GaAs Heterostructures Research Articles

InAs量子点引入应力对调制掺杂结构中二维电子气输运特性的影响

Effect of embedding InAs quantum dots( QDs) on the transport properties of two-dimensional gas( 2-DEG) in a modulation-doped AlGaAs / GaAs heterostructure was investigated.Samples with difference thickness( Tch) from QDs layer to 2-DEG were prepared using molecular beam epitaxy.Hall measurements show that the mobility drops dramatically with the decrease of Tch,and the electron concentration shows a same trend.Strain distributions have been measured by means of geometric phase analysis of the high-resolution transmission electron microscope images.The results show that the strain is focused in the edges and above of InAs QDs which are resulted from the extended lattice distortion.And the non-uniform strain field could be another key factor for the drop of the mobility besides coulomb scattering.

Multilayer GaAs-Based Heterostructures with Holographic Concentrator for Solar Cells

The present paper studies the issue of forming a diffraction concentrator in the form of relief diffraction gratings. The possibility of their application for solar energy systems based on GaAs heterostructures has been studied. It was shown that the use of diffractive and holographic concentrators proves to be very effective, since they provide for the increased radiant flux onto sensitive surface of the solar cell, whereas no automatic solar tracker is required. This will create novel approaches for a wide range application of gallium arsenide solar cells.

Quantum point contact displacement transducer for a mechanical resonator at sub-Kelvin temperatures

Highly sensitive displacement transduction of a 1.67 MHz mechanical resonator with a quantum point contact (QPC) formed in a GaAs heterostructure is demonstrated. By positioning the QPC at the point of maximum mechanical strain on the resonator and operating at 80 mK, a displacement responsivity of 3.81 A/m is measured, which represents a two order of magnitude improvement on the previous QPC based devices. By further analyzing the QPC transport characteristics, a sub-Poisson-noise-limited displacement sensitivity of 25 fm/Hz1∕2 is determined which corresponds to a position resolution that is 23 times the standard quantum limit.

Design of S-Graded Buffer Layers for Metamorphic ZnS y Se1−y /GaAs (001) Semiconductor Devices

We present design equations for error function (or “S-graded”) graded buffers for use in accommodating lattice mismatch of heteroepitaxial semiconductor devices. In an S-graded metamorphic buffer layer the composition and lattice mismatch profiles follow a normal cumulative distribution function. Minimum-energy calculations suggest that the S-graded profile may be beneficial for control of defect densities in lattice-mismatched devices because they have several characteristics which enhance the mobility and glide velocities of dislocations, thereby promoting long misfit segments with relatively few threading arms. First, there is a misfit-dislocation-free zone (MDFZ) adjacent to the interface, which avoids dislocation pinning defects associated with substrate defects. Second, there is another MDFZ near the surface, which reduces pinning interactions near the device layer which will be grown on top. Third, there is a large built-in strain in the top MDFZ, which enhances the glide of dislocations to sweep out threading arms. In this paper we present approximate design equations for the widths of the MDFZs, the built-in strain, and the peak misfit dislocation density for a general S-graded semiconductor with diamond or zincblende crystal structure and (001) orientation, and show that these design equations are in fair agreement with detailed numerical energy-minimization calculations for ZnS y Se1−y /GaAs (001) heterostructures.

Detection and Measurement of Spin-Dependent Dynamics in Random Telegraph Signals

A quantum point contact was used to observe single-electron fluctuations of a quantum dot in a GaAs heterostructure. The resulting random telegraph signals (RTS) contain statistical information about the electron spin state if the tunneling dynamics are spin dependent. We develop a statistical method to extract information about spin-dependent dynamics from RTS and use it to demonstrate that these dynamics can be studied in the thermal energy regime. The tunneling rates of each spin state are independently measured in a finite external magnetic field. We confirm previous findings of a decrease in overall tunneling rates for the spin excited state compared to the ground state as an external magnetic field is increased.

Photocurrent Calculation of Intersubband Transitions to Continuum-Localized States in GaAs/AlGaAs Multiquantum Wells for Mid-Infrared Photodetector

In this paper, we propose a system based on GaAs heterostructure where it is possible to generate photocurrent with mid-infrared radiation. This system is based on a central quantum well (CQW) embedded in a superlattice. Because of the CQW, which acts as a defect, there are localized states between the mini-bands in the continuum of the conduction band. Unlike the usual systems where the final states are delocalized, the oscillator strength due to the transitions between electrons occupying the ground-state to these continuum-localized states is enhanced. An applied electrical bias mixes the mini-band states with the localized state in the continuum, and due to the combined effects of strong oscillator strength and high transmission coefficients, narrow and sharp peaks are observed in the photocurrent when exciting these final states. We calculate and present results of the absorption and photocurrent for a system built to operate at 4.1 μm and discuss their dependence with the bias applied to the system and with the intensity of the incident radiation.

Determination of band alignment of pulsed-laser-deposited perovskite titanate/III-V semiconductor heterostructure using X-ray and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy

Techniques of X-ray and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy are performed to investigate the energy band discontinuity of pulsed-laser-deposited SrTiO3 (STO)/GaAs heterostructure. The valence band offset is determined to be 2.6 eV, while the conduction band offset is deduced to be 0.7 eV. As a consequence, an energy band diagram of STO/GaAs with a type II band alignment forming at the interface is precisely constructed. The chemical states across the STO/GaAs interface are investigated by sputter-depth profile, and there are no detectable interfacial reaction and intermediate layer occurring between the epitaxial STO film and GaAs substrate.

Quantification of trap state densities in GaAs heterostructures grown at varying rates using intensity-dependent time resolved photoluminescence

Time-resolved photoluminescence is an established technique for characterizing carrier lifetimes in semiconductors, but the dependence of lifetime on excitation fluence has been only qualitatively investigated. We develop a quantitative approach for fitting fluence-dependent PL decay data to a Shockely-Read-Hall model of carrier recombination in order to extract the trap state density. We demonstrate this approach by investigating growth rate-dependent trap densities in gallium arsenide-indium gallium phosphide double heterostructures. The techniques developed here can be applied for rapid, non-destructive quantification of trap state densities in a variety of materials.

High speed photodetectors based on a two-dimensional electron/hole gas heterostructure

We report on high-speed metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) resonant cavity enhanced photodetectors based on Schottky-contacted (Al,In)GaAs heterostructures containing both electron and hole quantum wells. Interdigitated detectors were fabricated and characterized with and without an underlying Distributed Bragg Reflector (DBR). All detectors had very low dark currents and high linear responsivities. The fastest measured temporal response with a 16 ps full-width at half-maximum and a 29 ps fall time was demonstrated on a device with 1 μm gap between electrodes and an underlying DBR. Single quantum well detectors have previously demonstrated increased responsivity and speed but were limited by a slow decaying tail in the high speed photoresponse, attributed to the long collection path of minority carriers. The use of an electron and hole well, separated by a 110 nm absorption region as well as an underlying DBR, eliminates the slow tail by providing an enhanced collection path for both optically generated electrons and holes. Here, we present the fabricated device structure along with the DC and high speed photoresponse under varying incident powers. We briefly compare these results to those of the previous single well devices and attribute improvements in the time response tail to enhanced diffusion created by the presence of the separated dual well structure.

Electron-hole pairing in topological insulator heterostructures in the quantum Hall state

A thin film of a topological insulator (TI) on a dielectric substrate and a bulk TI - dielectric film - bulk TI structure are considered as natural double-well heterostructures suitable for realizing the counterflow superconductivity. The effect is connected with pairing of electrons and holes belonging to different surfaces of TI and the transition of a gas of electron-hole pairs into a superfluid state. The case of TI heterostructures subjected to a strong perpendicular magnetic field is considered. It is shown that such systems are characterized by two critical temperatures - a mean-field temperature of pairing and a much smaller temperature of the superfluid transition. The dependence of the critical temperatures on the magnetic field is computed. The advantages of TI based structures in comparison with GaAs heterostructures as well as graphene based heterostructures are discussed.

A Tunable 3‐Terminal GMR Device Based on a Hybrid Magnetic‐Electric‐Barrier Nanostructure

We propose a giant magnetoresistance (GMR) device, which can be experimentally realized by depositing two ferromagnetic (FM) strips and a Schottky metal (SM) stripe in parallel configuration on top of the GaAs heterostructure. The GMR effect ascribes a significant electron transmission difference between the parallel and antiparallel magnetization configurations of two FM stripes. Moreover, the MR ratio depends strongly on the magnetic strength of the magnetic barrier (MB) and the electric barrier (EB) height induced by an applied voltage to the SM stripe. Thus, this system can be used as a GMR device with tunable MR by an applied voltage to SM stripe or by magnetic strength of the MB.

Direct Transfer of GaAs Microtube Arrays onto Transparent Substrates for Imaging Neuron Outgrowth

We introduce a direct method for transferring arrays of GaAs microtubes from an opaque substrate to a transparent glass substrate in a controlled manner. This enables us to build a platform for optical readout of the microtubes’ interaction with overgrown cellular networks. We achieve this by applying a double layer of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The first PDMS layer serves as a smooth and mechanically compliant transparent substrate. The second, adhesive layer contains a mixture of PDMS and n-hexane, which creates a layer thickness smaller than the tube diameter. This will prevent the tubes from sinking into the substrate. The microtubes themselves are made of GaAs heterostructures. The direct bandgap of the material allows for the integration of embedded optical device components into the tube wall. The microtubes have diameters on the same scale as typical mouse cortical axons, being on average 1 μm. The axons can be grown through the tubes, hence maximally enhancing the capacitive coupling of the signal source (axon) and the electrode (tube). Although the tube material is toxic to cells, we are able to overcome this by a parylene-coating step.

Using a Tunable Quantum Wire To Measure the Large out-of-Plane Spin Splitting of Quasi Two-Dimensional Holes in a GaAs Nanostructure

The out-of-plane g-factor g([perpendicular])(*) for quasi two-dimensional (2D) holes in a (100) GaAs heterostructure is studied using a variable width quantum wire. A direct measurement of the Zeeman splitting is performed in a magnetic field applied perpendicular to the 2D plane. We measure an out-of-plane g-factor up to g([perpendicular])(*) = 5, which is larger than previous optical studies of g([perpendicular])(*) and is approaching the long predicted but never experimentally verified out-of-plane g-factor of 7.2 for heavy holes.

Negative photoconductance in SiO2(Co)/GaAs heterostructure in the avalanche regime

Negative photoconductance of heterostructures of silicon dioxide films containing cobalt nanoparticles grown on gallium arsenide SiO2(Co)/GaAs has been observed in the avalanche regime. Light with the photon energy less than the bandgap energy of the GaAs creates holes trapped on defects within the GaAs bandgap. This suppresses the avalanche feedback and causes a reduction of the current flowing through the SiO2(Co)/GaAs heterostructure.

Photoluminescence characterization of GaAs/GaAs0.64P0.19Sb0.17/GaAs heterostructure

Interfacial characteristics of GaAs/GaAs0.64P0.19Sb0.17GaAs heterostructures and emission properties of a quaternary GaAs0.64P0.19Sb0.17 layer were studied by excitation-power- and temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL) measurements. The GaAs-to-GaAsPSb upper interface related emission feature and signals from GaAsPSb and GaAs were observed and characterized. The upper interface related emission peak was attributed to the radiative recombination of spatially separated electron–hole pairs and suggesting the type-II alignment at the GaAs/GaAsPSb interface. The localized excitonic emission feature of GaAsPSb revealed a blueshift due to the saturation effect of localized states and showed a fast thermal-quench with the increase of temperature. The temperature variation of the band edge emission signal of GaAsPSb was found to follow that of GaAs closely.

Current Gain and Offset Voltage in an InGaP/GaAsSb/GaAs Double Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor

An In0.5Ga0.5P/GaAs0.93Sb0.07/GaAs heterostructure is grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition and demonstrated to be an alternative to InGaP/GaAs systems for use in single heterojunction bipolar transistors (SHBTs). The In0.5Ga0.5P/GaAs0.93Sb0.07/GaAs double heterojunction bipolar transistor (DHBT) device structures are identical to the control SHBTs except for the incorporation of antimony to the base layer. The InGaP/GaAsSb/GaAs DHBT has a lower turn-on voltage than the control InGaP/GaAs SHBT. Details of the effect of the base current on the offset voltage in the studied devices are explored. The dc current gain β of the InGaP/GaAsSb/GaAs DHBT is virtually independent of collector current at 300 K. The current gain of the GaAsSb-based DHBT is greater than 40 at a very small collector current of 1 μA at 300 K. The dependence of the current gain on temperature at various collector currents is discussed. The variation of β with temperature is slight at high currents over the range of 300 K-390 K. Furthermore, the current gain of the InGaP/GaAsSb/GaAs DHBT exhibits almost no dependence on the collector-base voltage VCB, demonstrating the nonblocking “type-II” band lineup at the base/collector heterojunction.

Study of thermal degradation of AuGeNi ohmic contacts of resonant tunneling diodes based on nanoscale AlAs / GaAs heterostructures

Study of thermal degradation of AuGeNi ohmic contacts of resonant tunneling diodes based on nanoscale AlAs / GaAs heterostructures

Decreasing the role of transverse spatial electron transport and increasing the output power of heterostructure field-effect transistors

We present the first results of development of high-power field-effect transistors (FETs) based on a GaAs heterostructure with quantum well and additional potential barriers optimized to reduce the role of transverse spatial electron transport, which leads to a 1.5-fold increase in the output power. The proposed FETs with a gate length of 0.4–0.5 μm and a total gate width of 0.8 mm exhibit a gain above 8 dB at a frequency of 10 GHz, a specific output power above 1.4 W/mm, and an up to 50% power added efficiency.

In situ grown Ge in an arsenic-free environment for GaAs/Ge/GaAs heterostructures on off-oriented (100) GaAs substrates using molecular beam epitaxy

High-quality epitaxial Ge layers for GaAs/Ge/GaAs heterostructures were grown in situ in an arsenic-free environment on (100) off-oriented GaAs substrates using two separate molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) chambers, connected via vacuum transfer chamber. The structural, morphological, and band offset properties of these heterostructures are investigated. Reflection high energy electron diffraction studies exhibited (2 × 2) Ge surface reconstruction after the growth at 450 °C and also revealed a smooth surface for the growth of GaAs on Ge. High-resolution triple crystal x-ray rocking curve demonstrated high-quality Ge epilayer as well as GaAs/Ge/(001)GaAs heterostructures by observing Pendellösung oscillations and that the Ge epilayer is pseudomorphic. Atomic force microscopy reveals smooth and uniform morphology with surface roughness of ∼0.45 nm and room temperature photoluminescence spectroscopy exhibited direct bandgap emission at 1583 nm. Dynamic secondary ion mass spectrometry depth profiles of Ga, As, and Ge display a low value of Ga, As, and Ge intermixing at the Ge/GaAs interface and a transition between Ge/GaAs of less than 15 nm. The valence band offset at the upper GaAs/Ge-(2 × 2) and bottom Ge/(001)GaAs-(2 × 4) heterointerface of GaAs/Ge/GaAs double heterostructure is about 0.20 eV and 0.40 eV, respectively. Thus, the high-quality heterointerface and band offset for carrier confinement in MBE grown GaAs/Ge/GaAs heterostructures offer a promising candidate for Ge-based p-channel high-hole mobility quantum well field effect transistors.

Plasmons and Coulomb drag in Dirac-Schrödinger hybrid electron systems

We show that the plasmon spectrum of an ordinary two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) hosted in a GaAs heterostructure is significantly modified when a graphene sheet is placed on the surface of the semiconductor in close proximity to the 2DEG. Long-range Coulomb interactions between massive electrons and massless Dirac fermions lead to a set of optical and acoustic intrasubband plasmons. Here we compute the dispersion of these coupled modes within the random phase approximation, providing analytical expressions in the long-wavelength limit that shed light on their dependence on the Dirac velocity and Dirac-fermion density. We also evaluate the resistivity in a Coulomb-drag transport setup. These Dirac-Schr\"odinger hybrid electron systems are experimentally feasible and open research opportunities for fundamental studies of electron-electron interaction effects in two spatial dimensions.