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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 1,315 records · Page 73
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DOE OSTI2011

Dislocation reduction in heteroepitaxial Ge on Si using SiO{sub 2} lined etch pits and epitaxial lateral overgrowth

We report a technique that significantly reduces threading dislocations in Ge on Si heteroepitaxy. Germanium is first grown on Si and etched to produce pits in the surface where threading dislocations terminate. Further processing leaves a layer of SiO{sub 2} only within etch pits. Subsequent selective epitaxial Ge growth results in coalescence above the SiO{sub 2}. The SiO{sub 2} blocks the threading dislocations from propagating into the upper Ge epilayer. With annealed Ge films grown on Si, the said method reduces the defect density from 2.6 x 10{sup 8} to 1.7 x 10{sup 6} cm{sup -2}, potentially making the layer suitable for electronic and photovoltaic devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Effect of AlN buffer layer properties on the morphology and polarity of GaN nanowires grown by molecular beam epitaxy

Low-temperature AlN buffer layers grown via plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on Si (111) were found to significantly affect the subsequent growth morphology of GaN nanowires. The AlN buffer layers exhibited nanowire-like columnar protrusions, with their size, shape, and tilt determined by the AlN V/III flux ratio. GaN nanowires were frequently observed to adopt the structural characteristics of the underlying AlN columns, including the size and the degree of tilt. Piezoresponse force microscopy and polarity-sensitive etching indicate that the AlN films and the protruding columns have a mixed crystallographic polarity. Convergent beam electron diffraction indicates that GaN nanowires are Ga-polar, suggesting that Al-polar columns are nanowire nucleation sites for Ga-polar nanowires. GaN nanowires of low density could be grown on AlN buffers that were predominantly N-polar with isolated Al-polar columns, indicating a high growth rate for Ga-polar nanowires and suppressed growth of N-polar nanowires under typical growth conditions. AlN buffer layers grown under slightly N-rich conditions (V/III flux ratio = 1.0 to 1.3) were found to provide a favorable growth surface for low-density, coalescence-free nanowires.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Epitaxial BaTiO{sub 3}(100) films on Pt(100): A low-energy electron diffraction, scanning tunneling microscopy, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study

The growth of epitaxial ultrathin BaTiO{sub 3} films on a Pt(100) substrate has been studied by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The films have been prepared by radio-frequency-assisted magnetron sputter deposition at room temperature and develop a long-range order upon annealing at 900 K in O{sub 2}. By adjusting the Ar and O{sub 2} partial pressures of the sputter gas, the stoichiometry was tuned to match that of a BaTiO{sub 3}(100) single crystal as determined by XPS. STM reveals the growth of continuous BaTiO{sub 3} films with unit cell high islands on top. With LEED already for monolayer thicknesses, the formation of a BaTiO{sub 3}(100)-(1 x 1) structure has been observed. Films of 2-3 unit cell thickness show a brilliant (1 x 1) LEED pattern for which an extended set of LEED I-V data has been acquired. At temperatures above 1050 K the BaTiO{sub 3} thin film starts to decay by formation of vacancy islands. In addition (4 x 4) and (3 x 3) surface reconstructions develop upon prolonged heating.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Emission control of InGaN nanocolumns grown by molecular-beam epitaxy on Si(111) substrates

This work studies the effect of the growth temperature on the morphology and emission characteristics of self-assembled InGaN nanocolumns grown by plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy. Morphology changes are assessed by scanning electron microscopy, while emission is measured by photoluminescence. Within the growth temperature range of 750 to 650 deg. C, an increase in In incorporation for decreasing temperature is observed. This effect allows tailoring the InGaN nanocolumns emission line shape by using temperature gradients during growth. Depending on the gradient rate, span, and sign, broad emission line shapes are obtained, covering the yellow to green range, even yielding white emission.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Non-destructive observation of in-grown stacking faults in 4H-SiC epitaxial layer using mirror electron microscope

Mirror electron microscope (MEM) observation has been conducted for a 4-{mu}m-thick n-doped 4H-SiC epitaxial layer. If the sample is simultaneously illuminated with ultraviolet (UV) light of a slightly greater energy than the bandgap energy of 4H-SiC, in-grown stacking faults (IGSFs) can be clearly observed in MEM images. These observations were performed non-destructively, as almost all irradiated electrons returned without impinging the sample surface due to the negative voltage applied to the sample. High spatial resolution observation via MEM showed that multiple IGSFs were stacked up. The phenomenon in which the contrast of the IGSFs vanished in the absence of UV illumination and under UV illumination with a lower energy than the bandgap energy revealed that the origin of the contrast was the negative charging of IGSFs trapping electrons excited by UV light.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Direct imaging of InSb (110)-(1x1) surface grown by molecular beam epitaxy

High-resolution transmission electron microscopy under a profile imaging condition (HR-profile TEM) was employed to determine the structural model for the InSb(110)-(1x1) relaxation surface grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). HR-profile TEM analyses indicate that the chevron model, which is widely accepted for zinc-blende-type III-V(110)-(1x1) surfaces prepared by cleavage, is also applicable to the InSb(110)-(1x1) surface prepared under an Sb-rich MBE condition. The assignment of atomic species (In or Sb) of InSb(110)-(1x1) surfaces was confirmed based on a HR-profile TEM image that captures the connected facets of InSb(110)-(1x1) and InSb(111)B-(2x2). On the basis of the well-known atomic species of InSb(111)B-(2x2), the atomic species of the InSb(110)-(1x1) surface were deduced straightforwardly: the atoms shifted upward and downward at the topmost layer of the InSb(110)-(1x1) surface are Sb and In, respectively. The atomic arrangements of the InSb(110)-(1x1)-InSb(111)B-(2x2) facet determined by HR-profile TEM may represent the atomic arrangements of zinc-blende-type III-V(331)B surfaces.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Experimental and first-principles study on the magnetic and transport properties of Ti-doped Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} epitaxial films

Structure, magnetic, and transport properties of the epitaxial Fe{sub 3-x}Ti{sub x}O{sub 4} films with x{<=} 0.09 fabricated by reactive co-sputtering were investigated systematically. The lattice constant expands from 0.8360 to 0.8376 nm with x increases from 0 to 0.09. The room-temperature saturation magnetization increases by 31.7%, and the negative magnetoresistance (at 100 K) increases from 3.7% to 6.9% as x increases from 0 to 0.09. The results indicate that Ti atoms might exist at the tetrahedral sites in the spinel structure. Theoretical calculations based on the density-functional theory suggest that the doped Ti on the tetrahedral sites indeed enhances the lattice constant and magnetic moment. Meanwhile, the calculated results also imply that the Ti-doped Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} has a high spin polarization near 100%.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Structural properties of Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} and Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3} topological insulators grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs(001) substrates

Thin films of Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} and Bi{sub 2}Se{sub 3} have been grown on deoxidized GaAs(001) substrates using molecular beam epitaxy. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy established the highly parallel nature of the Te(Se)-Bi-Te(Se)-Bi-Te(Se) quintuple layers deposited on the slightly wavy GaAs substrate surface and the different crystal symmetries of the two materials. Raman mapping confirmed the presence of the strong characteristic peaks reported previously for these materials in bulk form. The overall quality of these films reveals the potential of combining topological insulators with ferromagnetic semiconductors for future applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Magnetic properties of Fe{sub 0.4}Mn{sub 0.6}/Co{sub 2}FeAl bilayers grown on GaAs by molecular-beam epitaxy

Polycrystalline Fe{sub 0.4}Mn{sub 0.6} layers with the different thickness are deposited on 4-nm-thick single-crystalline Co{sub 2}FeAl layers, which are grown on GaAs (001) substrates at room temperature by molecular-beam epitaxy. Both the exchange bias and the in-plane magnetic anisotropies of the bilayers are strongly dependent on the thickness of the Fe{sub 0.4}Mn{sub 0.6} layer. The former is described using a granular level model. A modified Stoner-Wohlfarth model is used to explain the in-plane magnetic anisotropies observed at 5 K, while one possible reason for the magnetic anisotropies measured at 300 K is the complex interfacial magnetic properties proved by x-ray magnetic circular dichroism measurements.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Increased photoluminescence of strain-reduced, high-Sn composition Ge{sub 1-x}Sn{sub x} alloys grown by molecular beam epitaxy

We synthesized up to Ge{sub 0.914}Sn{sub 0.086} alloys on (100) GaAs/In{sub y}Ga{sub 1-y}As buffer layers using molecular beam epitaxy. The buffer layers enable engineered control of strain in the Ge{sub 1-x}Sn{sub x} layers to reduce strain-related defects and precipitation. Samples grown under similar conditions show a monotonic increase in the integrated photoluminescence (PL) intensity as the Sn composition is increased, indicating changes in the bandstructure favorable for optoelectronics. We account for bandgap changes from strain and composition to determine a direct bandgap bowing parameter of b = 2.1 {+-} 0.1. According to our models, these are the first Ge{sub 1-x}Sn{sub x} samples that are both direct-bandgap and exhibit PL.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Clarification of enhanced ferromagnetism in Be-codoped InMnP fabricated using Mn/InP:Be bilayers grown by molecular beam epitaxy

The p-type InMnP:Be epilayers were prepared by the sequential growth of Mn/InP:Be bilayers using molecular-beam-epitaxy and the subsequent in-situ annealing at 200-300 deg. C. In triple-axis x-ray diffraction patterns, the samples revealed a shoulder peak indicative of intrinsic InMnP. The ferromagnetic transition in InMnP:Be was observed to occur at the elevated temperature of {approx}140 K, and the ferromagnetic spin-domains clearly appeared in magnetic force microscopy images. The improved ferromagnetic properties are attributed to the increased p-d hybridation due to high p-type conductivity of InMnP:Be (p {approx} 10{sup 20 }cm{sup -3}). The results suggest that enhanced ferromagnetism can be effectively obtained from Be-codoped InMnP.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Structural and morphological characterization of molecular beam epitaxy grown Si/Ge multilayer using x-ray scattering techniques

Si/Ge multilayers are of great technological importance as is evident from the research studies of the past two decades. Here, we have presented a method for the morphological and structural characterization of such MBE grown epitaxial Si/Ge superlattice structures using simultaneous analysis of x-ray reflectivity and x-ray diffraction data, respectively. The consistent analysis of the data collected in the Indian Beamline at Photon Factory Synchrotron have allowed for the determination of electron density and strain profile as a function of depth.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Epitaxial {tau} phase MnAl thin films on MgO (001) with thickness-dependent magnetic anisotropy

In this study, ferromagnetic MnAl films were prepared by alternating Al/Mn quasi-monolayer deposition using a novel biased target ion beam deposition (BTIBD) technique. XRD results showed that the magnetic {tau} phase was well formed in MnAl thin films ({approx}10 nm), which grew epitaxially on single crystal MgO (001) substrates. The optimized saturation magnetization was {approx}394 emu/cc. Furthermore, we observed a thickness-dependent uniaxial anisotropy in ferromagnetic MnAl films, which was attributed to the change of the tetragonal lattice distortion as a function of film thickness. The relationship between the film thicknesses and saturation magnetizations suggested the existence of a magnetically dead layer {approx}2.7 nm with an extrapolated saturation moment around 523 emu/cc ({approx}1.90 {mu}{sub B}/Mn). This value has exceeded the experimental value in bulk materials and is close to the theoretically predicted magnetization ({approx}1.975 {mu}{sub B}/Mn).

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Suppression of vacancy defects in epitaxial La-doped SrTiO{sub 3} films

Variable energy positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy of high-mobility La-doped SrTiO{sub 3} grown by molecular beam epitaxy found that the films contained sufficiently low concentrations of Sr vacancies and vacancy cluster defects to allow the observation of positron annihilation events from the perfect lattice. This enabled the concentrations of charged cation vacancies to be estimated, and these were found to be at least an order of magnitude below the La-dopant concentrations.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Deep levels in H-irradiated GaAs{sub 1-x}N{sub x} (x < 0.01) grown by molecular beam epitaxy

Dilute nitride GaAs{sub 1-x}N{sub x} layers have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy with nitrogen concentration ranging from 0.2% to 0.8%. These samples have been studied before and after hydrogen irradiation by using standard deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) and high resolution Laplace DLTS techniques. The activation energy, capture cross section and density of the electron traps have been estimated and compared with results obtained in N-free as-grown and H-irradiated bulk GaAs.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

X-ray reciprocal space mapping of dislocation-mediated strain relaxation during InGaAs/GaAs(001) epitaxial growth

Dislocation-mediated strain relaxation during lattice-mismatched InGaAs/GaAs(001) heteroepitaxy was studied through in situ x-ray reciprocal space mapping (in situ RSM). At the synchrotron radiation facility SPring-8, a hybrid system of molecular beam epitaxy and x-ray diffractometry with a two-dimensional detector enabled us to perform in situ RSM at high-speed and high-resolution. Using this experimental setup, four results in terms of film properties were simultaneously extracted as functions of film thickness. These were the lattice constants, the diffraction broadenings along in-plane and out-of-plane directions, and the diffuse scattering. Based on correlations among these results, the strain relaxation processes were classified into four thickness ranges with different dislocation behavior. In addition, the existence of transition regimes between the thickness ranges was identified. Finally, the dominant dislocation behavior corresponding to each of the four thickness ranges and transition regimes was noted.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Optical properties of a-plane (Al, Ga)N/GaN multiple quantum wells grown on strain engineered Zn{sub 1-x}Mg{sub x}O layers by molecular beam epitaxy

Nonpolar (1120) Al{sub 0.2}Ga{sub 0.8}N/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy on (1120) Zn{sub 0.74}Mg{sub 0.26}O templates on r-plane sapphire substrates. The quantum wells exhibit well-resolved photoluminescence peaks in the ultra-violet region, and no sign of quantum confined Stark effect is observed in the complete multiple quantum well series. The results agree well with flat band quantum well calculations. Furthermore, we show that the MQW structures are strongly polarized along the [0001] direction. The origin of the polarization is discussed in terms of the strain anisotropy dependence of the exciton optical oscillator strengths.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

Structure and magnetism of nanocrystalline and epitaxial (Mn,Zn,Fe) 3 O 4 thin films

We study nanocrystalline (NC) textured Mn 0.5 Zn 0.6 Fe 1.9 O 4 (MZFO) films, grown at room temperature on both isostructural and non-isostructural substrates, that show magnetization values significantly suppressed from epitaxial MZFO films. X-ray absorption spectroscopy and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism measurements indicate larger ratios of Fe 3+ to Fe 2+ ions on the tetrahedral sites in the NC films compared to the epitaxialfilms. The magnetization loops of the NC films are shifted by 200-400 Oe at low temperatures. No such effect is observed in the epitaxialfilms. In conclusion, we hypothesize that the presence of a more structurally disordered, possibly magnetically frustrated, matrix exchange biases the crystalline regions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗