J. Eymery

Self-assembled growth of catalyst-free GaN wires by metal–organic vapour phase epitaxy

A catalyst-free method for growing self-assembled GaN wires on c-plane sapphire substrates by metal-organic vapour phase epitaxy is developed. This approach, based on in situ deposition of a thin SiN(x) layer (approximately 2 nm), enables epitaxial growth of c-oriented wires with 200-1500 nm diameters and a large length/diameter ratio (>100) on c-plane sapphire substrate. Detailed study of the growth mechanisms shows that a combination of key parameters is necessary to obtain vertical growth. In particular, the duration of the SiN(x) deposition prior to the wire growth is critical for controlling the epitaxy with the substrate. The GaN seed nucleation time determines the mean size diameter and structural quality, and a high Si-dopant concentration promotes vertical growth. Such GaN wires exhibit UV-light emission centred at approximately 350 nm and a weak yellow band (approximately 550 nm) at low temperature.

M-Plane Core-Shell InGaN/GaN Multiple-Quantum-Wells on GaN Wires for Electroluminescent Devices

Nonpolar InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) grown on the {11-00} sidewalls of c-axis GaN wires have been grown by organometallic vapor phase epitaxy on c-sapphire substrates. The structural properties of single wires are studied in detail by scanning transmission electron microscopy and in a more original way by secondary ion mass spectroscopy to quantify defects, thickness (1-8 nm) and In-composition in the wells (∼16%). The core-shell MQW light emission characteristics (390-420 nm at 5 K) were investigated by cathodo- and photoluminescence demonstrating the absence of the quantum Stark effect as expected due to the nonpolar orientation. Finally, these radial nonpolar quantum wells were used in room-temperature single-wire electroluminescent devices emitting at 392 nm by exploiting sidewall emission.

Homoepitaxial growth of catalyst-free GaN wires on N-polar substrates

The shape of c-oriented GaN nanostructures is found to be directly related to the crystal polarity. As evidenced by convergent beam electron diffraction applied to GaN nanostructures grown by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy on c-sapphire substrates: wires grown on nitridated sapphire have the N-polarity ([000math]) whereas pyramidal crystals have Ga-polarity ([0001]). In the case of homoepitaxy, the GaN wires can be directly selected using N-polar GaN freestanding substrates and exhibit good optical properties. A schematic representation of the kinetic Wulffs plot points out the effect of surface polarity.

Integrated Photonic Platform Based on InGaN/GaN Nanowire Emitters and Detectors

We report the fabrication of a photonic platform consisting of single wire light-emitting diodes (LED) and photodetectors optically coupled by waveguides. MOVPE-grown (metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy) InGaN/GaN p-n junction core-shell nanowires have been used for device fabrication. To achieve a good spectral matching between the emission wavelength and the detection range, different active regions containing either five narrow InGaN/GaN quantum wells or one wide InGaN segment were employed for the LED and the detector, respectively. The communication wavelength is ∼400 nm. The devices are realized by means of electron beam lithography on Si/SiO2 templates and connected by ∼100 μm long nonrectilinear SiN waveguides. The photodetector current trace shows signal variation correlated with the LED on/off switching with a fast transition time below 0.5 s.

Nanoscaled MOSFET Transistors on Strained Si, SiGe, Ge Layers: Some Integration and Electrical Properties Features

We have studied the integration process and the electrical properties of TiN / metal gate transistors with high-k dielectrics on various strained substrates : Strained SOI, Strained SiGeOI, and strained Ge. Substrate approaches enable (i) higher strain levels (additive with processinduced strain), (ii) the co-integration of opposite strained layers on nMOS and PMOS, (iii) VT engineering for metal gates. Those features make the substrate approach a very promising solution for ultimate CMOS integration. Integration approaches Substrate approaches (global strain) developed by pioneering teams during the last fifteen years were mainly based on SiGe graded buffers. Recently, strained SOI [1, 2, 3] aroused much interest both for Fully Depleted (1020nm film thickness) and Partially Depleted (40-80nm highly meta-stable layers) architectures. Promising current enhancements, which are additive with process induced strain, were indeed demonstrated.

Ordering of Ge quantum dots with buried Si dislocation networks

Buried dislocation networks obtained by Si(001) wafer bonding pattern the free surface of the sample, giving rise to long-range undulations and short-range embossing, respectively, for flexion and rotation misalignement. Comparison with continuum-elasticity calculations reveals that this patterning is enhanced by strain-driven overetching. These surfaces are a template for growth, and we show that Ge quantum dots can be ordered with a fourfold symmetry by proceeding a postgrowth annealing.

X-ray scattering study of hydrogen implantation in silicon

The effect of hydrogen implantation in silicon single crystals is studied using high-resolution x-ray scattering. Large strains normal to the sample surface are evidenced after implantation. A simple and direct procedure to extract the strain profile from the scattering data is described. A comparison between different crystallographic orientation of the implanted silicon surface is then presented, namely, for ⟨100⟩, ⟨110⟩, and ⟨111⟩ orientations, showing a dependence that can be related to bond orientation. Effect of annealing on the stressed structure is finally described.

Accurate control of the misorientation angles in direct wafer bonding

A direct wafer bonding process has been developed to accurately control both the bonding interface twist and tilt angles between a monocrystalline layer and a bare monocrystalline wafer. This process is based on the bonding of twin surfaces produced by splitting a single wafer, using for instance the Smart Cut® process. A targeted control of ±0.005° is obtained for the twist angle without any crystallographic measurement. Moreover, pure twist-bonded interfaces have been artificially made between two (001) bonded silicon surfaces.

Single-wire photodetectors based on InGaN/GaN radial quantum wells in GaN wires grown by catalyst-free metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy

We present a letter on single-wire photodetectors based on radial n-i-n multiquantum well (QW) junctions. The devices are realized from GaN wires grown by catalyst-free metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy coated at their top by five nonpolar In0.16Ga0.84N/GaN undoped radial QWs, and are sensitive to light with energy E>2.6 eV. Their photoconductive gain is as high as 2×103. The scanning photocurrent microscopy maps evidence that the detector response is localized at the extremity containing the QWs for both below (at λ=488 nm) and above GaN band gap (at λ=244 nm) excitation. This confirms that the device operates as a radial n-i-n junction.

Correlation of microphotoluminescence spectroscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy, and atom probe tomography on a single nano-object containing an InGaN/GaN multiquantum well system.

A single nanoscale object containing a set of InGaN/GaN nonpolar multiple-quantum wells has been analyzed by microphotoluminescence spectroscopy (μPL), high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (HR-STEM) and atom probe tomography (APT). The correlated measurements constitute a rich and coherent set of data supporting the interpretation that the observed μPL narrow emission lines, polarized perpendicularly to the crystal c-axis and with energies in the interval 2.9-3.3 eV, are related to exciton states localized in potential minima induced by the irregular 3D In distribution within the quantum well (QW) planes. This novel method opens up interesting perspectives, as it will be possible to apply it on a wide class of quantum confining emitters and nano-objects.