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At least 433 records · Page 24
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Wet-Etching of Acoustically Spalled GaAs for Substrate Reuse

Acoustic spalling is a promising technique for substrate reuse in the fabrication of gallium arsenide (GaAs) photovoltaic cells. However, the acoustic spalling process can leave the substrate with areas of rough surface morphology that can interfere with subsequent cell growth and processing. In this work, we investigate the use of wet etchants to smooth the surface of acoustically spalled GaAs substrates. We evaluated six different etchants. Of those tested, an 8:1:1 mixture of sulfuric acid, hydrogen peroxide, and water at 30 degrees C and a moderate stirring rate showed the greatest roughness reduction per mass loss while producing the desired morphology. This etchant was then applied to an acoustically spalled 2-inch GaAs wafer. A single-junction GaAs cell was then grown via metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy on this substrate, an acoustic spalled substrate without a smoothing etch, and an epi-ready substrate. Use of the 8:1:1 H2SO4:H2O2:H2O etchant produced cells an average efficiency of 12.8% as compared to that of 2.0% grown on the unetched acoustically spalled substrate and 16.3% grown on the epi-ready substrate. The results of this work demonstrate that wet etching is a viable method for smoothing the surface of spalled GaAs substrates, paving the way for substrate reuse via acoustic spalling at efficiencies that approach growth on epi-ready substrates.

etching↗
DOE OSTI2026

15.3% AM1.5G Efficiency GaAs Solar Cells Fabricated via an Epitaxy-Free Process

Here, we report simple and potentially low-cost techniques for creating high-quality n-type gallium arsenide (GaAs) and GaAs p/n junctions and fabricate GaAs p/n junction solar cells. Detailed-balance modeling suggests that 20% AM1.5G efficiency p/n homojunction devices may be possible if the surface doping concentration can be limited to values less than ∼ 5 × 10 19 cm −3 . Our process exploits an open-tube, vapor-phase, deposition-free, zinc diffusion technique for forming p-type layers in melt-grown n-GaAs substrates that results in sheet resistances less than 1 kΩ/$\square$. In addition, we have improved the minority carrier diffusion lengths of melt-grown GaAs from less than one micron to over five microns using an open-tube, vacuum-free, annealing process which reduces the density of EL2 midgap defects. Finally, we have combined these advances to fabricate epitaxy-free, GaAs solar cells with a validated AM1.5G efficiency of 15.3%.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Photocurrent from Single Collision 14 MeV Neutrons in GaN and GaAs

Accurate predictions of device performance in 14 MeV neutron environments relies upon understanding the recoil cascades that may be produced. Recoils from 14 MeV neutrons impinging on both gallium nitride (GaN) and gallium arsenide (GaAs) devices were modeled and compared to the recoil spectra of devices exposed to 14 MeV neutrons. Recoil spectra were generated using nuclear reaction modeling programs and converted into an ionizing energy loss (IEL) spectrum. We measured the recoil IEL spectra by capturing the photocurrent pulses produced by single neutron interactions with the device. Good agreement, with a factor of two, was found between the model and experiment under strongly-depleted conditions. However, this range of agreement between model and experiment decreased significantly when the bias was removed, indicating partial energy deposition due to cascades that escape the active volume of the device not captured by the model. Consistent event rates across multiple detectors confirm the reliability of our neutron recoil detection method.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

ARC-DPA 1-MeV Neutron Fluence Equivalence Model for GaAs

Here, the legacy data used in the production of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) E722 standard for gallium arsenide (GaAs) were fit with the athermal recombination corrected-displacements per atom (ARC-DPA) model for the development of a novel 1-MeV neutron equivalent fluence metric. Improving on previous work, the coefficients for the ARC-DPA model were optimized using a conjugate gradient method, and the uncertainties in the observed damage in different benchmark neutron fields were sampled to quantify their contribution to the damage metric. The optimized parameters of −0.474 ± 0.03 for b arcdpa and 0.016 ± 0.002 for c arcdpa provided good agreement and indicated that the solution is not sensitive to the corresponding fluence uncertainties. Compared to the current 1-MeV neutron fluence equivalence standard for displacement damage in GaAs, our results indicate that for a thermal reactor neutron environment, displacement damage has been underestimated by around 25% and that the saturation value for the damage efficiency had been higher than previously modeled.

1-MeV equivalent fluence↗
DOE OSTI2011

the effect of the periphery of metal-semiconductor Schottky-barrier contacts on their electrical characteristics

During the formation of the metal-semiconductor contact with a Schottky barrier (as a gold film on the p- or n-type gallium arsenide surface), an electric field E{sub l} built into the electric contact is induced, which propagates around the contact to the distance l (halo) tens of times larger than space-charge region sizes. This field reduces the electrostatic potential of the {phi}{sub Au} contact by a significant value {phi}*. In the general case, the halo size l and the decrease {phi}* in the electrostatic potential are controlled by the charge value and sign in the space-charge region, which depend on the contact diameter D, semiconductor concentration and conductivity type. For Au/n-GaAs Schottky-barrier contacts, a decrease in D results in the increasing role of periphery, which manifests itself in increasing {phi}* and decreasing {phi}{sub Au} and l. For Au/p-GaAs contacts, a decrease in D results in the decreasing effect of periphery, which appears in decreasing {phi}* and increasing {phi}{sub Au} and l. The absence of the space-charge region in metal-insulator-semiconductor contacts results in the fact that the halo size l and {phi}* are independent of their diameters.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Matrices of 960-nm vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers

Matrices of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers with individual addressing of elements and radiation output through a gallium arsenide substrate are implemented. Individual laser emitters with a current aperture diameter of 6-7 {mu}m exhibit continuous-wave room-temperature lasing at a wavelength of 958-962 nm with threshold currents of 1.1-1.3 mA, differential efficiency of 0.5-0.8 mW/mA, and a maximum output power of 7.5-9 mW. The parameter variation of individual emitters within a matrix chip containing 5 Multiplication-Sign 7 elements does not exceed {+-}20%.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

Experimental evaluation of the carrier lifetime in GaAs grown at low temperature

The relaxation dynamics of nonequilibrium charge carriers in gallium arsenide epitaxial films grown by molecular-beam epitaxy at low temperatures has been studied. The growth conditions of the epitaxial layer provided an excess arsenic content of 1.2% in the layer. In a material of this kind, the carrier lifetime is <1 ps. To examine carrier relaxation in the femtosecond range, an original scheme for measuring the refractive index dynamics was developed on the basis of the pump-probe technique. The lifetime of nonequilibrium charge carriers was evaluated to be (200 {+-} 35) fs.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Specific features of electroluminescence in heterostructures with InSb quantum dots in an InAs matrix

The electrical and electroluminescence properties of a single narrow-gap heterostructure based on a p-n junction in indium arsenide, containing a single layer of InSb quantum dots in the InAs matrix, are studied. The presence of quantum dots has a significant effect on the shape of the reverse branch of the current-voltage characteristic of the heterostructure. Under reverse bias, the room-temperature electroluminescence spectra of the heterostructure with quantum dots, in addition to a negative-luminescence band with a maximum at the wavelength {lambda} = 3.5 {mu}m, contained a positive-luminescence emission band at 3.8 {mu}m, caused by radiative transitions involving localized states of quantum dots at the type-II InSb/InAs heterointerface.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Photoelectric characteristics of metal-Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3}-GaAs structures

We investigate the effect of thermal annealing in argon and of oxygen plasma processing on the photoelectric properties of GaAs-Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3}-Me structures. Gallium-oxide films are fabricated by photostimulated electrochemical oxidation of epitaxial gallium-arsenide layers with n-type conductivity. The as-deposited films were amorphous, but their processing in oxygen plasma led to the nucleation of β-Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3} crystallites. The unannealed films are nontransparent in the visible and ultraviolet (UV) ranges and there is no photocurrent in structures based on them. After annealing at 900°C for 30 min, the gallium-oxide films contain only β-Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3} crystallites and become transparent. Under illumination of the Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3}-GaAs structures with visible light, the photocurrent appears. This effect can be attributed to radiation absorption in GaAs. The photocurrent and its voltage dependence are determined by the time of exposure to the oxygen plasma. In the UV range, the sensitivity of the structures increases with decreasing radiation wavelength, starting at λ ≤ 230 nm. This is due to absorption in the Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3} film. Reduction in the structure sensitivity with an increase in the time of exposure to oxygen plasma can be caused by the incorporation of defects both at the Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3}-GaAs interface and in the Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3} film.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Dependence of the conductivity on the active-region thickness in GaAs thin-film Schottky diodes

The dependences of the electrical characteristics of thin-film structures with Schottky barrier on gallium arsenide are studied using Monte Carlo numerical simulation in the kinetic approximation with the main scattering mechanisms taken into account. The dependences of the diode conductivity on the voltage and channel thickness are obtained. It is shown that the relation between the diode voltage and conductivity changes at a small channel thickness, which is explained by barrier field expulsion to the substrate.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Structural and optical properties of GaAs(100) with a thin surface layer doped with chromium

The aim of this study is to explore the structural and optical properties of single-crystal GaAs(100) doped with Cr atoms by burning them into the substrate at high temperatures. The diffusion of chromium into single-crystal GaAs(100) substrates brings about the formation of a thin (~20–40 μm) GaAs:Cr transition layer. In this case, chromium atoms are incorporated into the gallium-arsenide crystal lattice and occupy the regular atomic sites of the metal sublattice. As the chromium diffusion time is increased, such behavior of the dopant impurity yields changes in the energy structure of GaAs, a decrease in the absorption at free charge carriers, and a lowering of the surface recombination rate. As a result, the photoluminescence signal from the sample is significantly enhanced.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Measurements of electrophysical characteristics of semiconductor structures with the use of microwave photonic crystals

A method is proposed for the measurement of the electrophysical characteristics of semiconductor structures: the electrical conductivity of the n layer, which plays the role of substrate for a semiconductor structure, and the thickness and electrical conductivity of the strongly doped epitaxial n{sup +} layer. The method is based on the use of a one-dimensional microwave photonic crystal with a violation of periodicity containing the semiconductor structure under investigation. The characteristics of epitaxial gallium-arsenide structures consisting of an epitaxial layer and the semi-insulating substrate measured by this method are presented.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Formation of a p-type emitter with the involvement of surfactants in GaAs photoelectric converters

The comparative characteristics of photovoltaic converters (of laser radiation) based on gallium arsenide with a p-type emitter formed by gas-phase diffusion in the presence of surfactants (isovalent impurities) and without them are reported. It is shown that the use of indium and phosphorus in the process of the formation of a p–n junction significantly affects the characteristics of the obtained devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Conductivity of Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3}–GaAs Heterojunctions

The effect of annealing in argon at temperatures of T{sub an} = 700–900°C on the I–V characteristics of metal–Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3}–GaAs structures is investigated. Samples are prepared by the thermal deposition of Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3} powder onto GaAs wafers with a donor concentration of N{sub d} = 2 × 10{sup 16} cm{sup –3}. To measure theI–V characteristics, V/Ni metal electrodes are deposited: the upper electrode (gate) is formed on the Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3} film through masks with an area of S{sub k} = 1.04 × 10{sup –2} cm{sup 2} and the lower electrode in the form of a continuous metallic film is deposited onto GaAs. After annealing in argon at T{sub an} ≥ 700°C, the Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3}-n-GaAs structures acquire the properties of isotype n-heterojunctions. It is demonstrated that the conductivity of the structures at positive gate potentials is determined by the thermionic emission from GaAs to Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3}. Under negative biases, current growth with an increase in the voltage and temperature is caused by field-assisted thermal emission in gallium arsenide. In the range of high electric fields, electron phonon-assisted tunneling through the top of the potential barrier is dominant. High-temperature annealing does not change the electron density in the oxide film, but affects the energy density of surface states at the GaAs–Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3} interface.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Quasi-Classical Model of the Static Electrical Conductivity of Heavily Doped Degenerate Semiconductors at Low Temperatures

Germanium, silicon, gallium arsenide, and indium antimonide n-type crystals on the metal side of the insulator–metal transition (Mott transition) are considered. In the quasi-classical approximation, the static (direct current) electrical conductivity and the drift mobility of electrons of the c band, and electrostatic fluctuations of their potential energy and the mobility edge are calculated. It is considered that a single event of the elastic Coulomb scattering of a mobile electron occurs only in a spherical region of the crystal matrix with an impurity ion at the center. The results of calculations using the proposed formulas without using fitting parameters are numerically consistent with experimental data in a wide range of concentrations of hydrogenlike donors at their weak and moderate compensation by acceptors.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

The Effect of the Composition of a Carrier Gas during the Growth of a Mn delta-Layer on the Electrical and Magnetic Properties of GaAs Structures

The effect of the arsine content (from 0 to 8 μmol), supplied to a reactor together with hydrogen, on the formation of delta-doped gallium-arsenide structures by the pulsed laser sputtering of a Mn target is investigated. It is found that an arsine molar fraction of ~2.5 μmol in the reactor atmosphere during the formation of a Mn delta-doped GaAs layer allows one to obtain single-crystal epitaxial structures with the lowest layer resistance and a ferromagnetic-paramagnetic phase transition temperature of about 40 K. Increasing the arsine content to 8 μmol or the absence of arsine in a hydrogen flow leads to a significant increase in the layer resistance in the temperature range below 150 K and a decrease in the Curie temperature. In the first case, this may be due to partial compensation of the hole conductivity by donor-type defects formed as a result of an excess of arsenic on the growing surface (arsenic atoms in Ga positions or in interstitial positions). In the second case, when no arsine is supplied to the reactor, the growth surface is likely to be enriched with gallium atoms, which makes the incorporation of Mn into the Ga sublattice difficult.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Investigating the RTA Treatment of Ohmic Contacts to n-Layers of Heterobipolar Nanoheterostructures

The preparation of ohmic contacts to heterobipolar nanostructures has a number of characteristic features. In addition to the basic requirement of minimizing contact resistance, contacts to this type of structures have a transition layer whose depth of penetration must not exceed the emitter layer’s thickness, due to the possibility of short-circuiting the emitter base p–n junction. In this work, the effect the main technological parameters of rapid thermal annealing have on a contact’s characteristics are examined, and the process of obtaining a low-resistance ohmic contact to heterobipolar transistor layers is optimized. Ohmic contacts to the n-layers of heterobipolar nanoheterostructures based on gallium arsenide and produced via layer-by-layer electron-beam deposition of Ge/Au/Ni/Au are considered. The diffusion distribution profiles of doping with Ge impurities are calculated as a function of the time and temperature of rapid thermal annealing, and are examined via scanning electron microscopy. It is found that rapid thermal annealing for 60 s at a temperature of 398°C yields ohmic contacts with low resistance, smooth surface morphology, and the minimum size of the transition layer.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2019

Quantum Corrections and Magnetotransport in 3D Dirac Semimetal Cd{sub 3 –x}Mn{sub x}As{sub 2} Films

Thin films of solid solutions based on the three-dimensional Dirac semimetal Cd{sub 3}As{sub 2} with the addition of manganese are investigated. Cd{sub 3 –x}Mn{sub x}As{sub 2} films (x = 0, 0.05, and 0.1) 50–70 nm in thickness are formed on a glassceramic substrate using vacuum-thermal deposition from cadmium arsenide ingots doped by Mn and fabricated by direct alloying elements by the vacuum-cell method. The temperature and magnetic-field dependences of the resistance are measured and the transport parameters of the films under study are determined. Positive magnetoresistance of the characteristic shape corresponding to the contribution of the weak antilocalization effect is observed for films with x = 0 and 0.05. The contribution from the weak localization effect is observed at a higher Mn content (x = 0.1). This change in the quantum correction type as applied to topological semimetals points to reconstruction of the band structure and transition from the Dirac semimetal state into a trivial semiconductor phase, which corresponds to the critical Mn content x{sub c} ~ 0.07 in this case.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗