Brian D. Schultz

Dynamic nuclear polarization by electrical spin injection in ferromagnet-semiconductor heterostructures.

Electrical spin injection from Fe into AlxGa1-xAs quantum well heterostructures is demonstrated in small (<500 Oe) in-plane magnetic fields. The measurement is sensitive only to the component of the spin that precesses about the internal magnetic field in the semiconductor. This field is much larger than the applied field and depends strongly on the injection current density. Details of the observed hysteresis in the spin injection signal are reproduced in a model that incorporates the magnetocrystalline anisotropy of the epitaxial Fe film, spin relaxation in the semiconductor, and the dynamic polarization of nuclei by the injected spins.

Room temperature deposition of sputtered TiN films for superconducting coplanar waveguide resonators

We present a systematic study of the properties of TiN films by varying the deposition conditions in an ultra-high-vacuum reactive magnetron sputtering chamber. By increasing the deposition pressure from 2 to 9 mTorr while keeping a nearly stoichiometric composition of Ti(1-x)N(x) (x=0.5), the film resistivity increases, the dominant crystal orientation changes from (100) to (111), grain boundaries become clearer, and the strong compressive strain changes to weak tensile strain. The TiN films absorb a high concentration of contaminants including hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen when they are exposed to air after deposition. With the target-substrate distance set to 88 mm the contaminant levels increase from ~0.1% to ~10% as the pressure is increased from 2 to 9 mTorr. The contaminant concentrations also correlate with in-plane distance from the center of the substrate and increase by roughly two orders of magnitude as the target-substrate distance is increased from 88 mm to 266 mm. These contaminants are found to strongly influence the properties of TiN films. For instance, the resistivity of stoichiometric films increases by around a factor of 5 as the oxygen content increases from 0.1% to 11%. These results suggest that the sputtered TiN particle energy is critical in determining the TiN film properties, and that it is important to control this energy to obtain high-quality TiN films. Superconducting coplanar waveguide resonators made from a series of nearly stoichiometric films grown at pressures from 2 mTorr to 7 mTorr show an increase in intrinsic quality factor from ~10^4 to ~10^6 as the magnitude of the compressive strain decreases from nearly 3800 MPa to approximately 150 MPa and the oxygen content increases from 0.1% to 8%. The films with a higher oxygen content exhibit lower loss, but the nonuniformity of the oxygen incorporation hinders the use of sputtered TiN in larger circuits.

Growth and transport properties of epitaxial lattice matched half Heusler CoTiSb/InAlAs/InP(001) heterostructures

We demonstrate the integration of the lattice matched single crystal epitaxial Half Heusler compound CoTiSb with In0.52Al0.48As/InP(001) heterostructures using molecular beam epitaxy. CoTiSb belongs to the subset of Half Heusler compounds that is expected to be semiconducting, despite being composed entirely of metallic constituents. The lattice matching and epitaxial alignment of the CoTiSb films were confirmed by reflection high energy electron diffraction and X-ray diffraction. Temperature dependent transport measurements indicate semiconducting-like behavior, with a room temperature Hall mobility of 530 cm2/Vs and background Hall carrier density of 9.0 × 1017 cm−3, which is comparable to n-Si with similar carrier density. Below 100 K, the films show a large negative magnetoresistance, and possible origins of this negative magnetoresistance are discussed.

Surface and electronic structure of epitaxial PtLuSb (001) thin films

The surface and electronic structure of single crystal thin films of PtLuSb (001) grown by molecular beam epitaxy were studied. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS), photoemission spectroscopy, and temperature dependent Hall measurements of PtLuSb thin films are consistent with a zero-gap semiconductor or semi-metal. STS and photoemission measurements show a decrease in density of states approaching the Fermi level for both valence and conduction bands as well as a slight shift of the Fermi level position into the valence band. Temperature dependent Hall measurements also corroborate the Fermi level position by measurement of p-type carriers.

Epitaxial growth and surface studies of the Half Heusler compound NiTiSn (001)

The Half Heuslers are currently an attractive family of compounds for high temperature thermoelectrics research, and recently, there has been renewed interest since some of these compounds are proposed to be topological insulators. NiTiSn belongs to the family of 18 valence electron Half Heuslers that are predicted to be semiconducting, despite being composed entirely of metallic elements. The growth of the Half Heusler compound NiTiSn by molecular beam epitaxy is demonstrated. The NiTiSn films are epitaxial and single crystalline as observed by reflection high-energy electron diffraction and x-ray diffraction. Temperature dependent transport measurements suggest the films may be semiconducting, but with a high background carrier density indicative of a high density of electrically active defect states. Methods of protecting the sample surface for synchrotron-based photoemission measurements are explored. These methods may be applied to the study of surface electronic structure in unconventional materials.

A simple electron counting model for half-Heusler surfaces

A simple model explains the atomic and electronic structure of Heusler surfaces, supported by experiments and first-principles theory. Heusler compounds are a ripe platform for discovery and manipulation of emergent properties in topological and magnetic heterostructures. In these applications, the surfaces and interfaces are critical to performance; however, little is known about the atomic-scale structure of Heusler surfaces and interfaces or why they reconstruct. Using a combination of molecular beam epitaxy, core-level and angle-resolved photoemission, scanning tunneling microscopy, and density functional theory, we map the phase diagram and determine the atomic and electronic structures for several surface reconstructions of CoTiSb (001), a prototypical semiconducting half-Heusler. At low Sb coverage, the surface is characterized by Sb-Sb dimers and Ti vacancies, while, at high Sb coverage, an adlayer of Sb forms. The driving forces for reconstruction are charge neutrality and minimizing the number of Sb dangling bonds, which form metallic surface states within the bulk bandgap. We develop a simple electron counting model that explains the atomic and electronic structure, as benchmarked against experiments and first-principles calculations. We then apply the model to explain previous experimental observations at other half-Heusler surfaces, including the topological semimetal PtLuSb and the half-metallic ferromagnet NiMnSb. The model provides a simple framework for understanding and predicting the surface structure and properties of these novel quantum materials.

Thermoelectric properties of single crystal Sc1−xErxAs:InGaAs nanocomposites

The thermoelectric properties and figures of merit for single crystal Sc1−xErxAs particles embedded in In0.53Ga0.47As nanocomposites are reported as a function of rare earth concentration. The materials are grown epitaxially on InP (001) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. Larger Sc to Er ratios led to the nucleation of larger nanoparticles, the addition of fewer electrically active carriers, and to higher Seebeck coefficients in the nanocomposites. The thermal conductivity of In0.53Ga0.47As is measured by the 3ω method and found to decrease rapidly with the addition of rare earth elements. The highest room temperature ZT values are obtained for nanocomposites containing less than 0.5% Sc1−xErxAs particles relative to In0.53Ga0.47As.

Studies of scattering mechanisms in gate tunable InAs/(Al,Ga)Sb two dimensional electron gases

A study of scattering mechanisms in gate tunable two dimensional electron gases confined to InAs/(Al,Ga)Sb heterostructures with varying interface roughness and dislocation density is presented. By integrating an insulated gate structure the evolution of the low temperature electron mobility and single-particle lifetime was determined for a previously unexplored density regime, 1011–1012 cm−2, in this system. Existing theoretical models were used to analyze the density dependence of the electron mobility and single particle lifetime in InAs quantum wells. Scattering was found to be dominated by charged dislocations and interface roughness. It was demonstrated that the growth of InAs quantum wells on nearly lattice matched GaSb substrate results in fewer dislocations, lower interface roughness, and improved low temperature transport properties compared to growth on lattice mismatched GaAs substrates.