No Arabic abstract
Defects in crystalline silicon consisting of a silicon self-interstitial atom and one, two, three, or four hydrogen atoms are studied within density-functional theory (DFT). We search for low-energy defects by starting from an ensemble of structures in which the atomic positions in the defect region have been randomized. We then relax each structure to a minimum in the energy. We find a new defect consisting of a self-interstitial and one hydrogen atom (denoted by {I,H}) which has a higher symmetry and a lower energy than previously reported structures. We recover the {I,H_2} defect found in previous studies and confirm that it is the most stable such defect. Our best {I,H_3} defect has a slightly different structure and lower energy than the one previously reported, and our lowest energy {I,H_4} defect is different to those of previous studies.
The reported diffusion constants for hydrogen in silicon vary over six orders of magnitude. This spread in measured values is caused by the different concentrations of defects in the silicon that has been studied. Hydrogen diffusion is slowed down as it interacts with impurities. By changing the material properties such as the crystallinity, doping type and impurity concentrations, the diffusivity of hydrogen can be changed by several orders of magnitude. In this study the influence of the hydrogen concentration on the temperature dependence of the diffusion in high energy proton implanted silicon is investigated. We show that the Arrhenius parameters, which describe this temperature dependence decrease with increasing hydrogen concentration. We propose a model where the relevant defects that mediate hydrogen diffusion become saturated with hydrogen at high concentrations. When the defects that provide hydrogen with the lowest energy positions in the lattice are saturated, hydrogen resides at energetically less favorable positions and this increases the diffusion of hydrogen through the crystal. Furthermore, we present a survey of different studies on the diffusion of hydrogen. We observed a correlation of the Arrhenius parameters calculated in those studies, leading to a modification of the Arrhenius equation for the diffusion of hydrogen in silicon.
We report a first principles systematic study of atomic, electronic, and magnetic properties of hydrogen saturated silicon nanowires (H-SiNW) which are doped by transition metal (TM) atoms placed at various interstitial sites. Our results obtained within the conventional GGA+U approach have been confirmed using an hybrid functional. In order to reveal the surface effects we examined three different possible facets of H-SiNW along [001] direction with a diameter of ~2nm. The energetics of doping and resulting electronic and magnetic properties are examined for all alternative configurations. We found that except Ti, the resulting systems have magnetic ground state with a varying magnetic moment. While H-SiNWs are initially non-magnetic semiconductor, they generally become ferromagnetic metal upon TM doping. Even they posses half-metallic behavior for specific cases. Our results suggest that H-SiNWs can be functionalized by TM impurities which would lead to new electronic and spintronic devices at nanoscale.
Semiconductors offer a promising platform for the physical implementation of qubits, demonstrated by the successes in quantum sensing, computing, and communication. The broad adoption of semiconductor qubits is presently hindered by limited scalability and/or very low operating temperatures. Learning from the NV$^{-}$ centers in diamond, whose optical properties enable high operating temperature, our goal is to find equivalent optically active point defect centers in crystalline silicon, which could be advantageous for their scalability and integration with classical devices. Motivated by the fact that transition metal impurities in silicon typically produce deep carrier trapping centers, we apply first-principles methods to investigate electronic and optical properties of these deep-level defects and subsequently examine their potential for Si-based qubits. We identify nine transition metal impurities that have optically allowed triplet-triplet transitions within the Si band gap, which could be considered candidates for a Si-based qubit. These results provide the first step toward Si-based qubits with higher operating temperatures and spin-photon interfaces for quantum communication.
The real and imaginary parts of the complex refractive index of SixNyHz have been calculated using density functional perturbation theory. Optical spectra for reflectivity, adsorption coefficient, energy-loss function (ELF), and refractive index, are obtained. The results for Si3N4 are in agreement with the available theoretical and experimental results. To understand the electron energy loss mechanism in Si rich silicon nitride, the influence of the Si doping rate, of the positions of the dopants, and of H in and on the surface on the ELF have been investigated. It has been found that all defects, such as dangling bonds in the bulk and surfaces, increase the intensity of the ELF in the low energy range (below 10 eV). H in the bulk and on the surface has a healing effect, which can reduce the intensity of the loss peaks by saturating the dangling bonds. Electronic structure analysis has confirmed the origin of the changes in the ELF. It has demonstrated that the changes in ELF is not only affected by the composition but also by the microstructures of the materials. The results can be used to tailor the optical properties, in this case the ELF of Si rich Si3N4, which is essential for secondary electron emission application.
In this study, the optoelectronic properties of a monolithically integrated series-connected tandem solar cell are simulated. Following the large success of hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites, which have recently demonstrated large efficiencies with low production costs, we examine the possibility of using the same perovskites as absorbers in a tandem solar cell. The cell consists in a methylammonium mixed bromide-iodide lead perovskite, CH3NH3PbI3(1-x)Br3x (0 < x < 1), top sub-cell and a single-crystalline silicon bottom sub-cell. A Si-based tunnel junction connects the two sub-cells. Numerical simulations are based on a one-dimensional numerical drift-diffusion model. It is shown that a top cell absorbing material with 20% of bromide and a thickness in the 300-400 nm range affords current matching with the silicon bottom cell. Good interconnection between single cells is ensured by standard n and p doping of the silicon at 5.10^19cm-3 in the tunnel junction. A maximum efficiency of 27% is predicted for the tandem cell, exceeding the efficiencies of stand-alone silicon (17.3%) and perovskite cells (17.9%) taken for our simulations, and more importantly, that of the record crystalline Si cells.