Thermal response of electronic, optical, mechanical properties, phonon frequencies, and sound velocity of InPxAsySb1-x-y/InAs quaternary semiconductor system

The temperature dependence of acoustic velocities, thermal properties, and phonon frequencies, mechanical, electronic, and optical properties for the InPxAsySb1-x-y/InAs system has been studied. The physical properties of the binary components InSb, InP, and InAs that constitute the quaternary alloy were used in this research. The study has been done using the empirical pseudo-potential method (EPM) under the virtual crystal approximation (VCA). The thermal properties, phonon frequencies, and acoustic velocities for the InPxAsySb1-x-y/InAs system under the effect of temperature have not been fully studied. Therefore, we have focused on these properties under the influence of temperature. Due to the lack of the published theoretical and experimental values on these properties, our findings will provide a significant reference for future experimental work.

Al Composition Dependence of Band Offsets for SiO2 on α-(AlxGa1-x)2O3

Valence band offsets were measured by X Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy for SiO2 deposited by Atomic Layer Deposition on α-(AlxGa1-x)2O3 alloys with x= 0.26-0.74 grown with a continuous composition spread to enable investigations of the band alignment as a function of the alloy composition. From measurement of the core levels in the alloys, the bandgaps were determined to range from 5.8 eV (x=0.26) to 7eV (x=0.74). The valence band offsets were -1.2 eV for x=0.26, -0.2 eV for x=0.42, 0.2 eV for x=0.58 and 0.4 eV for x=0.74. Given the bandgap of the SiO2 was 8.7 eV, this led to conduction band offsets of 4.1 eV (x=0.26) to 1.3 eV (x=0.74). The band alignments were nested for x>0.5 , but at lower Al contents the conductions band offsets were negative, with a staggered band alignment. This shows the challenge of finding appropriate dielectrics for this ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor system.

Transfer of correlations from photons to electron excitations and currents induced in semiconductor quantum wells by non-classical twisted light

In this paper the excitations of collective electronic modes and currents induced in nanostructured semiconductor systems by two-mode quantum light with non-zero orbital angular momenta are investigated. Transfer of photon correlations to the excitations and currents induced in the semiconductor system is demonstrated. Birth of correlated electrons arising in the conduction band of the nanostructure due to the interaction with correlated photons of quantum light is found. Azimuthal and radial spatial distributions of the entangled electrons are established. The obtained results make possible to register the correlated electrons experimentally and to implement quantum information and nanoelectronics circuits in nanosystems using the found azimuthal and radial electron entanglement

Synthesis Design of Electronegativity Dependent WO3 and WO3∙0.33H2O Materials for a Better Understanding of TiO2/WO3 Composites’ Photocatalytic Activity

The design of a semiconductor or a composite semiconductor system—with applications in materials science—is complex because its morphology and structure depend on several parameters. These parameters are the precursor type, solvent, pH of the solution, synthesis approach, or shaping agents. This study gives meaningful insight regarding the synthesis design of such WO3 materials. By systematically alternating the precursor (sodium tungstate dihydrate—NWH, or ammonium tungstate hydrate—AMT), subsequently shaping the agents (halide salts—NaX, KX, or hydrohalic acids—HX; X = F−, Cl−, Br−, I−), we have obtained WO3 semiconductors by hydrothermal treatment, which in composite systems can enhance the commercial TiO2 photocatalytic activity. We investigated three sample series: WO3-NWH-NaX/WO3-NWH-KX and, subsequently, WO3-AMT-HX. The presence of W+5 centers was evidenced by Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. W+5 and W+6 species affected the band gap values of the NaX and KX series; a higher percentage of W+5 and, subsequently, W+6 caused a redshift, while, regarding the HX series, it led to a blue shift. Increased electronegativity of the halide anions has an unfavorable effect on the composites’ photoactivity. In contrast, in the case of hydrohalic acids, it had a positive impact.

Processes of electroluminescence degradation of light-emitting structures based on thin silicon oxide and nitride films

SiO2 /Si, SiN1.2/SiO2 /Si and SiO2 /SiN0.9/SiO2 /Si structures have been fabricated by chemical vapor deposition and thermal oxidation of silicon. The elemental composition and thicknesses of dielectric layers have been studied using Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and spectral ellipsometry. The electroluminescence (EL) of the samples has been investigated in the “electrolyte–dielectric–semiconductor” system at a positive bias voltage applied to the silicon substrate. An intense band with maxima at 1.9 eV appears on the EL spectra of the SiO2 /Si sample, while the EL spectra of the SiN1.2/SiO2 /Si and SiO2 /SiN0.9/SiO2 /Si samples are characterized by the presence of bands with the maximum values of 1.9, 2.3 and 2.7 eV. The nature of these bands is discussed. Passing a charge in the range of 100–500 mC/ cm2 through the SiO2 /SiN0.9/SiO2 /Si sample, an increase in the EL intensity was recorded in the entire visible range. Passing a charge of 1 C/cm2 through a sample with a three-layer dielectric film resulted in the EL intensity decrease. It can be explained by the upper oxide layer degradation. It has been shown that silicon nitride deposited on top of the SiO2 layer protects the oxide layer from field degradation and premature breakdown. The most stable electroluminescence when exposed to a strong electric field is observed for the structure SiN1.2/SiO2 /Si.

Synthetic control over polymorph formation in the d-band semiconductor system FeS2

Pyrite, also known as fool's gold is the thermodynamic stable polymorph of FeS2.

Distinguishing intrinsic photon correlations from external noise with frequency-resolved homodyne detection

In this work, we apply homodyne detection to investigate the frequency-resolved photon statistics of a cw light field emitted by a driven-dissipative semiconductor system in real time. We demonstrate that studying the frequency dependence of the photon number noise allows us to distinguish intrinsic noise properties of the emitter from external noise sources such as mechanical noise while maintaining a sub-picosecond temporal resolution. We further show that performing postselection on the recorded data opens up the possibility to study rare events in the dynamics of the emitter. By doing so, we demonstrate that in rare instances, additional external noise may actually result in reduced photon number noise in the emission.