Jiang Zui-Min

Thermoelectric signals from Si/SiGe superlattices

p-Si/Si0.5Ge0.5 superlattices (SLs) grown on a vicinal-cut p-type silicon single crystalline substrate by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) were irradiated by a KrF excimer laser. Two types of transient laser induced voltage (LIV) signals were observed, among which the signals of 0.3 V in amplitude with time response ~40 ns showed up along the tilted directions, while voltage signals of ~10 mV with a time response of tens of microseconds presented along the untilted directions which were perpendicular to the tilted direction. The results demonstrate that the observed photoelectric signals of 0.3V amplitude are laser induced thermoelectric voltages (LITV) due to the tilting angle relation. The observed LIV signals implied that these SLs exhibited anisotropic Seebeck components. It was also found that the LIV signals increased with the p-type doping level in the Si layer, which was coincident with the expectation of the laser induced thermoelectric effect. According to the measured signals and the theoretical formula, one can calculate the physical parameters of the SLs. The calculated effective Seebeck anisotropy coefficients (Sab − Sc) for samples with 1018 cm−3 and 1020 cm−3 are approximately 11.2 µV K−1 and 18.2 µV K−1, respectively.

Compositional and structural evolution of the titanium dioxide formation by thermal oxidation

Titanium oxide films were prepared by annealing DC magnetron sputtered titanium films in an oxygen ambient. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) sputter profiling, MCs+-mode secondary ion mass spectrometry (MCs+-SIMS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were employed, respectively, for the structural, compositional and morphological characterization of the obtained films. For temperatures below 875 K, titanium films could not be fully oxidized within one hour. Above that temperature, the completely oxidized films were found to be rutile in structure. Detailed studies on the oxidation process at 925 K were carried out for the understanding of the underlying mechanism of titanium dioxide (TiO2) formation by thermal oxidation. It was demonstrated that the formation of crystalline TiO2 could be divided into a short oxidation stage, followed by crystal forming stage. Relevance of this recognition was further discussed.

Extremely Narrow Sb Delta-Doped Epitaxial Layer Characterized by X-Ray Reflectivity

An Sb delta doping layer in silicon is grown at the temperature of 300°C by silicon molecular beam epitaxy and characterized by the small angle x-ray reflectivity measurement using synchrotron radiation beam. The oscillations of the reflectivity caused by dopant Sb at Q as large as 14.5 are detected. Simulation of this curve as a whole shows that the total amount of dopant Sb is 0.15 monolayer and is restricted to two atomic layers. An extremely narrow Sb delta doping structure without Sb segregation is thus obtained at the growth temperature of 300°C as verified by the experiment.

Microstructure of Epitaxial Er2O3 Thin Film on Oxidized Si (111) Substrate

Er2O3 thin films are grown on oxidized Si (111) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. The sample grown under optimized condition is characterized in its microstructure, surface morphology and thickness using grazing incidence x-ray diffraction (GIXRD), atomic force morphology and x-ray reflectivity. GIXRD measurements reveal that the Er2O3 thin film is a mosaic of single-crystal domains. The interplanar spacing d in-plane residual strain tensor e∥ and the strain relaxation degree ξ are calculated. The Poisson ratio μ obtained by conventional x-ray diffraction is in good agreement with that of the bulk Er2O3. In-plane strains in three sets of planes, i.e. (440), (404), and (044), are isotropic.

Enhancement of Er3+ Emission from an Er-Si Codoped Al2O3 Film by Stacking Si-Doped Al2O3 Sublayers

A multilayer film (multi-film), consisting of alternate Er-Si-codoped Al2O3 (ESA) and Si-doped Al2O3 (SA) sublayers, is synthesized by co-sputtering from separated Er, Si, and Al2O3 targets. The dependence of Er3+ related photoluminescence (PL) properties on annealing temperatures over 700?1100?C is studied. The maximum intensity of Er3+ photoluminance (PL), about 10 times higher than that of the monolayer film, is obtained from the multi-film annealed at 950?C. The enhancement of Er3+ PL intensity is attributed to the energy transfer from the silicon nanocrystals (Si-NCs) to the neighboring Er3+ ions. The effective characteristic interaction distance (or the critical ET length) between Er and carriers (Si-NCs) is ~3 nm. The PL intensity exhibits a nonmonotonic temperature dependence. Meanwhile, the PL integrated intensity at room temperature is about 30% higher than that at 14 K.

Transient Hole Trapping in Individual GeSi Quantum Dot Grown on Si(001) Studied by Conductive Atomic Force Microscopy

Electrical properties of individual self-assembled GeSi quantum dots grown on Si substrates are investigated by using conductive atomic force microscopy at room temperature. By controlling the bias voltage sweep in a certain fast sweep rate range, a novel current peak is observed in the current–voltage characteristics of the quantum dots. The current peaks are detectable only during the backward voltage sweep immediately after a forward sweep. The current peak position and intensity are found to depend strongly on the voltage sweep conditions. This kind of current–voltage characteristic under fast sweep is very different from the ordinary steady state current behaviour of quantum dots measured previously. The origin of this phenomenon can be attributed to the transient hole trapping in the potential well formed by the quantum dot sandwiched between the native oxide layer and the bottom Si substrate.

The distribution of Sb atoms in δ-doped silicon crystal

The distribution of Sb atoms in δ-doped silicon crystals grown by molecular beam epitaxy at different temperatures was measured using the technique of synchrotron radiation x-ray low angle reflection. The results indicate that the doped Sb atoms are distributed exponentially in the epitaxial layers, and the 1/e decay lengths are 0.45, 0.95 and 3.5 nm for the samples grown at temperatures of 250, 300 and 350°C, respectively. For samples grown at 400°C, the 1/e decay length of the Sb atomic distribution increases drastically because of the segregation of Sb atoms during the growth process.