Low-temperature internal quantum efficiency of GaInN/GaN quantum wells under steady-state conditions

We compare the low-temperature photoluminescence (PL) intensities of a range of GaInN/GaN quantum well (QW) structures under identical excitation conditions, mounting the samples side by side. Normalizing the measured intensity to the absorbed power density in the QWs, we find that low-temperature PL efficiencies of several samples, which show close to 100% IQE in time-resolved PL, saturate at nearly an identical value. Of course, this is strong indicative of being 100% IQE at low temperature for those efficient samples. Using the low-temperature PL efficiency as a ``Reference'', on the other hand, we observe not only the effects of temperature-independent non-radiative losses on the low-temperature IQE, but also are able to determine the IQE of arbitrary samples on an absolute scale. Furthermore, we prove the experimental results by comparing the low-temperature efficiencies of a sample with an initial 100% IQE after intentionally introducing structural defects with argon-implantation.

Memristive devices based on single ZnO nanowires - from material synthesis to neuromorphic functionalities

Memristive and resistive switching devices are considered promising building blocks for the realization of artificial neural networks and neuromorphic systems. Besides conventional top-down memristive devices based on thin films, resistive switching devices based on nanowires (NWs) have attracted great attention, not only for the possibility of going beyond current scaling limitations of the top-down approach, but also as model systems for the localization and investigation of the physical mechanism of switching. This work reports on the fabrication of memristive devices based on ZnO NWs, from NW synthesis to single NW-based memristive cell fabrication and characterization. The bottom-up synthesis of ZnO NWs was performed by low-pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition (LPCVD) according to a self-seeding Vapor-Solid (VS) mechanism on a Pt substrate over large scale (∼ cm2), without the requirement of previous seed deposition. The grown ZnO NWs are single crystalline with wurtzite crystal structure and are vertically aligned respect to the growth substrate. Single NWs were then contacted by means of asymmetric contacts, with an electrochemically active and an electrochemically inert electrode, to form NW-based electrochemical metallization memory (ECM) cells that show reproducible resistive switching behaviour and neuromorphic functionalities including short-term synaptic plasticity and Paired Pulse Facilitation (PPF). Besides representing building blocks for NW-based memristive and neuromorphic systems, these single crystalline devices can be exploited as model systems to study physicochemical processing underlaying memristive functionalities thanks to the high localization of switching events on the ZnO crystalline surface.

Impact of In Situ NH3 pre-treatment of LPCVD SiN passivation on GaN HEMT performance

The impact on the performance of GaN HEMTs of in situ ammonia (NH3) pre-treatment prior to the deposition of silicon nitride (SiN) passivation with low-pressure chemical vapor deposition is investigated. Three different NH3 pre-treatment durations (0, 3, and 10 minutes) were compared in terms of interface properties and device performance. A reduction of oxygen at the interface between SiN and epi-structure is detected by Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy-Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy measurements in the sample subjected to 10 minutes of pre-treatment. The samples subjected to NH3 pre-treatment show a reduced surface-related current dispersion of 9 % (compared to 16% for the untreated sample), which is attributed to the reduction of oxygen at the SiN/epi interface. Furthermore, NH3 pre-treatment for 10 minutes significantly improves the current dispersion uniformity from 14.5 % to 1.9 %. The reduced trapping effects result in a high output power of 3.4 W/mm at 3 GHz (compared to 2.6 W/mm for the untreated sample). These results demonstrate that the in situ NH3 pre-treatment before low-pressure chemical vapor deposition of SiN passivation is critical and can effectively improves the large-signal microwave performance of GaN HEMTs.

The influences of radiation effects on DC/RF performances of Lg=22 nm gate-all-around nanosheet field-effect transistor

In this paper, we carried out detailed TCAD simulations to investigate the radiation effects, e.g., total ionizing dose (TID) and single-event effects (SEEs), on direct current (DC) and radio frequency (RF) characteristics of the gate-all-around (GAA) nanosheet field-effect transistor (FET). The simulation model used is composed of 7-layer stacked GAA nanosheet FET with Lg=22 nm, which was implemented in this study. The open current and the drain-induced barrier lowering of the device are ~ 3mA/μm and 47mV/V, respectively. The results indicate that the TID have little influence on the DC and RF characteristics when the transistor is working in an open state. During the SEEs simulation, we considered three incident directions for the high energy particle, including the lateral direction of the channels, the vertical direction of the channels and the top of the channels. The influence of the particle injecting along the lateral and vertical directions of the channels shows stronger relation with the distance from the incident point compared to the influence of the particle from the top. Besides, the general influence of the particle injecting along the lateral directions of the channels is higher than the other two directions. The total injected charge of the particle injecting along the lateral direction, along the vertical direction and from the top are 3 fC, 1.4 fC and 2.1 fC, respectively. As compared to the FinFET, the GAA nanosheet has superior RF performances and less sensitivity to TID effect. This work can provide a guideline for the GAA nanosheet devices in aerospace and avionic RF applications.

Indirect stress and air-cavity displacement measurement of MEMS tunable VCSELs via micro-Raman and micro-photoluminescence spectroscopy

We employ micro-Raman spectroscopy to optically infer the stress experienced by the legs of a bridge-type microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) used in high contrast gratings tunable vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs). We then employ micro-photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy to indirectly measure the air cavity displacement of the same MEMS structure. Results from micro-Raman show that electrostatically actuating the MEMS with a DC bias configuration yields increasing residual stress on the endpoints of the MEMS with values reaching up to 0.8 GPa. We simulated a finite element model via Comsol Multiphysics which agrees with the trend we observe based on our micro-Raman data. Our micro-photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy showed that change in the air cavity of the VCSEL structure results in a change in the full width of the PL peak emitted by the layer consisting of 4 pairs of Distributed Bragg Reflectors (DBRs). The change in the full width of the PL peak was due to the change in the optical cavity induced by displacing the MEMS via externally applied bias and agrees with our transfer matrix convolution simulation. These optical characterization tools can be used for failure analysis, MEMS design improvements, and monitoring of MEMS tunable VCSEL devices for mass production and manufacturing.

Linear bounded potential model for semiconductor band bending

We propose a simple but unexplored model for the semiconductor band bending with the aim to obtain a relatively simple expression to calculate the energy spectrum for the confined levels and the analytical expressions for wave-functions. This model consists of a linear potential but it is bounded or trimmed in energy unlike the well known wedge potential model. We present exact solutions for this potential in the frame of the effective mass approximation and they are valid for electron or hole confinement potential. This model provides a more adequate physical scenario than the wedge potential since it takes into account the charge balance involved in the band bending potential. These results allow to treat confined potential problems as in the case of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in a simplified way. We discuss the application of this approximation to the recombination time of electrons an holes and for the Franz-Keldysh effect.

Investigation of 4,4′- bis [(N carbazole) styryl] biphenyl (BSB4) for a pure blue fluorescent OLED with enhanced efficiency nearing the theoretical limit

4,4′-bis[(N-carbazole) styryl] biphenyl (BSB4 or BSBCz) is one of the widely studied organic fluorescent materials for blue organic electroluminescent devices in the recent times. In this work, BSB4 is used as a guest material to construct the host-guest matrix for the emissive layer (EML) of a pure blue fluorescent organic light-emitting diode (OLED). A pure blue emission suitable for display application with a Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage (CIE) coordinate of (0.147, 0.070) is achieved by the blue-shift of the emission spectrum of the host-guest matrix from that of the pristine guest (BSB4) molecules. The optimization of OLED structures is carried out by considering (i) charge balance in the emissive layer for high exciton density, and (ii) optical interference of generated light in the organic layers for increased light outcoupling. A thorough comparative study on the use of different combinations of widely used hole and electron transport layers to obtain charge balance in the EML of the OLED, thereby enhancing the external quantum efficiency (EQE) is shown. Optical interference effects in the fabricated OLEDs are analyzed by optical simulation of each device structure by transfer matrix method (TMM). With the optimized device structures, we are able to overcome the 2% EQE limit that has been reported so far for blue fluorescent OLEDs with BSB4 as light emitting material and achieve a maximum EQE of 4.08%, which is near to the theoretical limit of EQE for fluorescent OLEDs.

Hydroxylation induced defect states and formation of bidentate acetate adstructure of TiO2 catalysts with acetic acid variation for catalytic application

TiO2 is considered a promising candidate for catalysis applications.The addition of acetic acid and its variation creates a strong bonding withoxide surfaces which generates various oxidizing agents. The XRD analysis of the prepared TiO2 nanoparticles reveals the semicrystalline nature. The result shows that holes are captured by surface and subsurface, producing≡〖Ti〗^IV‒〖OH〗^. , ≡〖Ti〗^IV‒O^(.-)‒〖Ti〗^IV≡ and reducing agent =〖Ti〗^III‒, which act as active oxidizersduring photocatalysis confirmingthe occurrence of OH radical by advanced oxidation process. Increasing acetic acid amount leads to disordered structural defects below the conduction band. XPS analysis shows the induction of hydroxylation of surface defects such as Ti‒OH.The results indicate that oxygen vacancy is favourabledue toa large number of surface defects. Detailed discussion of energy band structure with the concept of valence band and CB maximum isimplemented. The electron-withdrawing carboxylic group can affect oxygen vacancies and acetate ligands on the photocatalyst surface. The formation of bidentate acetate adstructure with lower acetic acid concentration leads to an explanation for higher visible light driven Mehtlyne blue (MB) degradation. The mechanism of formation of additional Ti-O-Ti bond by condensation process is also illustrated elaborately. Theoretical calculations of the potential of VB and CB show the effect of active sites on degradation and can be associated with redox reactions for water splitting ability. Possible model of sentisized photocatalysis for hydrogen production with hydrogen and oxygen evolution site is also proposed in this article. Thus, TiO2 nanoparticles with acetic acid variation are promising sources for photocatalytic/catalytic applications.evolution site is also proposed in this article. Thus, pH-dependent TiO2 nanoparticles are promising sources for photocatalytic/catalytic applications.

Study of the impact of interface traps associated with SiNX passivation on AlGaN/GaN MIS-HEMTs

In this work, we show that a bilayer SiNx passivation scheme which includes a high-temperature annealed SiNx as gate dielectric, significantly improves both ON and OFF state performance of AlGaN/GaN MISHEMTs. From devices with different SiNx passivation schemes, surface and bulk leakage paths were determined. Temperature-dependent MESA leakage studies showed that the surface conduction could be explained using a 2-D variable range hopping mechanism along with the mid-gap interface states at the GaN(cap)/ SiNx interface generated due to the Ga-Ga metal like bonding states. It was found that the high temperature annealed SiNx gate dielectric exhibited the lowest interface state density and a two-step C-V indicative of a superior quality SiNx/GaN interface as confirmed from conductance and capacitance measurements. High-temperature annealing helps in the formation of Ga-N bonding states, thus reducing the shallow metal-like interface states. MISHEMT measurements showed a significant reduction in gate leakage and a 4-orders of magnitude improvement in the ON/OFF ratio while increasing the saturation drain current (IDS) by a factor of 2. Besides, MISHEMTs with 2-step SiNx passivation exhibited a relatively flat transconductance profile, indicative of lower interface states density. The dynamic Ron with gate and drain stressing measurements also showed about 3x improvements in devices with bilayer SiNx passivation.

Printed in-plane electrolyte-gated transistor based on zinc oxide

Printed electronics is a reputable research area that encourages the search for simple alternatives of manufacturing processes for low-cost, eco-friendly, and biodegradable electronic devices. Among these devices, electrolyte-gated transistors (EGTs) stand out due to their simple manufacturing process and architecture. Here we report the study of printed electrolyte-gated transistors with in-plane gate architecture (IPGT) based on zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs). The drain, source, and gate electrodes with two different W/L channel ratios were fabricated using a screen-printed carbon-based ink. We also produced a conventional top-gate transistor as a control device, using the same structure as the IPGT described above by adding an ITO strip positioned over the electrolyte as the top-gate electrode. The IPGT with W/L = 5 presented a high mobility of 7.1 cm2V-1s-1, while the W/L = 2.5 device exhibited a mobility of 3.7 cm2V-1s-1. We found that the measured field-effect mobility of the device can be affected by the high contact resistance from the carbon electrodes. This effect could be observed when the geometric parameters of the devices were changed. Furthermore, we also found that the IPGT with W/L = 5 exhibited better values for mobility and transconductance than the top-gate transistor, showing that the IPGTs setup is a good promise for cheap and printed transistors with performance comparable to standard top-gate transistors.