Optical and Structural Characterization of Pin Photodetector Based on Germanium Nanocrystals for Third Generation Solar Cells

We investigated the structural and optoelectronic properties of p-n germanium nanocrystals based junctions embedded between GaAs substrate and layers of ZnO:Al or a-Si:H. Scanning electron microscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy were used on these junctions in this work. Calculations of tunneling current on the substrate showed effect of localized defects trapping Fermi level at the surface tending to make a semi-insulating substrate. The average value of the diameter of the Ge nanoparticle is around 12.5 nm. These results lay the foundation for the development of solar cells which active part is made of GeNCs

Optical and Structural Characterization of Pin Photodetector Based on Germanium Nanocrystals for Third Generation Solar Cells

We investigated the structural and optoelectronic properties of p-n germanium nanocrystals based junctions embedded between GaAs substrate and layers of ZnO:Al or a-Si:H. Scanning electron microscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy were used on these junctions in this work. Calculations of tunneling current on the substrate showed effect of localized defects trapping Fermi level at the surface tending to make a semi-insulating substrate. The average value of the diameter of the Ge nanoparticle is around 12.5 nm. These results lay the foundation for the development of solar cells which active part is made of GeNCs

Nano-probing station incorporating MEMS probes for 1D device RF on-wafer characterization

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Photoemission studies of Ga1−x_{1-x}Mnx_{x}As: Mn-concentration dependent properties

Using angle-resolved photoemission, we have investigated the development of the electronic structure and the Fermi level pinnning in Ga$_{1-x}$Mn$_{x}$As with Mn concentrations in the range 1--6%. We find that the Mn-induced changes in the valence-band spectra depend strongly on the Mn concentration, suggesting that the interaction between the Mn ions is more complex than assumed in earlier studies. The relative position of the Fermi level is also found to be concentration-dependent. In particular we find that for concentrations around 3.5--5% it is located very close to the valence-band maximum, which is in the range where metallic conductivity has been reported in earlier studies. For concentration outside this range, larger as well as smaller, the Fermi level is found to be pinned at about 0.15 eV higher energy.Comment: REVTeX style; 7 pages, 3 figure

Band offsets at zincblende-wurtzite GaAs nanowire sidewall surfaces

The band structure and the Fermi level pinning at clean and well-ordered sidewall surfaces of zincblende (ZB)-wurtzite (WZ) GaAs nanowires are investigated by scanning tunneling spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations. The WZ-ZB phase transition in GaAs nanowires introduces p-i junctions at the sidewall surfaces. This is caused by the presence of numerous steps, which induce a Fermi level pinning at different energies on the non-polar WZ and ZB sidewall facets.This study was financially supported by the EQUIPEX program Excelsior, the European Community’s Seventh Framework Program (Grant No. PITN-GA-2012- 316751, “Nanoembrace” Project) and the Impuls- und Vernetzungsfonds of the Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren under Grant No. HIRG-0014. T. Xu acknowledges the support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61204014)

Spin Waves in Disordered III-V Diluted Magnetic Semiconductors

We propose a new scheme for numerically computing collective-mode spectra for large-size systems, using a reformulation of the Random Phase Approximation. In this study, we apply this method to investigate the spectrum and nature of the spin-waves of a (III,Mn)V Diluted Magnetic Semiconductor. We use an impurity band picture to describe the interaction of the charge carriers with the local Mn spins. The spin-wave spectrum is shown to depend sensitively on the positional disorder of the Mn atoms inside the host semiconductor. Both localized and extended spin-wave modes are found. Unusual spin and charge transport is implied.Comment: 14 pages, including 11 figure

Electron transport via local polarons at interface atoms

Electronic transport is profoundly modified in the presence of strong electron-vibration coupling. We show that in certain situations, the electron flow takes place only when vibrations are excited. By controlling the segregation of boron in semiconducting Si(111)-3√×3√R30° surfaces, we create a type of adatom with a dangling-bond state that is electronically decoupled from any other electronic state. However, probing this state with scanning tunnelling microscopy at 5 K yields high currents. These findings are rationalized by ab-initio calculations that show the formation of a local polaron in the transport process

Monte Carlo simulations of an impurity band model for III-V diluted magnetic semiconductors

We report the results of a Monte Carlo study of a model of (III,Mn)V diluted magnetic semiconductors which uses an impurity band description of carriers coupled to localized Mn spins and is applicable for carrier densities below and around the metal-insulator transition. In agreement with mean field studies, we find a transition to a ferromagnetic phase at low temperatures. We compare our results for the magnetic properties with the mean field approximation, as well as with experiments, and find favorable qualitative agreement with the latter. The local Mn magnetization below the Curie temperature is found to be spatially inhomogeneous, and strongly correlated with the local carrier charge density at the Mn sites. The model contains fermions and classical spins and hence we introduce a perturbative Monte Carlo scheme to increase the speed of our simulations.Comment: 17 pages, 24 figures, 2 table

Phase transformation of PbSe/CdSe nanocrystals from core-shell to Janus structure studied by photoemission spectroscopy

Photoelectron spectroscopic measurements have been performed, with synchrotron radiation on PbSe/CdSe heteronanocrystals that initially consist of core-shell structures. The study of the chemical states of the main elements in the nanocrystals shows a reproducible and progressive change in the valence-band and core-level spectra under photon irradiation, whatever the core and shell sizes are. Such chemical modifications are explained in light of transmission electron microscopy observations and reveal a phase transformation of the nanocrystals: The core-shell nanocrystals undergo a morphological change toward a Janus structure with the formation of semidetached PbSe and CdSe clusters. Photoelectron spectroscopy gives new insight into the reorganization of the ligands anchored at the surface of the nanocrystals and the modification of the electronic structure of these heteronanocrystals

Atomic scale investigation of silicon nanowires and nanoclusters

In this study, we have performed nanoscale characterization of Si-clusters and Si-nanowires with a laser-assisted tomographic atom probe. Intrinsic and p-type silicon nanowires (SiNWs) are elaborated by chemical vapor deposition method using gold as catalyst, silane as silicon precursor, and diborane as dopant reactant. The concentration and distribution of impurity (gold) and dopant (boron) in SiNW are investigated and discussed. Silicon nanoclusters are produced by thermal annealing of silicon-rich silicon oxide and silica multilayers. In this process, atom probe tomography (APT) provides accurate information on the silicon nanoparticles and the chemistry of the nanolayers