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At least 289 records · Page 16
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

Peculiarities of growing InGaAs/GaAs/AlGaAs laser structures by MOCVD on Ge/Si substrates

The growth of InGaAs/GaAs/AlGaAs laser structures by MOCVD at low pressures on Si(001) substrates with a Ge epitaxial metamorphic buffer layer of various thicknesses is studied. The results of the influence of the growth temperature and incorporation of additional AlAs layers at the boundary with the Ge/Si(001) substrate on the crystalline and optical quality of the formed III–V structures are presented. It is shown that the incorporation of the AlAs/GaAs/AlAs lattice at the initial growth stages of III–V heterostructures on Ge buffer layers grown on exact Si(001) substrates makes it possible to considerably decrease the density of threading defects and, consequently, form effectively emitting laser structures. The possibility of growing strained InGaAs quantum wells on Si(001) substrates allowing stimulated radiation in a wavelength region longer than 1100 nm is shown.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Extended wavelength mid-infrared photoluminescence from type-I InAsN and InGaAsN dilute nitride quantum wells grown on InP

Extended wavelength photoluminescence emission within the technologically important 2–5 μm spectral range has been demonstrated from InAs{sub 1−x}N{sub x} and In{sub 1−y}Ga{sub y}As{sub 1−x}N{sub x} type I quantum wells grown onto InP. Samples containing N ∼ 1% and 2% exhibited 4 K photoluminescence emission at 2.0 and 2.7 μm, respectively. The emission wavelength was extended out to 2.9 μm (3.3 μm at 300 K) using a metamorphic buffer layer to accommodate the lattice mismatch. The quantum wells were grown by molecular beam epitaxy and found to be of a high structural perfection as evidenced in the high resolution x-ray diffraction measurements. The photoluminescence was more intense from the quantum wells grown on the metamorphic buffer layer and persisted up to room temperature. The mid-infrared emission spectra were analysed, and the observed transitions were found to be in good agreement with the calculated emission energies.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

GaAs Solar Cells on Nanopatterned Si Substrates

Integrating III-Vs onto Si is a promising route toward tandem photovoltaics and cost mitigation of III-V substrates. While many III-V/Si photovoltaic integration approaches have been studied, epitaxial growth on Si allows for fewer processing steps compared to other approaches. However, current epitaxial pathways utilize expensive techniques, such as thermal cycle annealing or thick buffer layers to control defect densities, undermining the low-cost goal of integrating III-Vs with Si. Here, we present single-junction GaAs solar cells grown directly on Si using selective area growth as an alternative low-cost technique to control material quality with a much thinner buffer. We demonstrate a 10.4%-efficient GaAs device grown on a V-grooved Si substrate, which achieved an antiphase domain-free III-V/Si interface and a threading dislocation density of 2 x 107 cm-2, despite the lack of a graded buffer. We compare this growth on V-grooved Si to solar cells grown on polished Si with and without a patterned silica buffer layer, which demonstrate efficiencies of 6.5% and 6.8%, respectively; the polished Si was patterned using nanoimprint lithography, which is a low-cost patterning technique compatible with III-V selective area growth. Cracking is found to be a critical challenge that hinders solar cell performance and is exacerbated by the V-grooved Si surface topography. The results in this paper provide a promising pathway toward high-efficiency, low-cost III-V/Si tandem photovoltaics.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Design concepts of monolithic metamorphic vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers for the 1300–1550 nm spectral range

Possible design concepts for long-wavelength vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers for the 1300–1550 nm spectral range on GaAs substrates are suggested. It is shown that a metamorphic GaAs–InGaAs heterostructure with a thin buffer layer providing rapid transition from the lattice constant of GaAs to that of In{sub x}Ga{sub 1–x}As with an indium fraction of x < 0.3 can be formed by molecular-beam epitaxy. Analysis by transmission electron microscopy demonstrated the effective localization of mismatch dislocations in the thin buffer layer and full suppression of their penetration into the overlying InGaAs metamorphic layer.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Selective Area Growth of GaAs on Si Patterned Using Nanoimprint Lithography

Heteroepitaxial selective area growth (SAG) of GaAs on patterned Si substrates is a potential low-cost approach to integrate III-V and Si materials for tandem or multijunction solar cells. The use of nanoscale openings in a dielectric material can minimize nucleation-related defects and allow thinner buffer layers to be used to accommodate lattice mismatch between Si and an epitaxial III-V layer. For photovoltaic applications, the cost of patterning and growth, as well as the impact on the performance of the Si bottom cell must be considered. We present preliminary results on the use of soft nanoimprint lithography (SNIL) to create patterned nucleation templates for the heteroepitaxial SAG of GaAs on Si. We demonstrate that SNIL patterning of passivating layers on the Si substrate improves measured minority carrier properties relative to unprotected Si. Cost modeling of the SNIL process shows that adding a patterning step only adds a minor contribution to the overall cost of a tandem III-V/Si solar cell, and can enable significant savings if it enables thinner buffer layers.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Growth of ultrathin twin-free b-oriented YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7} {sub –} {sub x} films

Twin-free b-oriented YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7–x} films with a thickness less than 40 nm have been epitaxially grown on (100)SrLaGaO{sub 4} crystals. Based on the temperature dependence of resistance, the onset temperature of the transition to the superconducting state is found to be 90 K; the transition width is 4 K. The film growth has been performed in two stages. A (100)PrBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7–x} buffer layer was previously grown on a (100)SrLaGaO{sub 4} substrate by rf magnetron sputtering in an Ar–O{sub 2} gas mixture at a continuous and monotonic increase in temperature from 660 to 830°C. The main YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7–x} film was grown on the buffer layer surface by pulsed laser deposition in an oxygen medium at a fixed temperature (800°C). The above processes were implemented in different chambers, which were connected by a vacuum channel for transporting samples. Both films were grown in situ, without contacting atmosphere in all growth stages. An X-ray diffraction study has shown that the YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7–x} films are single-crystal and free of precipitates of other phases and domains of other orientations.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Enhanced electrical and magnetic properties in La{sub 0.7}Sr{sub 0.3}MnO{sub 3} thin films deposited on CaTiO{sub 3}-buffered silicon substrates

We investigate the suitability of an epitaxial CaTiO{sub 3} buffer layer deposited onto (100) Si by reactive molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) for the epitaxial integration of the colossal magnetoresistive material La{sub 0.7}Sr{sub 0.3}MnO{sub 3} with silicon. The magnetic and electrical properties of La{sub 0.7}Sr{sub 0.3}MnO{sub 3} films deposited by MBE on CaTiO{sub 3}-buffered silicon (CaTiO{sub 3}/Si) are compared with those deposited on SrTiO{sub 3}-buffered silicon (SrTiO{sub 3}/Si). In addition to possessing a higher Curie temperature and a higher metal-to-insulator transition temperature, the electrical resistivity and 1/f noise level at 300 K are reduced by a factor of two in the heterostructure with the CaTiO{sub 3} buffer layer. These results are relevant to device applications of La{sub 0.7}Sr{sub 0.3}MnO{sub 3} thin films on silicon substrates.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1996

Epitaxial Growth of beta-Silicon Carbide (SiC) on a Compliant Substrate via Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD)

Many lattice defects have been attributed to the lattice mismatch and the difference in the thermal coefficient of expansion between SiC and silicon (Si). Stacking faults, twins and antiphase boundaries are some of the lattice defects found in these SiC films. These defects may be a partial cause of the disappointing performance reported for the prototype devices fabricated from beta-SiC films. The objective of this research is to relieve some of the thermal stress due to lattice mismatch when SiC is epitaxially grown on Si. The compliant substrate is a silicon membrane 2-4 microns thick. The CVD process includes the buffer layer which is grown at 1360 C followed by a very thin epitaxial growth of SiC. Then the temperature is raised to 1500 C for the subsequent growth of SiC. Since silicon melts at 1415 C, the SiC will be grown on molten Silicon which is absorbed by a porous graphite susceptor eliminating the SiC/Si interface. We suspect that this buffer layer will yield less stressed material to help in the epitaxial growth of SiC.

Mitchell, Sharanda L.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Pulsed-laser epitaxy of metallic delafossite PdCrO 2 films

Alternate stacking of a highly conducting metallic layer with a magnetic triangular layer found in delafossite PdCrO 2 provides an excellent platform for discovering intriguing correlated quantum phenomena. Thin film growth of delafossites may enable not only the tuning of the basic physical properties beyond what bulk materials can exhibit, but also the development of novel hybrid materials by interfacing with dissimilar materials, yet this has proven to be extremely challenging. Here, we report the epitaxial growth of metallic delafossite PdCrO 2 films by pulsed laser epitaxy (PLE). The fundamental role of the PLE growth conditions, epitaxial strain, and chemical and structural characteristics of the substrate is investigated by growing under various growth conditions and on various types of substrates. While strain plays a large role in improving the crystallinity, the direct growth of epitaxial PdCrO 2 films without impurity phases was not successful. We attribute this difficulty to both the chemical and structural dissimilarities with the substrate and volatile nature of the PdO sublayer, which make nucleation of the right phase difficult. This difficulty was overcome by growing CuCrO 2 buffer layers before PdCrO 2 films were grown. Unlike PdCrO 2 , CuCrO 2 films were readily grown with a relatively wide growth window. Only a monolayer thick buffer layer was sufficient to grow the correct PdCrO 2 phase. This result indicates that the epitaxy of Pd-based delafossites is extremely sensitive to the chemistry and structure of the interface, necessitating near perfect substrate materials. The resulting films are commensurately strained and show an antiferromagnetic transition at 40 K that persists down to as thin as 3.6 nm in thickness. This work provides key insights into advancing the epitaxial growth of the broader class of metallic delafossites for both studying the basic physical properties and developing new spintronic and computing devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

X-ray diffraction study of short-period AlN/GaN superlattices

The structure of short-period hexagonal GaN/AlN superlattices (SLs) has been investigated by X-ray diffraction. The samples have been grown by metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE) in a horizontal reactor at a temperature of 1050°C on (0001)Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} substrates using GaN and AlN buffer layers. The SL period changes from 2 to 6 nm, and the thickness of the structure varies in a range from 0.3 to 1 μm. The complex of X-ray diffraction techniques includes a measurement of θ-2θ rocking curves of symmetric Bragg reflection, the construction of intensity maps for asymmetric reflections, a measurement and analysis of peak broadenings in different diffraction geometries, a precise measurement of lattice parameters, and the determination of radii of curvature. The thickness and strain of separate SL layers are determined by measuring the θ-2θ rocking curves subsequent simulation. It is shown that most SL samples are completely relaxed as a whole. At the same time, relaxation is absent between sublayers, which is why strains in the AlN and GaN sublayers (on the order of 1.2 × 10{sup −2}) have different signs. An analysis of diffraction peak half-widths allows us to determine the densities of individual sets of dislocations and observe their change from buffer layers to SLs.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

High-quality II-VI films grown on amorphous substrates using tunable tetradymite templates

We demonstrate the growth of highly oriented CdSe and ZnTe films at ~300 °C on amorphous substrates such as glass and flexible polyimide using ultrathin tetradymite buffer layers composed of Sb x Bi 2-x Te 3 alloys lattice-matched to the film overgrowth. This leads to significant improvement of the crystallinity, roughness, grain size, and pit density of the II-VI overlayer along with enhancement of the optoelectronic properties. For example, photoluminescence emission is observed at ~1.74 eV for optimized CdSe films, the same as in a single crystal reference. An in-plane carrier diffusion length of ~500 nm is inferred from transient optical data. The use of tetradymite buffer layers to control II-VI compound deposition on non-crystalline substrates is a promising route for large area optoelectronic applications such as photovoltaic, light-emission, or infrared detector devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Self-assembled vertically aligned nanocomposite systems integrated on silicon substrate: Progress and future perspectives

Silicon (Si) integration is a critical step for implementing functional oxides into Si-based electronic devices, considering the advantages of low-cost and scalability of Si substrates. In the past decade, self-assembled vertically aligned nanocomposites (VANs) have attracted enormous research interest owing to their unique multifunctionalities and highly tunable physical properties as well as their one-step self-assembly process. Most of the VAN thin films have been reported to grow epitaxially on single crystalline oxide substrates, however, with limited systems reported on Si substrates due to the very large lattice mismatch between oxides and Si lattices. In this review, the current progress for self-assembled VAN systems integrated on a Si substrate is summarized. Buffer layered enabled VAN growth has been proven to be an effective approach for improving the epitaxial quality of oxide-oxide and oxide-metal VAN systems, while direct growth is preferred in nitride-metal VAN systems. Furthermore, the material versatility enables the Si-integrated VAN thin films to exhibit distinct physical properties such as ferromagnetism, ferroelectricity, magnetoresistance, as well as unique optical properties. The review also summarizes the various parameters for tuning the growth morphologies and corresponding properties for the VAN systems, including phase molar ratio, deposition frequency, buffer layers, background pressure, etc. Finally, future perspectives are discussed including new VAN system exploration, physical properties tuning, as well as design and fabrication of Si-based nanoelectronics and nanophotonic devices applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Electrical and optical characterization of CdTe solar cells with CdS and CdSe buffers—A comparative study

A study is reported comparing the electrical and optical properties of CdTe solar cells, prepared using CdS and CdSe buffer layers, to investigate defects in the bulk and interface, carrier transport, and recombination. Temperature dependent capacitance-voltage measurement and admittance spectroscopy were used to extract carrier concentration, resistivity, charge carrier mobility, and their temperature dependence. We identify the presence of two defect signatures corresponding to carrier freeze-out and the formation of a Schottky back-contact barrier. The back-contact barrier height (≈ 300 meV) extracted from the temperature dependent current density-voltage (JVT) experiment was confirmed by conventional admittance spectroscopy. The activation energies of mobility (resistivity) are 101.2 ± 2.5 meV (92.6 ± 2.3 meV) and 84.7 ± 2.7 meV (77.6 ± 4.5 meV) for CdS and CdSe buffer layers, respectively. Intensity dependent photoluminescence analysis demonstrates that the CdSe/CdTe device exhibits lower radiative efficiency than the CdS/CdTe device. This confirms the presence of higher defects in CdSe/CdTe device corroborated by temperature-dependent V OC analysis. Here, the comparative electrical and optical analysis provides insight to improving the performance of CdTe solar cell device by selenization.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Structural, optical and gas sensing properties of vertically well-aligned ZnO nanowires grown on graphene/Si substrate by thermal evaporation method

Highlights: • Vertically well-aligned ZnO NW arrays with high aspect ratio and extremely large-surface-volume ratio were synthesized on graphene/Si substrate without the aid of metal catalyst by a simple thermal evaporation. • The gas sensor based on the vertical ZnO NW arrays-graphene structure exhibited high sensitivity and rapid response/recovery characteristics to NO{sub 2} gas at 200oC, and could be used to detect NO{sub 2} gas at very low levels (2, 6, 10 ppm). • The excellent sensing performance is mainly because of the large specific surface area and the presence of oxygen-vacancies at the surface of ZnO NWs, together with the creation of p-n heterojunctions between n-type ZnO NW and p-type graphene. • The common defects and optical properties of the ZnO NW arrays-graphene structure were studied in detail. • The possible growth mechanism of vertically well-aligned ZnO NWs on graphene and the gas-sensing mechanism of sensors were proposed. - Abstract: We report catalyst-free vertical growth of high-density ZnO nanowire (NW) arrays on Si substrate with a graphene buffer layer by thermal evaporation method. Structural, surface morphology, chemical composition and optical properties of ZnO NWs were studied by Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), photoluminescence (PL) and Raman spectroscopy. The results indicate that the grown ZnO NWs are single-crystalline and exhibit the hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure with a preferred orientation along the [0001] direction; all of the ZnO NWs vertically grow on the graphene/Si substrate. The majority of the as-grown NWs have diameters in the range of 250–300 nm and length up to several tens of micrometers, whereas a small portion of NWs have a diameter of approximately of 9–12 nm. Room temperature PL spectrum of the ZnO NWs exhibits a sharp and strong ultraviolet emission at 380 nm and a weak visible emission at around 516 nm. The role of graphene buffer layer in the vertical-aligned ZnO NW arrays growth and its improved optical properties is demonstrated. Importantly, the gas sensor based on these ZnO NWs exhibits high sensitivity and rapid response/recovery characteristics to NO{sub 2} gas at 200 °C, and can detect NO{sub 2} concentration as low as 2, 6 and 10 ppm. The excellent sensing performance is mainly due to the combination of the large specific surface area and the presence of oxygen-vacancies at the surface of ZnO NWs, together with the creation of p-n heterojunctions between n-type ZnO NW and p-type graphene. Such a ZnO NW/graphene structure is very promising for various applications, such as photonic, optoelectronic and sensor devices. In addition, the possible growth mechanism and the NO{sub 2} sensing gas mechanism of the ZnO NWs-graphene structure have been discussed.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Electronic Structure of Double-Layer Epitaxial Graphene on SiC(0001) Modified by Gd Intercalation

In this work, we systematically study the effects of Gd adsorption and intercalation on the electronic band structure of double-layer epitaxial graphene on Si-terminated SiC(0001) by first-principles calculations. We show that Gd adsorption and intercalation exhibit strong effects on the coupling between the graphene layers and between the buffer layer and substrate. Different adsorption/intercalation geometries can result in very different electron band structures. The number of Dirac cones and the positions of the Dirac cones relative to the Fermi level can be effectively manipulated through controlling the Gd adsorption/intercalation geometries. Our calculations provide useful insights to guide the experimental design of graphene-based materials with desirable functionalities for applications.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2016

Probing ternary solvent effect in high V oc polymer solar cells using advanced AFM techniques

This work describes a simple method to develop a high V oc low band gap PSCs. In addition, two new atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based nanoscale characterization techniques to study the surface morphology and physical properties of the structured active layer are introduced. With the help of ternary solvent processing of the active layer and C 60 buffer layer, a bulk heterojunction PSC with V oc more than 0.9 V and conversion efficiency 7.5% is developed. In order to understand the fundamental properties of the materials ruling the performance of the PSCs tested, AFM-based nanoscale characterization techniques including Pulsed-Force-Mode AFM (PFM-AFM) and Mode-Synthesizing AFM (MSAFM) are introduced. Interestingly, MSAFM exhibits high sensitivity for direct visualization of the donor–acceptor phases in the active layer of the PSCs. Lastly, conductive-AFM (cAFM) studies reveal local variations in conductivity in the donor and acceptor phases as well as a significant increase in photocurrent in the PTB7:ICBA sample obtained with the ternary solvent processing.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Energy barriers for Dy and H penetrating graphene on 6 H -SiC(0001) and freestanding bilayer graphene from first-principles calculations

Currently, intercalation of foreign guest atoms into two-dimensional (2D) layered van der Waals materials is an active research area motivated in part by the development of next-generation energy-storage technologies and optoelectronic devices. One such extensively studied 2D material is the graphene-on-SiC system. To realize and control the desired intercalated structures, it is fundamentally important to understand the kinetic process of intercalation. For the intercalation of a guest atom into graphene layers on SiC substrate, a critical kinetic parameter is the energy barrier of a guest atom penetrating the perfect graphene top layer into the gallery under it. However, accurate theoretical calculations for such penetration barriers are unavailable in literature. From our first-principles density functional theory calculations, we obtain the global energy barriers of 3.47 and 1.80 eV for single Dy and H atoms penetrating the graphene top layer on a graphene buffer layer supported by a Si-terminated 6H-SiC(0001) substrate, respectively. Furthermore, for comparison as well as for examining the lateral strain effects, we also obtain the global barriers of 5.05 and 1.50 eV for single Dy and H atoms penetrating freestanding bilayer graphene with a tensile strain of about 8.8% to match our model for supported graphene, as well as the global barriers of 7.21 and 4.18 eV for penetrating unstrained freestanding bilayer graphene, respectively. From corresponding minimum energy paths with multiple energy minima and saddle points, we can also obtain various local energy barriers and the global backward barrier from the graphene gallery back to the top surface.

2D materials↗