Structure Of Extended Defects Research Articles

The laser-induced rearrangement of extended defects in crystalline CdTe at a low temperature

The effect of subnanosecond laser pulses on the structure and electronic subsystem of extended defects in cubic semiconductors was studied using cadmium telluride (CdTe) as an example. A CdTe epitaxial film containing threading dislocations was exposed to pulsed laser emission at helium temperatures. This exposure led to a local rearrangement of dislocation, while the properties of the crystal lattice remained undisturbed. The rearrangement was visualized in situ via an observation of the single luminescent centers associated with the partial dislocation cores. The rearrangements in the center of the laser spot, as well as those far from this location, were detected, thus revealing the laser treatment’s non-thermal, relatively long-range influence. We associated the corresponding mechanism with Peierls’s gliding of dislocation under the impact of laser-induced hypersonic surface waves. The results we obtained are of interest in the development of all-optical methods for the local laser processing of extended defects in CdTe and subsequent expansion those methods to other A2B6 cubic semiconductors.

Elastic strain associated with irradiation-induced defects in self-ion irradiated tungsten

Elastic interactions play an important role in controlling irradiation damage evolution, but remain largely unexplored experimentally. Using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution on-axis transmission Kikuchi diffraction (HR-TKD), we correlate the evolution of irradiation-induced damage structures and the associated lattice strains in self-ion irradiated pure tungsten. TEM reveals different dislocation loop structures as a function of sample thickness, suggesting that free surfaces limit the formation of extended defect structures that are found in thicker samples. HR-TKD strain analysis shows the formation of crystallographically-orientated long-range strain fluctuations above 0.01 dpa and a decrease of total elastic energy above 0.1 dpa.

Extended defects in GaAs/GaAs1-xSbx/GaAs (001) heterostructures

The atomic-scale structure of extended defects in GaAs/GaAs1-xSbx/GaAs (001) heterostructures has been characterized using aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy. The defect located at the tensile-strained GaAs(cap)/GaAs0.34Sb0.66 interface had no edge component in the {11¯0} projection plane and is identified as either a dissociated screw dislocation or a partial dislocation dipole. The associated intrinsic stacking fault is bounded by two 30° Shockley partial dislocations of opposite sign. Another defect, located at the compressively-strained GaAs0.91Sb0.09/GaAs(substrate) interface, is identified as a dissociated 90° dislocation. The associated intrinsic stacking fault is bounded by a 30° Shockley partial dislocation and a partial dislocation with a Burgers vector of either a/6[411¯] or a/6[141¯], where a is the lattice constant. Unpaired atomic columns observed at the cores of the 30° Shockley partial dislocations indicate that both defects belong primarily to the glide set.

Topological defect-propelled swimming of nematic colloids.

Topological defects on colloids rotating in nematic liquid crystals form far-from-equilibrium structures that perform complex swim strokes in which the defects periodically extend, depin, and contract. These defect dynamics propel the colloid, generating translation from rotation. The swimmer's speed and direction are determined by the topological defect's polarity and extent of elongation. Defect elongation is controlled by a rotating external magnetic field, allowing control over particle trajectories. The swimmers' translational motion relies on broken symmetries associated with lubrication forces between the colloid and the bounding surfaces, line tensions associated with the elongated defect, and anisotropic viscosities associated with the defect elongation adjacent to the colloid. The scattering or effective pair interaction of these swimmers is highly anisotropic, with polarization-dependent dimer stability and motion that depend strongly on entanglement and sharing of their extended defect structures. This research introduces transient, far-from-equilibrium topological defects as a class of virtual functional structures that generate modalities of motion and interaction.

Atomic resolution analysis of extended defects and Mg agglomeration in Mg-ion-implanted GaN and their impacts on acceptor formation

We carried out atomic-scale observations of Mg-ion-implanted GaN by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atom probe tomography (APT) to clarify the crystallographic structures of extended defects and Mg agglomerations that form during post-implantation annealing. The complementary TEM and APT analyses have shown that Mg atoms agglomerate at dislocations that bound extended defects. The concentration of Mg is higher at the dislocations with a larger Burgers vector. This indicates that Mg agglomeration is caused by the pressure at the dislocations. Mg concentration in highly Mg-rich regions is 1 at. %, which exceeds the solubility limit of Mg in GaN. We investigated isothermal and isochronal evolution of the defects by TEM, cathodoluminescence analysis, and positron annihilation spectroscopy. The results indicated that the intensity of donor–acceptor pair emission increases with the annealing temperature and duration and reaches a maximum after elimination of the extended defects with highly Mg-rich regions. These results strongly suggest that such extended defects reduce the acceptor formation and that they as well as the previously reported compensating centers, such as N-related vacancies, can inhibit the formation of p-type GaN. The mechanism by which the extended defects reduce acceptor formation is discussed.

Shear Pleasure: The Structure, Formation, and Thermodynamics of Crystallographic Shear Phases

A renaissance of interest in crystallographic shear structures and our recent work in this remarkable class of materials inspired this review. We first summarize the geometrical aspects of shear plane formation and possible transformations in ReO3, rutile, and perovskite-based structures. Then we provide a mechanistic overview of crystallographic shear formation, plane ordering, and propagation. Next we describe the energetics of planar defect formation and interaction, equilibria between point and extended defect structures, and thermodynamic stability of shear compounds. Finally, we emphasize the remaining challenges and propose future directions in this exciting area.

Optical probing of extended defects in CdTe virtual substrates via isolated emitters produced by weakly perturbed fragments of partial dislocations

It is shown that, at helium temperatures, relaxed CdTe films reveal isolated emitters, the properties of which indicate their relation with a weakly perturbed fragment of the Shockley dislocation core. The polarization and spatial distribution of such emitters in CdTe/Si and CdTe/GaAs virtual substrates contain information on the structure of extended defects in a relaxed CdTe layer, which are important for HgCdTe epitaxy.

(Invited) X-Ray Metrology of AlN Single Crystal Substrates

As development of GaN and SiC material systems for applications in power switching progresses, the ultrawide-bandgap (UWBG) materials, with bandgaps greater than GaN, are gaining increased attention, in pursuit of improved power device performance. Substrate technology is critical to improve this field. High-quality native substrates, possessing low lattice and thermal expansion mismatches to epitaxial active layers, enable epitaxial growth with low densities of extended defects, leading to improved device performance and lifetime. Lateral and vertical power switching devices have been demonstrated in the emerging AlGaN alloy system [1]. Aluminum nitride (AlN) possesses a close lattice match to high Al mole fraction AlGaN alloys and a high thermal conductivity, which make it an excellent substrate for UWBG AlGaN-based devices. Physical vapor transport (PVT) growth has emerged as the most promising technique for the production of large, high-quality AlN single crystal substrates. Seeded growth technology developed by HexaTech enables iterative expansion of single crystal size, while suppressing low angle grain boundary (LAGB) formation, a primary source of grown-in dislocations. X-ray diffraction (XRD) is well suited to accurately and non-destructively probe the extended defect structure, composition, and strain of single crystals and epitaxial films. A variety of x-ray techniques were used throughout AlN substrate processing, from evaluation of as-grown crystals, through substrate polishing, to analysis of epitaxial films grown on AlN. High-resolution x-ray rocking curves (HRXRRC) and x-ray topography (XRT) were used to determine the primary dislocation types in AlN bulk crystals and their likely formation mechanisms [2, 3]. Synchrotron-based XRT images demonstrated that the expanded diameter of freestanding AlN boules contained low densities of threading dislocations (<104 cm-3), and no basal plane dislocations or LAGBs [4]. Furthermore, XRT images acquired on a commercial diffractometer were used for quality control of AlN seed crystals. The advent of a new generation of x-ray area detectors, capable of a wide dynamic range and rapid data acquisition, opened the possibility for using XRT in production. HRXRRC and surface-sensitive reciprocal space maps were used to monitor sub-surface damage removal during substrate polishing [5]. These results, together with atomic force microscopy and defect selective etching images, demonstrated that chemo-mechanically polished AlN surfaces were free of plastic damage [4]. Polished AlN surfaces were also studied by x-ray reflectivity, yielding long-range data about surface roughness and density. Finally, epitaxial AlGaN films and heterostructures deposited on AlN substrates were studied by a combination of these x-ray techniques, providing essential information on composition, thickness, relaxation, and heterostructure design. XRD has become a valuable metrology tool in the development of AlN technology. This talk will review the implementation of complementary x-ray based measurements in the processing of AlN, from boule growth to AlGaN-based devices.

Formation and Healing of Defects in Atomically Thin GaSe and InSe.

Two dimensional III-VI metal monochalcogenide materials, such as GaSe and InSe, are attracting considerable attention due to their promising electronic and optoelectronic properties. Here, an investigation of point and extended atomic defects formed in mono-, bi-, and few-layer GaSe and InSe crystals is presented. Using state-of-the-art scanning transmission electron microscopy, it is observed that these materials can form both metal and selenium vacancies under the action of the electron beam. Selenium vacancies are observed to be healable: recovering the perfect lattice structure in the presence of selenium or enabling incorporation of dopant atoms in the presence of impurities. Under prolonged imaging, multiple point defects are observed to coalesce to form extended defect structures, with GaSe generally developing trigonal defects and InSe primarily forming line defects. These insights into atomic behavior could be harnessed to synthesize and tune the properties of 2D post-transition-metal monochalcogenide materials for optoelectronic applications.

Phonon scattering effects from point and extended defects on thermal conductivity studied via ion irradiation of crystals with self-impurities

Fundamental theories predict that reductions in thermal conductivity from point and extended defects can arise due to phonon scattering with localized strain fields. To experimentally determine how these strain fields impact phonon scattering mechanisms, we employ ion irradiation as a controlled means of introducing strain and assorted defects into the lattice. In particular, we observe the reduction in thermal conductivity of intrinsic natural silicon after self-irradiation with two different silicon isotopes, $^{28}\mathrm{Si}^{+}$ and $^{29}\mathrm{Si}^{+}$. Irradiating with an isotope with a nearly identical atomic mass as the majority of the host lattice produces a damage profile lacking mass impurities and allows us to assess the role of phonon scattering with local strain fields on the thermal conductivity. Our results demonstrate that point defects will decrease the thermal conductivity more so than spatially extended defect structures assuming the same volumetric defect concentrations due to the larger strain per defect that arises in spatially separated point defects. With thermal conductivity models using density functional theory, we show that for a given defect concentration, the type of defect (i.e., point vs extended) plays a negligible role in reducing the thermal conductivity compared to the strain per defect in a given volume.

Defect Structure of GaAs Layers Implanted with Nitrogen Ions

Structural defects formed in epitaxial GaAs layers as a result of 250-keV N+ ion implantation to doses within 5 × 1014–5 × 1016 cm–2 have been studied by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy techniques. No amorphization of the ion-implanted layer took place in the entire dose range studied. The implantation to doses of 5 × 1014 and 5 × 1015 cm–2 led to the appearance of an additional peak on XRD curves, which was related to the formation of a stressed GaAs layer with positive deformation arising due to the formation of point-defect clusters. The implantation to a dose of 5 × 1016 cm–2 led to the formation of a dense structure of extended defects in the implanted layer, which was accompanied by the relaxation of macrostresses to the initial state.

Opposing effects of stacking faults and antisite domain boundaries on the conduction band edge in kesterite quaternary semiconductors

We investigated stability and the electronic structure of extended defects including antisite domain boundaries and stacking faults in the kesterite-structured semiconductors, ${\mathrm{Cu}}_{2}{\mathrm{ZnSnS}}_{4}$ (CZTS) and ${\mathrm{Cu}}_{2}{\mathrm{ZnSnSe}}_{4}$ (CZTSe). Our hybrid density functional theory calculations show that stacking faults in CZTS and CZTSe induce a higher conduction band edge than the bulk counterparts, and thus the stacking faults act as electron barriers. Antisite domain boundaries, however, accumulate electrons as the conduction band edge is reduced in energy, having an opposite role. An Ising model was constructed to account for the stability of stacking faults, which shows the nearest-neighbor interaction is stronger in the case of the selenide.

Дефектная структура слоев GaAs, имплантированных ионами азота

AbstractStructural defects formed in epitaxial GaAs layers as a result of 250-keV N^+ ion implantation to doses within 5 × 10^14–5 × 10^16 cm^–2 have been studied by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy techniques. No amorphization of the ion-implanted layer took place in the entire dose range studied. The implantation to doses of 5 × 10^14 and 5 × 10^15 cm^–2 led to the appearance of an additional peak on XRD curves, which was related to the formation of a stressed GaAs layer with positive deformation arising due to the formation of point-defect clusters. The implantation to a dose of 5 × 10^16 cm^–2 led to the formation of a dense structure of extended defects in the implanted layer, which was accompanied by the relaxation of macrostresses to the initial state.

Defect-induced Stress Imaging in Single and Multi-crystalline Semiconductor Materials

Residual stress is a key feature which has to be taken into account in all steps of fabrication and processing of semiconductor materials and devices. The photo-elastic microscope SIREX (Scanning Infrared Stress Explorer) measures the depolarization of the light of an infrared laser probe caused by stress-induced birefringence in the sample. Subsequently, a map visualizes the in-plane optical anisotropy induced by stress. Hence, the system is applied as non-destructive tool to map stress distributions with high lateral resolution (3µm) and highest possible stress sensitivity (0.1 kPa). The so-called multi-polarization analysis results in maps of the in-plane maximum shear stress magnitude Δσ and the direction of the principal stress components. These maps can reveal the local stress fields of buried defects and their alignment in distinctive crystallographic directions. The fields are usually at least one order of magnitude larger in extension than the related defects themselves. Examples of extended defect structures in different crystalline semiconductor materials are presented in this paper. The emphasis has been put on line-shaped structures such as slip lines and twins which are partly accompanied by either tensile or compressive point-like stress sources. These structures are showing model characteristics for developing formal procedures of data and image processing under industrial conditions.

The effect of alloying nickel with iron on the supersonic ballistic stage of high energy displacement cascades

Previous experimental and theoretical studies suggest that the production of extended defect structures by collision cascades is inhibited in equiatomic NiFe, in comparison to pure Ni. It is also known that the production of such extend defect structures results from the formation of subcascades by high-energy recoils and their subsequent interaction. A detailed analysis of the ballistics of 40 keV cascades in Ni and NiFe is performed to identify the formation of such subcascades and to assess their spatial distribution. It is found that subcascades in Ni and NiFe are created with nearly identical energies and distributed similarly in space. This suggests that the differences in production of extended defect structures is not related to processes taking place in the ballistic phase of the collision cascade. These results can be generalized to other, more chemically complex, concentrated alloys where the elements have similar atomic numbers, such as many high-entropy alloys.

Lattice expansion by intrinsic defects in uranium by molecular dynamics simulation

A re-formulated and re-parameterized interatomic potential for uranium metal in the Charge-Optimized Many-Body (COMB) formalism is presented. Most physical properties of the orthorhombic α and bcc γ phases are accurately reproduced. In particular, this potential can reproduce the negative thermal expansion of the b axis in α-U while keeping this phase as the most stable phase at low temperatures, in accord with experiment. Most of the volume expansion in α-U by intrinsic defects is shown to come from the b axis, due to the formation of prismatic loops normal to this direction. Glide dislocation loops forming stacking faults are also observed. Structures of both loop types are analyzed. An expansion simulation is conducted and the results are verified by using the Norgett-Robinson-Torrens model. Rather than forming extended defect structures as in α-U, the γ phase forms only isolated defects and thus results in a much smaller and isotropic expansion.

Molecular dynamics simulations of irradiation defects in graphite: Single crystal mechanical and thermal properties

Molecular dynamics simulations of single crystal graphite have been performed, incorporating point and extended defect structures formed as a result of thermally annealed radiation damage. These AIREBO potential calculations have simulated the changes to crystal dimensions, elastic moduli and thermal expansion due to the formation of different representative morphologies of extended irradiation-induced defects (vacancy and interstitial aggregates) and over a range of atomic displacement fractions. We find that, in addition to the simulation method reproducing the important mechanical and thermal properties of virgin graphite, the property changes caused by the formation of extended defects in the graphite crystal structure qualitatively agree with experimental observations at different irradiation/annealing temperature regimes. The results of these calculations provide a direct insight into how the underlying atomic scale defects and dislocations created by radiation damage can lead to material property changes, and demonstrate how this computationally efficient simulation method can be employed to reproduce crystallite changes in large-scale models of polygranular graphite.

Effect of CdCl2 annealing treatment on structural and optoelectronic properties of close spaced sublimation CdTe/CdS thin film solar cells vs deposition conditions

CdTe/CdS thin films were deposited by close-spaced vacuum sublimation at substrate temperatures 250–500 °C. The effect of substrate temperature in conjunction with CdCl2 heat treatment on the properties of CdTe/CdS thin films and devices is reported. X-ray diffraction measurements of structural properties of the films were carried out to study their phase composition and texture. Surface morphology, grain size and growth mechanism of the films were determined by the scanning electron microscopy. The photoluminescence measurements allowed us to establish the correlation between the point and extended defect structure on the one hand and the growth conditions on the other. The CdTe/CdS solar cells fabricated at high substrate temperature, exhibited improved electrical characteristics compared to cells fabricated at low substrate temperature, yielding a high efficiency.

Pattern formation of second harmonic conical waves in a nonlinear medium with extended defect structure.

We experimentally demonstrate the propagation of the conical second harmonic fields generated from a nonlinear crystal with extended defects to investigate their pattern formation. The generated second harmonic waves are found to be the interference of multiple Bessel-like beams that originate from distinct longitudinal layers inside the crystal. To reconstruct the experimental results, we model the individual Bessel-like beam to be the superposition of an ensemble of identical decentered Gaussian waves with random phases. We present that the randomness of the phases leads the Bessel-like beams to show wave profiles with different extent of localization. Moreover, we use the coherent superposition of the developed wave functions with a phase factor to manifest the interference of multiple Bessel-like beams. The relative phases among the Bessel-like beams are shown to be closely related to the near and far-field patterns. With the experimental observations and the theoretical model, the relative phases are decided to successfully reconstruct the propagation characteristics of the multiple Bessel-like beams.

Atomic structure of extended defects in boron-implanted silicon layers

The structure of extended defects introduced into Si by means of boron implantation followed by thermal annealing at T = 900 °C is studied by the method of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and computer modeling for different values of the implantation dosage (D) and concentration of boron atoms in substitutional positions B0\((C_{B_0 } )\) injected into the Si lattice before implantation. It is shown that the Frank dislocation loops of both interstitial (I) and vacancy (V) type at a ratio of 4: 1 are observed in Si samples with D = 1016 cm−2 up to \(C_{B_0 } \) = 0.8·1020 cm−3. The atomic structure of the I-type Frank dislocation loops is heavily deformed, which suggests segregation of finely dispersed boron in the defect plane. At the same time, the structure of the V-type Frank dislocation loops tends to be reconstructed due to interaction with self-interstitials. At \(C_{B_0 } \) = 2.5·1020 cm−3, the I-type Frank dislocation loops are found to transform to perfect dislocation loops, and boron precipitates with a high density appear in Si. Based on the results obtained, probable reasons for vacancy deficit formation in boron-implanted Si are discussed.