Atomic-scale insights of indium segregation and its suppression by GaAs insertion layer in InGaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum wells

The In segregation and its suppression in InGaAs/AlGaAs quantum well are investigated by using high-resolution x-ray diffraction(XRD)and photoluminescence(PL),combined with the state-of-the-art aberration corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy(Cs-STEM)techniques.To facility our study,we grow two multiple quantum wells(MQWs)samples,which are almost identical except that in sample B a thin GaAs layer is inserted in each of the InGaAs well and AlGaAs barrier layer comparing to pristine InGaAs/AlGaAs MQWs(sample A).Our study indeed shows the direct evidences that In segregation occurs in the InGaAs/AlGaAs interface,and the effect of the Ga As insertion layer on suppressing the segregation of In atoms is also demonstrated on the atomic-scale.Therefore,the atomic-scale insights are provided to understand the segregation behavior of In atoms and to unravel the underlying mechanism of the effect of GaAs insertion layer on the improvement of crystallinity,interface roughness,and further an enhanced optical performance of InGaAs/AlGaAs QWs.

Novel GaN-based double-channel p-heterostructure field-effect transistors with a p-GaN insertion layer

GaN-based p-channel heterostructure field-effect transistors(p-HFETs)face significant constraints on on-state currents compared with n-channel high electron mobility transistors.In this work,we propose a novel double heterostructure which introduces an additional p-GaN insertion layer into traditional p-HFETs.The impact of the device structure on the hole densities and valence band energies of both the upper and lower channels is analyzed by using Silvaco TACD simulations,including the thickness of the upper AlGaN layer and the doping impurities and concentration in the GaN buffer layer,as well as the thickness and Mg-doping concentration in the p-GaN insertion layer.With the help of the p-GaN insertion layer,the C-doping concentration in the GaN buffer layer can be reduced,while the density of the two-dimensional hole gas in the lower channel is enhanced at the same time.This work suggests that a double heterostructure with a p-GaN insertion layer is a better approach to improve p-HFETs compared with those devices with C-doped buffer layer alone.

Enhancement of post-annealing stability in Co/Ni multilayers with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy by Au insertion layers

Enhancement of post-annealing stability in Co/ Ni multilayers with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy （PMA） was obtained by inserting Au layers into Ni/Co interfaces. After annealing at 350 ℃, the effective mag- netic anisotropy density （Kef0 for Ta（3）/Pt（2）/[Co（0.3）/ Ni（0.6）/Au（0.3）]× 3/Co（0.3）/Pt（1）/Ta（3） （in nm） keeps at 0.48 × 105 J·m^-3. Scanning transmission electron micro- scopy-high-angle annular dark field （STEM-HAADF） analysis shows that the diffusion between Ni and Co layers is obstructed by the Au insertion layers among them, which is responsible for the post-annealing stability enhancement of the multilayers. Multilayers with Pt insertion layers were also investigated as reference samples in this work. Com- pared with Pt-layer-inserted Co/Ni multilayers, the Au insertion layers are found to bring seldom interfacial PMA to the multilayers, making it competitive in being employed to enhance the post-annealing stability of PMA Co/Ni multilayers which are used for magnetic random access memory devices （MRAM）.

Gate-tunable linear magnetoresistance in molybdenum disulfide field-effect transistors with graphene insertion layer

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) holds great promise as atomically thin two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor for future electronics and opto-electronics. In this report, we study the magnetoresistance (MR) of MoS2 field-effect transistors (FETs) with graphene insertion layer at the contact interface. Owing to the unique device structure and high-quality contact interface, a gate-tunable linear MR up to 67% is observed at 2 K. By comparing with the MRs of graphene FETs and MoS2 FETs with conventional metal contact, it is found that this unusual MR is most likely to be originated from the contact interfaces between graphene and MoS2, and can be explained by the classical linear MR model caused by spatial fluctuation of carrier mobility. Our study demonstrates large MR responses in MoS2-based systems through heterojunction design, shedding lights for the future magneto-electronics and van der Waals heterostructures.

Effects of Fe-Oxide and Mg Layer Insertion on Tunneling Magnetoresistance Properties of CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB Magnetic Tunnel Junctions

To study the influence of CoFeB/MgO interface on tunneling magnetoresistance （TMR）, different structures of magnetic tunnel junctions （MTJs） are successfully prepared by the magnetron sputtering technique and characterized by atomic force microscopy, a physical property measurement system, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The experimental results show that TMR of the CoFeB/Mg/MgO/CoFeB structure is evidently improved in comparison with the CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB structure because the inserted Mg layer prevents Fe-oxide formation at the CoFeB/MgO interface, which occurs in CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB MTJs. The inherent properties of the CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB, CoFeB/Fe-oxide/MgO/CoFeB and CoFeB/Mg/MgO/CoFeB MTJs are simulated by using the theories of density functions and non-equilibrium Green functions. The simulated results demonstrate that TMR of CoFeB/Fe-oxide/MgO/CoFeB MTJs is severely decreased and is only half the value of the CoFeB/Mg/MgO/CoFeB MTJs. Based on the experimental results and theoretical analysis, it is believed that in CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB MTJs, the interface oxidation of the CoFeB layer is the main reason to cause a remarkable reduction of TMR, and the inserted Mg layer may play an important role in protecting Fe atoms from oxidation, and then increasing TMR.

High uniformity and forming-free ZnO-based transparent RRAM with HfO_x inserting layer

The impacts of HfOx inserting layer thickness on the electrical properties of the ZnO-based transparent resistance random access memory （TRRAM） device were investigated in this paper. The bipolar resistive switching behavior of a single ZnO film and bilayer HfOx/ZnO films as active layers for TRRAM devices was demonstrated. It was revealed that the bilayer TRRAM device with a 10-nm HfOx inserted layer had a more stable resistive switching behavior than other devices including the single layer device, as well as being forming free, and the transmittance was more than 80% in the visible region. For the HfOx/ZnO devices, the current conduction behavior was dominated by the space-charge-limited current mechanism in the low resistive state （LRS） and Schottky emission in the high resistive state （HRS）, while the mechanism for single layer devices was controlled by ohmic conduction in the LRS and Poole-Frenkel emission in the HRS.

Reactive Diffusion Bonding of SiCp/Al Composites by Insert Powder Layers with Eutectic Composition

Mixed Al-Si and Al-Cu powders were investigated as insert layers to reactive diffusion bond SiCp/6063 metal matrix composite （MMC）. The results show that SiCp/6063 MMC joints bonded by the insert layers of the mixed Al-Si and Al-Cu powders have a dense joining layer of high quality. The mass transfer between the bonded materials and insert layers during bonding leads to the hypoeutectic microstructure of the joining layers bonded by both the mixed Al-Si and Al-Cu powders with eutectic composition. At fixed bonding time （temperature）, the shear strength of the joints by both insert layers of the mixed Al-Si and Al-Cu powders increases with increasing the bonding temperature （time）, but get maxima at bonding temperature 600℃ （time 90 min）.

Reactive diffusion bonding of SiCp/Al composites by insert layers of mixed Al-Si and Al-Si-SiC powders

Mixed Al-Si and Al-Si-SiC powders were employed as insert layers to reactive diffusion bond SiCp/6063 MMC （metal matrix composites）. The results show that SiCp/6063 MMC joints bonded by the insert layer of the mixed Al-Si powder have a dense joining layer with a typical hypoeutectic microstructtn＇e. Using the mixed Al-Si-SiC powder as the insert layer, SiCp/6063 MMC can be reactive diffusion bonded by a composite joint. Because of the SiC segregation, however, there are a number of porous zones in the joining layer, which results in the bad shear strength of the joints reactive diffusion bonded by the insert layer of the mixed A1-Si- SiC powder, even lower than that of the joints reactive diffusion bonded by the insert layer of the mixed Al-Si powder. Ti and Mg added in the insert layers obviously improve the strength of the joints reactive diffusion bonded by the insert layer of the mixed Al- Si-SiC powder, especially, Mg has a more obvious effect.

Fabrication of High Quality SiGe Virtual Substrates by Combining Misfit Strain and Point Defect Techniques

High quality strain-relaxed thin SiGe virtual substrates have been achieved by combining the misfit strain technique and the point defect technique. The point defects were first injected into the coherently strained SiGe layer through the ＂inserted Si layer＂ by argon ion implantation. After thermal annealing, an in- termediate SiGe layer was grown with a strained Si cap layer. The inserted Si layer in the SiGe film serves as the source of the misfit strain and prevents the threading dislocations from propagating into the next epitaxial layer. A strained-SilSiGelinserted-SilSiGe heterostructure was achieved with a threading dislocation density of 1×10^4 cm-2 and a root mean square surface roughness of 0.87 nm. This combined method can effectively fabricate device-quality SiGe virtual substrates with a low threading dislocation density and a smooth surface.