Free Carrier Density Research Articles

MOCVD growth of high purity Ga2O3 epitaxial films using trimethylgallium precursor

We report on the growth of β-Ga2O3 thin films using trimethylgallium (TMGa) as a source for gallium and pure O2 for oxidation. The growth rate of the films was found to linearly increase with the increase in the molar flow rate of TMGa and reach as high as ∼6 μm/h at a flow rate of 580 μmol/min. High purity, lightly Si-doped homoepitaxial β-Ga2O3 films with a good surface morphology, a record low temperature electron mobility exceeding 23 000 cm2/V s at 32 K, and an acceptor concentration of 2 × 1013 cm−3 were realized, showing an excellent purity film. Films with room temperature (RT) electron mobilities ranging from 71 cm2/V s to 138 cm2/V s with the corresponding free carrier densities between ∼1.1 × 1019 cm−3 and ∼1.5 × 1016 were demonstrated. For layers with the doping concentration in the range of high-1017 and low-1018 cm−3, the RT electron mobility values were consistently more than 100 cm2/V s, suggesting that TMGa is suitable to grow channel layers for lateral devices, such as field effect transistors. The results demonstrate excellent purity of the films produced and confirm the suitability of the TMGa precursor for the growth of device quality β-Ga2O3 films at a fast growth rate, meeting the demands for commercializing Ga2O3-based high voltage power devices by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition.

How silicon and boron dopants govern the cryogenic scintillation properties of N-type GaAs

This paper is the first report describing how the concentrations of silicon and boron govern the cryogenic scintillation properties of n-type GaAs. It shows that valence band holes are promptly trapped on radiative centers and then combine radiatively with silicon donor band electrons at rates that increase with the density of free carriers. It also presents the range of silicon and boron concentrations needed for efficient light emission under X-ray excitation, which along with its low band gap and apparent absence of afterglow, make scintillating GaAs suitable for the detection of rare, low-energy electronic excitations from interacting dark matter particles. A total of 29 samples from four different suppliers were studied. Luminosities and timing responses were measured for the four principal emission bands centered at 860, 930, 1070, and 1335 nm, and for the total emissions. Excitation pulses of 40 kVp X-rays were provided by a light-excited X-ray tube driven by an ultra-fast laser. Scintillation emissions from 800 to 1350 nm were measured using an InGaAs photomultiplier. Within the concentration ranges of free carriers from 2 x 1016/cm3 to 6 x 1017/cm3 and boron from 1.5 × 1018/cm3 to 6 x 1018/cm3, nine samples have luminosities > 70 photons/keV and two have luminosities > 110 photons/keV. Other samples in that range have lower luminosities due to higher concentrations of non-radiative centers. The decay times decrease by typically a factor of ten with increasing free carrier concentrations from 1017/cm3 to 2 x 1018/cm3.

STRUCTURAL, OPTICAL AND DIELECTRIC PERFORMANCE OF MOLYBDENUM TRIOXIDE THIN FILMS SANDWICHED WITH INDIUM SHEETS

In this work, we report the enhancements in the structural, optical and dielectric properties of molybdenum trioxide that are achieved by insertion of 50 and 100 nm thick indium sheets between layers of MoO3. The films which are coated onto ultrasonically glass substrates under a vacuum pressure of 10-5 mbar exhibited metal induced crystallization process upon insertion of indium sheets. Optically, indium sheets tuned the transmittance and reflectance, significantly, increased the absorption coefficient values and formed interbands in the band gap of MoO3. The energy band gap decreased with increasing indium sheets thickness. On the other hand, the insertion of indium layers into the structure of MoO3 is observed to improve the dielectric response of these films to values that nominate them for used in thin film transistor technology. In the same context, the analyses of the optical conductivity which are carried out with the help of Drude-Lorentz approach have shown that the presence of indium sheets can increase the optical conductivity and enhance the plasmon frequency and free charge carrier density of MoO3. The plasmon frequency is tuned in the range of 1.68-7.16 GHz making MoO3 films attractive for plasmonic applications.

A combined model for formation mechanism of ripples induced by femtosecond laser on silicon carbide

In this article, a comparative study is performed to explore the formation mechanism of laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) using femtosecond laser on silicon carbide (SiC). The optical properties of SiC transformed to a metal-like state when the excited carrier density exceeds 2e22 cm−3 under laser irradiation and significantly altered the laser energy deposition. The laser-induced carrier density coupled with the optical properties and the incident laser intensity profile were calculated. The two-temperature model was used to describe the energy transformation from electron to lattice and guided to select appropriate laser conditions for producing ripples. The spatial period of laser-induced periodic nanostructures was calculated in frequency domain based on the Drude-Sipe model that comprised the estimation of free carrier density. The calculated range of the spatial period of LIPSS was about from 776 to 544 nm. Additionally, the experimental value was about 719–483 nm, which contained a good consistency with the theoretical results. This work provides a new approach for the prediction and fabrication of the LIPSS on SiC.

Exploring the intrinsic limit of the charge-carrier-induced increase of the Curie temperature of Lu- and La-doped EuO thin films

Raising the Curie temperature ${T}_{\mathrm{C}}$ of the highly spin-polarized semiconductor EuO by doping it with rare-earth elements is a strategy to make EuO more technologically relevant to spintronics. The increase of ${T}_{\mathrm{C}}$ with free carrier density $n$ and the surprisingly low dopant activation $p$, found in Gd-doped EuO thin films [Mairoser et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 257206 (2010)], raised the important question of whether ${T}_{\mathrm{C}}$ could be considerably enhanced by increasing $p$. Using a low-temperature growth method for depositing high-quality Lu-doped EuO films we attain high dopant activation ($p$) values of up to 67%, effectively more than doubling $p$ as compared to adsorption-controlled growth of Lu- and Gd-doped EuO. Relating $n, p$, and lattice compression of La- and Lu-doped EuO films grown at different temperatures to the ${T}_{\mathrm{C}}$ of these samples allows us to identify several different mechanisms influencing ${T}_{\mathrm{C}}$ and causing an experimental maximum in ${T}_{\mathrm{C}}$. In addition, scanning transmission electron microscopy in combination with electron energy loss spectroscopy measurements on La-doped EuO indicate that extensive dopant clustering is one, but not the sole reason for dopant deactivation in rare-earth doped EuO films.

Interstitial Engineering toward Stable Tin Halide Perovskite Solar Cells

Sn‐based halide perovskites are the most promising alternatives for developing Pb‐free perovskite solar cell materials. However, the stability of Sn halide perovskites is the biggest concern for future developments. The phase stability and the doping‐level control should be resolved for Sn perovskites to compete with Pb‐based analogs. Herein, interstitial engineering is used to enhance the stability of Sn‐based halide perovskites using alkali metals through ab initio calculations and controlled experiments. This study reveals that alkali metal interstitials can promote the performance of Sn perovskites by controlling their phase stability, suppressing free carrier density, and locking lattice vibration. K+ shows the most promising behavior among alkali–metal cations in terms of phase stabilization and defect formation energy.

Optimization of front SiNx/ITO stacks for high-efficiency two-side contacted c-Si solar cells with co-annealed front and rear passivating contacts

In this contribution, we present an electron selective passivating contact metallised with a low temperature process to target front side applications in crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells. In addition to an interfacial silicon oxide (SiOx) and an in-situ phosphorous doped micro-crystalline silicon (μc-Si(n)) layer, it comprises an ultra-thin indium tin oxide (ITO) layer of 15 nm for lateral conductivity and a hydrogen rich silicon nitride (SiNx:H) layer which serves as hydrogen (H) reservoir and as anti-reflection coating. We use one single thermal treatment for 30 min at 350 °C to sinter the screen-printed paste, to recover sputtering damage induced during ITO deposition, and to diffuse hydrogen from the SiNx:H layer towards the c-Si/SiOx interface where it passivates interfacial defects.Applied to symmetrically processed textured samples, we find implied open-circuit voltage (iVOC) > 728 mV for optimal ITO thickness of 15 nm and annealing temperatures of 350 °C. The developed stack was applied on the front textured side of co-annealed (800 °C) p-type c-Si solar cells in combination with a tunnel oxide hole selective passivating contact on the rear side. We demonstrate solar cells with fill factor (FF) up to 81.9% and an open-circuit voltage (VOC) up to 719 mV. With a short-circuit current density (JSC) of 38.6 mA/cm2, we obtain a final cell efficiency to 22.8%. We find that the annealing of the SiNx:H/ITO stack strongly increases the ITO free carrier density penalizing the solar cell spectral response at high wavelengths.

HOMO-HOMO Electron Transfer: An Elegant Strategy for p-Type Doping of Polymer Semiconductors toward Thermoelectric Applications.

Unlike the conventional p-doping of organic semiconductors (OSCs) using acceptors, here, an efficient doping concept for diketopyrrolopyrrole-based polymer PDPP[T]2 -EDOT (OSC-1) is presented using an oxidized p-type semiconductor, Spiro-OMeTAD(TFSI)2 (OSC-2), exploiting electron transfer from HOMOOSC-1 to HOMOOSC-2 . A shift of work function toward the HOMOOSC-1 upon doping is confirmed by ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS). Detailed X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV-vis-NIR absorption studies confirm HOMOOSC-1 to HOMOOSC-2 electron transfer. The reduction products of Spiro-OMeTAD(TFSI)2 to Spiro-OMeTAD(TFSI) and Spiro-OMeTAD is also confirmed and their relative amounts in doped samples is determined. Mott-Schottky analysis shows two orders of magnitude increase in free charge carrier density and one order of magnitude increase in the charge carrier mobility. The conductivity increases considerably by four orders of magnitude to a maximum of 10Sm-1 for a very low doping ratio of 8 mol%. The doped polymer films exhibit high thermal and ambient stability resulting in a maximum power factor of 0.07µWm-1 K-2 at a Seebeck coefficient of 140 µV K-1 for a very low doping ratio of 4 mol%. Also, the concept of HOMOOSC-1 to HOMOOSC-2 electron transfer is a highly efficient, stable and generic way to p-dope other conjugated polymers.

Far-infrared absorption of undoped and Br-doped carbon nanofiber powder in stacked-cup cone configuration

We performed room-temperature far-infrared ($40--650\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}{\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$) transmission measurements on undoped and bromine-doped powder samples of carbon nanofibers in stacked-cup cone geometry. The transmission spectra show enhanced transmittance after bromine doping and all spectra were fit to a Drude-Lorentz (DL) model. A decreased metallic conductivity along with a redshift of the lowest semiconducting gap was found with doped samples. A significant decrease in the scattering rate upon heavy doping has been qualitatively explained as partial ordering of intercalated dopant ions. Absorption spectra were derived from the transmission spectra under the assumption of nondispersive reflectance and subsequently compared with DL-model-derived spectra. The free-carrier density of the $n$-type powder and the electronic mean free path were estimated and compared with reported values for single-walled nanotubes and pyrolytic graphite.

Graphene resistivity in diffusive limit due to scalar and vector potential electron-phonon scattering

We calculate the contribution of unscreened and screened scalar (DP) and vector potential(VP) electron-acoustic phonon coupling to resistivity in disordered graphene through Keldysh Green’s function method within the diffusive limit, kFl ≫ 1. We obtain analytical results in the asymptotic limits of clean and strong impurities for both DP and VP coupling, which is in observed to be in good agreement with the resistivity behavior in these limits. We find that the complete numerical results approach the analytical result in the extreme limits, but give different temperature dependencies in between these limits. The graphene resistivity has been investigated as functions of temperature, mean free path and carrier density. We also evaluated the screened behavior in the Thomas-Fermi and Random phase approximation dielectric function and obtained the temperature power exponents. We find that in the absence of screening when the electronic disorder (T < Tdr), the two coupling mechanisms are affected differently and the relaxation rate associated with the VP coupling is suppressed by disorder as compared to the DP coupling, and the DP coupling is enhanced by disorder.

On Charge Carrier Density in Organic Solar Cells Obtained via Capacitance Spectroscopy

AbstractThe determination of the voltage‐dependent density of free charge carriers via capacitance spectroscopy is considered an important step in the analysis of emerging photovoltaic technologies, such as organic and perovskite solar cells. In particular, an intimate knowledge of the density of free charge carriers is required for the determination of crucial parameters such as the effective mobility, charge carrier lifetime, nongeminate recombination coefficients, average extraction times, and competition factors. Hence, it is paramount to verify the validity of the commonly employed approaches to obtain the density of free charge carriers. The advantages, drawbacks, and limitations of the most common approaches are investigated in detail and strategies to mitigate misleading values are explored. To this end, two types of nonfullerene organic solar cells based on a PTB7‐Th:ITIC‐2F blend and a PM6:Y6 blend, respectively, are used as a case study to assess how subsequent analyses of the nongeminate recombination dynamics depend on the chosen approach to calculate the density of free charge carriers via capacitance spectroscopy.

Effect of quantum confinement on the defect-induced localized levels in 4H-SiC(0001)/SiO2 systems

In the present study, we characterize the nature of interface states in silicon carbide (SiC) metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) systems by analyzing the electrical characteristics of MOS field effect transistors (MOSFETs) based on the results of numerical calculations. In the calculation, the potential distributions and energy sub-bands were calculated by solving Poisson and Schrödinger equations, respectively. As a result, we demonstrate that the defect-induced localized levels in the bandgap are subjected to quantum confinement at the inversion layer, leading to the increase in their energy levels. The result implies that the conventional interface defects (e.g., near-interface oxide traps), which create defect states at certain energy levels measured from the vacuum level, are unlikely to be the major origin of the interface states in SiC MOS systems. The interface state density is almost uniquely determined by the oxide formation process (as oxidation or interface nitridation) and independent of the acceptor concentration (3 × 1015–1 × 1018 cm−3). It is also suggested that the drain current decrease observed in heavily doped MOSFETs is mainly due to the decrease in the drift mobility rather than that in the free carrier density.

Cyclic voltammetry - A promising approach towards improving photoelectrochemical activity of hematite

Understanding the effect of electrochemical reaction on a particular material at the nanoscale level is essential for the application of solar conversion technology. Herein, electrochemical cyclic voltammetry (CV) treatment was applied on the α-Fe2O3 thin films by varying the number of cycles between 0 and 100. The thorough investigation provides insight into the modifications on the properties of the CV-treated films. The performance of pristine and CV-treated α-Fe2O3 as photoanodes are evaluated in the photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting cell. Consecutive CV scans up to the optimum number of cycles (50 cycles) promote the photocurrent density, where the photocurrent value at 0.6 VAg/AgCl becomes about 1.5 times higher than the pristine α-Fe2O3. This remarkable enhancement in PEC performance is due to the synergistic effect between the change of crystal orientation, the enhancement of surface oxygen vacancies and the increase of free charge carrier density. Our findings provide valuable information of possible pathway for improving the photoelectrochemical performance of a photoanode.

Adiabatic invariants for surface plasmons on temporally dynamic graphene

For surface plasmons on graphene in an arbitrary dielectric environment, combinations of the plasmon energy and frequency (adiabatic invariants) that are conserved during slow time-variations of the graphene free carrier density are obtained. The invariants allow one to find the plasmon energy changes directly from the frequency shift without solving a dynamic equation. The invariants have a different form in the cases of increasing and decreasing carrier density. In both cases, however, they predict that plasmon frequency shifting is accompanied by a decrease of the plasmon energy.

Resistive anisotropy of candidate excitonic insulator Ta2NiSe5 under pressure

We have measured anisotropic electrical resistivity of quasi-one-dimensional Ta2NiSe5 single crystals under pressure. While the in-plane anisotropy is almost pressure independent, the inter-plane one greatly decreases at P c ∼ 3 GPa accompanied by a pressure-induced semiconductor-semimetal transition. Nevertheless, a similar anomaly in the temperature dependence of in-plane anisotropy has been observed in each phase. This anomaly in the low-pressure phase below P c is regarded as an excitonic transition, and thus both of these anomalies are suppressed with increasing pressure. These results suggest that the suppression of the excitonic binding energy with pressure is caused by the increase of free carrier densities and the inter-plane conductivity.

Effects of Au nanoslabs on the performance of CdO thin films designed for optoelectronic applications

Abstract In this work, the effect of 50 nm thick gold nanosheets on the structural, morphological, optical and electrical properties of stacked layers of CdO are investigated. The insertion of Au nanoslabs decreased the lattice parameters of the cubic unit cells of CdO. It also decreased the microstrain, the defect density, the stacking fault percentage and increased the crystallite and grain sizes. Optically, the light absorbability is enhanced, the energy band gap is shrunk and the optical conductivity is increased. The optical conductivity parameters presented by scattering time, plasmon frequency, drift mobility and free carrier density are all engineered via participation of Au nanosheets. On the other hand, electrical measurements in the frequency domain of 0.01–1.80 GHz indicated that the Au nanosheets forced the capacitance spectra to exhibit negative values and increased the electrical conductivity in the studied frequency domain. The terahertz cutoff frequency is tuned in the range of 5.0–22.0 THz indicating the applicability of the CdO/Au/CdO (CAC) films as terahertz filters. The direct current electrical conductivity measurements have shown that while the CC samples exhibit nondegenerate extrinsic nature of conduction, the CAC samples displayed degenerate/nondegenerate transitions at 400 K. With the feature of negative capacitance that can be used for noise reduction and parasitic capacitance cancellation, the CAC films can be regarded as promising structure for multifunctional device applications.

Insight into Channel Conduction Mechanisms of 4H-SiC(0001) MOSFET Based on Temperature-Dependent Hall Effect Measurement

Temperature-dependent Hall effect measurements were conducted to investigate the channel conduction mechanisms of 4H-SiC metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs). This method allows us to discriminate the impact of the density of mobile (free) carriers in the inversion channels and their net mobility on the performance of SiC MOSFETs. It was found that, while the free carrier ratio of SiC MOSFETs with conventional gate oxides formed by dry oxidation is below 4% at 300 K, increasing the free carrier ratio due to thermal excitation of trapped electrons from SiO2/SiC interfaces leads to an unusual improvement in the field-effect mobility of SiC MOSFETs at elevated temperatures. Specifically, a significant increase in free carrier density surpasses the mobility degradation caused by phonon scattering for thermally grown SiO2/SiC interfaces. It was also found that, although nitrogen incorporation in SiO2/SiC interfaces increases the free carrier ratio typically up to around 30%, introduction of an additional scattering factor associated with interface nitridation compensates for the moderate amount of thermally generated mobile carriers at high temperatures, indicating a fundamental drawback of nitridation of SiO2/SiC interfaces. On the basis of these findings, we discuss the channel conduction mechanisms of SiC MOSFETs.

Superconductivity related to the suppression of exciton formation in 1T-TiSe2

In strongly correlated electron system, the impact of elementary substitution or intercalation plays a crucial role in determining electronic ground state among various macroscopic quantum phases such as charge order and superconductivity. Here, we report that simultaneous Cu intercalation and Ta substitution at Ti site in 1T-CuxTi0.8Ta0.2Se2 induce an intrinsic electronic phase diagram, characterized by an inherent superconducting transition in the x region of 0 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.12, with a maximum superconducting transition temperature Tc of 2.5 K for x = 0.04, in contrast to the non-superconducting sample 1T-Cu0.04TiSe2. The increased density of free charge carriers screen the Coulomb interaction between electron–hole pairs effectively, promoting the occurrence of superconductivity favourably. Present results suggest that the Cu intercalation and the Ta substitution-induced suppression of the exciton condensation boost the superconductivity, shedding new light on the fundamental physics of the interplay between superconductivity, charge order, and electron correlation.

Controlling the Response of Plasmonic Nano-Antennas through Gap-Loading

Unlike previously reported works, in this paper, we aim to create a link between the radiating elements and the proposed device at a distance, so that the emission can be distantly and freely manipulated. We present here a new type of device, using nonlinear hybrid antenna-semiconductor interaction. We observe a picosecond transient response from the antenna that cannot be explained by either pure or antenna nonlinearities independently. We have shown that optical pumping of antenna-semiconductor interaction leads to a local reduction of the free-carrier density in the substrate. The transient nonlinear response of the antenna-semiconductor interaction hybrid shows a redshift of the plasmon resonance, as opposed to transient bleaching on SiO2.

Study of detailed balance between excitons and free carriers in diamond using broadband terahertz time-domain spectroscopy

A fundamental understanding of the photoexcited carrier system in diamond is crucial to facilitate its application in photonic and electronic devices. Here, we report the detailed balance between free carriers and excitons in intrinsic diamond by using a deep-ultraviolet pump in combination with broadband terahertz (THz) probe spectroscopy. We investigated the transformation of photoexcited carriers to excitons by using an internal transition of excitons, which is found to occur at a frequency of 16 THz. We determined the equilibrium constant in the Saha equation from the temperature dependence of the free-carrier density measured at chemical equilibrium. The derived exciton binding energy is larger than the conventional value, which indicates an energy shift due to the fine-structure splitting of the exciton states.