Long-range Potential Fluctuations Research Articles

Диполярные биэкситоны в латеральных ловушках в гетероструктурах Si/SiGe/Si

Si/SiGe/Si heterostructures with long-range lateral potential fluctuations that appear in the capping Si layer near the SiGe/Si heterointerface due to the presence of relaxed areas in the SiGe layer have been studied. Analysis of the low-temperature photoluminescence spectra indicates that, upon the photoexcitation of the structure, the accumulation of nonequilibrium charge carriers, formation of dipolar excitons, and their recombination take place in large-scale lateral traps formed by these fluctuations. It is found that, at temperatures T < 10 K, a new narrow line appears with an increase in the excitation level at the blue side of the broad photoluminescence band of dipolar excitons localized by short-range potential fluctuations. At temperatures T ~ 2 K, this line is dominant in the spectra even at the lowest excitation levels. It is shown that, at moderate excitation levels, this line is caused by the recombination of free dipolar biexitons in large-scale traps. At high excitation levels, the width of the new line increases by more than a factor of 2 compared to that at lower excitation levels, and under these conditions this line is associated with the recombination of dipolar electron–hole plasma in large-scale traps.

Analysis of mobility-limiting mechanisms of the two-dimensional hole gas on hydrogen-terminated diamond

Here we present an analysis of the mobility-limiting mechanisms of a two-dimensional hole gas on hydrogen-terminated diamond surfaces. The scattering rates of surface impurities, surface roughness, non-polar optical phonons, and acoustic phonons are included. Using a Schrodinger/Poisson solver, the heavy hole, light hole, and split-off bands are treated separately. To compare the calculations with experimental data, Hall-effect structures were fabricated and measured at temperatures ranging from 25 to 700 K, with hole sheet densities ranging from 2 to 6$\times10^{12}\;\text{cm}^{-2}$ and typical mobilities measured from 60 to 100 cm$^{2}$/(V$\cdot$s) at room temperature. Existing data from literature was also used, which spans sheet densities above 1$\times10^{13}\;\text{cm}^{-2}$. Our analysis indicates that for low sheet densities, surface impurity scattering by charged acceptors and surface roughness are not sufficient to account for the low mobility. Moreover, the experimental data suggests that long-range potential fluctuations exist at the diamond surface, and are particularly enhanced at lower sheet densities. Thus, we propose a second type of surface impurity scattering which is caused by disorder related to the C-H dipoles.

Forty years of the Staebler–Wronski effect

ABSTRACTThis article describes highlights of investigations of the Staebler–Wronski effect (SWE), observed in hydrogenated amorphous silicon since its discovery. Some of the basic characteristics of SWE are discussed along with some solved and unsolved puzzles. Particular emphasis is given to a recent model based on long-range potential fluctuations caused by heterogeneities present in the films. Evidence is reviewed for the presence of several kinds of dangling-bond defects produced by light exposure (hv > 1.3 eV) at different temperatures between 4.2 and 360 K. With exposure at lower temperature the defects become less stable, but they possess larger recombination cross-sections. Voids in the material have been identified as the location for light-induced defects most harmful to the efficiency of solar cells. Ways to eliminate them are discussed. We suggest that progress in this field was delayed by lack of sample sharing among laboratories.

Role of transport band edge variation on delocalized charge transport in high-mobility crystalline organic semiconductors

We demonstrate that the degree of charge delocalization has a strong impact on polarization energy and thereby on the position of the transport band edge in organic semiconductors. This gives rise to long-range potential fluctuations, which govern the electronic transport through delocalized states in organic crystalline layers. This concept is employed to formulate an analytic model that explains a negative field dependence coupled with a positive temperature dependence of the charge mobility observed by a lateral time-of-flight technique in a high-mobility crystalline organic layer. This has important implications for the further understanding of the charge transport via delocalized states in organic semiconductors.

Light-induced electron localization in a quantum Hall system

Picosecond pulses of terahertz radiation induce non-equilibrium electron dynamics in a GaAs quantum Hall system, suppressing the longitudinal resistivity, and giving rise to a quantized transverse component. An insulating bulk state is a prerequisite for the protection of topological edge states1. In quantum Hall systems, the thermal excitation of delocalized electrons is the main route to breaking bulk insulation2. In equilibrium, the only way to achieve a clear bulk gap is to use a high-quality crystal under high magnetic field at low temperature. However, bulk conduction could also be suppressed in a system driven out of equilibrium such that localized states in the Landau levels are selectively occupied. Here we report a transient suppression of bulk conduction induced by terahertz wave excitation between the Landau levels in a GaAs quantum Hall system. Strikingly, the Hall resistivity almost reaches the quantized value at a temperature where the exact quantization is normally disrupted by thermal fluctuations. The electron localization is realized by the long-range potential fluctuations, which are a unique and inherent feature of quantum Hall systems. Our results demonstrate a new means of effecting dynamical control of topology by manipulating bulk conduction using light.

Magnetic phases of graphene nanoribbons under potential fluctuations

We investigate the effects of long-range potential fluctuations and electron-electron interactions on electronic and magnetic properties of graphene nanoribbons with zigzag edges using an extended mean-field Hubbard model. We show that electron-electron interactions make the edge states robust against potential fluctuations. When the disorder is strong enough, the presence of electron-hole puddles induces a magnetic phase transition from antiferromagnetically coupled edge states to ferromagnetic coupling, in agreement with recent experimental results.

Density of states and magnetotransport in Weyl semimetals with long-range disorder

We study the density of states and magnetotransport properties of disordered Weyl semimetals, focusing on the case of a strong long-range disorder. To calculate the disorder-averaged density of states close to nodal points, we treat exactly the long-range random potential fluctuations produced by charged impurities, while the short-range component of disorder potential is included systematically and controllably with the help of a diagram technique. We find that for energies close to the degeneracy point, long-range potential fluctuations lead to a finite density of states. In the context of transport, we discuss that a self-consistent theory of screening in magnetic field may conceivably lead to non-monotonic low-field magnetoresistance.

Chemical potential fluctuations in topological insulator (Bi0.5Sb0.5)2Te3-films visualized by photocurrent spectroscopy

We investigate the photocurrent properties of the topological insulator (Bi0.5Sb0.5)2Te3 on SrTiO3-substrates. We find reproducible, submicron photocurrent patterns generated by long-range chemical potential fluctuations, occurring predominantly at the topological insulator/substrate interface. We fabricate nano-plowed constrictions which comprise single potential fluctuations. Hereby, we can quantify the magnitude of the disorder potential to be in the meV range. The results further suggest a dominating photo-thermoelectric current generated in the surface states in such nanoscale constrictions.

Nanoscale Charge Localization Induced by Random Orientations of Organic Molecules in Hybrid Perovskite CH3NH3PbI3

Perovskite-based solar cells have achieved high solar-energy conversion efficiencies and attracted wide attentions nowadays. Despite the rapid progress in solar-cell devices, many fundamental issues of the hybrid perovskites have not been fully understood. Experimentally, it is well-known that in CH3NH3PbI3 the organic molecules CH3NH3 are randomly orientated at the room temperature, but the impact of the random molecular orientation has not been investigated. Because of the dipole moment of the organic molecule, the random orientation creates a novel system with long-range potential fluctuations unlike alloys or other conventional disordered systems. Using linear scaling ab initio methods, we find that the charge densities of the conduction band minimum and the valence band maximum are localized in nanoscales due to the potential fluctuations. The charge localization causes electron-hole separation and reduces carrier recombination rates, which may contribute to the long carrier lifetime observed in experiments.

Influence of heterogeneities on the electronic properties of hydrogenated amorphous silicon

An attempt is made to highlight the importance of inhomogeneities in hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H), in controlling its electronic properties. We note that hydrogen increases the gap in a-Si:H and that hydrogen is distributed inhomogeneously in it. This gives rise to long-range potential fluctuations, which are mostly uncorrelated and usually ignored. These and other such considerations have not only enabled us to gain new insights into the behaviour of a-Si:H in general, but have also allowed us to resolve several unsolved puzzles. Among these are questions like why undoped a-Si:H is n-type, why the creation of dangling bonds upon light soaking (LS) so inefficient, why a-Si:H degrades more upon LS when it is doped, why the reciprocity fails for light-induced degradation, why presence of nanocrystalline silicon improves stability and so on. We provide evidence to support some of our ideas and make suggestions for verifying the others.

Light induced degradation of amorphous silicon containing nanocrystalline silicon

The effect of light soaking (LS) is studied in hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) containing different amounts of nanocrystals, prepared by varying the deposition conditions in a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system. We find that the presence of nanocrystals (nc-Si) stabilizes the a-Si:H against LS. The long range potential fluctuations (LRPF) are measured and we find that they become smaller as the fraction of nanocrystals (χ) in the films increases. Raman spectra show a peak at 490 cm−1, which is taken to be the result of Intermediate Range Order (IRO) in the films. This IRO peak appears just when the hydrogen dilution is sufficiently high for the crystallization to begin, and increases with increasing hydrogen dilution as the crystallization increases. In contrast LRPF have maximum width when χ is zero and it decreases as χ increases. Further, the degradation upon LS is negligible when χ > 25%. We suggest an alternative mechanism for the improved stability, in which the photogenerated carriers moving under the influence of the long range potential fluctuations have a propensity to go to nc-Si, and recombine in that region.

Role of heterogeneities in Staebler–Wronski effect

The effect of light soaking (LS) on the properties of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) presents many challenging puzzles. We look at some of them, along with their present understanding. In particular, the role of the heterogeneities in LS is examined. We find that for most of the solved as well as unsolved puzzles, the long-range potential fluctuations arising from the heterogeneities in the films, afford an alternative view which looks quite plausible. The implications of such considerations are used to speculate on the possibility of making stable a-Si:H solar cells.

Spin conductance of diffusive graphene nanoribbons: A probe of zigzag edge magnetization

We investigate spin transport in diffusive graphene nanoribbons with both clean and rough zigzag edges, and long-range potential fluctuations. The long-range fields along the ribbon edges cause the local doping to come close to the charge neutrality point forming $p$-$n$ junctions with localized magnetic moments, similar to the predicted magnetic edge of clean zigzag graphene nanoribbons. The resulting random edge magnetization polarizes charge currents and causes sample-to-sample fluctuations of the spin currents obeying universal predictions. We show furthermore that, although the average spin conductance vanishes, an applied transverse in-plane electric field can generate a finite spin conductance. A similar effect can also be achieved by aligning the edge magnetic moments through an external magnetic field.

Two-dimensional metal-insulator transition as a potential fluctuation driven semiclassical transport phenomenon

We theoretically consider the carrier density tuned (apparent) two-dimensional (2D) metal-insulator-transition (MIT) in semiconductor heterostructure-based 2D carrier systems as arising from a classical percolation phenomenon in the inhomogeneous density landscape created by the long-range potential fluctuations induced by random quenched charged impurities in the environment. The long-range Coulomb disorder inherent in semiconductors produces strong potential fluctuations in the 2D system where a fraction of the carriers gets trapped or classically localized, leading to a mixed 2-component semiclassical transport behavior at intermediate densities where a fraction of the carriers is mobile and another fraction immobile. At high carrier density, all the carriers are essentially mobile whereas at low carrier density all the carriers are essentially trapped since there is no possible percolating transport path through the lake-and-mountain inhomogeneous potential landscape. The low-density situation with no percolation would mimic an insulator whereas the high-density situation with allowed percolating paths through the lake-and-mountain energy landscape would mimic a metal with the system manifesting an apparent MIT in between. We calculate the transport properties as a function of carrier density, impurity density, impurity location, and temperature using a 2-component (trapped and mobile carriers) effective medium theory. Our theoretically calculated transport properties are in good qualitative agreement with the experimentally observed 2D MIT phenomenology in 2D electron and hole systems. We find a high (low) density metallic (insulating) temperature-dependence of the 2D resistivity, and an intermediate-density crossover behavior which could be identified with the experimentally observed 2D MIT.

Durability of rewritable phase-change Ge X Sb Y Te1 − X − Y memory devices

The bond constraint theory (BCT) dealing with the rigidity caused by bond constraints and the long-range potential fluctuations (LRPF) arising from the defects and heterogeneities in the disordered semiconductors are important for understanding the atomic and electronic properties of amorphous semiconductors. Here, they are applied to the already commercialized Ge X Sb Y Te1 − X − Y (GST) chalcogenide glasses used in the rewritable phase change memory (PCM) devices. The main concern at present is to improve their ability to withstand a large number of phase change cycles, by choosing the right composition. The two considerations (BCT and LRPF) are briefly described and tested on the most commonly used Ge2Sb2Te5 and the nearby compositions. While these considerations provide significant insight into their atomic and electronic structures, the ansatz linking them with the durability of the PCM devices need to be justified by more work.

Role of potential fluctuations in phase‐change GST memory devices

AbstractThe long range potential fluctuations (LRPFs) arising from the defects and heterogeneities in disordered semiconductors are important for understanding their atomic and electronic properties. Here, they are measured in GeXSbYTe1−X−Y (GST) chalcogenide glasses used in rewritable phase change memory (PCM) devices. It is found that the most commonly used composition Ge2Sb2Te5 has the smallest LRPF amongst its nearby compositions. This finding may be useful in the search for better PCM materials.

The effect of disorder on integer quantized Hall effect

We study the effects of disorder on the integer quantized Hall effect within the screening theory, systematically. The disorder potential is analyzed considering the range of the potential fluctuations. The short-range potential fluctuations (≲20nm) stems from single impurities and defines the Landau level broadening, whereas, the long-range potential fluctuations (≳200nm) are calculated from the potential overlap of many-impurities, which in turn determines the widths of the plateaus. The short-range part is taken into account via self-consistent Born approximation hence determining the conductivities and a local version of Ohm's law is utilized to define charge transport. We investigate the long range potential fluctuations taking into account interaction effects and explore its effect on the formation of quantum Hall plateaus depending on the number of impurities, the amplitude of the impurity potential and the separation thickness by solving the 3D Poisson equation iteratively. We discuss the long range part of the potential fluctuations by investigating the Coulomb interaction of the two dimension electron gas numerically. We show that the widths of the quantized Hall plateaus increase with increasing disorder, whereas the influence of level broadening is suppressed at narrow Hall bars.

Transport through Graphene onSrTiO3

We report transport measurements through graphene on SrTiO(3) substrates as a function of magnetic field B, carrier density n, and temperature T. The large dielectric constant of SrTiO(3) very effectively screens long-range electron-electron interactions and potential fluctuations, making Dirac electrons in graphene virtually noninteracting. The absence of interactions results in an unexpected behavior of the longitudinal resistance in the N=0 Landau level and in a large suppression of the transport gap in nanoribbons. The "bulk" transport properties of graphene at B=0 T, on the contrary, are completely unaffected by the substrate dielectric constant.

Impact of Disorder on the5/2Fractional Quantum Hall State

We compare the energy gap of the $\ensuremath{\nu}=5/2$ fractional quantum Hall effect state obtained in conventional high mobility modulation-doped quantum-well samples with those obtained in high quality GaAs transistors (heterojunction insulated gate field-effect transistors). We are able to identify the different roles that long-range and short-range disorders play in the $5/2$ state and observe that the long-range potential fluctuations are more detrimental to the strength of the $5/2$ state than short-range potential disorder.

Potential fluctuations in phase change memory materials

Long-range potential fluctuations have been quantified in amorphous and crystallised thin films of a family of Ge–Sb–Te (GST) chalcogenide glasses. Among the compositions studied, the width of the potential fluctuations is the smallest for amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5. This is also the most robust material in terms of the number of write–erase cycles for GST films when used as phase change memory materials. A plausible explanation for this observation is given and a criterion for selecting suitable compositions in optical memory devices is proposed.