Interfacial photoconductivity effect of type-Ⅰ and type-Ⅱ Sb2Se3/Si heterojunctions for THz wave modulation

An in-depth understanding of the photoconductivity and photocarrier density at the interface is of great significance for improving the performance of optoelectronic devices. However, extraction of the photoconductivity and photocarrier density at the heterojunction interface remains elusive. Herein, we have obtained the photoconductivity and photocarrier density of 173 nm Sb2Se3/Si(type-Ⅰ heterojunction) and 90 nm Sb2Se3/Si(type-Ⅱ heterojunction) utilizing terahertz(THz) time-domain spectroscopy(THz-TDS) and a theoretical Drude model. Since type-Ⅰ heterojunctions accelerate carrier recombination and type-Ⅱ heterojunctions accelerate carrier separation, the photoconductivity and photocarrier density of the type-Ⅱ heterojunction(21.8×10^(4)S·m^(-1),1.5 × 10^(15)cm^(-3)) are higher than those of the type-Ⅰ heterojunction(11.8×10^(4)S·m^(-1),0.8×10^(15)cm^(-3)). These results demonstrate that a type-Ⅱ heterojunction is superior to a type-Ⅰ heterojunction for THz wave modulation. This work highlights THz-TDS as an effective tool for studying photoconductivity and photocarrier density at the heterojunction interface. In turn, the intriguing interfacial photoconductivity effect provides a way to improve the THz wave modulation performance.

Indium–tin oxide films obtained by DC magnetron sputtering for improved Si heterojunction solar cell applications

The indium-tin oxide （ITO） film as the antireflection layer and front electrodes is of key importance to obtaining high efficiency Si heterojunction （HJ） solar cells. To obtain high transmittance and low resistivity ITO films by direct-current （DC） magnetron sputtering, we studied the impacts of the ITO film deposition conditions, such as the oxygen flow rate, pressure, and sputter power, on the electrical and optical properties of the ITO films. ITO films of resistivity of 4 x 10-4 ~.m and average transmittance of 89% in the wavelength range of 380-780 nm were obtained under the optimized conditions： oxygen flow rate of 0.1 sccm, pressure of 0.8 Pa, and sputtering power of 110 W. These ITO films were used to fabricate the single-side HJ solar cell without an intrinsic a-Si：H layer. However, the best HJ solar cell was fabricated with a lower sputtering power of 95 W, which had an efficiency of 11.47%, an open circuit voltage （Voc） of 0.626 V, a filling factor （FF） of 0.50, and a short circuit current density （Jsc） of 36.4 mA/cm2. The decrease in the performance of the solar cell fabricated with high sputtering power of 110 W is attributed to the ion bombardment to the emitter. The Voc was improved to 0.673 V when a 5 nm thick intrinsic a-Si：H layer was inserted between the （p） a-Si：H and （n） c-Si layer. The higher Voc of 0.673 V for the single-side HJ solar cell implies the excellent c-Si surface passivation by a-Si：H.

Ge/Si heterojunction L-shape tunnel field-effect transistors with hetero-gate-dielectric

A Ge/Si heterojunction L-shaped tunnel field-effect transistor combined with hetero-gate-dielectric （GHL-TFET） is proposed and investigated by TCAD simulation. Current-voltage characteristics, energy-band diagrams, and the distri- bution of the band-to-band tunneling （BTBT） generation rate of GHL-TFET are analyzed. In addition, the effect of the vertical channel width on the ON-current is studied and the thickness of the gate dielectric is optimized for better suppression of ambipolar current. Moreover, analog/RF figure-of-merits of GHL-TFET are also investigated in terms of the cut-off frequency and gain bandwidth production. Simulation results indicate that the ON-current of GHL-TFET is increased by about three orders of magnitude compared with that of the conventional L-shaped TFET. Besides, the introduction of the hetero-gate-dielectric not only suppresses the ambipolar current effectively but also improves the analog/RF performance drastically. It is demonstrated that the maximum cut-off frequency of GHL-TFET is about 160 GHz, which is 20 times higher than that of the conventional L-shaped TFET.

Temperature-dependent rectifying and photovoltaic characteristics of an oxygen-deficient Bi_2Sr_2Co_2O_y/Si heterojunction

A Bi2Sr2Co2Oy/Si heterojunction is obtained by growing a layer of p-type oxygen-deficient Bi2Sr2Co2Oy film on a commercial n-type silicon wafer by pulsed laser deposition. Its rectifying and photovoltaic properties are studied in a wide temperature range from 20 K to 300 K. The transport mechanism under the forward bias can be attributed to a trap- filled space-charge-limited current conduction mechanism. Under the irradiation of a 532-nm continuous wave laser, a clear photovoltaic effect is observed and the magnitude ofphotovoltage increases as the temperature decreases, The results demonstrate the potential application of a Bi2SrzCo2Oy-based heterojunction in the photoelectronic devices.

Sensitivity investigation of 100-MeV proton irradiation to SiGe HBT single event effect

The single event effect(SEE) sensitivity of silicon–germanium heterojunction bipolar transistor(Si Ge HBT) irradiated by 100-Me V proton is investigated. The simulation results indicate that the most sensitive position of the Si Ge HBT device is the emitter center, where the protons pass through the larger collector-substrate(CS) junction. Furthermore, in this work the experimental studies are also carried out by using 100-Me V proton. In order to consider the influence of temperature on SEE, both simulation and experiment are conducted at a temperature of 93 K. At a cryogenic temperature, the carrier mobility increases, which leads to higher transient current peaks, but the duration of the current decreases significantly.Notably, at the same proton flux, there is only one single event transient(SET) that occurs at 93 K. Thus, the radiation hard ability of the device increases at cryogenic temperatures. The simulation results are found to be qualitatively consistent with the experimental results of 100-Me V protons. To further evaluate the tolerance of the device, the influence of proton on Si Ge HBT after gamma-ray(^(60)Coγ) irradiation is investigated. As a result, as the cumulative dose increases, the introduction of traps results in a significant reduction in both the peak value and duration of the transient currents.

Research progress in improving the performance of PEDOT:PSS/Microand Nano-textured Si heterojunction for hybrid solar cells

Silicon-based hybrid solar cells(HSCs),especially PEDOT:PSS/Si HSC,have attracted the interest of researchers because they combine the advantages of organic and inorganic materials.A high quality PEDOT:PSS/Si heterojunction is the key to the good performance of PEDOT:PSS/Si HSC.However,as generally requisite to enhance light absorption for HSCs,Si Micro/Nano structures will reduce the interface contact quality between PEDOT:PSS and Si surface.The inferior interface contact quality will limit the separation efficiency of the photogenerated carriers.In this paper,we summarize the research progress in improving the interface contact between Si Micro/Nano structures and PEDOT:PSS film from three aspects:the optimization of Si Micro/Nano structures aimed to improve the fluid properties of PEDOT:PSS solution,the material modification of PEDOT:PSS and interface modification with the purpose to enlarge the heterojunction area and improve the electrical contact,and the specific deposition process of PEDOT:PSS solution developed to achieve the high filling rate of PEDOT:PSS on Si Micro/Nano structures.The insight of this paper is helpful for the preparation of high-quality heterojunction,which is vitally important for the development of high efficiency PEDOT:PSS/Si HSCs.

CdS/Si nanofilm heterojunctions based on amorphous silicon films:Fabrication,structures,and electrical properties

Shortening the distance between the depletion region and the electrodes to reduce the trapped probability of carriers is a useful approach for improving the performance of heterojunction.The CdS/Si nanofilm heterojunctions are fabricated by using the radio frequency magnetron sputtering method to deposit the amorphous silicon nanofilms and Cd S nanofilms on the ITO glass in turn.The relation of current density to applied voltage(I-V)shows the obvious rectification effect.From the analysis of the double logarithm I-V curve it follows that below~2.73 V the electron behaviors obey the Ohmic mechanism and above~2.73 V the electron behaviors conform to the space charge limited current(SCLC)mechanism.In the SCLC region part of the traps between the Fermi level and conduction band are occupied,and with the increase of voltage most of the traps are occupied.It is believed that Cd S/Si nanofilm heterojunction is a potential candidate in the field of nano electronic and optoelectronic devices by optimizing its fabricating procedure.

Novel Si/SiC heterojunction lateral double-diffused metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor with p-type buried layer breaking silicon limit

A novel silicon carbide(SiC) on silicon(Si) heterojunction lateral double-diffused metal-oxide semiconductor fieldeffect transistor with p-type buried layer(PBL Si/SiC LDMOS) is proposed in this paper for the first time.The heterojunction has breakdown point transfer(BPT) characteristics,and the BPT terminal technology is used to increase the breakdown voltage(BV) of Si/SiC LDMOS with the deep drain region.In order to further optimize the surface lateral electric field distribution of Si/SiC LDMOS with the deep drain region,the p-type buried layer is introduced in PBL Si/SiC LDMOS.The vertical electric field is optimized by Si/SiC heterojunction and the surface lateral electric field is optimized by the p-type buried layer,which greatly improves the BV of device and alleviates the relationship between BV and specific on-resistance(R_(on,sp)).Through TCAD simulation,when the drift region length is 20 μm,the BV is significantly improved from 249 V for the conventional Si LDMOS to 440 V for PBL Si/SiC LDMOS,increased by 77%;And the BV is improved from 384 V for Si/SiC LDMOS with the deep drain region to 440 V for the proposed structure,increased by 15%.The figure-of-merit(FOM) of the Si/SiC LDMOS with the deep drain region and PBL Si/SiC LDMOS are 4.26 MW/cm^(2) and 6.37 MW/cm^(2),respectively.For the PBL Si/SiC LDMOS with the drift length of 20 μm,the maximum FOM is 6.86 MW/cm^(2).The PBL Si/SiC LDMOS breaks conventional silicon limit.

Single-event response of the SiGe HBT in TCAD simulations and laser microbeam experiment

In this paper the single-event responses of the silicon germanium heterojunction bipolar transistors(SiGe HBTs) are investigated by TCAD simulations and laser microbeam experiment. A three-dimensional(3D) simulation model is established, the single event effect(SEE) simulation is further carried out on the basis of Si Ge HBT devices, and then, together with the laser microbeam test, the charge collection behaviors are analyzed, including the single event transient(SET) induced transient terminal currents, and the sensitive area of SEE charge collection. The simulations and experimental results are discussed in detail and it is demonstrated that the nature of the current transient is controlled by the behaviors of the collector–substrate(C/S) junction and charge collection by sensitive electrodes, thereby giving out the sensitive area and electrode of SiGe HBT in SEE.

Thermal studies of individual Si/Ge heterojunctions--The influence of the alloy layer on the heterojunction

Phonon transport across an interface is of fundamental importance to applications ranging from electronic and optical devices to thermoelectric materials.The phonon scattering by an interface can dramatically suppress the thermal transport,which can benefit thermoelectric applications but create problems for the thermal management of electronic/optical devices.In this aspect,existing molecular dynamics simulations on phonon transport across various interfaces are often based on estimates of atomic structures and are seldom compared with measurements on real interfaces.In this work,planar Si/Ge heterojunctions formed by film-wafer bonding are measured for the interfacial thermal resistance (R_(K)) that is further compared with predictions from existing simulations and analytical models.The twist angle between a 70-nm-thick Si film and a Ge wafer is varied to check the influence of the crystal misorientation.Detailed transmission electron microscopy studies are carried out to better understand the interfacial atomic structure.It is found that the alloyed interfacial layer with mixed Si and Ge atoms dominates the measured thermal resistance(R_(K)).Some oxygen impurities may also help to increase RK due to the formation of glassy structures.Following this,RK reduction should be focused on how to minimize the interdiffusion of Si and Ge atoms during the formation of a Si/Ge heterojunction.

Ga/GaSb nanostructures:Solution-phase growth for highperformance infrared photodetection

Gallium antimonide(GaSb)-based nanostructures have been reported via various vapor-phase synthetic routes while there is not a report on the growth of GaSb nanostructures via a complete one-step solution-phase synthetic strategy.Herein we report the design and synthesis of tadpole-like Ga/GaSb nanostructures by a one-step solution-phase synthetic route typically from the precursors of commercial triphenyl antimony(Sb(Ph)_(3))and trimethylaminogallium(Ga(NMe_(2))_(3))at 260°C in 1-octadecene.The GaSb nanocrystals are grown based on a solution–liquid–solid(SLS)mechanism with zinc blende phase,and their size and shape can be controlled in the procedures via manipulating the reaction conditions.Meanwhile,the tadpole-like Ga/GaSb nanostructures can be applied for the fabrication of a GaSb/Si nanostructured heterojunction-like photodetector over silicon wafer,which demonstrates excellent photoresponse and detection performances from wavelength of 405 to 1,064 nm with high photoresponding rate.Typically,the photodetector exhibits a high responsivity of 18.9 A·W^(−1),a superior detectivity of 1.1×10^(13)Jones,and an ultrafast response speed of 44 ns.The present work provides a new strategy to group III–V antimonide-based semiconducting nanostructures that are capable for the fabrication of photodetector with broadband,high-detectivity,and high-speed photodetecting performances.