Evaluation of microscale crystallinity modification induced by laser writing on Mn3O4 thin films

Defining microstructures and managing local crystallinity allow the implementation of several functionalities in thin film technology. The use of ultrashort Bessel beams for bulk crystallinity modification has garnered considerable attention as a versatile technique for semiconductor materials, dielectrics, or metal oxide substrates. The aim of this work is the quantitative evaluation of the crystalline changes induced by ultrafast laser micromachining on manganese oxide thin films using micro-Raman spectroscopy. Pulsed Bessel beams featured by a 1 micrometer-sized central core are used to define structures with high spatial precision. The dispersion relation of Mn3O4 optical phonons is determined by considering the conjunction between X-ray diffraction characterization and the phonon localization model. The asymmetries in Raman spectra indicate phonon localization and enable a quantitative tool to determine the crystallite size at micrometer resolution. The results indicate that laser-writing is effective in modifying the low-crystallinity films locally, increasing crystallite sizes from ~8 nm up to 12 nm, and thus highlighting an interesting approach to evaluate laser-induced structural modifications on metal oxide thin films.Comment: 27 page

Effect of growth techniques on the structural, optical and electrical properties of indium doped TiO2thin films

We have investigated the effect of the growth techniques on the structural, the electrically and optically active defects in Indium doped TiO2 thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and sputtering techniques. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy patterns revealed both rutile and anatase phases for the sputtering samples. On the other hand, only the anatase phase was observed for the PLD samples. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra have unveiled several peaks which were explained by defect related optical transitions. Particularly, the PL bands are fully consistent with anatase/rutile TiO2 phases and the formation of In2O3 during the preparation of our samples. It was also observed that at −4 V reverse bias, the PLD samples have lower leakage currents (∼1.4 × 10−7 A) as compared to the sputtering samples (∼5.9 × 10−7 A). In addition, the PLD samples exhibited lower ideality factors and higher barrier heights as compared to those grown by sputtering. Finally, the Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy (DLTS) measurements have shown only one defect in the PLD samples whereas five defects have been detected in the sputtering samples. Therefore, our results provide strong evidence that the PLD technique is better suited for the growth of In-doped TiO2 thin films

Interação plasmon-fônon LO em superredes semicondutoras

This work presents a Raman investigation of the optical vibrations in highly doped In-GaAs/InP and GaAs/AlGaAs superlattices (SL s). The InGaAs/InP SL s grown with different periods were analyzed using polarized Raman techniques. No Raman selection rules were found in the long period InGaAs/InP SL s due to the structural defects in the bulk materials constituting the layers. With the decrease of the SL period the selection rules emerges and considerable blue shift of the longitudinal optical mode originated in the barriers were observed, as a manifestation of the coupled plasmon-LO phonon vibrations propagating along the growth axis. The observed effect can be attributed to the formation of the miniband electron energy structure. A quantitative analysis showed that the selection rules noticed in the longitudinal optical vibrations of the short period SL s occur due to the increasing of the coherence length of the coupled modes with respect to the coherence length of the optical phonon. The GaAs/AlGaAs SL s studied were growth with different disorder strengths. In weakly disordered SL s we also observed the coupling between the vertical plasmon and the longitudinal optical phonons of the barriers. The lineshape analysis of the sprectra measured in the strongly disordered SL s allowed us to obtain the plasmon damping constant, proving that in these samples the plasmon presents an overdamping behavior, that provokes the decoupling between the plasmon and the LO-phonon. For the first time we have shown aphysical system in which we can control the plasmon-LO phonon interaction, changing from a coupled regime to a decoupled one, by varying the disorder strength. Plotting both the coherence lengths of the AlAs-like coupled modes and the plasmon damping constants versus the disorder strengths we could draw some conclusion about the process of the transition from the coupled to uncoupled phase and to obtain the behavior of the plasmon relaxation as a function of the disorder.Universidade Federal de Sao CarlosEste trabalho apresenta um estudo das vibrações ópticas em superredes InGaAs/InP e em superredes GaAs/AlGaAs. As superredes InGaAs/InP crescidas com diferentes períodos foram analisadas através da obtenção de espectros Raman polarizados. Em virtude dos defeitos estruturais das camadas constituintes das superredes as regras de seleção Raman esperadas não foram observadas. À medida que o período das superredes diminui, além do modo longitudinal óptico (LO) originado nas barreiras apresentar um considerável deslocamento para maiores valores de energia, as regras de seleção Raman previstas para esse modo vibracional passam a ser respeitadas. Esses efeitos dão indícios da presença do modo acoplado plasmon-fônon LO, que pode ser atribuído à formação de uma estrutura de minibanda no espectro de energia dos elétrons. Análises quantitativas mostraram que o aparecimento das regras de seleção nas superredes de períodos menores deve-se ao aumento significativo do comprimento de correlação dos modos acoplados em comparação com o do fônon longitudinal óptico. As superredes GaAs/AlGaAs estudadas foram crescidas com diferentes níveis de desordem. As superredes com menores parâmetros de desordem também apresentam acoplamento entre plasmon vertical e o fônon LO das barreiras. As análises das formas das linhas dos espectros das superredes com maiores parâmetros de desordem permitiram-nos obter a constante de amortecimento do plasmon, provando que, neste caso, o plasmon apresenta um comportamento superamortecido que acarreta o desacoplamento entre o plasmon e fônon LO. Este trabalho mostra, pela primeira vez, um sistema no qual pode-se controlar o processo de interação plasmon-fônon LO, mudando do regime acoplado para o desacoplado, através da variação do nível de desordem. Graficando o comprimento de correlação do modo acoplado tipo AlAs e as constantes de amortecimento de plasmon em função do parâmetro de desordem, pudemos traçar algumas conclusões a respeito da transição entre as fases acoplada e desacoplada e também obter o comportamento da relaxação do plasmon em função da desordem

CARACTERIZAÇÃO DE NANOFIOS DE GERMÂNIO SINTETIZADOS UTILIZANDO COBRE COMO CATALISADOR

This paper presents reliable synthesis of germanium nanowires by the vapor-liquid-solid method using copper as an alternative catalyst to gold, the most commonly used metal. The morphological study showed long range single-crystalline germanium nanowires with diamond structure and diameters ranging from 20 nm to 80 nm and lengths in tenths of a micrometer, which was much larger than the cross-section. In an investigation of electronic properties, devices built from a thin film of nanowires were studied and the semiconductor behavior of the samples confirmed, with variable range hopping identified as the main transport mechanism. Additionally, metal-nanowire contact behavior - ohmic or with Schottky barrier - was found to depend on the metal used in the device. Therefore, the possibility of controlling current-voltage behavior combined with the good crystalline quality of the nanowires renders these nanostructures an attractive option for future electronic and optoelectronic applications.</p

The Negative Photoconductivity of Ag/AgO Grown by Spray-Pyrolysis

The main goal of this work is to provide a general description of the negative photoconductivity effect observed in Ag/AgO films grown by the spray-pyrolysis technique. X-ray diffractograms display hybrid films with high texturized AgO and metallic Ag phases. Scanning electron microscopy images show small Ag particles on the surface. Due to its surface nature, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed the predominance of the metallic character of Ag 3d spectra as compared to Ag2+. Negative photoconductivity with photoresponse in the order of seconds is observed under several wavelengths of excitation. We found that the amplitude of the negative photoresponse is strongly dependent on the optical absorbance and enhanced by surface plasmon resonance. The low-cost technique employed and the special features regarding negative photoconductivity provide an exciting platform for developing optical-electronic devices with low power consumption

Gradients of Be-dopant concentration in self-catalyzed GaAs nanowires

Effective and controllable doping is instrumental for enabling the use of III-V semiconductor nanowires (NWs) in practical electronics and optoelectronics applications. To this end, dopants are incorporated during self-catalyzed growth via vapor-liquid-solid mechanism through the catalyst droplet or by vapor-solid mechanism of the sidewall growth. The interplay of these mechanisms together with the competition between axial elongation and radial growth of NWs can result in dopant concentration gradients along the NW axis. Here, we report an investigation of Be-doped p-type GaAs NWs grown by the self-catalyzed method on lithography-free Si/SiOx templates. The influence of dopant incorporation on the structural properties of the NWs is analyzed by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. By combining spatially resolved Raman spectroscopy and transport characterization, we are able to estimate the carrier concentration, mobility and resistivity on single-NW level. We show that Be dopants are incorporated predominantly by vapor-solid mechanism for low Be flux, while the relative contribution of vapor-liquid-solid incorporation is increased for higher Be flux, resulting in axial dopant gradients that depend on the nominal doping level.acceptedVersionPeer reviewe

Magnetic and structural properties of Fe-implanted cubic GaN

In this article, we report on structural and magnetic properties of cubic GaN epitaxial layers implanted with Fe ions and subsequently subjected to thermal annealing. The epitaxial quality of the layers was studied by X-ray diffraction rocking curves (x-scans) and Raman spectroscopy. The results show that the implantation damages the crystal structure producing an expansion of the lattice parameter in the implanted region. These damages are partially removed by the thermal treatment. Room temperature ferromagnetism is observed for the sample implanted with a dose of 1.2 1016cm 2, while samples implanted with 2.4 1016cm 2 show a coexistence of ferromagnetism and paramagnetism due to disperse Fe3þ. Thermal annealing changes these magnetic properties. For the low dose sample, the ferromagnetism is converted into paramagnetism while for the high dose we observed an enhancement of the ferromagnetic contribution characterized by a superparamagnetism behavior attributed to Fe-based particles. Published by AIP Publishing

Te incorporation and activation as n-type dopant in self-catalyzed GaAs nanowires

Dopant atoms can be incorporated into nanowires either via the vapor-liquid-solid mechanism through the catalyst droplet or by the vapor-solid growth on the sidewalls. Si is a typical n-type dopant for GaAs, but in nanowires it often suffers from a strongly amphoteric nature in the vapor-liquid-solid process. This issue can be avoided by using Te, which is a promising but less common alternative for n-type doping of GaAs nanowires. Here, we present a detailed investigation of Te-doped self-catalyzed GaAs nanowires. We use several complementary experimental techniques, such as atom probe tomography, off-axis electron holography, micro-Raman spectroscopy, and single-nanowire transport characterization, to assess the Te concentration, the free-electron concentration, and the built-in potential in Te-doped GaAs nanowires. By combing the experimental results with a theoretical model, we show that Te atoms are mainly incorporated by the vapor-liquid-solid process through the Ga droplet, which leads to both axial and radial dopant gradients due to Te diffusion inside the nanowires and competition between axial elongation and radial growth of nanowires. Furthermore, by comparing the free-electron concentration from Raman spectroscopy and the Te-atom concentrations from atom probe tomography, we show that the activation of Te donor atoms is 100% at a doping level of 4×1018cm-3, which is a significant result in terms of future device applications