Gomathi Natarajan

Room-temperature ultraviolet luminescence from γ-CuCl grown on near lattice-matched silicon

We have probed the luminescence properties of a wide-band-gap, direct band-gap optoelectronic material, grown on closely lattice-matched silicon substrates, namely, γ-CuCl on Si. This material system is compatible with current Si or GaAs-based electronic/optoelectronic technologies. Polycrystalline epitaxy of CuCl can be controlled such that it maintains an orientation similar to the underlying Si substrate. Importantly, chemical interactions between CuCl and Si are eliminated. Photoluminescence and cathodoluminescence results for CuCl, deposited on either Si (100) or Si (111), reveal a strong room-temperature Z3 excitonic emission at ∼387nm. We have developed and demonstrated the room-temperature operation of an ultraviolet electroluminescent device fabricated by the growth of γ-CuCl on Si. The application of an electrical potential difference across the device results in an electric field, which promotes light emission through hot-electron impact excitation of electron-hole pairs in the γ-CuCl. Since th...

Stoichiometry control of sputtered CuCl thin films: Influence on ultraviolet emission properties

We demonstrate that the chemical composition of the sputtered CuCl thin films could be finely controlled by adjusting the bias to the substrate. The films deposited without any intentional bias were Cl rich (CuCl1+x), a bias of −22V yielded stoichiometric CuCl, and a further increase in the negative bias resulted in Cl deficient films (CuCl1−x). The crystalline and optical properties were found to be associated with the chemical composition. Cl rich films showed a deep level green emission at around 515nm in addition to ultraviolet (UV) excitonic emission. The stoichiometric films have higher optical quality, exhibiting a sharp UV emission at around 385nm at room temperature, compared to nonstoichiometric samples. Visible luminescence related to deep level defects was not observed in the stoichiometric films. Changes in energy of the flux from the target and the subsequent ion bombardment on the substrate surface are correlated with the variations in chemical composition and their impact on the film micro...

The use of wide-bandgap CuCl on silicon for ultra-violet photonics

γ-CuCl is a wide-bandgap (Eg = 3.395eV), direct bandgap, semiconductor material with a cubic zincblende lattice structure. Its lattice constant, aCuCl = 0.541 nm, means that the lattice mismatch to Si (aSi = 0.543 nm) is <0.5%. γ-CuCl on Si-the growth of a wide-bandgap, direct bandgap, optoelectronics material on silicon substrates is a novel material system, with compatibility to current Si based electronic/optoelectronics technologies. The authors report on early investigations consisting of the growth of polycrystalline, CuCl thin films on Si (100), Si (111), and quartz substrates by physical vapour deposition. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies indicate that CuCl grows preferentially in the <111> direction. Photoluminescence (PL) and Cathodoluminescence (CL) reveal a strong room temperature Z3 excitonic emission at ~387nm. A demonstration electroluminescent device (ELD) structure based on the deposition of CuCl on Si was developed. Preliminary electroluminescence measurements confirm UV light emission at wavelengths of ~380nm and ~387nm, due to excitonic behaviour. A further emission occurs in the bandgap region at ~360nm.

Structural and optoelectronic properties of sputtered copper (I) chloride

Copper (I) Chloride is a wide band gap semiconductor with great potential for silicon-based optoelectronics due to the fact that is closely lattice matched with silicon. This work examines the deposition of CuCl thin films by magnetron sputtering on silicon and glass substrates. Film structural and morphological properties are studied with X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy. Optical absorbance and luminescence spectra of CuCl thin films are analysed in order to study the excitonic features. The influence of deposition process parameters and post annealing on the film properties are also reported.