Gail J. Brown

Voltage Tuning of Ferromagnetic Resonance with Bistable Magnetization Switching in Energy‐Efficient Magnetoelectric Composites

Dual E- and H-field control of microwave performance with enhanced ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) tunability has been demonstrated in microwave composites FeGaB/PZN-PT(011). A voltage-impulse-induced non-volatile magnetization switching was also realized in this work, resulting from the hysteretic type of phase transition in PZN-PT(011) at high electric fields. The results provide a framework for developing lightweight, energy efficient, voltage-tunable RF/microwave devices.

Voltage‐Impulse‐Induced Non‐Volatile Ferroelastic Switching of Ferromagnetic Resonance for Reconfigurable Magnetoelectric Microwave Devices

A critical challenge in realizing magnetoelectrics based on reconfigurable microwave devices, which is the ability to switch between distinct ferromagnetic resonances (FMR) in a stable, reversible and energy efficient manner, has been addressed. In particular, a voltage-impulse-induced two-step ferroelastic switching pathway can be used to in situ manipulate the magnetic anisotropy and enable non-volatile FMR tuning in FeCoB/PMN-PT (011) multiferroic heterostructures.

Type II InAs/GaSb superlattice photovoltaic detectors with cutoff wavelength approaching 32 μm

We report the most recent advance in the area of type II InAs/GaSb superlattice photovoltaic detectors that have cutoff wavelengths beyond 25 μm, with some at nearly 32 μm. The photodiodes with a heterosuperlattice junction showed Johnson noise limited peak detectivity of 1.05×1010 cm Hz1/2/W at 15 μm under zero bias, and peak responsivity of 3 A/W under −40 mV reverse bias at 34 K illuminated by ∼300 K background with a 2π field-of-view. The maximum operating temperature of these detectors ranges from 50 to 65 K. No detectable change in the blackbody response has been observed after 5–6 thermal cyclings, with temperature varying between 15 and 296 K in vacuum.

Quantification of strain and charge co-mediated magnetoelectric coupling on ultra-thin Permalloy/PMN-PT interface

Strain and charge co-mediated magnetoelectric coupling are expected in ultra-thin ferromagnetic/ferroelectric multiferroic heterostructures, which could lead to significantly enhanced magnetoelectric coupling. It is however challenging to observe the combined strain charge mediated magnetoelectric coupling, and difficult in quantitatively distinguish these two magnetoelectric coupling mechanisms. We demonstrated in this work, the quantification of the coexistence of strain and surface charge mediated magnetoelectric coupling on ultra-thin Ni0.79Fe0.21/PMN-PT interface by using a Ni0.79Fe0.21/Cu/PMN-PT heterostructure with only strain-mediated magnetoelectric coupling as a control. The NiFe/PMN-PT heterostructure exhibited a high voltage induced effective magnetic field change of 375 Oe enhanced by the surface charge at the PMN-PT interface. Without the enhancement of the charge-mediated magnetoelectric effect by inserting a Cu layer at the PMN-PT interface, the electric field modification of effective magnetic field was 202 Oe. By distinguishing the magnetoelectric coupling mechanisms, a pure surface charge modification of magnetism shows a strong correlation to polarization of PMN-PT. A non-volatile effective magnetic field change of 104 Oe was observed at zero electric field originates from the different remnant polarization state of PMN-PT. The strain and charge co-mediated magnetoelectric coupling in ultra-thin magnetic/ferroelectric heterostructures could lead to power efficient and non-volatile magnetoelectric devices with enhanced magnetoelectric coupling.

Advanced InAs/GaSb superlattice photovoltaic detectors for very long wavelength infrared applications

We report on the temperature dependence of the photoresponse of very long wavelength infrared type-II InAs/GaSb superlattice based photovoltaic detectors grown by molecular-beam epitaxy. The detectors had a 50% cutoff wavelength of 18.8 μm and a peak current responsivity of 4 A/W at 80 K. A peak detectivity of 4.5×1010 cm Hz1/2/W was achieved at 80 K at a reverse bias of 110 mV. The generation–recombination lifetime was 0.4 ns at 80 K. The cutoff wavelength increased very slowly with increasing temperature with a net shift from 20 to 80 K of only 1.2 μm.

High-performance InAs/GaSb superlattice photodiodes for the very long wavelength infrared range

We report on the demonstration of high-performance p-i-n photodiodes based on type-II InAs/GaSb superlattices with 50% cut-off wavelength λc=16 μm operating at 80 K. Material is grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaSb substrates with excellent crystal quality as evidenced by x-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy. The processed devices show a current responsivity of 3.5 A/W at 80 K leading to a detectivity of ∼1.51×1010 cmHz1/2/W. The quantum efficiency of these devices is about 35% which is comparable to HgCdTe detectors with a similar active layer thickness.

Demonstration of a 256×256 middle-wavelength infrared focal plane array based on InGaAs/InGaP quantum dot infrared photodetectors

We report a demonstration of an infrared focal plane array based on InGaAs/InGaP quantum dot infrared photodetectors. The middle-wavelength infrared quantum-dot infrared photodetector (QDIP) structure was grown via low-pressure metal organic chemical vapor deposition. A detectivity of 3.6×1010 cm Hz1/2/W was achieved at T=95 K and a bias of −1.4 V. The background limited temperature of our QDIP was 140 K with a 45° field of view. A 256×256 detector array was fabricated with dry etching, and hybridized to a Litton readout chip by indium bumps. Thermal imaging was achieved at temperatures up to 120 K. At T=77 K, the noise equivalent temperature difference was measured as 0.509 K with a 300 K background and f/2.3 optics.

High detectivity InGaAs/InGaP quantum-dot infrared photodetectors grown by low pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

We report a high detectivity middle-wavelength infrared quantum dot infrared photodetector (QDIP). The InGaAs quantum dots were grown by self-assembly on an InGaP matrix via low pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. Photoresponse was observed at temperatures above 200 K with a peak wavelength of 4.7 μm and cutoff wavelength of 5.2 μm. The background limited performance temperature was 140 K, and this was attributed to the super low dark current observed in this QDIP. A detectivity of 3.6×1010 cm Hz1/2/W, which is comparable to the state-of-the-art quantum well infrared photodetectors in a similar wavelength range, was obtained for this InGaAs/InGaP QDIP at both T=77 K and T=95 K at biases of −1.6 and −1.4 V, respectively.

Growth and characterization of InAs/GaSb photoconductors for long wavelength infrared range

In this letter we report the molecular beam epitaxial growth and characterization of InAs/GaSb superlattices grown on semi-insulating GaAs substrates for long wavelength infrared detectors. Photoconductive detectors fabricated from the superlattices showed photoresponse up to 12 μm and peak responsivity of 5.5 V/W with Johnson noise limited detectivity of 1.33×109 cm Hz1/2/W at 10.3 μm at 78 K.

Type-II M structure photodiodes: an alternative material design for mid-wave to long wavelength infrared regimes

In this work, an AlSb-containing Type II InAs/GaSb superlattice, the so-called M-structure, is presented as a candidate for mid and long wavelength infrared detection devices. The effect of inserting an AlSb barrier in the GaSb layer is discussed and predicts many promising properties relevant to practical use. A good agreement between the theoretical calculation based on Empirical Tight Binding Method framework and experimental results is observed, showing the feasibility of the structure and its properties. A band gap engineering method without material stress constraint is proposed.