Surface plasmon oscillations in a semi-bounded semiconductor plasma

We study the dispersion properties of surface plasmon（SP） oscillations in a semi-bounded semiconductor plasma with the effects of the Coulomb exchange（CE） force associated with the spin polarization of electrons and holes as well as the effects of the Fermi degenerate pressure and the quantum Bohm potential.Starting from a quantum hydrodynamic model coupled to the Poisson equation,we derive the general dispersion relation for surface plasma waves.Previous results in this context are recovered.The dispersion properties of the surface waves are analyzed in some particular cases of interest and the relative influence of the quantum forces on these waves are also studied for a nano-sized Ga As semiconductor plasma.It is found that the CE effects significantly modify the behaviors of the SP waves.The present results are applicable to understand the propagation characteristics of surface waves in solid density plasmas.

Zinc Oxide Surface Flashover Triggering of Pseudospark Switch

Accurate and reliable triggering is one of the most important issues with high power pseudospark switch, because it not only has an impact on the design of discharge chamber of switch, but also has an influence on the dynamic range of operation voltage, repetition frequencies and lifetime of switch. The unique feature of pseudospark switch is its hollow cathode geometry. The hollow cathode effect produced by the hollow cathode provides the protection of the switch for the triggering unit from erosion by high discharge plasma. In this paper, a zinc oxide (ZnO) surface flashover triggering is presented. This trigger unit possesses an excellent time delay (80 ns - 360 ns) and jitter (20 ns - 50 ns) at the switch voltage of 30 kV - 2 kV. The emitted plasma electron density is high enough to trigger switch reliably down to switch voltage of 440 V.

The scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy of GaSb_(1-x)Bi_(x) films of a few-nanometer thickness grown by molecular beam epitaxy

The ultrahigh vacuum scanning tunneling microscope(STM)was used to characterize the GaSb_(1-x)Bi_(x) films of a few nanometers thickness grown by the molecular beam epitaxy(MBE)on the GaSb buffer layer of 100 nm with the GaSb(100)substrates.The thickness of the GaSb_(1-x)Bi_(x) layers of the samples are 5 and 10 nm,respectively.For comparison,the GaSb buffer was also characterized and its STM image displays terraces whose surfaces are basically atomically flat and their roughness is generally less than 1 monolayer(ML).The surface of 5 nm GaSb_(1-x)Bi_(x) film reserves the same terraced morphology as the buffer layer.In contrast,the morphology of the 10 nm GaSb_(1-x)Bi_(x) film changes to the mound-like island structures with a height of a few MLs.The result implies the growth mode transition from the two-dimensional mode as displayed by the 5 nm film to the Stranski-Krastinov mode as displayed by the 10 nm film.The statistical analysis with the scanning tunneling spectroscopy(STS)measurements indicates that both the incorporation and the inhomogeneity of Bi atoms increase with the thickness of the GaSb_(1-x)Bi_(x) layer.

Optical and Electrical Properties of ZnO/CdO Composite Thin Films Prepared by Pulse Laser Deposition

ZnO/CdO composite films with different CdO contents are obtained by pulse laser deposition technique. The structural, optical and electrical properties of the composite [liras are investigated by x-ray diffraction, photolu- minescence and electrical resistivity measurements, respectively. The results show that the UV emission is at a constant peak position in the photoluminescence spectra. Meanwhile, their electrical resistivity decreases to very low level approaching to the value of the CdO film, which can be explained by the Matthiessen composite rule for resistivity. The peculiarity of low resistivity and high transnlittance in the visible region enables these Rims suitable for optoelectronic device fabrication.

Effects of Grain Boundary Barrier in ZnO/Si Heterostructure

The influence of ZnO microstructure on electrical barriers is investigated using capacitance-voltage （C - V）, current-voltage （I- V） and deep level transient spectroscopy （DLTS） measurements. A deep level center located at Ec - 0.24 eV obtained by DLTS in the ZnO films is an intrinsic defect related to Zni. The surface states in the ZnO grains that have acceptor behavior of capturing electrons from Zni defects result in the formation of grain barriers. In addition, we find that the current transport is dominated by grain barriers after annealing at 600℃ at 02 ambient. With the increment of the annealing temperature, the current transport mechanism of ZnO/Si heterostructure is mainly dominated by thermo-emission.

Preparation and Thermal Characterization of Diamond-Like Carbon Films

Diamond-like carbon （DLC） films are prepared on silicon substrates by microwave electron cyclotron resonance plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Raman spectroscopy indicates that the films have an amorphous structure and typical characteristics. The topographies of the films are presented by AFM images. Effective thermal conductivities of the films are measured using a nanosecond pulsed photothermal reflectance method. The results show that thermal conductivity is dominated by the microstructure of the films.

Effects of Annealing Temperature on Structural and Optical Properties of ZnO Thin Films

The effects of annealing temperature on the structural and optical properties of ZnO films grown on Si （100） substrates by sol-gel spin-coating are investigated. The structural and optical properties are characterized by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and photoluminescence spectra. X-ray diffraction analysis shows the crystal quality of ZnO films becomes better after annealing at high temperature. The grain size increases with the temperature increasing. It is found that the tensile stress in the plane of ZnO films first increases and then decreases with the annealing temperature increasing, reaching the maximum value of 1.8 GPa at 700℃. PL spectra of ZnO films annealed at various temperatures consists of a near band edge emission around 380 nm and visible emissions due to the electronic defects, which are related to deep level emissions, such as oxide antisite （OZn）, interstitial oxygen （Oi）, interstitial zinc （Zni） and zinc vacancy （VZn^-）, which are generated during annealing process. The evolution of defects is analyzed by PL spectra based on the energy of the electronic transitions.

Growth and Characterization of CIS Thin Films Prepared by Ion Beam Sputtering Deposition

Copper indium diselenide （CuInSe2） thin films were prepared by ion beam sputtering Cu, In and Se targets continuously on BK7 glass substrates and the three-layer film was then annealed in the same vacuum chamber. X-ray diffraction shows that the CuInSe2 thin films have a single chalcopyrite structure with preferential （112） orientation. Scanning electron microscopy reveals that the CIS thin films consist of uniform and densely packed grain clusters. Energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy demonstrates that the elemental composition of CIS films approaches the stochiometric composition ratios of 1：1：2. Raman measurement shows that the main peak is at about 174cm^-1 and this peak is identified as the A1 vibrational mode from chaicopyrite ordered CulnSe2. Optical transmission and absorption spectroscopy measurement reveal an energy band gap of about 1.05 eV and an absorption coefficient of 10^5 cm^-1. The film resistivity is about 0.01 Ωcm.

Enhanced Optical Absorption of Amorphous Silicon Films by Ag Nanostructures

The optical absorption of amorphous silicon （α-Si） films is enhanced by silver （Ag） nanostructures deposited on the films. The reflection at the long wavelength side of localized plasmon polaritons （LPPs） resonance originated from Ag nanostructures is significantly decreased, i.e. the optical absorption is enhanced. The results show that the average reflection value of the amorphous silicon films in the wavelength range of 900-1200 nm could be decreased by 11.4%. Moreover, the reduction of the reflection is found to be mainly dependent on the size of the Ag nanostructures, which is related to the island sizes, i.e. the LPP＇s resonance peak position.

Nanoscale Thermal Response in ZnO Varistors by Atomic Force Microscopy

We report the application of customer-built scanning thermal microscopy （SThM） based on a commercial atomic force microscope to investigate local thermal inhomogeneity of ZnO varistors. The so-called 3ω method, generally used for measuring macroscale thermal conductivity, is set up and integrated with an atomic force microscope to probe the nanoseale thermal property. Remarkably, thermal contrasts of ZnO varistors are firstly imaged by the SThM, indicating the uniform distribution of spinel phases at triple points. The frequency-dependent thermal signal of ZnO varistors is also studied to present quantitative evaluation of local thermal conductivity of the sample.

Photoluminescence of a ZnO/GaN Heterostructure Interface

Growth of a ZnO/GaN heterostructure is carried out using pulsed laser deposition. By etching the ZnO layer from the ZnO/GaN structure, the photoluminescence （PL） of the associated GaN layer shows that the donor- acceptor luminescence of CaN shifts to about 3.27eV, which is consistent with the electroluminescence （EL） of n-ZnO/p-GaN already reported. XPS shows that oxygen diffuses into the CaN crystal lattice from the surface to 20nm depth. The PL spectra at different temperatures and excitation densities show that oxygen plays the role of potential fluctuation. The associated PL results of the interface in these LEDs could be helpful to understand the mechanism of EL spectra for ZnO/CaN p-n junctions.

Structural and Electrical Properties of Single Crystalline Ga-Doped ZnO Thin Films Grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy

High-quality Ga-doped ZnO （ZnO：Ga） single crystalline films with various Ga concentrations are grown on a- plane sapphire substrates using molecular-beam epitaxy. The site configuration of doped Ga atoms is studied by means of x-ray absorption spectroscopy. It is found that nearly all Ga can substitute into ZnO lattice as electrically active donors, a generating high density of free carriers with about one electron per Ga dopant when the Ga concentration is no more than 2%. However, further increasing the Ga doping concentration leads to a decrease of the conductivity due to partial segregation of Ga atoms to the minor phase of the spinel ZnGa2O4 or other intermediate phase. It seems that the maximum solubility of Ga in the ZnO single crystalline film is about 2at.% and the lowest resistivity can reach 1.92 ×10-4Ω·cm at room temperature, close to the best value reported. In contrast to ZnO：Ga thin film with 1% or 2% Ga doping, the film with 4% Ga doping exhibits a metal semiconductor transition at 80 K. The scattering mechanism of conducting electrons in single crystalline ZnO：Ga thin film is discussed.

Growth of Pure Zinc Blende GaAs Nanowires： Effect of Size and Density of Au Nanoparticles

Pure zinc blende GaAs nanowires were grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition on GaAs（111）B substrates via Au catalyzed vapor-liquid-solid mechanism. The diameter, size distribution, and density of Au particles can be changed by varying the Au film thickness. We find that the grown nanowires are of rod-like shapes and pure zinc blende structure; moreover, the growth rate depends on the density of Au particles and it is independent of its diameters. It can be concluded that the nanowire was grown with main contributions from the direct impingement of vapor species onto the Au-Ga droplets and contributions from adatom diffusion can be negligible. The results indicate that the droplet acts as a catalyst rather than an adatom collector.

Effect of In Composition on Two-Dimensional Electron Gas in Wurtzite AlGaN/InGaN Heterostructures

The effect of In composition on two-dimensional electron gas in wurtzite AlGaN/InGaN heterostructures is theoretically investigated. The sheet carrier density is shown to increase nearly linearly with In mole fraction x, due to the increase in the polarization charge at the AlGaN/InGaN interface. The electron sheet density is enhanced with the doping in the AlGaN layer. The sheet carrier density is as high as 3.7×1013 cm^-2 at the donor density of 10×1018 cm^-3 for the HEMT structure with x=0.3. The contribution of additional donor density on the electron sheet density is nearly independent of the In mole fraction.

Electrical Characteristics of High-Performance ZnO Field-Effect Transistors Prepared by Ultrasonic Spray Pyrolysis Technique

We have fabricated ZnO-based thin-film transistors （TFTs） by low-cost ultrasonic spray pyrolysis. The devices exhibit high saturation mobility of about 0. 6 cm2 /Vs and on-off current ratio of 10^5. The electrical characteristics of ZnO-based TFTs show that ultrasonic spray pyrolysis technique can be used as a promising approach to attain high-performance electronic devices. Furthermore, the deposition techniques make the operating process attractive for flexible electronics.

Structural and Magnetic Properties of Sm Implanted GaN

The structural and magnetic properties of Sm ion-implanted GaN with different Sm concentrations are investigated. XRD results do not show any peaks associated with second phase formation. Magnetic investigations performed by superconducting quantum interference device reveal ferromagnetic behavior with an ordering tem- perature above room temperature in all the implanted samples, while the effective magnetic moment per Sin obtained from saturation magnetization gives a much higher value than the atomic moment of Sm. These results could be explained by the phenomenological model proposed by Dhar et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 94（2005）037205, Phys. Rev. B 72（2005）245203] in terms of a long-range spin polarization of the GaN matrix by the Sm atoms.

Influence of Post-Annealing Temperature on Properties of Ta-Doped ZnO Transparent Conductive Films

Ta-doped ZnO transparent conductive films are deposited on glass substrates by rf sputtering at 300℃. The influence of the post-annealing temperature on the structural, morphologic, electrical, and optical properties of the films is investigated by x-ray diffraction, Hall measurement, and optical transmission spectroscopy. The lowest resistivity of 3.5 ×10^-4 Ω·cm is obtained from the film annealed at 400℃in N2. The average optical transmittance of the films is over 90%. The optical bandgap is found to decrease with the increase of the annealing temperature.

Effects of Rapid Thermal Processing on Microstructure and Optical Properties of As-Deposited Ag2O Films by Direct-Current Reactive Magnetron Sputtering

（111） preferentially oriented Ag2O film deposited by direct current reactive magnetron sputtering is annealed by rapid thermal processing at different annealing temperatures for 5 min. The film microstructure and optical properties are then characterized by x-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy, and spectrophotometry, respectively. The results indicate that no clear Ag diffraction peak is discernable in the Ag2O film annealed below 200°C. In comparison, the Ag2O film annealed at 200°C begins to exhibit characteristic Ag diffraction peaks, and in particular the Ag2O film annealed at 250°C can demonstrate enhanced Ag diffraction peaks. This implies that the threshold of the thermal decomposition reaction to produce Ag particles is approximately 200°C for the Ag2O film. In addition, an evolution of the film surface morphology from compact and pyramid-like to a rough and porous structure clearly occurred with increasing annealing temperature. The porous structure might be attributable to the escape of the oxygen produced during annealing, while the rough surface might originate from the reconstruction of the surface. The dispersion of interference peak intensity in the reflectance and transmission spectra could be attributed to the Ag particles produced. The lowered crystallinity and Ag particles produced induce a lattice defect, which results in an enhanced transmissivity in the violet region and a weakened transmissivity in the infrared region.

Effects of AlN and AlGaN Interlayer on Properties of InAlN/GaN Heterostructures

InAlN/GaN heterojunction structures are grown on two-inch c-face（0001） sapphire substrates by metalorganic chemical vapour deposition. AlN and AlGaN interlayers are intentionally inserted into the structure to improve the electrical properties. The lowest sheet resistance of 359 Ω/sq and the highest room-temperature two-dimensional electron gas （2DEG） mobility of 1051 cm2 V-1s-1 is obtained in the structure with AlN thickness of 1.3 nm. The structure with AlN thickness of 2 nm exhibits the highest 2DEG concentration of 1.84×1013 cm-2. The sample with an AlGaN interlayer gives a smoother surface morphology compared to the one using an AlN interlayer, indicating potential applications of this technique in device fabrication.

Curvature Correction of FWHM in the X-Ray Rocking Curve of Bent Heteroepitaxial Films

A method for accurate determination of the curvature radius of semiconductor thin films is proposed. The curvature-induced broadening of the x-ray rocking curve （XRC） of a heteroepitaxially grown layer can be determined if the dependence of the full width at half maximum （FWHM） of XRC is measured as a function of the width of incident x-ray beam. It is found that the curvature radii of two GaN films grown on a sapphire wafer are different when they are grown under similar MOCVD conditions but have different values of layer thickness. At the same time, the dislocation-induced broadening of XRC and thus the dislocation density of the epitaxial film can be well calculated after the curvature correction.