Andrew C. Kummel

Scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy of gallium oxide deposition and oxidation on GaAs(001)-c(2×8)/(2×4)

The surface structures formed upon deposition of O2 and Ga2O onto the technologically important arsenic-rich GaAs(001)-c(2×8)/(2×4) surface have been studied using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy, and the results are compared to density functional theory calculations. O2 chemisorbs by displacing first layer arsenic atoms bonded to second layer gallium atoms. Oxygen chemisorption pins the Fermi level at less than 5% monolayer coverage by creating a donor and acceptor site within the band gap originating from the gallium atom bonded between the two O atoms. In contrast, Ga2O chemisorbs by inserting into arsenic dimer pairs at elevated surface temperatures. A monolayer of Ga2O forms a (2×2) surface structure with a crystalline interface that is electronically unpinned: there are no states within the band gap. The unpinned interface results from Ga2O restoring the surface arsenic and gallium atoms to near-bulk charge.

Self-aligned GaAs p-channel enhancement mode MOS heterostructure field-effect transistor

Self-aligned GaAs enhancement mode MOS heterostructure field-effect transistors (MOS-HFET) have been successfully fabricated for the first time. The MOS devices employ a Ga/sub 2/O/sub 3/ gate oxide, an undoped Al/sub 0.75/Ga/sub 0.25/As spacer layer, and undoped In/sub 0.2/Ga/sub 0.8/As as channel layer. The p-channel devices with a gate length of 0.6 /spl mu/m exhibit a maximum DC transconductance g/sub m/ of 51 mS/mm which is an improvement of more than two orders of magnitude over previously reported results. With the demonstration of a complete process flow and 66% of theoretical performance, GaAs MOS technology has moved into the realm of reality.

Ultrathin organic transistors for chemical sensing

Ultrathin cobalt phthalocyanine transistors of 4 ML have been fabricated for chemical sensing. Compared to 50 ML devices, the ultrathin transistors show faster response times, higher base line stabilities, and sensitivity enhancements of 1.5–20 for the five analytes tested. The enhanced response for the ultrathin transistors provides insight into the device physics. The absorption of analytes changes the surface doping level and trap energies. The changes in surface trap energies perturb the charge transport properties of the ultrathin devices, thereby, making these devices more sensitive.

Atomically abrupt and unpinned Al2O3/In0.53Ga0.47As interfaces: Experiment and simulation

III-V semiconductor field effect transistors require an insulator/channel interface with a low density of electrically active defects and a minimal interface dipole to avoid Fermi level pinning. We demonstrate that an atomically abrupt and unpinned interface can be formed between an In0.53Ga0.47As (100) channel and an Al2O3 dielectric layer grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) when oxidation of the substrate surface is prevented before and during oxide deposition. X-ray photoelectron spectra and electron microscopy indicate that in situ desorption of a protective As2 layer on the In0.53Ga0.47As (100)−4×2 surface followed by ALD of Al2O3 produced an atomically abrupt interface without Fermi level pinning. Temperature-dependent and frequency-dependent capacitance-voltage and conductance-voltage analysis of the resulting Pt/Al2O3/InGaAs capacitors are consistent with movement of the Fermi level through the InGaAs band gap. Moreover, the nearly ideal flat band voltages observed for gate metals of widely var...

Iron(III)-doped, silica nanoshells: a biodegradable form of silica.

Silica nanoparticles are being investigated for a number of medical applications; however, their use in vivo has been questioned because of the potential for bioaccumulation. To obviate this problem, silica nanoshells were tested for enhanced biodegradability by doping iron(III) into the nanoshells. Exposure of the doped silica to small molecule chelators and mammalian serum was explored to test whether the removal of iron(III) from the silica nanoshell structure would facilitate its degradation. Iron chelators, such as EDTA, desferrioxamine, and deferiprone, were found to cause the nanoshells to degrade on the removal of iron(III) within several days at 80 °C. When the iron(III)-doped, silica nanoshells were submerged in fetal bovine and human serums at physiological temperature, they also degrade via removal of the iron by serum proteins, such as transferrin, over a period of several weeks.

Hollow silica and silica-boron nano/microparticles for contrast-enhanced ultrasound to detect small tumors

Diagnosing tumors at an early stage when they are easily curable and may not require systemic chemotherapy remains a challenge to clinicians. In order to improve early cancer detection, gas filled hollow boron-doped silica particles have been developed, which can be used for ultrasound-guided breast conservation therapy. The particles are synthesized using a polystyrene template and subsequently calcinated to create hollow, rigid nanoporous microspheres. The microshells are filled with perfluoropentane vapor. Studies were performed in phantoms to optimize particle concentration, injection dose, and the ultrasound settings such as pulse frequency and mechanical index. In vitro studies have shown that these particles can be continuously imaged by US up to 48 min and their signal lifetime persisted for 5 days. These particles could potentially be given by intravenous injection and, in conjunction with contrast-enhanced ultrasound, be utilized as a screening tool to detect smaller breast cancers before they are detectible by traditional mammography.

Analyte chemisorption and sensing on n- and p-channel copper phthalocyanine thin-film transistors

Chemical sensing properties of phthalocyanine thin-film transistors have been investigated using nearly identical n- and p-channel devices. P-type copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) has been modified with fluorine groups to convert the charge carriers from holes to electrons. The sensor responses to the tight binding analyte dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP) and weak binding analyte methanol (MeOH) were compared in air and N(2). The results suggest that the sensor response involves counterdoping of pre-adsorbed oxygen (O(2)). A linear dependence of chemical response to DMMP concentration was observed in both n- and p- type devices. For DMMP, there is a factor of 2.5 difference in the chemical sensitivity between n- and p-channel CuPc thin-film transistors, even though it has similar binding strength to n- and p-type CuPc molecules as indicated by the desorption times. The effect is attributed to the difference in the analyte perturbation of electron and hole trap energies in n- and p-type materials.

Scanning tunneling spectroscopy and Kelvin probe force microscopy investigation of Fermi energy level pinning mechanism on InAs and InGaAs clean surfaces

A comparison is made between the electronic structures determined in ultrahigh vacuum of three surfaces using scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) and Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM). STS and KPFM illustrates Fermi level pinning of clean InAs(001)-(4×2) and InGaAs(001)-(4×2) surfaces and near flat band conditions for InAs(110) cleaved surfaces. However, for InAs(001)-(4×2) and InGaAs(001)-(4×2), STS and KPFM data show very different positions for the surface Fermi level on identical samples; it is hypothesized that the difference is due to the Fermi level measured by KPFM being shifted by a static charge dipole to which STS is much less sensitive.

Energy dependence of abstractive versus dissociative chemisorption of fluorine molecules on the silicon (111)-(7x7) surface.

Scanning tunneling microscopy and monoenergetic molecular beams have been used to obtain real-space atomic images of the competition between abstractive and dissociative chemisorption. The size distribution of Si-F adsorbates on the Si(111)-(7x7) surface was examined as a function of the incident translational energy of the F2 molecules. For F2 molecules with 0.03 electron volt of incident energy, the dominant adsorbate sites were isolated Si-F species. As an F2 molecule with low translational energy collides with the surface, abstraction occurs and only one of the F atoms chemisorbs; the other is ejected into the gas phase. For F2 molecules with 0.27 electron volt of incident energy, many adjacent Si-F adsorbates (dimer sites) were observed because F2 molecules with high translational energy collide with the surface and chemisorb dissociatively so that both F atoms react to form adjacent Si-F adsorbates. For halogens with very high incident energy (0.5-electron volt Br2), dissociative chemisorption is the dominant adsorption mechanism and dimer sites account for nearly all adsorbates.

Population and alignment of N2 scattered from Ag(111)

A well‐characterized Ag(111) surface in an ultrahigh vacuum system is bombarded with supersonically cooled N2 and the scattered molecules are detected near the specular angle using 2+2 resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization. The first three even spatial moments of the angular momentum distribution have been measured. The zeroth moment is the population of a given rotational level, while the second and fourth moments describe the quadrupole and hexadecapole alignment of the J vector with respect to the surface normal. The relative population distribution shows an excess at high J characteristic of rotational rainbow scattering. For J>7, the second and fourth moments closely approach their limiting values expected when the J vector lies in the plane of the surface. It is concluded that the N2/Ag(111) system closely approaches the ideal of a rigid rotor colliding with a flat surface.