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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 271 records · Page 15
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1987

Gigarad-tolerant power switches and memory elements

A new class of silicon devices operating without p-n junctions has been studied for radiation hardness. The electric field in these devices is uniform over most of the device, thus causing high-voltage breakdown to increase with electrode spacing. Deep acceptor levels are created in the silicon by diffusing gold atoms into the lattice, or by electron radiation. These acceptor levels, near the center of the band gap, trap out electrons so that the low resistivity of the n-type doped wafer can be raised to intrinsic resistivity. Switching between a high-resistivity state at low currents and a low-resistivity state at high currents occurs at a definite threshold voltage, exhibiting characteristics similar to silicon-controlled rectifiers. Compensating 0.1 ohm-meter (10 ohm-cm) silicon wafers requires electron fluxes of 10 to the 23rd electrons per square meter (10 to the 19th electrons per square centimeter). Experiments demonstrating gamma tolerance to 1 Gigarad(Si) are described. Calculations for maximum tolerable neutron fluence are shown, and a phenomenological explanation for these results is presented.

Joyner, W. T.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Plasma deposition of amorphous hydrogenated carbon films on III-V semiconductors

Amorphous hydrogenated carbon films were grown on GaAs, InP and fused silica substrates using plasmas generated from hydrocarbon gases. Methane and n-butane sources were utilized. The effects of flow rate and power density on film growth were investigated. Carbon was the major constituent in the films. The degree of asymmetry at the carbon-semiconductor interface was approximately independent of the power density. Different H-C bonding configurations were detected by the technique of secondary-ion mass spectrometry. Band gaps up to 3 eV were obtained from optical absorption studies. Breakdown strengths as high as 600 MV/m were measured.

Pouch, John J.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Low-temperature photoluminescence studies of chemical-vapor-deposition-grown 3C-SiC on Si

Low-temperature photoluminescence studies of 26 cubic SiC films, ranging in thickness from 600 A to 25 microns, grown by CVD on (100)Si are presented. It is suggested that the G band near 1.90-1.92 eV and its phonon side bands G1 and G2 are related to dislocations and extended defects. Formulas for the band-gap shift due to an axial stress have been obtained and applied to the CVD 3C-SiC/Si system. The results indicate that a 1-3-micron transition layer greatly reduces the interface misfit strain, and that biaxial stress in the SiC/Si system depresses the intensity of the no-phonon line.

Choyke, W. J.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Molecular-Beam Epitaxy Of CrSi2 on Si(111)

Crystalline layers grown in commercial apparatus. Experiments show CrSi2 grown on (111) face of single-crystal Si substrate by molecular-beam epitaxy. Epitaxial CrSi2 produced thus far not in desired single-crystal form. Because CrSi2 semiconductor with band gap of 0.3 eV, experimental process potential for monolitic integration of microelectronic devices based on CrSi2 (e.g., infrared detectors) with signal-processing circuitry based on Si.

Fathauer, Robert W.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Chemical-Vapor Deposition Of Cd1-xMnxTe

Experimental process makes films with interesting magnetic and magneto-optical properties. Films of dilute magnetic semiconductor alloy Cd1-xMnxTe deposited on glass and GaAs substrates by metalorganic chemical-vapor deposition (MOCVD). Devices made with Cd1-xMnxTe films known to exhibit strong photoluminescence, stimulated emission, and magnetically-tunable lasing action. In addition, energy-band gaps of such material tailored by altering its composition - property giving flexibility in development of high-efficiency cascade solar photovoltaic cells. Performs at atmospheric pressure, resulting in more-uniform films, covering larger area, and enabling higher production rate.

Nouhi, Akbar↗
NASA NTRS1989

A three solar cell system based on a self-supporting, transparent AlGaAs top solar cell

Development of a three solar cell stack can lead to practical efficiencies greater than 30 percent (1x,AM0). A theoretical efficiency limitation of 43.7 percent at AM0 and one sun is predicted by this model. Including expected losses, a practical system efficiency of 36.8 percent is anticipated. These calculations are based on a 1.93eV/1.43eV/0.89eV energy band gap combination. AlGaAs/GaAs/GaInAsP materials can be used with a six-terminal wiring configuration. The key issues for multijunction solar cells are the top and middle solar cell performance and the sub-bandgap transparency. AstroPower has developed a technique to fabricate AlGaAs solar cells on rugged, self-supporting, transparent AlGaAs substrates. Top solar cell efficiencies greater than 11 percent AM0 have been achieved. State-of-the-art GaAs or InP devices will be used for the middle solar cell. GaInAsP will be used to fabricate the bottom solar cell. This material is lattice-matched to InP and offers a wide range of bandgaps for optimization of the three solar cell stack. Liquid phase epitaxy is being used to grow the quaternary material. Initial solar cells have shown open-circuit voltages of 462 mV for a bandgap of 0.92eV. Design rules for the multijunction three solar cell stack are discussed. The progress in the development of the self-supporting AlGaAs top solar cell and the GaInAsP bottom solar cell is presented.

Negley, Gerald H.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Ion beam and plasma methods of producing diamondlike carbon films

A variety of plasma and ion beam techniques was employed to generate diamondlike carbon films. These methods included the use of RF sputtering, dc glow discharge, vacuum arc, plasma gun, ion beam sputtering, and both single and dual ion beam deposition. Since films were generated using a wide variety of techniques, the physico-chemical properties of these films varied considerably. In general, these films had characteristics that were desirable in a number of applications. For example, the films generated using both single and dual ion beam systems were evaluated for applications including power electronics as insulated gates and protective coatings on transmitting windows. These films were impervious to reagents which dissolve graphitic and polymeric carbon structures. Nuclear reaction and combustion analysis indicated hydrogen to carbon ratios to be 1.00, which allowed the films to have good transmittance not only in the infrared, but also in the visible. Other evaluated properties of these films include band gap, resistivity, adherence, density, microhardness, and intrinsic stress. The results of these studies and those of the other techniques for depositing diamondlike carbon films are presented.

Swec, Diane M.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Photoreflectance for in-situ characterization of MOCVD growth of semiconductors under micro-gravity conditions

A contactless electromodulation technique of photoreflectance (PR) was developed for in-situ monitoring of metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) semiconductor growth for micro-gravity applications. PR can be employed in a real MOCVD reactor including rotating substrate (approximately 500 rev/min) in flowing gases and through a diffuser plate. Measurements on GaAs and Ga(0.82)Al(0.18)As were made up to 690 C. The direct band gaps of In(x)Ga(1-x)As (x = 0.07 and 0.16) were evaluated up to 600 C. In order to address the question of real time measurement, the spectra of the direct gap of GaAs at 650 C was obtained in 30 seconds and 15 seconds seems feasible.

Pollak, Fred H.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Surface defects and chemistry on the SnO2(110) surface

A variety of ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) surface science techniques have been used to characterize the structural, electronic and chemical properties of SnO2(110), a model catalytic surface. Two types of surface oxygen vacancies have been identified, each associated with different band gap (defect) electronic states. Adsorption experiments show that the interaction of simple gases with this surface occurs primarily through these oxygen vacancies and can show site-specificity to only one of the two types of vacancies.

Cox, David F.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Stoichiometric effects on the optical properties of LiInSe(2)

The diffuse reflectance of LiInSe(2) between 0.67 and 3.54 eV have been measured and the Kubelka-Munk theory was used to obtain the absorption coefficient from the data. The band gap in the samples is located at approximately 1.6 eV. The In and Se content of the samples was determined from atomic absorption measurements. Absorption peaks at 0.890 and 0.896 eV have been observed which are correlated, respectively, to the selenium and indium deficiencies in the samples.

Smith, Cecily J.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Ellipsometric study of Al2O3/Ag/Si and SiO2/Ag/quartz ashed in an oxygen plasma

The growth of silver oxide (proposed as a potentially useful protective coating for space environment) on a silver mirror coated with an Al2O3 or a SiO2 protective layer was investigated using the monolayer-sensitive variable angle of incidence spectroscopic ellipsometry technique. The samples were exposed to a pure oxygen plasma in a plasma asher, and the silver oxide growth was monitored as a function of the exposure time. It was found that atomic oxygen in the asher penetrated through the SiO2 or Al2O3 coatings to convert the silver underneath to silver oxide, and that the quantity of the silver oxide formed was proportional to the ashing time. The band gap of silver oxide was determined to be 1.3 eV. A schematic diagram of the variable angle of incidence spectroscopic ellipsometer is included.

De, Bhola N.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Critical behavior in the hydrogen insulator-metal transition

The vibrational Raman spectrum of solid hydrogen has been measured from 77 to 295 K in the vicinity of the recently observed insulator-metal transition and low-temperature phase transition at 150 gigapascals. The measurements provide evidence for a critical point in the pressure-temperature phase boundary of the low-temperature transition. The result suggests that below the critical temperature the insulator-metal transition changes from continuous to discontinuous, consistent with the general criteria originally proposed by Mott (1949) for metallization by band-gap closure. The effect of temperature on hydrogen metallization closely resembles that of the lower-pressure insulator-metal transitions in doped V2O3 alloys.

Hemley, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Electronic structures of HgTe and CdTe surfaces and HgTe/CdTe interfaces

A Green's-function method has been used to study the surface and interface electronic structures of the II-VI compounds HgTe and CdTe. Localized surface and resonance states near the cation-terminated (100) surface of CdTe and the anion-terminated surface of HgTe have been found for the ideal surfaces. The energies and strengths of these surface states are altered by surface perturbations. The bulk states near the surface are drastically modified by the creation of the surface, but the band gaps remain unchanged. Numerical evaluation of the local densities of states at the Gamma and J points shows that, at the (100) interface of HgTe/CdTe, the previously observed surface states are no longer present. However, in the interface region, bulk states of one material penetrate some distance into the other material.

Schick, J. T.↗
NASA NTRS1990

A study of the applicability of gallium arsenide and silicon carbide as aerospace sensor materials

Most of the piezoresistive sensors, to date, are made of silicon and germanium. Unfortunately, such materials are severly restricted in high temperature environments. By comparing the effects of temperature on the impurity concentrations and piezoresistive coefficients of silicon, gallium arsenide, and silicon carbide, it is being determined if gallium arsenide and silicon carbide are better suited materials for piezoresistive sensors in high temperature environments. The results show that the melting point for gallium arsenide prevents it from solely being used in high temperature situations, however, when used in the alloy Al(x)Ga(1-x)As, not only the advantage of the wider energy band gas is obtained, but also the higher desire melting temperature. Silicon carbide, with its wide energy band gap and higher melting temperature suggests promise as a high temperature piezoresistive sensor.

Hurley, John S.↗
NASA NTRS1990

LWIR HgCdTe: Innovative detectors in an incumbent technology

HgCdTe is the current material of choice for high performance imagers operating at relatively high temperatures. Its lack of technological maturity compared with silicon and wide-band gap III-V compounds is more than offset by its outstanding IR sensitivity and by the relatively benign effect of its materials defects. This latter property has allowed non-equilibrium growth techniques, metal oxide chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), to produce device quality long wavelength infrared (LWIR) HgCdTe even on common substrates like GaAs and GaAs/Si. Detector performance in these exotic materials structures is comparable in many ways with devices in equilibrium-grown material. Lifetimes are similar. RoA values at 77K as high as several hundred have been seen in HgCdTe/GaAs/Si with 9.5 micron cut-off wavelength. HgCdTe/GaAs layers with approx. 15 micron cut-off wavelengths have given average 77K RoAs of greater than 2. Hybrid focal plane arrays have been evaluated with excellent operability.

Tennant, William E.↗
NASA NTRS1990

InAs/GaAs and InAs doping superlattices

The extension of the optical response of narrow band gap III-V semiconductors into the long wavelength infrared radiation (LWIR) regime for high sensitivity sensor applications is a challenging problem. Recent advances in nipi doped GaAs superlattices, lattice mismatched epitaxy and the heteroepitaxial growth of III-V compound semiconductors on silicon substrates offer a number of opportunities. Researchers describe two different device approaches based on the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth of superlattice materials which are directed to LWIR focal plane array technology. The first of these uses nipi superlattices fabricated in bulk InAs which has been grown on either GaAs or Si substrates. The second is based on the growth of a new pseudomorphic tetragonal phase of InAs on GaAs to create a semimetal/semiconductor superlattice material.

Grunthaner, Frank J.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Ellipsometric study of cubic SiC

Variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry (VASE) was applied to cubic SiC. This technique gives absolute values of the refractive index (n) and the extinction coefficient (k) of a substrate and/or a thin film of unknown material. The samples were grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on p-type silicon. The substrate was aligned either on the (001) axis or 1 degree of (001). Several growth temperatures and growth durations were used. The samples were divided into two groups: (1) thick films of order 10 microns grown near optimal conditions of temperature, flow, and gas ratio; and (2) thin films of order 100 A grown at various temperatures. The ellipsometric results for samples in group 1 were analyzed using a two-phase model (substrate and ambient). Results show that for wavelengths in the visible, the refractive index of these CVD samples is equal to that reported for single crystal cubic SiC, within the experimental error, which is on the order of 1 percent. However, the extinction coefficient has a relatively large value, even above the band gap. The absorption is sample dependent and has a broad peak in the visible. The results for samples in group 2 were analyzed using a three-phase model (substrate, film, and ambient). The dielectric functions of the film, deducted from the measured n and k, were further analyzed using the effective medium approximation. The results show that the films contain 30 to 40 vol. percent amorphous silicon, i.e., silicon with only short-range order.

Alterovitz, Samuel A.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Modelling Al(x)Ga(1-x)As optical constants as functions of composition

Three models for the dielectric function of Al(x)Ga(1-x)As are reviewed. All are based on measured optical constants at discrete compositions. The validity of each model near critical point energies, and otherwise, is evaluated. Only the energy-shift model is appropriate over the entire available spectrum (1.5-6.0 eV), including the band-gap region.

Snyder, Paul G.↗