First-principles study on improvement of two-dimensional hole gas concentration and confinement in AlN/GaN superlattices

Using first-principles calculations based on density functional theory,we have systematically studied the influence of in-plane lattice constant and thickness of slabs on the concentration and distribution of two-dimensional hole gas(2 DHG)in AlN/GaN superlattices.We show that the increase of in-plane lattice constant would increase the concentration of 2 DHG at interfaces and decrease the valence band offset,which may lead to a leak of current.Increasing the thickness of AlN and/or decreasing the thickness of GaN would remarkably strengthen the internal field in GaN layer,resulting in better confinement of 2 DHG at AlN/GaN interfaces.Therefore,a moderate larger in-plane lattice constant and thicker AlN layer could improve the concentration and confinement of 2 DHG at AlN/GaN interfaces.Our study could serve as a guide to control the properties of 2 DHG at Ⅲ-nitride interfaces and help to optimize the performance of p-type nitride-based devices.

The kinetic magnetoelectric effect in laterally boundary-confined ballistic two-dimensional hole gases

A theoretical investigation is presented on the characteristics of the kinetic magnetoelectric effect in laterally boundary-confined ballistic two-dimensional hole gases. It was shown that, though the momentum-dependent effective magnetic fields felt by charge carriers due to the spin-orbit interaction are in-plane orientated in such systems, both in-plane polarized and normal polarized nonequilibrium spin polarization densities could be electrically induced by the kinetic magnetoelectric effect, and the induced nonequilibrium spin polarizations exhibit some interesting characteristics. The characteristics we found indicate that there may be some possible relation between this effect and some recent experimental findings.

Effective Qubit Emerging from the Nanoheterointerface Two-Dimensional Electron Gas Photodynamics

An “Eigenstate Adjustment Autonomy” Model, permeated by the Nanosystem’s Fermi Level Pinning along with its rigid Conduction Band Discontinuity, compatible with pertinent Experimental Measurements, is being employed for studying how the Functional Eigenstate of the Two-Dimensional Electron Gas (2DEG) dwelling within the Quantum Well of a typical Semiconductor Nanoheterointerface evolves versus (cryptographically) selectable consecutive Cumulative Photon Dose values. Thus, it is ultimately discussed that the experimentally observed (after a Critical Cumulative Photon Dose) Phenomenon of 2DEG Negative Differential Mobility allows for the Nanosystem to exhibit an Effective Qubit Specific Functionality potentially conducive to (Telecommunication) Quantum Information Registering.

Influence of Al Composition on Transport Properties of Two-Dimensional Electron Gas in Al_xGa_(1-x)N/GaN Heterostructures

Magnetotransport properties of two-dimensional electron gases （2DEG） in AlxGa1-x N/GaN heterostructures with different Al compositions are investigated by magnetotransport measurements at low temperatures and in high magnetic fields. It is found that heterostructures with a lower Al composition in the barrier have lower 2DEG concentration and higher 2DEG mobility.

Two-dimensional electron gas characteristics of InP-based high electron mobility transistor terahertz detector

The samples of InxGa（1-x）As/In（0.52）Al（0.48）As two-dimensional electron gas（2DEG）are grown by molecular beam epitaxy（MBE）.In the sample preparation process,the In content and spacer layer thickness are changed and two kinds of methods,i.e.,contrast body doping andδ-doping are used.The samples are analyzed by the Hall measurements at 300 Kand 77 K.The InxGa1-xAs/In0.52Al0.48As 2DEG channel structures with mobilities as high as 10289 cm^2/V·s（300 K）and42040 cm^2/V·s（77 K）are obtained,and the values of carrier concentration（Nc）are 3.465×10^12/cm^2 and 2.502×10^12/cm^2,respectively.The THz response rates of In P-based high electron mobility transistor（HEMT）structures with different gate lengths at 300 K and 77 K temperatures are calculated based on the shallow water wave instability theory.The results provide a reference for the research and preparation of In P-based HEMT THz detectors.

Formation of two-dimensional electron gas at AlGaN/GaN heterostructure and the derivation of its sheet density expression

Models for calculating the sheet densities of two-dimensional electron gas （2DEG） induced by spontaneous and piezoelectric polarization in A1GaN/GaN, A1GaN/A1N/GaN, and GaN/A1GaN/GaN heterostructures are provided. The detailed derivation process of the expression of 2DEG sheet density is given. A longstanding confusion in a very widely cited formula is pointed out and its correct expression is analyzed in detail.

The low-temperature mobility of two-dimensional electron gas in AlGaN/GaN heterostructures

To reveal the internal physics of the low-temperature mobility of two-dimensional electron gas （2DEG） in Al- GaN/GaN heterostructures, we present a theoretical study of the strong dependence of 2DEG mobility on Al content and thickness of AlGaN barrier layer. The theoretical results are compared with one of the highest measured of 2DEG mobility reported for AlGaN/GaN heterostructures. The 2DEG mobility is modelled as a combined effect of the scat- tering mechanisms including acoustic deformation-potential, piezoelectric, ionized background donor, surface donor, dislocation, alloy disorder and interface roughness scattering. The analyses of the individual scattering processes show that the dominant scattering mechanisms are the alloy disorder scattering and the interface roughness scattering at low temperatures. The variation of 2DEG mobility with the barrier layer parameters results mainly from the change of 2DEG density and distribution. It is suggested that in AlGaN/GaN samples with a high Al content or a thick AlGaN layer, the interface roughness scattering may restrict the 2DEG mobility significantly, for the AlGaN/GaN interface roughness increases due to the stress accumulation in AlGaN layer.

Influence of a two-dimensional electron gas on current-voltage characteristics of Al_(0.3)Ga_(0.7) N/GaN high electron mobility transistors

The J-V characteristics of AltGa1 tN/GaN high electron mobility transistors（HEMTs） are investigated and simulated using the self-consistent solution of the Schro dinger and Poisson equations for a two-dimensional electron gas（2DEG） in a triangular potential well with the Al mole fraction t = 0.3 as an example.Using a simple analytical model,the electronic drift velocity in a 2DEG channel is obtained.It is found that the current density through the 2DEG channel is on the order of 10^13 A/m^2 within a very narrow region（about 5 nm）.For a current density of 7 × 10^13 A/m62 passing through the 2DEG channel with a 2DEG density of above 1.2 × 10^17 m^-2 under a drain voltage Vds = 1.5 V at room temperature,the barrier thickness Lb should be more than 10 nm and the gate bias must be higher than 2 V.

High-mobility two-dimensional electron gases at oxide interfaces:Origin and opportunities

Our recent experimental work on metallic and insulating interfaces controlled by interfacial redox reactions in SrTiO3-based heterostructures is reviewed along with a more general background of two-dimensional electron gas （2DEG） at oxide interfaces. Due to the presence of oxygen vacancies at the SrTiO3 surface, metallic conduction can be created at room temperature in perovskite-type interfaces when the overlayer oxide ABO3 has Al, Ti, Zr, or Hf elements at the B sites. Furthermore, relying on interface-stabilized oxygen vacancies, we have created a new type of 2DEG at the heterointerface between SrTiO3 and a spinel γ-Al2O3 epitaxial film with compatible oxygen ion sublattices. This 2DEG exhibits an electron mobility exceeding 100000 cm2·V-1·s-1, more than one order of magnitude higher than those of hitherto investigated perovskite-type interfaces. Our findings pave the way for the design of high-mobility all-oxide electronic devices and open a route toward the studies of mesoscopic physics with complex oxides.

Thermodynamic criterion for searching high mobility two-dimensional electron gas at KTaO_(3)interface

Two-dimensional electron gases(2 DEGs)formed at the interface between two oxide insulators present a promising platform for the exploration of emergent phenomena.While most of the previous works focused on SrTiO_(3-)based 2 DEGs,here we took the amorphous-ABO_(3)/KTaO_(3)system as the research object to study the relationship between the interface conductivity and the redox property of B-site metal in the amorphous film.The criterion of oxide-oxide interface redox reactions for the B-site metals,Zr,Al,Ti,Ta,and Nb in conductive interfaces was revealed:the formation heat of metal oxide,ⅢH_(f)^(o),is lower than-350 kJ/(mol O)and the work function of the metalΦis in the range of 3.75 eV<Φ<4.4 eV.Furthermore,we found that the smaller absolute value ofⅢH_(f)^(o)and the larger value ofΦof the B-site metal would result in higher mobility of the two-dimensional electron gas that formed at the corresponding amorphous-ABO_(3)/KTaO_(3)interface.This finding paves the way for the design of high-mobility all-oxide electronic devices.

A comparison of the transport properties of bilayer graphene,monolayer graphene,and two-dimensional electron gas

We studied and compared the transport properties of charge carriers in bilayer graphene, monolayer graphene, and the conventional semiconductors （the two-dimensional electron gas （2DEG））. It is elucidated that the normal incidence transmission in the bilayer graphene is identical to that in the 2DEG but totally different from that in the monolayer graphene. However, resonant peaks appear in the non-normal incidence transmission profile for a high barrier in the bilayer graphene, which do not occur in the 2DEG. Furthermore, there are tunneling and forbidden regions in the transmission spectrum for each material, and the division of the two regions has been given in the work. The tunneling region covers a wide range of the incident energy for the two graphene systems, but only exists under specific conditions for the 2DEG. The counterparts of the transmission in the conductance profile are also given for the three materials, which may be used as high-performance devices based on the bilayer graphene.

Degradation mechanism of two-dimensional electron gas density in high Al-content AlGaN/GaN heterostructures

This paper finds that the two-dimensional electron gas density in high Al-content A1GaN/GaN heterostructures exhibits an obvious time-dependent degradation after the epitaxial growth. The degradation mechanism was investigated in depth using Hall effect measurements,high resolution x-ray diffraction,scanning electron microscopy,x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy.The results reveal that the formation of surface oxide is the main reason for the degradation,and the surface oxidation always occurs within the surface hexagonal defects for high Al-content AlGaN/GaN heterostructures.

Magnetotransport properties of two-dimensional electron gas in AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterostructures

Magnetotransport measurements are carried out on the A1GaN/A1N/GaN in an SiC heterostructure, which demon- strates the existence of the high-quality two-dimensional electron gas （2DGE） at the A1N/GaN interface. While the carrier concentration reaches 1.32×10^13 cm^-2 and stays relatively unchanged with the decreasing temperature, the mobility of the 2DEG increases to 1.21 × 10^4 cm2/（V.s） at 2 K. The Shubnikov-de Haas （SdH） oscillations are observed in a magnetic field as low as 2.5 T at 2 K. By the measurements and the analyses of the temperature-dependent SdH oscillations, the effective mass of the 2DEC is determined. The ratio of the transport lifetime to the quantum scattering time is 9 in our sample, indicating that small-angle scattering is predominant.

In-plane anisotropy in two-dimensional electron gas at LaAlO_3/SrTiO_3(110) interface

A systematic study of the two-dimensional electron gas at La AlO_3/SrTiO_3（110） interface reveals an anisotropy along two specific directions, [001] and 1ī0. The anisotropy becomes distinct for the interface prepared under high oxygen pressure with low carrier density. Angular dependence of magnetoresistance shows that the electron confinement is stronger along the 1ī0 direction. Gate-tunable magnetoresistance reveals a clear in-plane anisotropy of the spin–orbit coupling,and the spin relaxation mechanism along both directions belongs to D＇yakonov–Perel＇（DP） scenario. Moreover, in-plane anisotropic superconductivity is observed for the sample with high carrier density, the superconducting transition temperature is lower but the upper critical field is higher along the 1ī0 direction. This in-plane anisotropy could be ascribed to the anisotropic band structure along the two crystallographic directions.

On the Thermodynamics of a Two-Dimensional Electron Gas with Non-Parabolic Dispersion

A thermodynamic density of states, electron density in the subband and the entropy of the gas as function of the temperature and the total two-dimensional electron density are studied. Semiconductor conduction band dispersion is described by the simplified Kane model. Numerical simulation shows that with an increase in the total electron concentration, thermodynamic density of states at low temperatures changes abruptly and smoothes jumps at high temperatures. This change manifests itself in the peculiar thermodynamic characteristics. The results are used to interpret existing experimental data.

Ultralow-weight loading Ni catalyst supported on two-dimensional vermiculite for carbon monoxide methanation

Nickel-based catalysts represent the most commonly used systems for CO methanation.We have successfully prepared a Ni catalyst system supported on two-dimensional plasma-treated vermiculite（2D-PVMT）with a very low Ni loading（0.5 wt%）.The catalyst precursor was subjected to heat treatment via either conventional heat treatment（CHT）or the plasma irradiation method（PIM）.The as-obtained CHT-Ni/PVMT and PIM-Ni/PVMT catalysts were characterized with scanning electron microscopy（SEM）,energy dispersive X-ray（EDX）,X-ray diffraction（XRD）,X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy（XPS）,inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy（ICP-AES）and high-angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy（HAADF-STEM）.Additionally,CHT-NiO/PVMT and PIM-NiO/PVMT catalysts were characterized with hydrogen temperature programmed reduction（H2-TPR）.Compared with CHT-Ni/PVMT,PIM-Ni/PVMT exhibited superior catalytic performance.The plasma treated catalyst PIM-Ni/PVMT achieved a CO conversion of93.5%and a turnover frequency（TOF）of 0.8537 s^-1,at a temperature of 450℃,a gas hourly space velocity of 6000 ml·g^-1·h^-1,a synthesis gas flow rate of 65 ml·min^-1,and a pressure of 1.5 MPa.Plasma irradiation may provide a successful strategy for the preparation of catalysts with very low metal loadings which exhibit excellent properties.

Identification and Characterization of Sulfur Compounds in Straight-Run Diesel Using Comprehensive Two-Dimensional GC Coupled with TOF MS

The solid-phase extraction using Pd-Al2O3 as the stationary phase was employed to pre-separate the sulfur compounds in straight-run diesel. The isolating effect was evaluated quantitatively by gas chromatography with a sulfur chemiluminescence detector to harvest a satisfactory result. The identification of the structure of sulfur compounds by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled with the time-of-flight mass spectrometry indicated that cyclo-sulfides, benzothiophenes, dibenzothiophenes, dihydro-benzothiophenes and tetrahydro-dibenzothiophenes were included in straightrun diesel obtained from the Arab medium crude(AM). A total of 259 individual compounds were detected and their molecular structures were identified. The analytical method was approved as an effective way to characterize the composition of sulfur compounds, which reduced the interference of other compounds, facilitated the data presentation and provided more detailed information about molecular composition of sulfur compounds.

Terahertz-dependent identification of simulated hole shapes in oil gas reservoirs

Detecting holes in oil–gas reservoirs is vital to the evaluation of reservoir potential. The main objective of this study is to demonstrate the feasibility of identifying general micro-hole shapes, including triangular, circular, and square shapes, in oil–gas reservoirs by adopting terahertz time-domain spectroscopy(THz-TDS). We evaluate the THz absorption responses of punched silicon(Si) wafers having micro-holes with sizes of 20 μm–500 μm. Principal component analysis(PCA) is used to establish a model between THz absorbance and hole shapes. The positions of samples in three-dimensional spaces for three principal components are used to determine the differences among diverse hole shapes and the homogeneity of similar shapes. In addition, a new Si wafer with the unknown hole shapes, including triangular, circular, and square, can be qualitatively identified by combining THz-TDS and PCA. Therefore, the combination of THz-TDS with mathematical statistical methods can serve as an effective approach to the rapid identification of micro-hole shapes in oil–gas reservoirs.

Two-dimensional metallic behavior at polar MgO/BaTiO_3(110) interfaces

The first-principles calculations are employed to investigate the electrical properties of polar MgO/BaTiO3（110）interfaces. Both n-type and p-type polar interfaces show a two-dimensional metallic behavior. For the n-type polar interface,the interface Ti3d electrons are the origin of the metallic and magnetic properties. Varying the thickness of Ba TiO3 may induce an insulator–metal transition, and the critical thickness is 4 unit cells. For the p-type polar interface, holes preferentially occupy the interface O 2p y state, resulting in a conducting interface. The unbalance of the spin splitting of the O 2p states in the interface Mg O layer leads to a magnetic moment of about 0.25μB per O atom at the interface.These results further demonstrate that other polar interfaces, besides LaAlO3/SrTiO3, can show a two-dimensional metallic behavior. It is helpful to fully understand the role of polar discontinuity on the properties of the interface, which widens the field of polar-nonpolar interfaces.

Optical and NH₃Gas Sensing Properties of Hole-Transport Layers Based on PEDOT: PSS Incorporated with Nano-TiO₂

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) incorporated with nanocrystalline TiO2 powder (PEDOT:PSS+nc-TiO2) films were prepared by spin-coating technique. SEM surface morphology, UV-Vis spectra and NH3 gas sensing of were studied. Results showed that the PEDOT:PSS+nc-TiO2 film with a content of 9.0 wt% of TiO2 is most suitable for both the hole transport layer and the NH3 sensing. The responding time of the sensor made from this composite film reached a value as fast as 20 s. The rapid responsiveness to NH3 gas was attributed to the efficient movement of holes as the major charge carriers in PEDOT:PSS+nc-TiO2 composite films. Useful applications in organic electronic devices like light emitting diodes and gas thin film sensors can be envisaged.