Diamond Luminescence

Luminescence spectroscopy is an established tool to investigate natural, high pressure synthesized, and chemical vapour deposited (CVD) diamond. The spectral range extends from 5.3 eV in the ultraviolet to approximately 1.2 eV in the near-infrared. More than 100 optical centres have been observed. Since the early 1930\u27s, semiconducting diamond for electronic devices has been of interest to science. The large bandgap (5.5 eV), low dielectric constant (5.7), and high thermal conductivity (about 5 times larger then that of Ag), as well as the superior charge-carrier transport properties, such as electron and hole mobility (µ-: 2200 cm2/Vs, μ+: 1600 cm2/Vs), lead to applications in active and passive electronics. At the beginning of the 1980\u27s, the first successful experiments of diamond films synthesis by low pressure chemical vapour deposition method were presented. Cathodoluminescence (CL) and photoluminescence (PL) are important techniques for characterising the defects present in CVD films and natural diamond. In this presentation, the most significant luminescence bands, the defects and the problems with the models used to interpret the bands are discussed

Quantitative Scanning Electron Acoustic Microscopy of Silicon

So far results of scanning electron acoustic microscopy (SEAM) have retained a widely qualitative meaning only due to the enormous uncertainty in understanding sound generation and contrast mechanisms in SEAM micrographs. In this work, a detailed treatment of these mechanisms has been undertaken for silicon resulting in precise knowledge of the signal generation processes and a well understood interpretation of the contrast mechanisms involved in imaging thermo-mechanical and electronic features

Signal Generation and Contrast Mechanisms in Scanning Electron Acoustic Microscopy

In scanning electron acoustic microscopy (SEAM) until now the signal generation is explained mainly by an intermediate production of thermal waves. Though this so-called thermal wave approach has proven to give realistic results for metals, from experimental evidence it seems to fail for other material groups such as ceramics, dielectrics, piezoelectrics and semiconductors. As these material groups are of major technological importance, it is necessary to develop theories which help interpreting those SEAM micrographs obtained for these types of material. In a comparative manner three different models are discussed in this paper, the well known thermal coupling, the piezoelectric coupling and the excess carrier coupling. The relevant parameters for the signal formation are determined and the contrasts achieved in electron acoustic micrographs explained by means of these models. The experimental evidence discussed for all important material groups supports the three models significantly, and the results obtained can be interpreted quantitatively in terms of material properties and primary electron beam parameters

Signal generation mechanisms in scanning-electron acoustic microscopy of ionic crystals

MgO crystals have been studied by scanning‐electron acoustic microscopy under different experimental conditions. Contrast mechanisms in imaging are discussed and compared. The experimental results obtained by earthing or nonearthing the specimen‐transducer interface suggest the existence of a signal generation mechanism that is related to the ionic nature of these kind of crystals. Electron‐acoustic microscopy appears then to be a useful tool for the characterization of ionic materials

High Resolution Electron Beam Induced Current Measurements in an Scanning Tunneling Microscope on GaAs-MESFET

Recently, the first results of electron beam induced current (EBIC) measurements in a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) have been reported. Although the acquired results match with those obtained in conventional EBIC investigations, the interpretation of the obtained results is still restricted solely to a qualitative discussion. In this paper, a quantitative approach is used for two-dimensional numerical simulations of induced currents in GaAs-MESFET leading to a first starting point for a sophisticated interpretation of the dependence of induced currents on experimental and device parameters

Measurements of Nanoscale Domain Wall Flexing in a Ferromagnetic Thin Film

We use the high spatial sensitivity of the anomalous Hall effect in the ferromagnetic semiconductor Ga1-xMnxAs, combined with the magneto-optical Kerr effect, to probe the nanoscale elastic flexing behavior of a single magnetic domain wall in a ferromagnetic thin film. Our technique allows position sensitive characterization of the pinning site density, which we estimate to be around 10^14 cm^{-3}. Analysis of single site depinning events and their temperature dependence yields estimates of pinning site forces (10 pN range) as well as the thermal deactivation energy. Finally, our data hints at a much higher intrinsic domain wall mobility for flexing than previously observed in optically-probed micron scale measurements

Development of an Scanning Tunneling Microscopy-Based Electron Beam Induced Current (EBIC) Microscope

Measurements of electron beam induced currents (EBIC) can either be performed in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) or in a scanning tunneling microscope (STM), since both microscopes are very similar in their basic assembly. However, a straightforward application of an STM in EBIC-measurements, i.e. the use of a microscope tip as a fine source for low energetic electrons is not possible due to the specific demands on the instrument in an EBIC application. The present paper gives a compilation of these demands and describes their conversion into an optimized STM-EBIC microscope

Near-field cathodoluminescence studies on n-doped gallium nitride films

Near-field cathodoluminescence (NFCL) has been used to characterize hydride vapor phase epitaxy grown n-GaN films. This technique can obtain high resolution luminescence images and perform local measurements of the diffusion length for minority carriers in different parts of the sample. NFCL contrast observed in round growth hillocks at the sample surface, with a diameter of less than 10 mum, is compared with that observed by conventional cathodoluminescence in scanning electron microscope (CLSEM) techniques. In particular NFCL images reveal features not detected by CLSEM which is explained by the fact that under near field conditions the signal arises from a depth of only several tens of nanometers and is then directly related to the surface hillocks. Diffusion lengths of about 0.4 and 4 mum have been found for the holes in different regions of the samples at room temperature. The order of magnitude of these minority carriers diffusion lengths is in good agreement with previous measurements performed at different GaN samples with other techniques. The NFCL contrast and the differences in the measured diffusion lengths are discussed and explained by variations in local trap concentrations

Magneto-optical Kerr Effect Studies of Square Artificial Spin Ice

We report a magneto-optical Kerr effect study of the collective magnetic response of artificial square spin ice, a lithographically-defined array of single-domain ferromagnetic islands. We find that the anisotropic inter-island interactions lead to a non-monotonic angular dependence of the array coercive field. Comparisons with micromagnetic simulations indicate that the two perpendicular sublattices exhibit distinct responses to island edge roughness, which clearly influence the magnetization reversal process. Furthermore, such comparisons demonstrate that disorder associated with roughness in the island edges plays a hitherto unrecognized but essential role in the collective behavior of these systems.Comment: Physical Review B, Rapid Communications (in press

A Toolbox for Calculating and Decomposing Total Factor Productivity Indices

Total Factor Productivity Toolbox is a new set of functions to calculate the main Total Factor Productivity (TFP) indices and their decompositions, based on Shephard’s distance functions, and using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) programming techniques. The package includes code for the standard Malmquist, Moorsteen–Bjurek, price-weighted and share-weighted TFP indices, allowing for the choice of orientation (input or output), reference period (base, comparison, geometric mean), returns to scale (variable or constant), and specific decompositions (aggregate, or identifying scale effects, as well as input and output mix effects). Classic definitions of TFP corresponding to the Laspeyres, Paasche, Fisher, or Törnqvist formulas can also be calculated as particular cases. This paper describes the methodology and implementation of the productivity functions in MATLAB. We compare the results corresponding to the different definitions by studying productivity trends in the US agriculture at the individual state level