No Arabic abstract
One of the solutions enabling performance progress, which can overcome the downsizing limit in silicon technology, is the integration of different functional optoelectronic devices within a single chip. Silicon with its indirect band gap has poor optical properties, which is its main drawback. Therefore, a different material has to be used for the on-chip optical interconnections, e.g. a direct band gap III-V compound semiconductor material. In the paper we present the synthesis of single crystalline InP nanodots (NDs) on silicon using combined ion implantation and millisecond flash lamp annealing techniques. The optical and microstructural investigations reveal the growth of high-quality (100)-oriented InP nanocrystals. The current-voltage measurements confirm the formation of an n-p heterojunction between the InP NDs and silicon. The main advantage of our method is its integration with large-scale silicon technology, which allows applying it for Si-based optoelectronic devices.
Lead (Pb) halide perovskites have achieved great success in recent years due to their excellent optoelectronic properties, which is largely attributed to the lone-pair s orbital-derived antibonding states at the valence band edge. Guided by the key band-edge orbital character, a series of ns2-containing (i.e., Sn2+, Sb3+, Bi3+) Pb-free perovskite alternatives have been explored as potential photovoltaic candidates. On the other hand, based on the band-edge orbital components (i.e., M2+ s and p/X- p orbitals), a series of strategies have been proposed to optimize their optoelectronic properties by modifying the atomic orbitals and orbital interactions. Therefore, understanding the band-edge electronic features from the recently reported halide perovskites is essential for future material design and device optimization. Here, this Perspective first attempts to establish the band-edge orbital-property relationship using a chemically intuitive approach, and then rationalizes their superior properties and understands the trends in electronic properties. We hope that this Perspective will provide atomic-level guidance and insights toward the rational design of perovskite semiconductors with outstanding optoelectronic properties.
We report the observation of field emission from InP nanocrystals epitaxially grown on an array of p-Si nanotips. We prove that field emission can be enhanced by covering the InP nanocrystals with graphene. The measurements are performed inside a scanning electron microscope chamber with a nano-controlled W-thread used as an anode. We analyze the field emission by Fowler-Nordheim theory and find that the field enhancement factor increases monotonically with the spacing between the anode and the cathode. We also show that InP/p-Si junction has a rectifying behavior, while graphene on InP creates an ohmic contact. Understanding the fundamentals of such nanojunctions is key for applications in nanoelectronics.
Operation of semiconductor scintillators requires optically-tight integration of the photoreceiver system on the surface of the scintillator slab. We have implemented an efficient and fast quaternary InGaAsP pin photodiode, epitaxially grown upon the surface of an InP scintillator wafer and sensitive to InP luminescence. The diode is characterized by an extremely low room-temperature dark current, about 1 nA/cm2 at the reverse bias of 2 V. The low leakage makes possible a sensitive readout circuitry even though the diode has a large area (1 mm/times1 mm) and therefore large capacitance (50 pF). Results of electrical, optical and radiation testing of the diodes are presented. Detection of individual alpha-particles and gamma-photons is demonstrated.
The electronic orbital characteristics at the band edges plays an important role in determining the electrical, optical and defect properties of perovskite photovoltaic materials. It is highly desirable to establish the relationship between the underlying atomic orbitals and the optoelectronic properties as a guide to maximize the photovoltaic performance. Here, using first-principles calculations and taking anion ordered Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) phase halide perovskites Cs$_{n+1}$Ge$_n$I$_{n+1}$Cl$_{2n}$ as an example, we demonstrate how to rationally optimize the optoelectronic properties (e.g., band gap, transition dipole matrix elements, carrier effective masses, band width) through a simple band structure parameter. Our results show that reducing the splitting energy $|Delta c|$ of p orbitals of B-site atom can effectively reduce the band gap and carrier effective masses while greatly improving the optical absorption in the visible region. Thereby, the orbital-property relationship with $Delta c$ is well established through biaxial compressive strain. Finally, it is shown that this approach can be reasonably extended to several other non-cubic halide perovskites with similar p orbitals characteristics at the conduction band edges. Therefore, we believe that our proposed orbital engineering approach provides atomic-level guidance for understanding and optimizing the device performance of layered perovskite solar cells.
This work focuses on the characterization of various bulk silicon (Si) samples using Fourier Transform InfraRed (FTIR) and grating spectrometers in order to get them suitable for applications in astronomy. Different samples at different impurity concentrations were characterized by measuring their transmittance in the infrared region. Various lines due to residual impurity absorption were identifed and temperature dependence of impurity absorption is presented. Concentrations of doped samples (rho ~ 0.2 - 25000 Ohm cm) were determined from impurity absorption at low temperatures and from Drude free carrier absorption at 300K.