Francois H. Julien

High degree of polarization of the near-band-edge photoluminescence in ZnO nanowires

We investigated the polarization dependence of the near-band-edge photoluminescence in ZnO strain-free nanowires grown by vapor phase technique. The emission is polarized perpendicular to the nanowire axis with a large polarization ratio (as high as 0.84 at 4.2 K and 0.63 at 300 K). The observed polarization ratio is explained in terms of selection rules for excitonic transitions derived from the k·p theory for ZnO. The temperature dependence of the polarization ratio evidences a gradual activation of the XC excitonic transition.PACS: 78.55.Cr, 77.22.Ej, 81.07.Gf.

Vertical Transport in GaN/AlGaN Resonant Tunneling Diodes and Superlattices

Using the transfer matrix formalism, we have theoretically studied the vertical ballistic transport in GaN/AlGaN resonant tunneling diodes (RTDs) and superlattices with a small number of periods. We have calculated the transmission probability versus the longitudinal electron energy (T–E) and the current density–voltage (J–V) characteristics. Calculations of both T–E and J–V characteristics have been performed for different Al contents in the barriers. The asymmetry effects due to the internal electric field in the barriers are discussed. Applied to the RTD structure, our calculations demonstrate: (i) the increase of the peak-to-valley ratio of the negative differential resistance (NDR) with increasing Al content in the barriers, (ii) the dependence of the J–V resonance values on the current direction, and (iii) the asymmetry of the NDR with respect to the current direction due to the huge internal electric field in the structure. In the case of multiple quantum well structure (MQWS), the calculation results confirm the same trends as in the RTD case when the Al content is varied. In spite of the fact that it is more difficult to analyze the results in the case of MQWS, the obtained calculations demonstrate the applicability of the used model and of the numerical method to study GaN/AlGaN devices based on quantum well (QW) heterostructures. Furthermore, a design of an optimized 7QW structure operating symmetrically whatever the direction of the applied voltage is presented.

Nanoscale analyses of axial and radial III-V nanowires for solar cells (Conference Presentation)

The record in photovoltaic conversion efficiency is detained by multi-junction solar cells based on III-V semiconductors. However, the wide adoption of these devices is hindered by their high production cost, to a large extent due to the expensive III-V substrates. As an alternative, a hybrid geometry has been proposed [LaPierre JAP 2011], which combines a 2D Si bottom cell with a III-V nanowire top cell in a tandem device. This approach, which may reach theoretical efficiencies of approx. 34%, requires smaller amounts of expensive III-V materials compared to conventional III-V tandem cells and benefits from the nanowire light trapping effects. In this work, we report the fabrication and nanoscale characterization of two types of nanostructures for solar cells: radial GaAlAs and axial GaAsP p-n junction nanowires. Nanowires are grown by gallium-assisted molecular beam epitaxy using Be and Si as doping sources. The composition (probed by EDX and cathodoluminescence) was adjusted to tune the bandgap toward the optimal value for a III-V-on-Si tandem cell (approx. 1.7 eV). Local I-V characteristics and electron beam induced current (EBIC) microscopy under different biases are used to probe the electrical properties and the generation pattern of individual nanowires. For radial junction nanowires, EBIC mappings revealed a homogeneous collection of carriers on the entire nanowire length. For axial junction nanowires, the doping concentrations and the minority carrier diffusion lengths were extracted from the EBIC generation profiles. The effect of an epitaxial GaP passivating shell on the optical and generation properties was assessed.

ZnO: from material to unipolar devices (Conference Presentation)

Although ZnO and its related heterostructures are really attractive for their potential application in optoelectronics, their developments have been limited by the p-type doping issue. Here, we will show why ZnO properties are also very attractive for unipolar structures, only dealing with electrons, and how the material quality has been improved to reach these devices requirements. First, the benefit of homoepitaxy through material quality improvement is presented. We will show that molecular beam epitaxy allows getting defect density, surface roughness, and residual doping, comparable to the state-of-the-art of GaAs. Moreover, (Zn,Mg)O alloy could be used to fabricate heterostructures with very good optical and transport properties. In the second part, we will give a brief overview of the main transport results, especially bidimensional electron gas, reported in the literature. Few examples of possible applications will also be addressed. Then, we will focus on the potentialities of nonpolar ZnO heterostructures for unipolar devices based on intersubband transitions. Once the advantages of using ZnO for TeraHertz quantum cascade laser discussed, we will show that the structural properties of the ZnO/(Zn,Mg)O heterostructures fulfill the requirements of these devices operation. Moreover, we will finish with absorption measurements clearly showing intersubband transitions in agreement with the light polarization selection rule. The strong influence of physical parameters, like doping level, on the energy of these kind of transitions will also be discussed. This work was funded by EU commission under the H2020 FET-OPEN program; project “ZOTERAC” FET-OPEN 6655107.