β-Ga2O3 material properties, growth technologies, and devices: a review

Rapid progress in β-gallium oxide (β-Ga2O3) material and device technologies has been made in this decade, and its superior material properties based on the very large bandgap of over 4.5 eV have been attracting much attention. β-Ga2O3 appears particularly promising for power switching device applications because of its extremely large breakdown electric field and availability of large-diameter, high-quality wafers manufactured from melt-grown bulk single crystals. In this review, after introducing material properties of β-Ga2O3 that are important for electronic devices, current status of bulk melt growth, epitaxial thin-film growth, and device processing technologies are introduced. Then, state-of-the-art β-Ga2O3 Schottky barrier diodes and field-effect transistors are discussed, mainly focusing on development results of the author’s group.

Influence of Device Geometry on Transport Properties of Topological Insulator Microflakes

In the transport studies of topological insulators, microflakes exfoliated from bulk single crystals are often used because of the convenience in sample preparation and the accessibility to high carrier mobilities. Here, based on finite element analysis, we show that for the non-Hall-bar shaped topological insulator samples, the measured four-point resistances can be substantially modified by the sample geometry, bulk and surface resistivities, and magnetic field. Geometry correction factors must be introduced for accurately converting the four-point resistances to the longitudinal resistivity and Hall resistivity. The magnetic field dependence of inhomogeneous current density distribution can lead to pronounced positive magnetoresistance and nonlinear Hall effect that would not exist in the samples of ideal Hall bar geometry.

Experimental Hall electron mobility of bulk single crystals of transparent semiconducting oxides

We provide a comparative study of basic electrical properties of bulk single crystals of transparent semiconducting oxides (TSOs) obtained directly from the melt (9 compounds) and from the gas phase (1 compound), including binary (β-Ga2O3, In2O3, ZnO, SnO2), ternary (ZnSnO3, BaSnO3, MgGa2O4, ZnGa2O4), and quaternary (Zn1−xMgxGa2O4, InGaZnO4) systems. Experimental outcome, covering over 200 samples measured at room temperature, revealed n-type conductivity of all TSOs with free electron concentrations (ne) between 5 × 1015 and 5 × 1020 cm−3 and Hall electron mobilities (μH) up to 240 cm2 V−1 s−1. The widest range of ne values was achieved for β-Ga2O3 and In2O3. The most electrically conducting bulk crystals are InGaZnO4 and ZnSnO3 with ne > 1020 cm−3 and μH > 100 cm2 V−1 s−1. The highest μH values > 200 cm2 V−1 s−1 were measured for SnO2, followed by BaSnO3 and In2O3 single crystals. In2O3, ZnO, ZnSnO3, and InGaZnO4 crystals were always conducting, while others could be turned into electrical insulators. Graphic abstract

Room-temperature deformation of single crystals of ZrB2 and TiB2 with the hexagonal AlB2 structure investigated by micropillar compression

The plastic deformation behavior of single crystals of two transition-metal diborides, ZrB2 and TiB2 with the AlB2 structure has been investigated at room temperature as a function of crystal orientation and specimen size by micropillar compression tests. Although plastic flow is not observed at all for their bulk single crystals at room temperature, plastic flow is successfully observed at room temperature by the operation of slip on {1$${\bar{1}}$$ 1 ¯ 00}<11$${\bar{2}}$$ 2 ¯ 3> in ZrB2 and by the operation of slip on {1$${\bar{1}}$$ 1 ¯ 00}<0001> and {1$${\bar{1}}$$ 1 ¯ 00}<11$${\bar{2}}$$ 2 ¯ 0> in TiB2. Critical resolve shear stress values at room temperature are very high, exceeding 1 GPa for all observed slip systems; 3.01 GPa for {1$${\bar{1}}$$ 1 ¯ 00}<11$${\bar{2}}$$ 2 ¯ 3> slip in ZrB2 and 1.72 GPa and 5.17 GPa, respectively for {1$${\bar{1}}$$ 1 ¯ 00}<0001> and {1$${\bar{1}}$$ 1 ¯ 00}<11$${\bar{2}}$$ 2 ¯ 0> slip in TiB2. The identified operative slip systems and their CRSS values are discussed in comparison with those identified in the corresponding bulk single crystals at high temperatures and those inferred from micro-hardness anisotropy in the early studies.

Spin-valley locking and bulk quantum Hall effect in a noncentrosymmetric Dirac semimetal BaMnSb2

Spin-valley locking in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides has attracted enormous interest, since it offers potential for valleytronic and optoelectronic applications. Such an exotic electronic state has sparsely been seen in bulk materials. Here, we report spin-valley locking in a Dirac semimetal BaMnSb2. This is revealed by comprehensive studies using first principles calculations, tight-binding and effective model analyses, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements. Moreover, this material also exhibits a stacked quantum Hall effect (QHE). The spin-valley degeneracy extracted from the QHE is close to 2. This result, together with the Landau level spin splitting, further confirms the spin-valley locking picture. In the extreme quantum limit, we also observed a plateau in the z-axis resistance, suggestive of a two-dimensional chiral surface state present in the quantum Hall state. These findings establish BaMnSb2 as a rare platform for exploring coupled spin and valley physics in bulk single crystals and accessing 3D interacting topological states.

Evidence for the Fulde–Ferrell–Larkin–Ovchinnikov state in bulk NbS2

We present measurements of the magnetic torque, specific heat and thermal expansion of the bulk transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) superconductor NbS2 in high magnetic fields, with its layer structure aligned strictly parallel to the field using a piezo rotary positioner. The upper critical field of superconducting TMDs in the 2D form is known to be dramatically enhanced by a special form of Ising spin orbit coupling. This Ising superconductivity is very robust to the Pauli paramagnetic effect and can therefore exist beyond the Pauli limit for superconductivity. We find that superconductivity beyond the Pauli limit still exists in bulk single crystals of NbS2 for a precisely parallel field alignment. However, the comparison of our upper critical field transition line with numerical simulations rather points to the development of a Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov state above the Pauli limit as a cause. This is also consistent with the observation of a magnetic field driven phase transition in the thermodynamic quantities within the superconducting state near the Pauli limit.

Quantitative insights into the dislocation source behavior of twin boundaries suggest a new dislocation source mechanism

Pop-in statistics from nanoindentation with spherical indenters are used to determine the stress required to activate dislocation sources in twin boundaries (TBs) in copper and its alloys. The TB source activation stress is smaller than that needed for bulk single crystals, irrespective of the indenter size, dislocation density and stacking fault energy. Because an array of pre-existing Frank partial dislocations is present at a TB, we propose that dislocation emission from the TB occurs by the Frank partials splitting into Shockley partials moving along the TB plane and perfect lattice dislocations, both of which are mobile. The proposed mechanism is supported by recent high resolution transmission electron microscopy images in deformed nanotwinned (NT) metals and may help to explain some of the superior properties of nanotwinned metals (e.g. high strength and good ductility), as well as the process of detwinning by the collective formation and motion of Shockley partial dislocations along TBs. Graphic abstract