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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 505 records · Page 28
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

Quasi-free-standing bilayer epitaxial graphene field-effect transistors on 4H-SiC (0001) substrates

Quasi-free-standing epitaxial graphene grown on wide band gap semiconductor SiC demonstrates high carrier mobility and good material uniformity, which make it promising for graphene-based electronic devices. In this work, quasi-free-standing bilayer epitaxial graphene is prepared and its transistors with gate lengths of 100 nm and 200 nm are fabricated and characterized. The 100 nm gate length graphene transistor shows improved DC and RF performances including a maximum current density I{sub ds} of 4.2 A/mm, and a peak transconductance g{sub m} of 2880 mS/mm. Intrinsic current-gain cutoff frequency f{sub T} of 407 GHz is obtained. The exciting DC and RF performances obtained in the quasi-free-standing bilayer epitaxial graphene transistor show the great application potential of this material system.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Electrical, luminescent, and deep trap properties of Si doped n-GaN grown by pendeo epitaxy

Electrical and luminescent properties and deep trap spectra of Si doped GaN films grown by maskless epitaxial lateral overgrowth (MELO) are reported. The dislocation density in the wing region of the structure was 10{sup 6 }cm{sup −2}, while in the seed region it was 10{sup 8 }cm{sup −2}. The major electron traps present had activation energy of 0.56 eV and concentrations in the high 10{sup 15 }cm{sup −3} range. A comparison of diffusion length values and 0.56 eV trap concentration in MELO GaN and epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELOG) GaN showed a good correlation, suggesting these traps could be effective in carrier recombination. The doped MELO films were more uniform in their electrical properties than either ELOG films or undoped MELO films. We also discuss the differences in deep trap spectra and luminescence spectra of low-dislocation-density MELO, ELOG, and bulk n-GaN samples grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy. It is suggested that the observed differences could be caused by the differences in oxygen and carbon contamination levels.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Dynamic atomic layer epitaxy of InN on/in +c-GaN matrix: Effect of “In+N” coverage and capping timing by GaN layer on effective InN thickness

The growth front in the self-organizing and self-limiting epitaxy of ∼1 monolayer (ML)-thick InN wells on/in +c-GaN matrix by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) has been studied in detail, with special attention given to the behavior and role of the N atoms. The growth temperatures of interest are above 600 °C, far higher than the typical upper critical temperature of 500 °C in MBE. It was confirmed that 2 ML-thick InN wells can be frozen/inserted in GaN matrix at 620 °C, but it was found that N atoms at the growth front tend to selectively re-evaporate more quickly than In atoms at temperatures higher than 650 °C. As a result, the effective thickness of inserted InN wells in the GaN matrix at 660–670 °C were basically 1 ML or sub-ML, even though they were capped by a GaN barrier at the time of 2 ML “In+N” coverage. Furthermore, it was found that the N atoms located below In atoms in the dynamic atomic layer epitaxy growth front had remarkably weaker bonding to the +c-GaN surface.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Tuning the metal-insulator transition via epitaxial strain and Co doping in NdNiO{sub 3} thin films grown by polymer-assisted deposition

The epitaxial NdNi{sub 1-x}Co{sub x}O{sub 3} (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.10) thin films on (001) LaAlO{sub 3} and (001) SrTiO{sub 3} substrates were grown by a simple polymer-assisted deposition technique. The co-function of the epitaxial strain and Co doping on the metal-insulator transition in perovskite nickelate NdNiO{sub 3} thin films is investigated. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy reveal that the as-prepared thin films exhibit good crystallinity and heteroepitaxy. The temperature dependent resistivities of the thin films indicate that both the epitaxial strain and Co doping lower the metal-insulator (MI) transition temperature, which can be treated as a way to tune the MI transition. Furthermore, under the investigated Co-doping levels, the MI transition temperature (T{sub MI}) shifts to low temperatures with Co content increasing under both compressive and tensile strain, and the more distinction is in the former situation. When x is increased up to 0.10, the insulating phase is completely suppressed under the compressive strain. With the strain increases from compression to tension, the resistivities are enhanced both in the metal and insulating regions. However, the Co-doping effect on the resistivity shows a more complex situation. As Co content x increases from zero to 0.10, the resistivities are reduced both in the metal and insulating regions under the tensile strain, whereas they are enhanced in the high-temperature metal region under the compressive strain. Based on the temperature dependent resistivity in the metal regions, it is suggested that the electron-phonon coupling in the films becomes weaker with the increase of both the strain and Co-doping.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Perspective: Rapid synthesis of complex oxides by combinatorial molecular beam epitaxy

In this study, the molecular beam epitaxy(MBE) technique is well known for producing atomically smooth thin films as well as impeccable interfaces in multilayers of many different materials. In particular, molecular beam epitaxy is well suited to the growth of complex oxides, materials that hold promise for many applications. Rapid synthesis and high throughput characterization techniques are needed to tap into that potential most efficiently. We discuss our approach to doing that, leaving behind the traditional one-growth-one-compound scheme and instead implementing combinatorial oxide molecular beam epitaxy in a custom built system.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

Diamagnetism to ferromagnetism in Sr-substituted epitaxial BaTiO{sub 3} thin films

We report on the ferromagnetic-like behavior in otherwise diamagnetic BaTiO{sub 3} (BTO) thin films upon doping with non-magnetic element Sr having the composition Ba{sub 0.4}Sr{sub 0.6}TiO{sub 3} (BST). The epitaxial integration of BST (∼800 nm) thick films on Si (100) substrate was achieved using MgO (40 nm) and TiN (20 nm) as buffer layers to prepare BST/MgO/TiN/Si (100) heterostructure by pulsed laser deposition. The c-axis oriented and cube-on-cube epitaxial BST is formed on Si (100) as evidenced by the in-plane and out-of-plane X-ray diffraction. All the deposited films are relaxed through domain matching epitaxy paradigm as observed from X-ray diffraction pattern and A{sub 1}TO{sub 3} mode (at 521.27 cm{sup −1}) of Raman spectra. As-deposited BST thin films reveal ferromagnetic-like properties, which persist up to 400 K. The magnetization decreases two-fold upon oxygen annealing. In contrast, as-deposited un-doped BTO films show diamagnetism. Electron spin resonance measurements reveal no evidence of external magnetic impurities. XRD and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy spectra show significant changes influenced by Sr doping in BTO. The ferromagnetic-like behavior in BST could be due to the trapped electron donors from oxygen vacancies resulting from Sr-doping.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Magnetic vortex in epitaxially-grown Co{sub 2}(Fe,Mn)Si alloy

We report magnetic vortex formation in epitaxially grown Co{sub 2}Fe{sub 0.4}Mn{sub 0.6}Si (CFMS) Heusler alloy discs that was confirmed using photoemission electron microscopy and the magneto-optical Kerr effect. The phase diagram of magnetic domain structures as functions of the disc thickness (t) and diameter (D) indicates that the magnetic vortex is stable in wide ranges of t and D even for the epitaxial CFMS. The annihilation field of vortex core depended not only on the disc aspect ratio but also on t. Numerical simulation suggests that this t dependence results from extrinsic pinning of a vortex core due to the epitaxial growth.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Observation of natural superlattice in Al{sub X}Ga{sub 1-X}As layers grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy

Atomic Cu-Pt type ordering in monolayer scale is well known in Ga{sub 0.5} In{sub 0.5} P epitaxial layers leading to change in its bandgap. Despite wide scale use of Al{sub x}Ga{sub 1-x}As (0<x<0.7) in various optoelectronic devices and quantum well structures, spontaneous ordering in this system was not well studied beyond monolayer scale. In this work, we report observation of natural superlattice ordering due to compositional variation in MOVPE grown Al{sub x}Ga{sub 1-x}As epitaxial layers. Clear evidence of such ordering was first noticed in the barrier layers of GaAs/Al{sub 0.3}Ga{sub 0.7}As quantum well structures. Further investigation on bulk epitaxial growth of Al{sub x}Ga{sub 1-x}As layer with different composition (x=0.2) has also confirmed existence of such structures. We have probed the sample using high resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy coupled with x-ray rocking curve (XRC) and reflectivity (XRR) measurements. Sharp superlattice peaks around (004) substrate Bragg peak as well as around (002) forbidden peak in XRC have been observed. Similar peaks are present in XRR also. We have presented detailed analysis of X-ray diffraction data with the help of kinematical diffraction theory here. The stability of the superlattice structures has been further investigated by annealing the sample at different temperatures.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Structural properties of Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} topological insulator thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy on (111) BaF{sub 2} substrates

Structural properties of topological insulator bismuth telluride films grown epitaxially on (111) BaF{sub 2} with a fixed Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} beam flux were systematically investigated as a function of substrate temperature and additional Te flux. A layer-by-layer growth mode is observed since the early stages of epitaxy and remains throughout the whole deposition. Composition of the epitaxial films produced here stays between Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} and Bi{sub 4}Te{sub 5}, as determined from the comparison of the measured x-ray diffraction curves with calculations. The substrate temperature region, where the growth rate remains constant, is found to be the most appropriate to obtain ordered Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} films. Line width of the L = 18 Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} diffraction peaks as low as 140 arcsec was obtained, indicating high crystalline quality. Twinning domains density rises with increasing growth temperature and reducing Te extra flux. X-ray reflectivity curves of pure Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} films with thickness from 165 to 8 nm exhibited well defined interference fringes, evidencing homogeneous layers with smooth surface. Our results demonstrate that Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} films with very well controlled structural parameters can be obtained. High structural quality Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} films as thin as only eight quintuple layers grown here are promising candidates for intrinsic topological insulator.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Thin epitaxial silicon PIN detectors for thermal neutron detection with improved gamma (γ) discrimination

In order to improve the gamma discrimination capability for thermal neutron measurements using silicon PIN detectors, a novel approach of use of thin epitaxial silicon PIN detectors was investigated. Thin epitaxial silicon detectors with thickness of 15 µm were developed and their performance was tested with thermal neutrons using {sup 10}B converter. The performance of this detector was compared with the performance of a 300 µm silicon detector. The results of experiments presented in this paper indicate that thin epitaxial silicon detectors can significantly improve γ discrimination for thermal neutron measurements.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

Solid phase epitaxial growth of high mobility La:BaSnO{sub 3} thin films co-doped with interstitial hydrogen

This work presents the solid phase epitaxial growth of high mobility La:BaSnO{sub 3} thin films on SrTiO{sub 3} single crystal substrates by crystallization through thermal annealing of nanocrystalline thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition at room temperature. The La:BaSnO{sub 3} thin films show high epitaxial quality and Hall mobilities up to 26 ± 1 cm{sup 2}/Vs. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy is used to determine the La concentration profile in the La:BaSnO{sub 3} thin films, and a 9%–16% La doping activation efficiency is obtained. An investigation of H doping to BaSnO{sub 3} thin films is presented employing H plasma treatment at room temperature. Carrier concentrations in previously insulating BaSnO{sub 3} thin films were increased to 3 × 10{sup 19 }cm{sup −3} and in La:BaSnO{sub 3} thin films from 6 × 10{sup 19 }cm{sup −3} to 1.5 × 10{sup 20 }cm{sup −3}, supporting a theoretical prediction that interstitial H serves as an excellent n-type dopant. An analysis of the free electron absorption by infrared spectroscopy yields a small (H,La):BaSnO{sub 3} electron effective mass of 0.27 ± 0.05 m{sub 0} and an optical mobility of 26 ± 7 cm{sup 2}/Vs. As compared to La:BaSnO{sub 3} single crystals, the smaller electron mobility in epitaxial thin films grown on SrTiO{sub 3} substrates is ascribed to threading dislocations as observed in high resolution transmission electron micrographs.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Van der Waals epitaxy of functional MoO{sub 2} film on mica for flexible electronics

Flexible electronics have a great potential to impact consumer electronics and with that our daily life. Currently, no direct growth of epitaxial functional oxides on commercially available flexible substrates is possible. In this study, in order to address this challenge, muscovite, a common layered oxide, is used as a flexible substrate that is chemically similar to typical functional oxides. We fabricated epitaxial MoO{sub 2} films on muscovite via pulsed laser deposition technique. A combination of X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy confirms van der Waals epitaxy of the heterostructures. The electrical transport properties of MoO{sub 2} films are similar to those of the bulk. Flexible or free-standing MoO{sub 2} thin film can be obtained and serve as a template to integrate additional functional oxide layers. Our study demonstrates a remarkable concept to create flexible electronics based on functional oxides.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Epitaxial NbN/AlN/NbN tunnel junctions on Si substrates with TiN buffer layers

We have developed epitaxial NbN/AlN/NbN tunnel junctions on Si (100) substrates with a TiN buffer layer. A 50-nm-thick (200)-oriented TiN thin film was introduced as the buffer layer for epitaxial growth of NbN/AlN/NbN trilayers on Si substrates. The fabricated NbN/AlN/NbN junctions demonstrated excellent tunneling properties with a high gap voltage of 5.5 mV, a large I{sub c}R{sub N} product of 3.8 mV, a sharp quasiparticle current rise with a ΔV{sub g} of 0.4 mV, and a small subgap leakage current. The junction quality factor R{sub sg}/R{sub N} was about 23 for the junction with a J{sub c} of 47 A/cm{sup 2} and was about 6 for the junction with a J{sub c} of 3.0 kA/cm{sup 2}. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy observations showed that the NbN/AlN/NbN trilayers were grown epitaxially on the (200)-orientated TiN buffer layer and had a highly crystalline structure with the (200) orientation.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2016

Characterization of reclaimed GaAs substrates and investigation of reuse for thin film InGaAlP LED epitaxial growth

This study reports a method to reuse GaAs substrates with a batch process for thin film light emitting diode (TF-LED) production. The method is based on an epitaxial lift-off technique. With the developed reclaim process, it is possible to get an epi-ready GaAs surface without additional time-consuming and expensive grinding/polishing processes. The reclaim and regrowth process was investigated with a one layer epitaxial test structure. The GaAs surface was characterized by an atomic force microscope directly after the reclaim process. The crystal structure of the regrown In{sub 0.5}(Ga{sub 0.45}Al{sub 0.55}){sub 0.5}P (Q{sub 55}) layer was investigated by high resolution x-ray diffraction and scanning transmission electron microscopy. In addition, a complete TF-LED grown on reclaimed GaAs substrates was electro-optically characterized on wafer level. The crystal structure of the epitaxial layers and the performance of the TF-LED grown on reclaimed substrates are not influenced by the developed reclaim process. This process would result in reducing costs for LEDs and reducing much arsenic waste for the benefit of a green semiconductor production.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2016

Multifunctional epitaxial systems on silicon substrates

Multifunctional heterostructures can exhibit a wide range of functional properties, including colossal magneto-resistance, magnetocaloric, and multiferroic behavior, and can display interesting physical phenomena including spin and charge ordering and strong spin-orbit coupling. However, putting this functionality to work remains a challenge. To date, most of the work reported in the literature has dealt with heterostructures deposited onto closely lattice matched insulating substrates such as DyScO{sub 3}, SrTiO{sub 3} (STO), or STO buffered Si(100) using concepts of lattice matching epitaxy (LME). However, strain in heterostructures grown by LME is typically not fully relaxed and the layers contain detrimental defects such as threading dislocations that can significantly degrade the physical properties of the films and adversely affect the device characteristics. In addition, most of the substrates are incompatible with existing CMOS-based technology, where Si (100) substrates dominate. This review discusses recent advances in the integration of multifunctional oxide and non-oxide materials onto silicon substrates. An alternative thin film growth approach, called “domain matching epitaxy,” is presented which identifies approaches for minimizing lattice strain and unwanted defects in large misfit systems (7%–25% and higher). This approach broadly allows for the integration of multifunctional materials onto silicon substrates, such that sensing, computation, and response functions can be combined to produce next generation “smart” devices. In general, pulsed laser deposition has been used to epitaxially grow these materials, although the concepts developed here can be extended to other deposition techniques, as well. It will be shown that TiN and yttria-stabilized zirconia template layers provide promising platforms for the integration of new functionality into silicon-based computer chips. This review paper reports on a number of thin-film heterostructure systems that span a variety of ferroelectric, multiferroic, magnetic, photocatalytic, and smart materials. Their properties have been extensively investigated and their functionality found to be comparable to films grown on single-crystal oxide substrates previously reported by researchers in this field. In addition, this review explores the utility of using laser processing to introduce stable defects in a controlled way and induce magnetism and engineer the optical and electrical properties of nonmagnetic oxides such as BaTiO{sub 3}, VO{sub 2}, NiO, and TiO{sub 2} as an alternative for incorporating additional magnetic and conducting layers into the structure. These significant materials advancements herald a flurry of exciting new advances in CMOS-compatible multifunctional devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Direct growth of hexagonal boron nitride/graphene heterostructures on cobalt foil substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

Graphene/hexagonal boron nitride (G/h-BN) heterostructures have attracted a great deal of attention because of their exceptional properties and wide variety of potential applications in nanoelectronics. However, direct growth of large-area, high-quality, and stacked structures in a controllable and scalable way remains challenging. In this work, we demonstrate the synthesis of h-BN/graphene (h-BN/G) heterostructures on cobalt (Co) foil by sequential deposition of graphene and h-BN layers using plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. It is found that the coverage of h-BN layers can be readily controlled on the epitaxial graphene by growth time. Large-area, uniform-quality, and multi-layer h-BN films on thin graphite layers were achieved. Based on an h-BN (5–6 nm)/G (26–27 nm) heterostructure, capacitor devices with Co(foil)/G/h-BN/Co(contact) configuration were fabricated to evaluate the dielectric properties of h-BN. The measured breakdown electric field showed a high value of ∼2.5–3.2 MV/cm. Both I-V and C-V characteristics indicate that the epitaxial h-BN film has good insulating characteristics.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2020

Epitaxial growth of rock salt MgZrN 2 semiconductors on MgO and GaN

Ternary nitride compound semiconductors have attracted recent attention as electronic materials since their properties can be tuned by cation stoichiometry and ordering. A recently discovered example is MgZrN 2 , a ternary analog to the rock salt semiconductor ScN. MgZrN 2 has a larger bandgap and stronger dielectric response than the binary compound. Polycrystalline thin films of MgZrN 2 have been studied, but demonstration of high-quality growth is still required to establish its suitability for technological applications. Here, we report on epitaxial growth of MgZrN 2 thin films on (100) and (111) MgO substrates and (001) GaN templates. The MgZrN 2 composition is confirmed by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, showing no oxygen in the film except for a thin surface oxide layer. Epitaxial growth results in MgZrN 2 with x-ray diffraction rocking curves with a full-width at half-maximum in the range of 0.3–3.0°, depending on the substrate. Transmission electron microscopy analysis of the MgZrN 2 film grown on a (111) MgO substrate confirms epitaxial growth and shows a sharp film/substrate interface. In-plane temperature-dependent Hall effect measurements show that the material is an n-type semiconductor with a relatively high concentration ( n 300K ≈ 10 19 –10 20 cm -3 ) of thermally activated electrons. Room-temperature transport measurements show a conductivity of 25 S cm -1 and a Seebeck coefficient of -80 μ V K -1 . Overall, these results provide an important step toward integration of rock salt MgZrN 2 with other technological nitrides for device applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

All-epitaxial long-range surface plasmon polariton structures with integrated active materials

We demonstrate all-epitaxial structures capable of supporting short- and long-range surface plasmon polariton (SRSPP and LRSPP) modes in the long-wave infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The SRSPP and LRSPP modes are bound to the interfaces of a buried heavily doped (n ++ ) semiconductor layer and surrounding quantum-engineered type-II superlattice (T2SL) materials. The surrounding T2SLs are designed to allow optical transitions across the frequency dispersion of the SPP modes. We map the SPP dispersion in our structure using grating-coupled angle- and polarization-dependent reflection and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The epitaxial structures are analytically described using a simplified three-layer system (T2SL/n ++ /T2SL) and modeled using rigorous coupled wave analysis with excellent agreement to our experimental results. The presented structures offer the potential to serve as long-range interconnects or waveguides in all-epitaxial plasmonic/optoelectronic systems operating in the long-wave infrared.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗