because the impact of quantum-confined Stark effect is not serious in violet-blue micro-LEDs.Since GaN-LEDs are cost effective on large-area Si and suitable for substrate transfer or vertical device structures,the fabricated micro-LEDs on Si should have promising applications in the fields of high-resolution display and optical communication.

Plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxial growth of GaN with low growth rates and their properties

A systematic investigation on PA-MBE grown GaN with low growth rates(less than 0.2μm/h)has been conducted in a wide growth temperature range,in order to guide future growth of sophisticated fine structures for quantum device applications.Similar to usual growths with higher growth rates,three growth regions have been revealed,namely,Ga droplets,slightly Ga-rich and N-rich 3D growth regions.The slightly Ga-rich region is preferred,in which GaN epilayers demonstrate optimal crystalline quality,which has been demonstrated by streaky RHEED patterns,atomic smooth surface morphology,and very low defect related yellow and blue luminescence bands.The growth temperature is a critical parameter to obtain high quality materials and the optimal growth temperature window(~700-760℃)has been identified.The growth rate shows a strong dependence on growth temperatures in the optimal temperature window,and attention must be paid when growing fine structures at a low growth rate.Mg and Si doped GaN were also studied,and both p-and n-type materials were obtained.

Comparison study of GaN films grown on porous and planar GaN templates

The GaN thick films have been grown on porous GaN template and planar metal-organic chemical vapor deposition(MOCVD)-GaN template by halide vapor phase epitaxy(HVPE). The analysis results indicated that the GaN films grown on porous and planar GaN templates under the same growth conditions have similar structural, optical, and electrical properties. But the porous GaN templates could significantly reduce the stress in the HVPE-GaN epilayer and enhance the photoluminescence(PL) intensity. The voids in the porous template were critical for the strain relaxation in the GaN films and the increase of the PL intensity. Thus, the porous GaN converted from β-Ga2O3 film as a novel promising template is suitable for the growth of stress-free GaN films.

Synthesis and characterization of β-Ga_2O_3@GaN nanowires

In this work, we prepared the β-Ga_2O_3@GaN nanowires(NWs) by oxidizing GaN NWs. High-quality hexagonal wurtzite GaN NWs were achieved and the conversion from GaN to β-Ga_2O_3 was confirmed by x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The effect of the oxidation temperature and time on the oxidation degree of GaN NWs was investigated systematically. The oxidation rate of GaN NWs was estimated at different temperatures.

Study on the nitridation of β-Ga2O3 films

Single-crystal GaN layers have been obtained by nitridingβ-Ga2O3 films in NH3 atmosphere.The effect of the temperature and time on the nitridation and conversion of Ga2O3 films have been investigated.The nitridation process results in lots of holes in the surface of films.The higher nitridation temperature and longer time can promote the nitridation and improve the crystal quality of GaN films.The converted Ga N porous films show the single-crystal structures and lowstress,which can be used as templates for the epitaxial growth of high-quality GaN.

Approach to Single-Mode Dominated Resonant Emission in Ga N-Based Square Microdisks on Si

Square microdisks with round corners are fabricated using a standard GaN-based blue LED on Si substrates.Whispering gallery-like inodes in the square microdisks are investigated by finite-difference time-domain simulation.The simulation results reveal that the round corners in square microdisks can substantially suppress the number of light propagation paths and further reduce the number of optical modes.A con focal microphotoluminescence is performed to analyze the optical properties of the square microdisks at room temperature.The single-mode dominant resonant emission is obtained in the square microdisk with corner radius of 1.5μm.

Negative transconductance effect in p-GaN gate AlGaN/GaN HEMTs by traps in unintentionally doped GaN buffer layer

We investigate the negative transconductance effect in p-GaN gate AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistor(HEMT) associated with traps in the unintentionally doped GaN buffer layer. We find that a negative transconductance effect occurs with increasing the trap concentration and capture cross section when calculating transfer characteristics.The electron tunneling through AlGaN barrier and the reduced electric field discrepancy between drain side and gate side induced by traps are reasonably explained by analyzing the band diagrams, output characteristics, and the electric field strength of the channel of the devices under different trap concentrations and capture cross sections.

Effect of oxygen on regulation of properties of moderately boron-doped diamond films

Regulation of oxygen on properties of moderately boron-doped diamond films is fully investigated.Results show that,with adding a small amount of oxygen(oxygen-to-carbon ratio<5.0%),the crystal quality of diamond is improved,and a suppression effect of residual nitrogen is observed.With increasing ratio of O/C from 2.5%to 20.0%,the hole concentration is firstly increased then reduced.This change of hole concentration is also explained.Moreover,the results of Hall effect measurement with temperatures from 300 K to 825 K show that,with adding a small amount of oxygen,boron and oxygen complex structures(especially B_(3)O and B_(4)O)are formed and exhibit as shallow donor in diamond,which results in increase of donor concentration.With further increase of ratio of O/C,the inhibitory behaviors of oxygen on boron leads to decrease of acceptor concentration(the optical emission spectroscopy has shown that it is decreased with ratio of O/C more than 10.0%).This work demonstrates that oxygen-doping induced increasement of the crystalline and surface quality could be restored by the co-doping with oxygen.The technique could achieve boron-doped diamond films with both high quality and acceptable hole concentration,which is applicable to electronic level of usage.

Origin,characteristics,and suppression of residual nitrogen in MPCVD diamond growth reactor

Unintentional nitrogen incorporation has been observed in a set of microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition(MPCVD)-grown samples.No abnormality has been detected on the apparatus especially the base pressure and feeding gas purity.By a comprehensive investigation including the analysis of the plasma composition,we found that a minor leakage of the system could be significantly magnified by the thermal effect,resulting in a considerable residual nitrogen in the diamond material.Moreover,the doping mechanism of leaked air is different to pure nitrogen doping.The dosage of several ppm of pure nitrogen can lead to efficient nitrogen incorporation in diamond,while at least thousands ppm of leaked air is required for detecting obvious residual nitrogen.The difference of the dosage has been ascribed to the suppression effect of oxygen that consumes nitrogen.As the unintentional impurity is basically detrimental to the controllable fabrication of diamond for electronic application,we have provided an effective way to suppress the residual nitrogen in a slightly leaked system by modifying the susceptor geometry.This study indicates that even if a normal base pressure can be reached,the nitrogen residing in the chamber can be“activated”by the thermal effect and thus be incorporated in diamond material grown by a MPCVD reactor.

Self-assembly of Polyaniline： Mechanism Study

Anisotropic polyaniline （PAni） plates decorated with self-aligned nanofiber arrays were synthesized under the hydrothermaI conditions. The formation mechanism of the self-assembled structures was investigated by studying the effect on PAni micro-structure with additive electrolyte in reaction system, and numerical simulation for dependence of systematic electrostatic energy on cross angles of self-assembled nanofiber arrays in grid textured PAni plates. It is proposed that the electrostatic interaction based on ionic doping charges plays an important role in the formation of the self-assembled PAni structures.

Diamond-based electron emission:Structure,properties and mechanisms

Diamond has an ultrawide bandgap with excellent physical properties,such as high critical electric field,excellent thermal conductivity,high carrier mobility,etc.Diamond with a hydrogen-terminated(H-terminated)surface has a negative electron affinity(NEA)and can easily produce surface electrons from valence or trapped electrons via optical absorption,thermal heating energy or carrier transport in a PN junction.The NEA of the H-terminated surface enables surface electrons to emit with high efficiency into the vacuum without encountering additional barriers and promotes further development and application of diamond-based emitting devices.This article reviews the electron emission properties of H-terminated diamond surfaces exhibiting NEA characteristics.The electron emission is induced by different physical mechanisms.Recent advancements in electron-emitting devices based on diamond are also summarized.Finally,the current challenges and future development opportunities are discussed to further develop the relevant applications of diamond-based electronemitting devices.