Enhanced Tunnel Spin Injection into Graphene using Chemical Vapor Deposited Hexagonal Boron Nitride

The van der Waals heterostructures of two-dimensional (2D) atomic crystals constitute a new paradigm in nanoscience. Hybrid devices of graphene with insulating 2D hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) have emerged as promising nanoelectronic architectures through demonstrations of ultrahigh electron mobilities and charge-based tunnel transistors. Here, we expand the functional horizon of such 2D materials demonstrating the quantum tunneling of spin polarized electrons through atomic planes of CVD grown h-BN. We report excellent tunneling behavior of h-BN layers together with tunnel spin injection and transport in graphene using ferromagnet/h-BN contacts. Employing h-BN tunnel contacts, we observe enhancements in both spin signal amplitude and lifetime by an order of magnitude. We demonstrate spin transport and precession over micrometer-scale distances with spin lifetime up to 0.46 nanosecond. Our results and complementary magnetoresistance calculations illustrate that CVD h-BN tunnel barrier provides a reliable, reproducible and alternative approach to address the conductivity mismatch problem for spin injection into graphene

Growth and investigation of AlN/GaN and (Al,In)N/GaN based Bragg reflectors

Die Synthese von AlN/GaN- und (Al,In)N/GaN-Braggreflektoren wird untersucht. Die Strukturen wurden mittels plasmaunterstützter Molekularstrahlepitaxie auf 6H-SiC(0001)-Substraten abgeschieden. Ferner wurde der Einfluß der Si-Dotierung auf die Oberflächenmorphologie sowie die strukturellen und elektrischen Eigenschaften der AlN/GaN-Braggreflektoren untersucht. Es wurden rißfreie Braggreflektoren mit einer hohen Reflektivität (R>99%) und einem bei 450 nm zentrierten Stopband erhalten. Die Si-dotierten Strukturen weisen eine ohmsche I-V-Charakteristik im gesamten Meßbereich sowie einen spezifischen Widerstand von 2-4 mOhmcm2 auf. Die Ergebnisse der (Al,In)N-Wachstumsversuche wurden in einem Phasendiagramm zusammengefaßt, welches den optimalen Parameterraum für (Al,In)N klar aufzeigt.We study the synthesis of AlN/GaN and (Al,In)N/GaN Bragg reflectors. The structures were grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on 6H-SiC(0001) substrates. In addition, we study the impact of Si-doping on the surface morphology and the structural and electrical properties of the AlN/GaN Bragg reflectors. Crack-free and high-reflectance (R>99%) Bragg reflectors were achieved with a stopband centered at 450 nm. The Si-doped structures exhibit ohmic I-V behavior in the entire measurement range. The specific series resistance is 2-4 mOhmcm2. The results of the (Al,In)N growth experiments are summarized in a phase diagram which clearly shows the optimum growth window for (Al,In)N

Nucleation and epitaxial growth of ZnO on GaN(0 0 0 1)

Plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy was used to grow ZnO(0001) layers on GaN(0001)/Al2O3 templates and GaN/4H-SiC(0001) layers. The GaN(0001)/Al2O3 template surfaces were subjected to various pre-treatment procedures (Zn, Ga or N pre-exposure or none) prior to the ZnO growth. We studied the impact of these pre-treatment procedures on the initial growth conditions of ZnO(0001). These layers were compared to ZnO layers deposited on 4H-SiC utilizing a GaN( 0001) buffer layer that was grown in situ on the 4H-SiC substrate and immediately before the growth of ZnO. The GaN buffer layers were not pre-treated or exposed to ambient. Atomic force and scanning electron microscopy as well as secondary ion mass spectroscopy revealed that the pre-treatment procedures resulted in a very high density of islands. The islands coalesced into films as the growth progressed. In contrast, no ZnO growth occurred on the untreated GaN( 0001)/Al2O3 template surfaces. Our main finding is that Ga,03, sub-oxides residing on the surface of the as-received GaN-templates, drastically reduced the ZnO nucleation rate and completely inhibited subsequent coalescence and growth. Our various surface pre-treatment procedures aimed at removing the sub-oxides were necessary for achieving ZnO growth on the GaN-templates. No surface pre-treatment was needed to enable ZnO growth on the in situ grown GaN(0001)14H-SiC layers

Impact of O2 flow rate on the growth rate of ZnO(0001) and ZnO(000-1) on GaN by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

We studied the effects of a varying O$ flow rate on the growth of ZnO(0001) and ZnO(000-1) layers on GaN/Al2O3-templates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The O2 flow rate through the O-plasma source was varied between 0.25--4.5 standard cubic centimeters per minute corresponding to a growth chamber pressure between 3.0 x 10^-6 -- 5.0x10^-5 Torr. We found that the change of the O2 flow rate had a profound effect on the ZnO layer growth rate. A maximum growth rate was reached for an O2 flow rate of 1.0--2.0 standard cubic centimeters per minute. The same growth rate dependence on the O2 flow rate was observed for ZnO(0001) layers that were grown on GaN/4H-SiC buffer layers for verification. To assess the amount of active O contributing to the ZnO-growth, the spectral composition of the plasma was investigated with optical emission spectroscopy. The integrated optical emission line intensity reached a maximum for an O2 flow rate between 1.0--2.0 standard cubic centimeters per minute. Essentially all emission lines exhibited a maximum intensity for an O2 flow rate between 1.0--2.0 standard cubic centimeters per minute thus coinciding with the flow rate yielding the maximum growth rate

Investigation of Si and O Donor Impurities in Unintentionally Doped MBE-Grown GaN on SiC(0001) Substrate

We have investigated the unintentional n-type background doping in GaN(0001) layers grown on semi-insulating 4H-SiC(0001) substrate by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy under Ga-rich conditions at growth temperatures from 780A degrees C and 900A degrees C. All layers exhibited very smooth surface morphology with monolayer steps as revealed by atomic force microscopy. Hall-effect measurements showed that the sample grown at 900A degrees C had carrier concentration of 9.8 x 10(17) cm(-3) while the sample grown at 780A degrees C had resistivity too high to obtain reliable measurements. Secondary-ion mass spectroscopy revealed O and Si concentrations of 10(17) cm(-3) in the sample grown at 780A degrees C. The trend for the atomic concentrations of O and Si, which are common donor impurities in GaN, was thus contrary to the trend of the carrier concentration. The full-width at half-maximum for x-ray rocking curves obtained across the GaN(0002) and GaN(105) reflections for the sample grown at 900A degrees C was 62 arcsec and 587 arcsec, respectively. The half-width increased with decreasing growth temperature. The atomic concentrations of O and Si are too low to account for the unintentional background doping levels. A possible explanation proposed in early reports for the background doping is N-vacancies

Growth of ZnO(0001) on GaN(0001)/4H-SiC buffer layers by plasma-assisted hybrid molecular beam epitaxy

Plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy was used to grow ZnO(0001) layers on GaN(0001)/4H-SiC buffer layers deposited in the same growth chamber equipped with both N- and O-plasma sources. The GaN buffer layers were grown immediately before initiating the growth of ZnO. Using a substrate temperature of 445 °C and an O2 flow rate of 2.5 standard cubic centimeters per minute, we obtained ZnO layers with statistically smooth surfaces having a root-mean-square roughness of 0.3 nm and a peak-to-valley distance of 3 nm as revealed by atomic force microscopy. The full-width-at-half-maximum for x-ray rocking curves obtained across the ZnO(0002) and ZnO(10 1¯ 5) reflections was 198 and 948 arcsec, respectively. These values indicated that the mosaicity of the ZnO layer was comparable to the corresponding values of the underlying GaN buffer layer. Reciprocal space maps showed that the in-plane relaxation of the GaN and ZnO layers was 82% and 73%, respectively, and that the relaxation occurred abruptly during the growth. Roomerature Hall-effect measurements revealed that the layers were inherently n-type and had an electron concentration of 1×1019 cm-3 and a Hall mobility of 51 cm2/V s

Step-flow growth of GaN(0001) on 4H-SiC(0001) by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

We report on step-flow growth of GaN(0001) on 4H-SiC(0001) substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The GaN layers were deposited directly on the substrate without using a buffer layer. A growth temperature of 900 degrees C and above resulted in an atomically flat surface morphology with locally straight steps indicating step-flow growth. The step height was 0.21 nm corresponding to one-half unit cell. The terrace width was 97 nm and the root-mean-square roughness was 0.06 nm. Samples grown below 900 degrees C exhibited a surface morphology consisting of spiraling terraces forming hexagonal hillocks. The full-width at half-maximum for X-ray rocking-curves recorded across the (0002) and (10 (1) over bar5) reflections was as narrow as 62 and 587 arcsec, respectively. We show that the high growth temperature in conjunction with Ga adlayers on the growth front provides a path for achieving step-flow growth of GaN by MBE

Plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy of ZnO on in-situ grown GaN/4H-SiC buffer layers

Plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) was used to grow ZnO (0001) layers on GaN(0001)/4H-SiC buffer layers deposited in the same growth chamber equipped with both N- and O-plasma sources. The GaN buffer layers were grown immediately before initiating the growth of ZnO. Using a substrate temperature of 440 degrees C-445 degrees C and an O-2 flow rate of 2.0-2.5 sccm, we obtained ZnO layers with smooth surfaces having a root-mean-square roughness of 0.3 nm and a peak-to-valley distance of 3 nm shown by AFM. The FWHM for X-ray rocking curves recorded across the ZnO(0002) and ZnO(10 (1) over bar5) reflections were 200 and 950 arcsec, respectively. These values showed that the mosaicity (tilt and twist) of the ZnO film was comparable to corresponding values of the underlying GaN buffer. It was found that a substrate temperature > 450 degrees C and a high Zn-flux always resulted in a rough ZnO surface morphology. Reciprocal space maps showed that the in-plane relaxation of the GaN and ZnO layers was 82.3% and 73.0%, respectively and the relaxation occurred abruptly during the growth. Room-temperature Hall-effect measurements showed that the layers were intrinsically n-type with an electron concentration of 10(19) cm(-3) and a Hall mobility of 50 cm(2).V-1.s(-1)