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At least 1,459 records · Page 81

Polarity driven simultaneous growth of free-standing and lateral GaAsP epitaxial nanowires on GaAs (001) substrate

Simultaneous growth of 〈111〉{sub B} free-standing and ±[110] lateral GaAsP epitaxial nanowires on GaAs (001) substrates were observed and investigated by electron microscopy and crystallographic analysis. It was found that the growth of both free-standing and lateral ternary nanowires via Au catalysts was driven by the fact that Au catalysts prefer to maintain low-energy (111){sub B} interfaces with surrounding GaAs(P) materials: in the case of free-standing nanowires, Au catalysts maintain (111){sub B} interfaces with their underlying GaAsP nanowires; while in the case of lateral nanowires, each Au catalyst remain their side (111){sub B} interfaces with the surrounding GaAs(P) material during the lateral nanowire growth.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Electronic structures and magnetic moments of Co{sub 3}FeN thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy

We evaluated electronic structures and magnetic moments in Co{sub 3}FeN epitaxial films on SrTiO{sub 3}(001). The experimentally obtained hard x-ray photoemission spectra of the Co{sub 3}FeN film have a good agreement with those calculated. Site averaged spin magnetic moments deduced by x-ray magnetic circular dichroism were 1.52 μ{sub B} per Co atom and 2.08 μ{sub B} per Fe atom at 100 K. They are close to those of Co{sub 4}N and Fe{sub 4}N, respectively, implying that the Co and Fe atoms randomly occupy the corner and face-centered sites in the Co{sub 3}FeN unit cell.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Effect of low-temperature annealing on the electronic- and band-structures of (Ga,Mn)As epitaxial layers

The effect of outdiffusion of Mn interstitials from (Ga,Mn)As epitaxial layers, caused by post-growth low-temperature annealing, on their electronic- and band-structure properties has been investigated by modulation photoreflectance (PR) spectroscopy. The annealing-induced changes in structural and magnetic properties of the layers were examined with high-resolution X-ray diffractometry and superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry, respectively. They confirmed an outdiffusion of Mn interstitials from the layers and an enhancement in their hole concentration, which were more efficient for the layer covered with a Sb cap acting as a sink for diffusing Mn interstitials. The PR results demonstrating a decrease in the band-gap-transition energy in the as-grown (Ga,Mn)As layers, with respect to that in the reference GaAs one, are interpreted by assuming a merging of the Mn-related impurity band with the GaAs valence band. Whereas an increase in the band-gap-transition energy caused by the annealing treatment of the (Ga,Mn)As layers is interpreted as a result of annealing-induced enhancement of the free-hole concentration and the Fermi level location within the valence band. The experimental results are consistent with the valence-band origin of itinerant holes mediating ferromagnetic ordering in (Ga,Mn)As, in agreement with the Zener model for ferromagnetic semiconductors.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Role of an ultra-thin AlN/GaN superlattice interlayer on the strain engineering of GaN films grown on Si(110) and Si(111) substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

We investigate the role of an ultra-thin AlN/GaN superlattice interlayer (SL-IL) on the strain engineering of the GaN films grown on Si(110) and Si(111) substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. It is found that micro-cracks limitted only at the SL-IL position are naturally generated. These micro-cracks play an important role in relaxing the tensile strain caused by the difference of the coefficient of thermal expansion between GaN and Si and keeping the residual strain in the crack-free GaN epilayers resulted from the SL-IL during the growth. The mechanism understanding of the strain modulation by the SL-IL in the GaN epilayers grown on Si substrates makes it possible to design new heterostructures of III-nitrides for optic and electronic device applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Compositional dependence of the magnetic properties of epitaxial FeV/MgO thin films

Owing to their bcc structures and the low lattice misfit with MgO, FeV alloys are interesting for MgO-based magnetic tunnel junctions. We use vector network analyzer ferromagnetic resonance to measure the magnetization, anisotropy, exchange stiffness, and damping of epitaxial FeV/MgO thin alloys of various V contents. The low magnetization, very high exchange stiffness (23 pJ/m) and very low effective damping (<0.0026) of the alloy with 20% V content makes it an interesting candidate for spin torque applications. The ultralow damping is consistent with a spin-orbit origin, which sheds light on the possible strategies to reduce the damping in alloys.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Fundamental optical properties of InN grown by epitaxial lateral overgrowth method

Optical properties of InN grown by the epitaxial lateral overgrowth (ELO) method have been studied using photoluminescence (PL) and excitation-correlation (EC) measurements. The PL spectrum is analyzed by free-electron recombination band (FERB) model, which shows that the ELO sample has a very low background carrier concentration (n=5.5*10{sup 16}[cm{sup −3]}). EC measurements show that the dependences of the band gap renormalization and Auger effect on the carrier concentrations are similar in spite of the different physical origins.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Microwave studies of weak localization and antilocalization in epitaxial graphene

A microwave detection method was applied to study weak localization and antilocalization in epitaxial graphene sheets grown on both polarities of SiC substrates. Both coherence and scattering length values were obtained. The scattering lengths were found to be smaller for graphene grown on C-face of SiC. The decoherence rate was found to depend linearly on temperature, showing the electron-electron scattering mechanism.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Magneto-transport properties of InAs nanowires laterally-grown by selective area molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs (110) masked substrates

We prepared InAs nanowires (NWs) by lateral growth on GaAs (110) masked substrates in molecular beam epitaxy. We measured magneto-transport properties of the InAs NWs. In spite of parallel-NW multi-channels, we observed fluctuating magneto-conductance. From the fluctuation, we evaluated phase coherence length as a function of measurement temperature, and found decrease in the length with increase in the temperature. We also evaluate phase coherence length as a function of gate voltage.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Comparative optical study of epitaxial InGaAs quantum rods grown with As{sub 2} and As{sub 4} sources

Photoreflectance and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopies are used to examine the optical properties and electronic structure of InGaAs quantum rods (QRs), embedded within InGaAs quantum well (QW). The nanostructures studied were grown by molecular beam epitaxy using As{sub 2} or As{sub 4} sources. The impact of As source on spectral features associated with interband optical transitions in the QRs and the surrounding QW are demonstrated. A red shift of the QR- and a blue shift of the QW-related optical transitions, along with a significant increase in PL intensity, have been observed if an As{sub 4} source is used. The changes in optical properties are attributed mainly to carrier confinement effects caused by variation of In content contrast between the QR material and the surrounding well.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Structural investigations of hydrogenated epitaxial graphene grown on 4H-SiC (0001)

Structural investigations of hydrogenated epitaxial graphene grown on SiC(0001) are presented. It is shown that hydrogen plays a dual role. In addition to contributing to the well-known removal of the buffer layer, it goes between the graphene planes, resulting in an increase of the interlayer spacing to 3.6 Å–3.8 Å. It is explained by the intercalation of molecular hydrogen between carbon planes, which is followed by H{sub 2} dissociation, resulting in negatively charged hydrogen atoms trapped between the graphene layers, with some addition of covalent bonding to carbon atoms. Negatively charged hydrogen may be responsible for p-doping observed in hydrogenated multilayer graphene.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Chemical beam epitaxy growth of III–V semiconductor nanowires

Indium- Arsenide (InAs) nanowires were grown in a high vacuum chemical beam epitaxy (CBE) unit on InAs(111) wafers substrates at 425–454°C. Two types of nanogold were used as orientation catalyst, 40nm and 80nm. The measurements were performed using scanning electron microscopy showed that uniform nanowires. The nanowires orient vertically in the InAs nanowire scanning electron microscopy of an array 80nm diameter InAs nanowire with length is in the range 0.5–1 μm and of an array 40nm diameter with length is in the range 0.3–0.7μm. The nanowire length with growth time shows that the linear increase of nanowires start to grow as soon as TMIn is available. The growth rate with temperature was studied.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Epitaxial growth of CeO{sub 2}(111) film on Ru(0001): Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) study

We formed an epitaxial film of CeO{sub 2}(111) by sublimating Ce atoms on Ru(0001) surface kept at elevated temperature in an oxygen ambient. X-ray photoemission spectroscopy measurement revealed a decrease of Ce{sup 4+}/Ce{sup 3+} ratio in a small temperature window of the growth temperature between 1070 and 1096 K, which corresponds to the reduction of the CeO{sub 2}(111). Scanning tunneling microscope image showed that a film with a wide terrace and a sharp step edge was obtained when the film was grown at the temperatures close to the reduction temperature, and the terrace width observed on the sample grown at 1060 K was more than twice of that grown at 1040 K. On the surface grown above the reduction temperature, the surface with a wide terrace and a sharp step was confirmed, but small dots were also seen in the terrace part, which are considerably Ce atoms adsorbed at the oxygen vacancies on the reduced surface. This experiment demonstrated that it is required to use the substrate temperature close to the reduction temperature to obtain CeO{sub 2}(111) with wide terrace width and sharp step edges.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Thickness dependent exchange bias in martensitic epitaxial Ni-Mn-Sn thin films

A thickness dependent exchange bias in the low temperature martensitic state of epitaxial Ni-Mn-Sn thin films is found. The effect can be retained down to very small thicknesses. For a Ni{sub 50}Mn{sub 32}Sn{sub 18} thin film, which does not undergo a martensitic transformation, no exchange bias is observed. Our results suggest that a significant interplay between ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic regions, which is the origin for exchange bias, is only present in the martensite. The finding is supported by ab initio calculations showing that the antiferromagnetic order is stabilized in the phase.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Effect of Ti seed layers on structure of self-organized epitaxial face-centered-cubic-Ag(001) oriented nanodots

The influence of Ti seed layers on the structure of self-organized Ag nanodots, obtained with a Ti seed-layer-assisted thermal agglomeration method, has been investigated. The samples were grown on MgO(001) single crystal substrates by RF magnetron sputter deposition. The samples were deposited at room temperature and post-annealed at 350 °C for 4 h while maintaining the chamber vacuum conditions. The results of atomic force microscopy (AFM) observations indicated that the insertion of the Ti seed layer (0.6–5.0 nm) between the MgO substrate and Ag layer promotes the agglomeration process, forming the nanodot array. Comparisons between the AFM images revealed that the size of the Ag nanodots was increased with an increase in the Ti seed layer thickness. The atomic concentration of the film surface was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The XPS result suggested that the nanodot surface mainly consisted of Ag. Moreover, X-ray diffraction results proved that the initial deposition of the Ti seed layer (0.6–5.0 nm) onto MgO(001) prior to the Ag deposition yielded high-quality fcc-Ag(001) oriented epitaxial nanodots. The optical absorbance spectra of the fabricated Ag nanodots with various Ti seed layer thicknesses were obtained in the visible light range.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Deep traps in n-type GaN epilayers grown by plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy

In this study, we present the results of investigations on Schottky Au-GaN diodes by means of conventional DLTS and Laplace DLTS methods within the temperature range of 77 K–350 K. Undoped GaN layers were grown using the plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy technique on commercial GaN/sapphire templates. The quality of the epilayers was studied by micro-Raman spectroscopy (μ-RS) which proved the hexagonal phase and good crystallinity of GaN epilayers as well as a slight strain. The photoluminescence spectrum confirmed a high crystal quality by intense excitonic emission but it also exhibited a blue emission band of low intensity. DLTS signal spectra revealed the presence of four majority traps: two high-temperature and two low-temperature peaks. Using the Laplace DLTS method and Arrhenius plots, the apparent activation energy and capture cross sections were obtained. For two high-temperature majority traps, they were equal to E{sub 1} = 0.65 eV, σ{sub 1} = 8.2 × 10{sup −16} cm{sup 2} and E{sub 2} = 0.58 eV, σ{sub 2} = 2.6 × 10{sup −15} cm{sup 2} whereas for the two low-temperature majority traps they were equal to E{sub 3} = 0.18 eV, σ{sub 3} = 9.7 × 10{sup −18} cm{sup 2} and E{sub 4} = 0.13 eV, σ{sub 4} = 9.2 × 10{sup −18} cm{sup 2}. The possible origin of the traps is discussed and the results are compared with data reported elsewhere.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Growth modes and epitaxy of FeAl thin films on a-cut sapphire prepared by pulsed laser and ion beam assisted deposition

FeAl films around equiatomic composition are grown on a-cut (112{sup ¯}0) sapphire substrates by ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) and pulsed laser deposition (PLD) at ambient temperature. Subsequent successive annealing is used to establish chemical order and crystallographic orientation of the films with respect to the substrate. We find a strongly [110]-textured growth for both deposition techniques. Pole figures prove the successful preparation of high quality epitaxial films by PLD with a single in-plane orientation. IBAD-grown films, however, exhibit three in-plane orientations, all of them with broad angular distributions. The difference of the two growth modes is attributed to the existence of a metastable intermediate crystalline orientation as concluded from nonassisted sputter depositions at different substrate temperatures. The formation of the chemically ordered crystalline B2 phase is accompanied by the expected transition from ferromagnetic to paramagnetic behavior of the films. In accordance with the different thermally induced structural recovery, we find a step-like magnetic transition to paramagnetic behavior after annealing for 1 h at T{sub A} = 300 °C for IBAD deposition, while PLD-grown films show a gradual decrease of ferromagnetic signals with rising annealing temperatures.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Investigation on the electrical transport properties of highly (00l)-textured Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 3} films deposited by molecular beam epitaxy

Highly (00l)-textured antimony telluride films were fabricated using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on Si (111) substrate at 280 °C. X-ray diffraction analysis implying the samples have good crystalline quality, simultaneously, the grain sizes coarsening with increasing thickness. The results of Hall coefficient measurement demonstrated that the carrier concentration and mobility are strongly affected by grain boundaries and microcrystalline internal defects. It was found that the grain boundaries play a primary factor influencing the carrier concentration in thinner film. At room temperature, the results in a maximum mobility value of 305 cm{sup 2}/Vs for 121-nm-thick film, and the electrical conductivity increased from 425.7 S/cm to 1036 S/cm as the thickness varied from 28 nm to 121 nm. In the range of room temperature to 150 °C, the resistivity almost linearly increased with increasing temperature. This may be explained by low concentration of impurities or defects and shallow impurity band. For difference thickness films, temperature coefficients of resistivity are substantially equal, and the values are about 3 ∼ 4 μΩ⋅cm/K.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Evolution of (001) and (111) facets for selective epitaxial growth inside submicron trenches

The evolution of (001) and (111) facets for the epitaxial growth inside submicron trenches is systematically studied in this report. The analysis with the method of “Lagrange multiplier” indicates the equilibrium crystal shape. In the case of non-equilibrium without external fluxes, we employed the “weighted mean curvature” method to mathematically model the inter-facet migration rate for two extreme kinetic cases: “surface diffusion limited” and “surface attachment/detachment limited.” Coupled with external supply of atoms, the self-limited behavior of facet size is theoretically predicted. Moreover, we find that the self-limited stable facet size in trenches of different widths has a specific relationship determined by the surface energy ratio, kinetic rate ratio, and isolated growth rate difference. The two limited cases could be discriminated according to the mathematical fitting of one exponent in this relationship based on the stable facet size in trenches of different widths.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗