No Arabic abstract
The electronic band structure of Ga(PAsN) with a few percent of nitrogen is calculated in the whole composition of Ga(PAs) host using the state-of-the-art density functional methods including the modified Becke-Johnson functional to correctly reproduce the band gap, and band unfolding to reveal the character of the bands within the entire Brillouin zone. As expected, relatively small amounts of nitrogen introduced to Ga(PAs) lead to formation of an intermediate band below the conduction band which is consistent with the band anticrossing model, widely used to describe the electronic band structure of dilute nitrides. However, in this study calculations are performed in the whole Brillouin zone and reveal the significance of correct description of the band structure near the edges of Brillouin zone, especially for indirect band gap P-rich host alloy, which may not be properly captured with simpler models. The theoretical results are compared with experimental studies, confirming their reliability. The influence of nitrogen on the band structure is discussed in terms of application of Ga(PAsN) in optoelectronic devices such as intermediate band solar cells and light emitters. It is found that Ga(PAsN) with low N and As concentration has a band structure suitable for integration in Si tandem solar cells, since the lattice mismatch between Si and Ga(PAsN) is small in this case. Moreover, it is concluded that P-rich Ga(PAsN) alloys with low N concentration have a promising band structure for two colour emitters. Additionally, the effect of nitrogen incorporation on the carrier localization is studied and discussed.
Modulation photoreflectance spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy have been applied to study the electronic- and band-structure evolution in (Ga,Mn)As epitaxial layers with increasing Mn doping in the range of low Mn content, up to 1.2%. Structural and magnetic properties of the layers were characterized with high-resolution X-ray diffractometry and SQUID magnetometery, respectively. The revealed results of decrease in the band-gap transition energy with increasing Mn content in very low-doped (Ga,Mn)As layers with n-type conductivity are interpreted as a result of merging the Mn-related impurity band with the host GaAs valence band. On the other hand, an increase in the band-gap-transition energy with increasing Mn content in (Ga,Mn)As layers with higher Mn content and p-type conductivity indicates the Moss-Burstein shift of the absorption edge due to the Fermi level location within the valence band, determined by the free-hole concentration. The experimental results are consistent with the valence-band origin of mobile holes mediated ferromagnetic ordering in the (Ga,Mn)As diluted ferromagnetic semiconductor.
The effect of outdiffusion of Mn interstitials from (Ga,Mn)As epitaxial layers, caused by post-growth low-temperature annealing, on their electronic- and band-structure properties has been investigated by modulation photoreflectance (PR) spectroscopy. The annealing-induced changes in structural and magnetic properties of the layers were examined with high-resolution X-ray diffractometry and SQUID magnetometery, respectively. They confirmed an outdiffusion of Mn interstitials from the layers and an enhancement in their hole concentration, which were more efficient for the layer covered with a Sb cap acting as a sink for diffusing Mn interstitials. The PR results revealing a decrease in the band-gap-transition energy in the as-grown (Ga,Mn)As layers, with respect to that in the reference GaAs one, are interpreted by assuming a merging of the Mn-related impurity band with the host GaAs valence band. On the other hand, an increase in the band-gap-transition energy in the annealed (Ga,Mn)As layers is interpreted as a result of the Moss-Burstein shift of the absorption edge due to the Fermi level location within the valence band, determined by the enhanced free-hole concentration. The experimental results are consistent with the valence-band origin of mobile holes mediating ferromagnetic ordering in (Ga,Mn)As, in agreement with the Zener model for ferromagnetic semiconductors.
The millimeter sized monolayer and bilayer 2H-MoTe2 single crystal samples are prepared by a new mechanical exfoliation method. Based on such high-quality samples, we report the first direct electronic structure study on them, using standard high resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). A direct band gap of 0.924eV is found at K in the rubidium-doped monolayer MoTe2. Similar valence band alignment is also observed in bilayer MoTe2,supporting an assumption of a analogous direct gap semiconductor on it. Our measurements indicate a rather large band splitting of 212meV at the valence band maximum (VBM) in monolayer MoTe2, and the splitting is systematically enlarged with layer stacking, from monolayer to bilayer and to bulk. Meanwhile, our PBE band calculation on these materials show excellent agreement with ARPES results. Some fundamental electronic parameters are derived from the experimental and calculated electronic structures. Our findings lay a foundation for further application-related study on monolayer and bilayer MoTe2.
High entropy oxides (HEOs) are single phase solid solutions consisting of 5 or more cations in approximately equiatomic proportions. In this study, we show reversible control of optical properties in a rare-earth (RE) based HEO-(Ce$_{0.2}$La$_{0.2}$Pr$_{0.2}$Sm$_{0.2}$Y$_{0.2}$)O$_{2-delta}$ and subsequently utilize a combination of spectroscopic techniques to derive the features of the electronic band structure underpinning the observed optical phenomena. Heat treatment of the HEO under vacuum atmosphere followed by reheat-treatment in air results in a reversible change of the band gap energy, from 1.9 eV to 2.5 eV. The finding is consistent with the reversible changes in the oxidation state and related $f$-orbital occupancy of Pr. However, no pertinent changes in the phase composition or crystal structure is observed upon the vacuum heat treatment. Further annealing of this HEO under H$_2$ atmosphere, followed by reheat-treatment in air, results in even larger but still reversible change of the band gap energy from 1.9 eV to 3.2 eV. This is accompanied by a disorder-order type crystal structure transition and changes in the O 2$p$-RE 5$d$ hybridization evidenced from X-ray absorption near edge spectra (XANES). The O $K$ and RE ${M_{4,5}}$/$L_{3}$ XANES indicate that the presence of Ce and Pr (in 3+/4+) state leads to the formation of intermediate 4$f$ energy levels between the O 2$p$ and RE 5$d$ gap in HEO. It is concluded that heat treatment under reducing/oxidizing atmospheres affects these intermediate levels, thus, offering the possibility to tune the band gap energy in HEO.
We report on experimental evidence of the Berry phase accumulated by the charge carrier wave function in single-domain nanowires made from a (Ga,Mn)(As,P) diluted ferromagnetic semiconductor layer. Its signature on the mesoscopic transport measurements is revealed as unusual patterns in the magnetoconductance, that are clearly distinguished from the universal conductance fluctuations. We show that these patterns appear in a magnetic field region where the magnetization rotates coherently and are related to a change in the band-structure Berry phase as the magnetization direction changes. They should be thus considered as a band structure Berry phase fingerprint of the effective magnetic monopoles in the momentum space. We argue that this is an efficient method to vary the band structure in a controlled way and to probe it directly. Hence, (Ga,Mn)As appears to be a very interesting test bench for new concepts based on this geometrical phase.