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At least 1,693 records · Page 94

A van der Waals pn heterojunction with organic/inorganic semiconductors

van der Waals (vdW) heterojunctions formed by two-dimensional (2D) materials have attracted tremendous attention due to their excellent electrical/optical properties and device applications. However, current 2D heterojunctions are largely limited to atomic crystals, and hybrid organic/inorganic structures are rarely explored. Here, we fabricate the hybrid 2D heterostructures with p-type dioctylbenzothienobenzothiophene (C{sub 8}-BTBT) and n-type MoS{sub 2}. We find that few-layer C{sub 8}-BTBT molecular crystals can be grown on monolayer MoS{sub 2} by vdW epitaxy, with pristine interface and controllable thickness down to monolayer. The operation of the C{sub 8}-BTBT/MoS{sub 2} vertical heterojunction devices is highly tunable by bias and gate voltages between three different regimes: interfacial recombination, tunneling, and blocking. The pn junction shows diode-like behavior with rectifying ratio up to 10{sup 5} at the room temperature. Our devices also exhibit photovoltaic responses with a power conversion efficiency of 0.31% and a photoresponsivity of 22 mA/W. With wide material combinations, such hybrid 2D structures will offer possibilities for opto-electronic devices that are not possible from individual constituents.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Magnetic Switching in Monolayer 2D Diluted Magnetic Semiconductors via Spin‐to‐Spin Conversion

Abstract The integration of 2D van der Waals (vdW) magnets with topological insulators or heavy metals holds great potential for realizing next‐generation spintronic memory devices. However, achieving high‐efficiency spin–orbit torque (SOT) switching of monolayer vdW magnets at room temperature poses a significant challenge, particularly without an external magnetic field. Here, it is shown field‐free, deterministic, and nonvolatile SOT switching of perpendicular magnetization in the monolayer, diluted magnetic semiconductor (DMS), Fe‐doped MoS 2 (Fe:MoS 2 ) at up to 380 K with a current density of ≈7 × 10 4 A cm −2 . The in situ doping of Fe into monolayer MoS 2 via chemical vapor deposition and the geometry‐induced strain in the crystal break the rotational switching symmetry in Fe:MoS 2 , promoting field‐free SOT switching by generating out‐of‐plane spins via spin‐to‐spin conversion. An apparent anomalous Hall effect (AHE) loop shift at a zero in‐plane magnetic field verifies the existence of z spins in Fe:MoS 2 , inducing an antidamping‐like torque that facilitates field‐free SOT switching. This field‐free SOT application using a 2D ferromagnetic monolayer provides a new pathway for developing highly power‐efficient spintronic memory devices.

Chen, Siwei [Department of Mechanical Engineering ↗

Measurement of the transmission magnetic circular dichroism of Ga{sub 1−x}Mn{sub x}As epilayers using a built-in p-i-n photodiode

By constructing a GaMnAs epilayer/semi-insulating In{sub 0.2}Ga{sub 0.8}As/(001) n{sup +}-GaAs substrate layer structure as a built-in p-i-n photodiode, we developed a scheme for on-chip measurements of transmission magnetic circular dichroism (T-MCD). Both the hysteresis loops in the magnetic field sweeps and the wavelength scans at saturated magnetic fields measured using the new T-MCD scheme, illustrated the same features as those previously measured on the freestanding GaMnAs thin films by conventional T-MCD. Because a large group of epitaxially grown magnetic film/semiconductor heterostructures, such as Fe, NiFe, CoFeAl, and MnGa films on semiconductor substrates, are becoming important new building blocks for semiconductor-based spin field-effect transistor, perpendicular magnetic tunnel junction (p-MTJ) and lateral MTJ devices, the new T-MCD scheme can be applied to tests of their magnetic properties by forming either p-i-n or Schottky photodiodes.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Control of spin defects in wide-bandgap semiconductors for quantum technologies

Deep-level defects are usually considered undesirable in semiconductors as they typically interfere with the performance of present-day electronic and optoelectronic devices. However, the electronic spin states of certain atomic-scale defects have recently been shown to be promising quantum bits for quantum information processing as well as exquisite nanoscale sensors due to their local environmental sensitivity. In this review, we will discuss recent advances in quantum control protocols of several of these spin defects, the negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV - ) center in diamond and a variety of forms of the neutral divacancy (VV 0 ) complex in silicon carbide (SiC). These defects exhibit a spin-triplet ground state that can be controlled through a variety of techniques, several of which allow for room temperature operation. Microwave control has enabled sophisticated decoupling schemes to extend coherence times as well as nanoscale sensing of temperature along with magnetic and electric fields. On the other hand, photonic control of these spin states has provided initial steps toward integration into quantum networks, including entanglement, quantum state teleportation, and all-optical control. Electrical and mechanical control also suggest pathways to develop quantum transducers and quantum hybrid systems. In conclusion, the versatility of the control mechanisms demonstrated should facilitate the development of quantum technologies based on these spin defects.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Tunable molecular orientation and elevated thermal stability of vapor-deposited organic semiconductors

Significance Glasses are solids that lack the regular order of crystals. Organic glasses, when produced by deposition from the vapor, can exhibit high levels of molecular orientation that improve performance of devices such as organic light-emitting diodes. We show here that molecular orientation in such glasses is primarily controlled by the substrate temperature during deposition, suggesting that the performance of almost any device based upon amorphous organic materials might be systematically optimized by this route. We explain molecular orientation in the glass in terms of the orientation present near the surface of the corresponding liquid. The highly oriented glasses formed here also exhibit high density and improved thermal stability. These features will likely further enhance the performance of organic electronics devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Identification of localized radiation damage in power MOSFETs using EBIC imaging

The rapidly increasing use of electronics in high-radiation environments and the continued evolution in transistor architectures and materials demand improved methods to characterize the potential damaging effects of radiation on device performance. Here, electron-beam-induced current is used to map hot-carrier transport in model metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors irradiated with a 300 KeV focused He + beam as a localized line spanning across the gate and bulk Si. By correlating the damage to the electronic properties and combining these results with simulations, the contribution of spatially localized radiation damage on the device characteristics is obtained. Furthermore, this identified damage, caused by the He + beam, is attributed to localized interfacial P b centers and delocalized positive fixed-charges, as surmised from simulations. Comprehension of the long-term interaction and mobility of radiation-induced damage are key for future design of rad-hard devices.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Benzo[ d ][1,2,3]thiadiazole (isoBT): Synthesis, Structural Analysis, and Implementation in Semiconducting Polymers

Benzo[d][2,1,3]thiadiazole (BT) is a markedly electron-deficient heterocycle widely employed in the realization of organic semiconductors for applications spanning transistors, solar cells, photodetectors, and thermoelectrics. In this contribution, we implement the corresponding isomer, benzo[d][1,2,3]thiadiazole (isoBT), along with new 6-fluoroisoBT and 5,6-difluoro-isoBT units as synthons for constructing alternating copolymers with tetrathiophene (P1-P3). New isoBT-based small molecules as well as the corresponding BTquaterthiophene based polymers (P4-P6) are synthesized and characterized to probe architectural, electronic structural, and device performance differences between the two families. The results demonstrate that isoBT complements BT in enabling highperformance optoelectronic semiconductors with P3 exhibiting hole mobilities surpassing 0.7 cm 2 /(V s) in field-effect transistors and power conversion efficiencies of 9% in bulk-heterojunction solar cells.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Electrical transport properties of Si-doped hexagonal boron nitride epilayers

The suitability of Si as an n-type dopant in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) wide bandgap semiconductor has been investigated. Si doped hBN epilayers were grown via in-situ Si doping by metal organic chemical vapor deposition technique. Hall effect measurements revealed that Si doped hBN epilayers exhibit n-type conduction at high temperatures (T > 800 K) with an in-plane resistivity of ∼12 Ω·cm, electron mobility of μ ∼ 48 cm{sup 2}/V·s and concentration of n ∼ 1 × 10{sup 16} cm{sup −3}. Temperature dependent resistivity results yielded a Si energy level in hBN of about 1.2 eV, which is consistent with a previously calculated value for Si substitutionally incorporated into the B sites in hBN. The results therefore indicate that Si is not a suitable dopant for hBN for room temperature device applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Magnetic Response of Excitons and Excitonic Complexes in Defective Hexyl Ammonium Lead Iodide Self-Assembled Quantum Wells

Correlating the magnetic behavior of low-dimensional semiconductors with the chemistry used to form these excitonic materials remains crucial to the development of devices applied to quantum technologies. In this study, we apply large magnetic fields during the collection of low-temperature photoluminescence (PL) to assess the magnetic properties of excitons in hexyl ammonium lead iodide (HA 2 PbI 4 ) self-assembled quantum wells (SAQWs) formed at liquid−liquid interfaces. The effect of incident laser power and temperature was used to assign lower energy features in these samples’ PL spectra to both excitons trapped at defect sites and trions. Measured peaks shifts allow us to estimate coupling between the applied magnetic fields and the charged defect excitons. Our conclusions are supported by density functional theory calculations on supercells of the proposed defective HA 2 PbI 4 SAQW structure. Additionally, we find an anomalous magnetic response from trion states that resembles the behavior of interacting excitonic complexes in similar, quantum-confined materials at low temperatures. These results highlight the crucial role that chemical conditions can play in the magnetic response of 2D semiconductors applied in quantum technologies.

defect chemistry↗

A spatially resolved retarding field energy analyzer design suitable for uniformity analysis across the surface of a semiconductor wafer

A novel retarding field energy analyzer design capable of measuring the spatial uniformity of the ion energy and ion flux across the surface of a semiconductor wafer is presented. The design consists of 13 individual, compact-sized, analyzers, all of which are multiplexed and controlled by a single acquisition unit. The analyzers were tested to have less than 2% variability from unit to unit due to tight manufacturing tolerances. The main sensor assembly consists of a 300 mm disk to mimic a semiconductor wafer and the plasma sampling orifices of each sensor are flush with disk surface. This device is placed directly on top of the rf biased electrode, at the wafer location, in an industrial capacitively coupled plasma reactor without the need for any modification to the electrode structure. The ion energy distribution, average ion energy, and average ion flux were measured at the 13 locations over the surface of the powered electrode to determine the degree of spatial nonuniformity. The ion energy and ion flux are shown to vary by approximately 20% and 5%, respectively, across the surface of the electrode for the range of conditions investigated in this study.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Formation of Ideal Rashba States on Layered Semiconductor Surfaces Steered by Strain Engineering

Spin splitting of Rashba states in two-dimensional electron system provides a mechanism of spin manipulation for spintronics applications. However, Rashba states realized experimentally to date are often outnumbered by spin-degenerated substrate states at the same energy range, hindering their practical applications. Here, by density functional theory calculation, we show that Au one monolayer film deposition on a layered semiconductor surface β-InSe(0001) can possess “ideal” Rashba states with large spin splitting, which are completely situated inside the large band gap of the substrate. The position of the Rashba bands can be tuned over a wide range with respect to the substrate band edges by experimentally accessible strain. Furthermore, our nonequilibrium Green’s function transport calculation shows that this system may give rise to the long-sought strong current modulation when made into a device of Datta-Das transistor. Similar systems may be identified with other metal ultrathin films and layered semiconductor substrates to realize ideal Rashba states.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

NCD Diamond Semiconductor System for Advanced Power Electronics Systems Integration : CRADA report

The integration of 2D materials such as molybdenum disulphide (MoS2) with diamond (3D) was achieved by forming an heterojunction between these two materials and its electrical performance was studied experimentally. The device charactertics did show good rectifying nature when p-type single crystal diamond was integrated with n-type MoS2. These results are very encouraging indicating possible applications in semiconductor electronics, however further studies are required for a detailed understanding of the transport phenomena at the MoS2/diamond interface.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Features of carrier tunneling between the silicon valence band and metal in devices based on the Al/high-K oxide/SiO{sub 2}/Si structure

The features of electron tunneling from or into the silicon valence band in a metal–insulator–semiconductor system with the HfO{sub 2}(ZrO{sub 2})/SiO{sub 2} double-layer insulator are theoretically analyzed for different modes. It is demonstrated that the valence-band current plays a less important role in structures with HfO{sub 2}(ZrO{sub 2})/SiO{sub 2} than in structures containing only silicon dioxide. In the case of a very wide-gap high-K oxide ZrO{sub 2}, nonmonotonic behavior related to tunneling through the upper barrier is predicted for the valence-band–metal current component. The use of an insulator stack can offer certain advantages for some devices, including diodes, bipolar tunnel-emitter transistors, and resonant-tunneling diodes, along with the traditional use of high-K insulators in a field-effect transistor.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

p-Type Transparent Conducting Oxide/n-Type Semiconductor Heterojunctions for Efficient and Stable Solar Water Oxidation

Achieving stable operation of photoanodes used as components of solar water splitting devices is essential to realizing the promise of this renewable energy technology. It is demonstrated that p-type transparent conducting oxides (p-TCOs) can function both as a selective hole contact and corrosion protection layer for photoanodes used in light-driven water oxidation. Using NiCo 2 O 4 as the p-TCO and n-type Si as a prototypical light absorber, a rectifying heterojunction capable of light driven water oxidation was created. By placing the charge separating junction in the Si using a np + structure and by incorporating a highly active heterogeneous Ni-Fe oxygen evolution catalyst, efficient light-driven water oxidation can be achieved. In this structure, oxygen evolution under AM 1.5 G illumination occurs at 0.95 V vs RHE, and the current density at the reversible potential for water oxidation (1.23 V vs RHE) is >25 mA cm -2 . Stable operation was confirmed by observing a constant current density over 72 h and by sensitive measurements of corrosion products in the electrolyte. In situ Raman spectroscopy was employed to investigate structural transformation of NiCo 2 O 4 during electrochemical oxidation. The interface among the light absorber and p-TCO is crucial to produce selective hole conduction to the surface under illumination. For example, annealing to produce more crystalline NiCo 2 O 4 produces only small changes in its hole conductivity, while a thicker SiO x layer is formed at the n-Si/p-NiCo 2 O 4 interface, greatly reducing the PEC performance. The generality of the p-TCO protection approach is demonstrated by multihour, stable, water oxidation with n-InP/p-NiCo 2 O 4 heterojunction photoanodes.

Chen, Le↗

High voltage surface potential measurements in ambient conditions: Application to organic thin-film transistor injection and transport characterization

A scanning surface potential measurement technique suited for thin-film devices operating under high voltages is reported. A commercial atomic force microscope has been customized to enable a feedback-controlled and secure surface potential measurement based on phase-shift detection under ambient conditions. Measurements of the local potential profile along the channel of bottom-gate organic thin-film transistors (TFTs) are shown to be useful to disentangle the contributions from the channel and contacts to the device performance. Intrinsic contact current-voltage characteristics have been measured on bottom-gate, top-contact (staggered) TFTs based on the small-molecule semiconductor dinaphtho[2,3-b:2′,3-f]thieno[3,2-b]thiophene (DNTT) and on bottom-gate, bottom-contact (coplanar) TFTs based on the semiconducting polymer polytriarylamine (PTAA). Injection has been found to be linear in the staggered DNTT TFTs and nonlinear in the coplanar PTAA TFTs. In both types of TFT, the injection efficiency has been found to improve with increasing gate bias in the accumulation regime. Contact resistances as low as 130 Ω cm have been measured in the DNTT TFTs. A method that eliminates the influence of bias-stress-induced threshold-voltage shifts when measuring the local charge-carrier mobility in the channel is also introduced, and intrinsic channel mobilities of 1.5 cm{sup 2} V{sup −1} s{sup −1} and 1.1 × 10{sup −3} cm{sup 2} V{sup −1} s{sup −1} have been determined for DNTT and PTAA. In both semiconductors, the mobility has been found to be constant with respect to the gate bias. Despite its simplicity, the Kelvin probe force microscopy method reported here provides robust and accurate surface potential measurements on thin-film devices under operation and thus paves the way towards more extensive studies of particular interest in emerging fields of solid-state electronics.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Investigation of DC and RF Performance of Novel MOSHEMT on Silicon Substrate for Future Submillimetre Wave Applications

In this work, the DC and RF performance of a 20 nm gate length novel metal oxide semiconductor high electron mobility transistor (MOSHEMT) on Silicon substrate is studied using Sentaurus TCAD tool. The proposed MOSHEMT device features a novel T-gate structure, heavily doped In{sub 0.52}Ga{sub 0.48}As source/drain regions, delta doped planes on both sides of the In{sub 0.75}Ga{sub 0.25}As/InAs/In{sub 0.75}Ga{sub 0.25}As composite channel, a multi layer cap and a very thin layer of HfO{sub 2} as gate dielectric. The TCAD simulation results obtained at room temperature using hydrodynamic carrier transport model indicates that the 20 nm gate length proposed MOSHEMT device is capable of providing a peak drain current of 2450 mA/mm at V{sub DS} = 0.6 V and the peak transconductance obtained for the proposed device is 2900 mS/mm. The f{sub T} and f{sub max} obtained for the L{sub g} = 20 nm proposed MOSHEMT on Silicon substrate are 372 and 480 GHz respectively. At 300 K, the measured Hall mobility of the electrons in the quantum well channel is 9600 cm{sup 2}/(V s). The on state resistance (R{sub ON}) obtained for the L{sub g} = 20 nm proposed device is 116 Ohm μm. These devices are undoubtedly, the most suitable candidates for future sub millimetre wave applications.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Greenhouse Effect in Photovoltaic Cells to Enhance Efficiency of Power Beam Conversion

Recent progress in semiconductor materials with minor nonradiative recombination has stimulated investigations of novel photovoltaic (PV) converters with optical control of radiative emission. Angle restricted emission was experimentally demonstrated in PV devices with external photon recycling due to specific photonic crystals or mirrors. In this work we investigate the power beam conversion by the cell with front “greenhouse” filter, which transmits the laser light, but recycles the low energy bandgap quanta emitted by the semiconductor cell. Here, we calculate the limiting characteristics of the greenhouse PV converters and optimize design of the converter taking into account the nonradiative recombination processes. In optimized devices addition of the greenhouse filter can increase power beam conversion efficiency by several percent.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗