Demetra Tsokkou

Tin Oxide Nanowires: The Influence of Trap States on Ultrafast Carrier Relaxation

We have studied the optical properties and carrier dynamics in SnO2nanowires (NWs) with an average radius of 50 nm that were grown via the vapor–liquid solid method. Transient differential absorption measurements have been employed to investigate the ultrafast relaxation dynamics of photogenerated carriers in the SnO2NWs. Steady state transmission measurements revealed that the band gap of these NWs is 3.77 eV and contains two broad absorption bands. The first is located below the band edge (shallow traps) and the second near the center of the band gap (deep traps). Both of these absorption bands seem to play a crucial role in the relaxation of the photogenerated carriers. Time resolved measurements suggest that the photogenerated carriers take a few picoseconds to move into the shallow trap states whereas they take ~70 ps to move from the shallow to the deep trap states. Furthermore the recombination process of electrons in these trap states with holes in the valence band takes ~2 ns. Auger recombination appears to be important at the highest fluence used in this study (500 μJ/cm2); however, it has negligible effect for fluences below 50 μJ/cm2. The Auger coefficient for the SnO2NWs was estimated to be 7.5 ± 2.5 × 10−31 cm6/s.

Ultrafast time-resolved spectroscopy of In2O3 nanowires

Ultrafast carrier dynamics in In2O3 nanowires with an average diameter of ≈100±20 nm grown by the vapor-liquid-solid method have been investigated in detail using differential absorption spectroscopy with femtosecond resolution. Measurements revealed that state filling is important for states above the band gap and states just below the band edge, thus demonstrating the critical role that shallow traps play in the relaxation of the photogenerated carriers. Furthermore, time-resolved intensity measurements revealed the importance of Auger recombination in the relaxation of carriers in the In2O3 nanowires and provided the maximum fluence (∼3 μJ/cm2) where this recombination mechanism may be considered negligible. Transient measurements in this low-fluence regime for carriers above the band gap revealed single exponential recovery (∼1.5 ns) associated with recombination of the photogenerated carriers. Similar behavior has been observed for the photogenerated carriers distributed within the shallow traps just...

Carrier dynamics and conductivity of SnO2 nanowires investigated by time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy

THz spectroscopy has been applied to investigate the photo-induced and intrinsic conductivity in SnO2 nanowires using the Drude-Smith model. The refractive index of the nanowires was found to decrease from 2.4 to 2.1 with increasing THz frequency and the dc mobility of the non-excited nanowires was determined to be 72 ± 10 cm2/Vs. Measurements reveal that scattering times are carrier density dependent, while a strong suppression of long transport is evident. Intensity-dependent measurements provided an estimate of the Auger coefficient found to be γ = (7.2 ± 2.0) × 10−31 cm6/s.

Defect states of chemical vapor deposition grown GaN nanowires: Effects and mechanisms in the relaxation of carriers

Carrier relaxation in GaN nanowires, grown by atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition, via direct nitridation of Ga with NH3 at 950 °C has been investigated in detail. Differential absorption measurements reveal a large number of defect states located within the band gap. The relaxation dynamics of the photogenerated carriers suggest three distinct regions of energy states below the band edge identified as shallow donor states, midgap states, and deep acceptor states. Measurements suggest that Auger recombination is not a contributing factor in carrier relaxation even at the highest fluence (∼1 mJ/cm2) used in this work for carriers located within the conduction band. On the contrary, Auger recombination has been observed when probing the shallow donor states for fluences above 40 μJ/cm2. Measurements at the lowest fluence reveal a biexponential relaxation for the donor states with the fast component (∼50 ps) corresponding to the relaxation of carriers into the midgap states and the slow component ...

Low Temperature Growth of In2O3and InN Nanocrystals on Si(111) via Chemical Vapour Deposition Based on the Sublimation of NH4Cl in In.

Indium oxide (In2O3) nanocrystals (NCs) have been obtained via atmospheric pressure, chemical vapour deposition (APCVD) on Si(111) via the direct oxidation of In with Ar:10% O2at 1000 °C but also at temperatures as low as 500 °C by the sublimation of ammonium chloride (NH4Cl) which is incorporated into the In under a gas flow of nitrogen (N2). Similarly InN NCs have also been obtained using sublimation of NH4Cl in a gas flow of NH3. During oxidation of In under a flow of O2the transfer of In into the gas stream is inhibited by the formation of In2O3around the In powder which breaks up only at high temperatures, i.e.T > 900 °C, thereby releasing In into the gas stream which can then react with O2leading to a high yield formation of isolated 500 nm In2O3octahedrons but also chains of these nanostructures. No such NCs were obtained by direct oxidation forTG < 900 °C. The incorporation of NH4Cl in the In leads to the sublimation of NH4Cl into NH3and HCl at around 338 °C which in turn produces an efficient dispersion and transfer of the whole In into the gas stream of N2where it reacts with HCl forming primarily InCl. The latter adsorbs onto the Si(111) where it reacts with H2O and O2leading to the formation of In2O3nanopyramids on Si(111). The rest of the InCl is carried downstream, where it solidifies at lower temperatures, and rapidly breaks down into metallic In upon exposure to H2O in the air. Upon carrying out the reaction of In with NH4Cl at 600 °C under NH3as opposed to N2, we obtain InN nanoparticles on Si(111) with an average diameter of 300 nm.

Femtosecond Carrier Dynamics in In2O3Nanocrystals

We have studied carrier dynamics in In2O3nanocrystals grown on a quartz substrate using chemical vapor deposition. Transient differential absorption measurements have been employed to investigate the relaxation dynamics of photo-generated carriers in In2O3nanocrystals. Intensity measurements reveal that Auger recombination plays a crucial role in the carrier dynamics for the carrier densities investigated in this study. A simple differential equation model has been utilized to simulate the photo-generated carrier dynamics in the nanocrystals and to fit the fluence-dependent differential absorption measurements. The average value of the Auger coefficient obtained from fitting to the measurements was γ = 5.9 ± 0.4 × 10−31 cm6 s−1. Similarly the average relaxation rate of the carriers was determined to be approximately τ = 110 ± 10 ps. Time-resolved measurements also revealed ~25 ps delay for the carriers to reach deep traps states which have a subsequent relaxation time of approximately 300 ps.

Observation of Quantum Confinement Effects with Ultrashort Excitation in the Vicinity of Direct Critical Points in Silicon Nanofilms

We report on the observation of quantum confinement effects and the influence of surface-related states due to the formation of nanograins on ultrashort relaxation near the direct critical points of silicon nanofilms following UV-excitation. Direct photoexcitation of the samples in the vicinity of the Γ critical points of the first Brillouin zone has been achieved using femtosecond pulses in the spectra range of 290–400 nm. Transient absorption measurements show a substantial enhancement of state filling with decreasing the film thickness down to 5 nm due to quantum confinement in the z-direction. Furthermore, the state filling of surface-related states of nanograins suggests that the critical points of these states follow the ellipsometry extracted energy-curve.