Ion-implanted Semiconductors Research Articles

Dispersion, Threshold and Gain Characteristics of Brillouin Scattered Stokes Mode in Ion-Implanted Semiconductor Quantum Plasmas

Dispersion, Threshold and Gain Characteristics of Brillouin Scattered Stokes Mode in Ion-Implanted Semiconductor Quantum Plasmas

Quantum effects on dispersion, threshold and gain characteristics of Brillouin scattered Stokes mode in ion-implanted semiconductor plasmas

Quantum effects (QEs) on the dispersion, threshold, and gain characteristics of the Brillouin scattered Stokes mode (BSSM) in ion-implanted semiconductor plasmas are analytically investigated using coupled mode theory. Taking into account that the origin of stimulated Brillouin scattering lies in nonlinear induced polarisation of the medium, expressions are derived for complex effective Brillouin susceptibility (due to electrons and implanted colloids) and consequently the threshold pump amplitude and the gain constant of BSSM. Inclusion of QEs is done via quantum correction term in the hydrodynamic model of semiconductor plasmas. QEs modify the dispersion, threshold and gain characteristics of BSSM in ion implanted semiconductor plasmas. In contrast to the threshold and gain characteristics of BSSM, which are impacted only by electrons and are unaffected by implanted charged colloids, the Brillouin susceptibility caused by implanted colloids has a significant impact on the dispersion characteristics of BSSM. Finally, an extensive numerical study of the n- InSb/CO2 laser system is performed for two different cases: (i) without QEs and (ii) with QEs. In both cases, the analysis offers two achievable resonances, at which the changes of sign as well as an enhancement of real part of effective Brillouin susceptibility and an enhancement of effective Brillouin gain constant are obtained. When QEs are included in the analysis, the entire spectrum shifts towards decreased levels of electron and colloidal carrier concentration.

Defect evolution in Mg ions implanted GaN upon high temperature and ultrahigh N2 partial pressure annealing: Transmission electron microscopy analysis

Defects in Mg ion-implanted GaN epitaxial layers formed after annealing at 1573 K and at 1753 K were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy. Degradation of the GaN surface, which occurs at temperatures higher than about 1573 K, was avoided by ultra-high-pressure annealing under a N2 atmosphere at 1 GPa. Annealing for damage recovery in ion-implanted compound semiconductors generally requires temperatures at about two-thirds of their melting point, which is reportedly 2518 K or higher for GaN. Thus, defect analysis in ion-implanted GaN annealed at temperatures higher than 1573 K is necessary to understand the defect recovery. Atomic-resolution transmission electron microscopy analysis showed that interstitial-type extended defects and inversion domains with Mg segregation were formed during the annealing at 1573 K. These defects were not observed in a sample annealed at 1753 K; instead, vacancy-type extended defects were formed. Such evolution of defects can be explained by previous theoretical studies that indicated that the migration energy of vacancy-type defects is higher than that of interstitial-type defects. Moreover, the formation of vacancy-type extended defects implies a reduction in the concentrations of vacancies and their complexes. Since the vacancies and their complexes can compensate for Mg acceptors, their reduced concentration should increase the acceptor activation efficiency. Also, the disappearance of Mg segregation during high-temperature annealing should increase the activation efficiency since the segregated Mg atoms are electrically inactive. It is thus concluded that the evolution of defects caused by high-temperature annealing above 1573 K increases the activation efficiency of acceptors in Mg ion-implanted GaN.

Nonlinear two-layer model for photocarrier radiometry of ion-implanted silicon wafers

A nonlinear two-layer model was developed to describe and analyze Photocarrier Radiometric (PCR) signals of ion-implanted Si wafers which are intrinsically nonlinear with excitation laser power. The thickness of the implantation layer and the optical/electronic damage threshold for different implantation doses were estimated using the Monte Carlo method and the effective medium approximation theory, respectively, which can provide key parameter values for the model to calculate the nonlinearity coefficient, defined as the slope of PCR amplitude versus excitation power in log-log scale. Experimentally, the nonlinearity coefficients of seven c-Si wafers with implantation doses from 1011 to 1016 cm-2 were measured at two different excitation wavelengths (830 and 405 nm), and good agreement between theory and experiment was found. Results show that the nonlinearity coefficient has a negative correlation with the implantation dose, and the coefficient measured at 405 nm is consistently smaller than that measured at 830 nm for each sample. Compared with the conventional PCR models, the nonlinear two-layer model proposed here is more coincident with experimental facts, thus enabling PCR to provide more accurate quantitative characterization of the carrier recombination and transport properties of ion-implanted semiconductor wafers.

Advances in applications of time-domain Brillouin scattering for nanoscale imaging

Time-domain Brillouin scattering is an all-optical experimental technique based on ultrafast lasers applied for generation and detection of coherent acoustic pulses on time durations of picoseconds and length scales of nanometers. In transparent materials, scattering of the probe laser beam by the coherent phonons permits imaging of sample inhomogeneity. The transient optical reflectivity of the sample recorded by the probe beam as the acoustic nanopulse propagates in space contains information on the acoustical, optical, and acousto-optical parameters of the material under study. The experimental method is based on a heterodyning where weak light pulses scattered by the coherent acoustic phonons interfere at the photodetector with probe light pulses of significantly higher amplitude reflected from various interfaces of the sample. The time-domain Brillouin scattering imaging is based on Brillouin scattering and has the potential to provide all the information that researchers in materials science, physics, chemistry, biology, etc., get with classic frequency-domain Brillouin scattering of light. It can be viewed as a replacement for Brillouin scattering and Brillouin microscopy in all investigations where nanoscale spatial resolution is either required or advantageous. Here, we review applications of time-domain Brillouin scattering for imaging of nanoporous films, ion-implanted semiconductors and dielectrics, texture in polycrystalline materials and inside vegetable and animal cells, and for monitoring the transformation of nanosound caused by nonlinearity and focusing. We also discuss the perspectives and the challenges for the future.

Tailored semiconductors for high-harmonic optoelectronics.

The advent of high-harmonic generation in gases 30 years ago set the foundation for attosecond science and facilitated ultrafast spectroscopy in atoms, molecules, and solids. We explore high-harmonic generation in the solid state by means of nanostructured and ion-implanted semiconductors. We use wavelength-selective microscopic imaging to map enhanced harmonic emission and show that the generation medium and the driving field can be locally tailored in solids by modifying the chemical composition and morphology. This enables the control of high-harmonic technology within precisely engineered solid targets. We demonstrate customized high-harmonic wave fields with wavelengths down to 225 nanometers (ninth-harmonic order of 2-micrometer laser pulses) and present an integrated Fresnel zone plate target in silicon, which leads to diffraction-limited self-focusing of the generated harmonics down to 1-micrometer spot sizes.

Amplitude modulation and demodulation of an electromagnetic wave in magnetized ion-implanted semiconductor plasmas having SDDC

In communication processes, amplitude modulation is very helpful to save power using a single band transmission. Using the hydrodynamical description of semiconductor plasma analytical investigations are made for the amplitude modulation as well as demodulation of an electromagnetic wave in magnetized ion implanted semiconductor plasmas having strain dependent dielectric constants. Analysis is made under different wave number regimes over a wide range of cyclotron frequencies without and with colloids. Numerical estimations are made for n-doped BaTiO3 crystal irradiated by pump wave frequency 1.78 × 1013s−1. It has been found that ion implantation of negatively charged colloids modifies nearly ≈ 105 of magnitude of amplitude modulation and demodulation processes. Ion implantation plays a key role in development of optoelectronics.

Investigation of an ion-implanted semiconductor layer by X-ray fluorescence analysis and ellipsometry

A method for determining the depth distribution of ion-implanted impurity atoms in semiconductors is developed. The method consists in measuring the concentration of impurities by X-ray fluorescence analysis upon the ellipsometry controlled removal of thin semiconductor layers. It is found that the prolonged low-energy X-ray radiation exposure of an ion-implanted semiconductor layer leads to a change in the distribution profile of the ion-implanted impurity atoms.

Nonlinear parametric interactions in ion-implanted semiconductor plasmas having strain-dependent dielectric constants

We report nonlinear parametric interactions using a hydrodynamic model of ion-implanted semiconductor plasmas having strain-dependent dielectric constants (SDDC). High-dielectric-constant materials are technologically important because of their nonlinear properties. We find that the third-order susceptibility varies in the range –10 V for ion-implanted semiconductor plasmas, which is in good agreement with previous results. It is found that the presence of SDDC in ion-implanted semiconductor plasma modifies the characteristic properties of the material.

Evolution of secondary defects in arsenic implanted Si

Behavior of defects in ion-implanted semiconductors is an everlasting topic and becomes even more critical as semiconductor devices continuously shrink and ion implantation technique has been increasingly employed. High resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) were employed to investigate the structural evolution of arsenic (As) implanted silicon (Si). Project range (PR) defects and end of range (EOR) dislocations are observed via HRTEM. EDX characterization proves the two types of defects are related to dopant atoms precipitations. The sizes of both PR defects and EOR dislocations enlarge at the expense of small ones with the elevation of annealing temperature. The characterizations of electrochemical capacitance–voltage and EDX conclude that the SiO2/Si interface is playing an indispensable role in the deactivation of dopant atoms during the annealing process. As atoms are detected in the As-implanted Si region near the SiO2/Si interface but not in the silica layer. Nanoparticles composed of Si atoms in the silica layer are observed in the 1150 °C-annealed samples, which proves the migration of oxygen atoms at the SiO2/Si interface.

Depth Profiling of Electronic Transport Properties in $$\mathrm{H}^{+}$$ H + -Implanted n-Type Silicon

A depth profiling theory for electronic transport properties (carrier diffusivity and lifetime) in ion-implanted semiconductor wafers using infrared photocarrier radiometry (PCR) is proposed. The ion-implanted inhomogeneous sample was sliced into many virtual sub-layers along the depth direction so that the continuously variable electronic properties across the whole thickness can be considered as uniform in each incremental slice. A recursion relationship among the slices was obtained, and the overall PCR signal was built based on contributions from each slice. Experimental lifetime and electronic diffusivity reconstructions of depth profiles at two ion doses (\(3\times 10^{14 }\,\mathrm{cm}^{-2 }{\text { and }}3\times 10^{15}\,\mathrm{cm}^{-2})\) and several implantation energies (from 0.75 MeV to 2.0 MeV) have been demonstrated.

Effective dopant activation by susceptor-assisted microwave annealing of low energy boron implanted and phosphorus implanted silicon

Rapid processing and reduced end-of-range diffusion result from susceptor-assisted microwave (MW) annealing, making this technique an efficient processing alternative for electrically activating dopants within ion-implanted semiconductors. Sheet resistance and Hall measurements provide evidence of electrical activation. Susceptor-assisted MW annealing, of ion-implanted Si, enables more effective dopant activation and at lower temperatures than required for rapid thermal annealing (RTA). Raman spectroscopy and ion channeling analyses are used to monitor the extent of ion implantation damage and recrystallization. The presence and behavior of extended defects are monitored by cross-section transmission electron microscopy. Phosphorus implanted Si samples experience effective electrical activation upon MW annealing. On the other hand, when boron implanted Si is MW annealed, the growth of extended defects results in reduced crystalline quality that hinders the electrical activation process. Further comparison of dopant diffusion resulting from MW annealing and rapid thermal annealing is performed using secondary ion mass spectroscopy. MW annealed ion implanted samples show less end-of-range diffusion when compared to RTA samples. In particular, MW annealed P+ implanted samples achieve no visible diffusion and equivalent electrical activation at a lower temperature and with a shorter time-duration of annealing compared to RTA. In this study, the peak temperature attained during annealing does not depend on the dopant species or dose, for susceptor-assisted MW annealing of ion-implanted Si.

Analytical modelling of the current ( I )–voltage ( V ) characteristics of sub‐micron gate‐length ion‐implanted GaAs MESFETs under dark and illuminated conditions

An analytical model for current (I)–voltage (V) characteristics of a short-channel ion-implanted GaAs MESFET has been presented for dark and illuminated conditions. For the sake of simplicity, the non-analytic (i.e. non-integral) Gaussian doping function commonly considered for the channel doping of an ion-implanted GaAs metal semiconductor field effect transistor (MESFET) has been replaced by an analytic Gaussian-like doping profile in the vertical direction. The device uses an indium–tin oxide-based Schottky gate through which an optical radiation of 0.87 μm wavelength is coupled from an external source into the device to modulate the I–V characteristics of the short-gate length GaAs MESFET. The coupled light generates electron–hole pairs in the active channel region below the gate and develops a photovoltage across the Schottky gate–channel junction and modulates the device characteristics. This study also includes the modelling of this photovoltaic effect by taking the short-gate length effects into consideration. The developed model includes the effects of doping profile and device parameters on the drain current of the short-channel ion-implanted GaAs MESFETs under dark and illuminated conditions of operations. The accuracy of the proposed model is extensively verified by comparing the theoretically predicted results with numerical simulation data obtained by using the commercially available ATLASTM device simulation software.

Colloidal crystal formation in a semiconductor quantum plasma

The static shielding and the far-field dynamical oscillatory wake potentials in an ion-implanted piezoelectric semiconductor with colloid ions as test particles have been investigated in detail. The dielectric response function of the semiconductor is contributed by the quantum effect of electrons through the Bohm potential and lattice electron-phonon coupling effects. It is found that the quantum effect causes tighter binding of the electrons reducing the quantum Debye shielding length and the effective length of the wake potential to several angstroms. Hence, a quasiquantum lattice of colloid ions can be formed in the semiconductor in the quantum scales giving rise to drastic modifications of the ion-implanted semiconductor properties.

Mechanisms of damage formation in semiconductors

The damage accumulation in ion-implanted semiconductors is analysed using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS). When energetic ions are implanted in a material, they transfer their energy mainly into atomic collision processes (nuclear energy loss) and in electronic excitations (electronic energy loss). For a given material this primary energy deposition is determined by the mass and energy of the implanted ions and the ion fluence (number of ions per unit area). However, the damage concentration which is measured after implantation does not only depend on the primary energy deposition, but is strongly influenced by secondary effects like defect annealing and defect transformation. For the latter processes the target temperature and the ion flux (number of ions per unit area and time) play an important role. In this presentation the influence of the various parameters mentioned above on the damage accumulation is demonstrated for various materials. Simple empirical models are applied to get information about the processes occurring and to systematize the results for the various semiconductors.

Possible colloid crystal formation in a magnetized and inhomogeneous semiconductor plasma

We investigate the detailed properties of the modification of the Debye-Hückel and the consequent oscillatory wake potentials in the presence of a density inhomogeneity and external static uniform electric and magnetic fields in an ion-implanted n-type piezoelectric semiconductor. It is found that the external fields and the density nonuniformity have significant effects on the static and dynamical electrostatic potentials. The possibility of the long-ranged order formation of colloids of the implanted ions, leading to modification of the electrical, thermodynamic, and optical properties of the “soft matter,” has been pointed out. The periodic wakefields besides the usual static Coulombian Debye-Hückel potential may cause the long-range ordered structures of the charged colloidal particulates within the semiconductor to show various additional properties.

Effect of Density Gradient on the Acousto-Electric Wave Instability in Ion-Implanted Semiconductor Plasmas

Using hydrodynamic model of inhomogeneous plasma, an analytical investigation of excitation of acousto-electric mode was made in n-type piezoelectric ion-implanted semiconductor plasma. By employing the multi-fluid balance equations along with the elastic and Maxwell equations, a compact dispersion relation for the cases in which colloidal grains are either stationary (θ0d = 0) or streaming (θ0d 6= 0) is derived. We find that the choice of homogeneous medium is favorable in achieving higher acoustic gain per radian and the results of the investigation should be useful in understanding the characteristics of longitudinal acousto-electric wave in ion-implanted piezoelectric semiconductor whose main constituents are electrons and negatively charged colloidal particles.

Characterization of a TeflonÒcoated semiconductor detector flow cell for monitoring of pertechnetate in groundwater

A new flow-cell detection system using a TeflonOcoated passivated ion-implanted planar silicon semiconductor detector was developed for detection of pertechnetate (99TcO4 - E b

Instability of circularly polarized electro-kinetic waves in magnetized ion-implanted semiconductor plasmas

Based on the hydrodynamical model of plasmas, an analytical investigation of a transverse electro-kinetic wave and the novel properties introduced due to the presence of negatively charged colloidal particles in a compensated, magnetized group III-V semiconductor plasma is presented. We derive a compact linear dispersion relation for left-hand circularly polarized electro-kinetic waves in an ion-implanted semiconductor plasma by using multi-fluid analysis and Maxwell's equations. This dispersion relation is used to study numerically wave phenomena and the resultant instability of the left-hand circularly polarized mode. It is found that the presence of charged colloids significantly modify the dispersion and absorption characteristics of possible modes even though colloidal particles on account of their heavy masses do not participate in wave propagation. One out of the two modes is always found to be spatially growing with the growth rate increasing with the electric field.

Effect of drifting carriers on longitudinal electro-kinetic waves in ion-implanted semiconductor plasmas

We present an analytical study of wave spectra of electro-kinetic waves propagating through semiconductor plasma, whose main constituents are drifting electrons, holes and non-drifting negatively charged colloids. By employing the hydrodynamical model of multi-component plasma, a compact dispersion relation for the same is derived. This dispersion relation is used to study slow electro-kinetic wave phenomena and resultant instability numerically. We find some important modifications in the wave spectra of the slow electro-kinetic branch. It is found that the drift velocities of electrons and holes are responsible for converting two aperiodic modes into periodic ones. The applied dc electric field increases the phase velocities of contra-propagating modes. The amplification coefficients of propagating modes can be optimized by tuning the amplitude of applied electric field and wave number. It is hoped that the results of this investigation should be useful in understanding the wave spectra of slow electro-kinetic waves in ion-implanted semiconductor plasma subjected to a dc electric field along the direction of wave propagation.