Band-gap and strain engineering in GeSn alloys using post-growth pulsed laser melting

The pseudomorphic growth of Ge_1-xSn_xon Ge causes in-plane compressive strain, which degrades the superior properties of the Ge_1-xSn_xalloys. Therefore, efficient strain engineering is required. In this article, we present strain and band-gap engineering in Ge_1-xSn_xalloys grown on Ge a virtual substrate using post-growth nanosecond pulsed laser melting (PLM). Micro-Raman and x-ray diffraction (XRD) show that the initial in-plane compressive strain is removed. Moreover, for PLM energy densities higher than 0.5 J cm^-2, the Ge_0.89Sn_0.11layer becomes tensile strained. Simultaneously, as revealed by Rutherford Backscattering spectrometry, cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy investigations and XRD the crystalline quality and Sn-distribution in PLM-treated Ge_0.89Sn_0.11layers are only slightly affected. Additionally, the change of the band structure after PLM is confirmed by low-temperature photoreflectance measurements. The presented results prove that post-growth ns-range PLM is an effective way for band-gap and strain engineering in highly-mismatched alloys.

Temperature Dependence of the Indirect Gap and the Direct Optical Transitions at the High-Symmetry Point of the Brillouin Zone and Band Nesting in MoS2, MoSe2, MoTe2, WS2, and WSe2 Crystals

Following the rise of interest in the properties of transition metal dichalcogenides, many experimental techniques were employed to research them. However, the temperature dependencies of optical transitions, especially those related to band nesting, were not analyzed in detail for many of them. Here, we present successful studies utilizing the photoreflectance method, which, due to its derivative and absorption-like character, allows investigating direct optical transitions at the high-symmetry point of the Brillouin zone and band nesting. By studying the mentioned optical transitions with temperature from 20 to 300 K, we tracked changes in the electronic band structure for the common transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), namely, MoS₂, MoSe₂, MoTe₂, WS₂, and WSe₂. Moreover, transmission and photoacoustic spectroscopies were also employed to investigate the indirect gap in these crystals. For all observed optical transitions assigned to specific k-points of the Brillouin zone, their temperature dependencies were analyzed using the Varshni relation and Bose-Einstein expression. It was shown that the temperature energy shift for the transition associated with band nesting is smaller when compared with the one at high-symmetry point, revealing reduced average electron-phonon interaction strength.

Multicolor emission from intermediate band semiconductor ZnO1-xSex

Photoluminescence and photomodulated reflectivity measurements of ZnOSe alloys are used to demonstrate a splitting of the valence band due to the band anticrossing interaction between localized Se states and the extended valence band states of the host ZnO matrix. A strong multiband emission associated with optical transitions from the conduction band to lower E₋ and upper E₊ valence subbands has been observed at room temperature. The composition dependence of the optical transition energies is well explained by the electronic band structure calculated using the kp method combined with the band anticrossing model. The observation of the multiband emission is possible because of relatively long recombination lifetimes. Longer than 1 ns lifetimes for holes photoexcited to the lower valence subband offer a potential of using the alloy as an intermediate band semiconductor for solar power conversion applications.

Fermi level and bands offsets determination in insulating (Ga,Mn)N/GaN structures

The Fermi level position in (Ga,Mn)N has been determined from the period-analysis of GaN-related Franz-Keldysh oscillation obtained by contactless electroreflectance in a series of carefully prepared by molecular beam epitaxy GaN/Ga_1-xMn_xN/GaN(template) bilayers of various Mn concentration x. It is shown that the Fermi level in (Ga,Mn)N is strongly pinned in the middle of the band gap and the thickness of the depletion layer is negligibly small. For x > 0.1% the Fermi level is located about 1.25-1.55 eV above the valence band, that is very close to, but visibly below the Mn-related Mn²⁺/Mn³⁺ impurity band. The accumulated data allows us to estimate the Mn-related band offsets at the (Ga,Mn)N/GaN interface. It is found that most of the band gap change in (Ga,Mn)N takes place in the valence band on the absolute scale and amounts to -0.028 ± 0.008 eV/% Mn. The strong Fermi level pinning in the middle of the band gap, no carrier conductivity within the Mn-related impurity band, and a good homogeneity enable a novel functionality of (Ga,Mn)N as a semi-insulating buffer layers for applications in GaN-based heterostuctures.

Pressure coefficients for direct optical transitions in MoS2, MoSe2, WS2, and WSe2 crystals and semiconductor to metal transitions

The electronic band structure of MoS2, MoSe2, WS2, and WSe2, crystals has been studied at various hydrostatic pressures experimentally by photoreflectance (PR) spectroscopy and theoretically within the density functional theory (DFT). In the PR spectra direct optical transitions (A and B) have been clearly observed and pressure coefficients have been determined for these transitions to be: αA = 2.0 ± 0.1 and αB = 3.6 ± 0.1 meV/kbar for MoS2, αA = 2.3 ± 0.1 and αB = 4.0 ± 0.1 meV/kbar for MoSe2, αA = 2.6 ± 0.1 and αB = 4.1 ± 0.1 meV/kbar for WS2, αA = 3.4 ± 0.1 and αB = 5.0 ± 0.5 meV/kbar for WSe2. It has been found that these coefficients are in an excellent agreement with theoretical predictions. In addition, a comparative study of different computational DFT approaches has been performed and analyzed. For indirect gap the pressure coefficient have been determined theoretically to be -7.9, -5.51, -6.11, and -3.79, meV/kbar for MoS2, MoSe2, WS2, and WSe2, respectively. The negative values of this coefficients imply a narrowing of the fundamental band gap with the increase in hydrostatic pressure and a semiconductor to metal transition for MoS2, MoSe2, WS2, and WSe2, crystals at around 140, 180, 190, and 240 kbar, respectively.

Enhancement of photoluminescence from GaInNAsSb quantum wells upon annealing: improvement of material quality and carrier collection by the quantum well

In this study we apply time resolved photoluminescence and contactless electroreflectance to study the carrier collection efficiency of a GaInNAsSb/GaAs quantum well (QW). We show that the enhancement of photoluminescence from GaInNAsSb quantum wells annealed at different temperatures originates not only from (i) the improvement of the optical quality of the GaInNAsSb material (i.e., removal of point defects, which are the source of nonradiative recombination) but it is also affected by (ii) the improvement of carrier collection by the QW region. The total PL efficiency is the product of these two factors, for which the optimal annealing temperatures are found to be ~700 °C and ~760 °C, respectively, whereas the optimal annealing temperature for the integrated PL intensity is found to be between the two temperatures and equals ~720 °C. We connect the variation of the carrier collection efficiency with the modification of the band bending conditions in the investigated structure due to the Fermi level shift in the GaInNAsSb layer after annealing.

Carrier dynamics in type-II GaAsSb/GaAs quantum wells

Time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) characteristics of type-II GaAsSb/GaAs quantum wells are presented. The PL kinetics are determined by the dynamic band bending effect and the distribution of localized centers below the quantum well band gap. The dynamic band bending results from the spatially separated electron and hole distribution functions evolving in time. It strongly depends on the optical pump power density and causes temporal renormalization of the quantum well ground-state energy occurring a few nanoseconds after the optical pulse excitation. Moreover, it alters the optical transition oscillator strength. The measured PL lifetime is 4.5 ns. We point out the critical role of the charge transfer processes between the quantum well and localized centers, which accelerate the quantum well photoluminescence decay at low temperature. However, at elevated temperatures the thermally activated back transfer process slows down the quantum well photoluminescence kinetics. A three-level rate equation model is proposed to explain these observations.

Model of hopping excitons in GaInNAs: simulations of sharp lines in micro-photoluminescence spectra and their dependence on the excitation power and temperature

The model of hopping excitons in semiconductors proposed by Baranovskii et al (1998 Phys. Rev. B 58 13081) has been modified and applied to explain sharp lines observed in micro-photoluminescence (μ-PL) spectra of GaInNAs alloys and their changes with excitation power and temperature. Instead of two types of recombination centres (radiative and nonradiative centres) introduced by Baranovskii et alwe have proposed one kind of localization centre with radiative and nonradiative rates. Such a modification is justifiable due to our recent experimental observations for GaInNAs alloys and allows us to explain the fast thermal quenching of localized emission from this alloy. Our simulations clearly show that the individual sharp PL lines observed at low temperatures appear for this material due to exciton hopping between localization centres. Taking into account saturation effects and the exciton dissociation phenomenon, it has been shown that the observed changes in power- and temperature dependent μ-PL spectra can be excellently reproduced by the modified model.

Photoreflectance and contactless electroreflectance measurements of semiconductor structures by using bright and dark configurations

Experimental setup for measurements of photoreflectance (PR) and contactless electroreflectance (CER) spectra in bright and dark configurations is described in this work and applied to study various semiconductor structures. The innovative solution in this setup is the possibility to measure PR and CER spectra in both experimental configurations with the same halogen lamp, monochromator, detector, and only very small modification in the optical path. In this setup the measurement conditions for the two experimental configurations are very similar, and the obtained PR and CER spectra can be compared and discussed in the context of the unwanted constant photovoltaic (PV) effect, which appears in the bright configuration when the sample is illuminated by the spectrum of white light instead of the monochromatic light. It has been clearly shown that for (i) epitaxial layers, (ii) quantum wells, and (iii) quantum dots, exactly the same spectral features are observed in both configurations at room temperature. It means that from the viewpoint of the detection of optical transitions, it is not important what configuration is used since the white light-induced PV effect does not influence the energy of optical transitions in these structures.