Michael Clavel

Reduced erbium-doped ceria nanoparticles: one nano-host applicable for simultaneous optical down- and up-conversions

This paper introduces a new synthesis procedure to form erbium-doped ceria nanoparticles (EDC NPs) that can act as an optical medium for both up-conversion and down-conversion in the same time. This synthesis process results qualitatively in a high concentration of Ce3+ ions required to obtain high fluorescence efficiency in the down-conversion process. Simultaneously, the synthesized nanoparticles contain the molecular energy levels of erbium that are required for up-conversion. Therefore, the synthesized EDC NPs can emit visible light when excited with either UV or IR photons. This opens new opportunities for applications where emission of light via both up- and down-conversions from a single nanomaterial is desired such as solar cells and bio-imaging.

Heterogeneous Integration of Epitaxial Ge on Si using AlAs/GaAs Buffer Architecture: Suitability for Low-power Fin Field-Effect Transistors

Germanium-based materials and device architectures have recently appeared as exciting material systems for future low-power nanoscale transistors and photonic devices. Heterogeneous integration of germanium (Ge)-based materials on silicon (Si) using large bandgap buffer architectures could enable the monolithic integration of electronics and photonics. In this paper, we report on the heterogeneous integration of device-quality epitaxial Ge on Si using composite AlAs/GaAs large bandgap buffer, grown by molecular beam epitaxy that is suitable for fabricating low-power fin field-effect transistors required for continuing transistor miniaturization. The superior structural quality of the integrated Ge on Si using AlAs/GaAs was demonstrated using high-resolution x-ray diffraction analysis. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy confirmed relaxed Ge with high crystalline quality and a sharp Ge/AlAs heterointerface. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy demonstrated a large valence band offset at the Ge/AlAs interface, as compared to Ge/GaAs heterostructure, which is a prerequisite for superior carrier confinement. The temperature-dependent electrical transport properties of the n-type Ge layer demonstrated a Hall mobility of 370 cm2/Vs at 290 K and 457 cm2/Vs at 90 K, which suggests epitaxial Ge grown on Si using an AlAs/GaAs buffer architecture would be a promising candidate for next-generation high-performance and energy-efficient fin field-effect transistor applications.

Lead-free epitaxial ferroelectric material integration on semiconducting (100) Nb-doped SrTiO3 for low-power non-volatile memory and efficient ultraviolet ray detection

We report lead-free ferroelectric based resistive switching non-volatile memory (NVM) devices with epitaxial (1-x)BaTiO3-xBiFeO3 (x = 0.725) (BT-BFO) film integrated on semiconducting (100) Nb (0.7%) doped SrTiO3 (Nb:STO) substrates. The piezoelectric force microscopy (PFM) measurement at room temperature demonstrated ferroelectricity in the BT-BFO thin film. PFM results also reveal the repeatable polarization inversion by poling, manifesting its potential for read-write operation in NVM devices. The electroforming-free and ferroelectric polarization coupled electrical behaviour demonstrated excellent resistive switching with high retention time, cyclic endurance, and low set/reset voltages. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was utilized to determine the band alignment at the BT-BFO and Nb:STO heterojunction, and it exhibited staggered band alignment. This heterojunction is found to behave as an efficient ultraviolet photo-detector with low rise and fall time. The architecture also demonstrates half-wave rectification under low and high input signal frequencies, where the output distortion is minimal. The results provide avenue for an electrical switch that can regulate the pixels in low or high frequency images. Combined this work paves the pathway towards designing future generation low-power ferroelectric based microelectronic devices by merging both electrical and photovoltaic properties of BT-BFO materials.

Integration of lead-free ferroelectric on HfO2/Si (100) for high performance non-volatile memory applications

We introduce a novel lead-free ferroelectric thin film (1-x)BaTiO3-xBa(Cu1/3Nb2/3)O3 (x = 0.025) (BT-BCN) integrated on to HfO2 buffered Si for non-volatile memory (NVM) applications. Piezoelectric force microscopy (PFM), x-ray diffraction, and high resolution transmission electron microscopy were employed to establish the ferroelectricity in BT-BCN thin films. PFM study reveals that the domains reversal occurs with 180° phase change by applying external voltage, demonstrating its effectiveness for NVM device applications. X-ray photoelectron microscopy was used to investigate the band alignments between atomic layer deposited HfO2 and pulsed laser deposited BT-BCN films. Programming and erasing operations were explained on the basis of band-alignments. The structure offers large memory window, low leakage current, and high and low capacitance values that were easily distinguishable even after ~106 s, indicating strong charge storage potential. This study explains a new approach towards the realization of ferroelectric based memory devices integrated on Si platform and also opens up a new possibility to embed the system within current complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor processing technology.

Strain-Engineered Biaxial Tensile Epitaxial Germanium for High-Performance Ge/InGaAs Tunnel Field-Effect Transistors

The structural, morphological, and energy band alignment properties of biaxial tensile-strained germanium epilayers, grown in-situ on GaAs via a linearly graded InxGa1-xAs buffer architecture and utilizing dual chamber molecular beam epitaxy, were investigated. Precise control over the growth conditions yielded a tunable in-plane biaxial tensile strain within the Ge thin films that was modulated by the underlying InxGa1-xAs “virtual substrate” composition. In-plane tensile strains up to 1.94% were achieved without Ge relaxation for layer thicknesses of 15 to 30 nm. High-resolution x-ray diffraction supported the pseudomorphic nature of the Ge/InxGa1-xAs interface, indicating a quasi-ideal stress transfer to the Ge lattice. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy revealed defect-free Ge epitaxy and a sharp, coherent interface at the Ge/InxGa1-xAs heterojunction. Surface morphology characterization using atomic force microscopy exhibited symmetric, 2-D cross-hatch patterns with root mean square roughness less than 4.5 nm. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analysis revealed a positive, monotonic trend in band offsets for increasing tensile strain. The superior structural and band alignment properties of strain-engineered epitaxial Ge suggest that tensile-strained Ge/InxGa1-xAs heterostructures show great potential for future high-performance tunnel field-effect transistor architectures requiring flexible device design criteria while maintaining low power, energy-efficient device operation.

Enhanced Erbium-Doped Ceria Nanostructure Coating to Improve Solar Cell Performance

This paper discusses the effect of adding reduced erbium-doped ceria nanoparticles (REDC NPs) as a coating on silicon solar cells. Reduced ceria nanoparticles doped with erbium have the advantages of both improving conductivity and optical conversion of solar cells. Oxygen vacancies in ceria nanoparticles reduce Ce4+ to Ce3+ which follow the rule of improving conductivity of solar cells through the hopping mechanism. The existence of Ce3+ helps in the down-conversion from 430 nm excitation to 530 nm emission. The erbium dopant forms energy levels inside the low-phonon ceria host to up-convert the 780 nm excitations into green and red emissions. When coating reduced erbium-doped ceria nanoparticles on the back side of a solar cell, a promising improvement in the solar cell efficiency has been observed from 15% to 16.5% due to the mutual impact of improved electric conductivity and multi-optical conversions. Finally, the impact of the added coater on the electric field distribution inside the solar cell has been studied.

Integration of SrTiO3 on Crystallographically Oriented Epitaxial Germanium for Low-Power Device Applications

SrTiO3 integration on crystallographic oriented (100), (110), and (111) epitaxial germanium (Ge) exhibits a potential for a new class of nanoscale transistors. Germanium is attractive due to its superior transport properties while SrTiO3 (STO) is promising due to its high relative permittivity, both being critical parameters for next-generation low-voltage and low-leakage metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors. The sharp heterointerface between STO and each crystallographically oriented Ge layer, studied by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy, as well as band offset parameters at each heterojunction offers a significant advancement for designing a new generation of ferroelectric-germanium based multifunctional devices. Moreover, STO, when used as an interlayer between metal and n-type (4 × 10(18) cm(-3)) epitaxial Ge in metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) structures, showed a 1000 times increase in current density as well as a decrease in specific contact resistance. Furthermore, the inclusion of STO on n-Ge demonstrated the first experimental findings of the MIS behavior of STO on n-Ge.

Tailoring the Valence Band Offset of Al2O3 on Epitaxial GaAs(1-y)Sb(y) with Tunable Antimony Composition.

Mixed-anion, GaAs1-ySby metamorphic materials with tunable antimony (Sb) compositions extending from 0 to 100%, grown by solid source molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), were used to investigate the evolution of interfacial chemistry under different passivation conditions. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to determine the change in chemical state progression as a function of surface preclean and passivation, as well as the valence band offsets, conduction band offsets, energy band parameters, and bandgap of atomic layer deposited Al2O3 on GaAs1-ySby for the first time, which is further corroborated by X-ray analysis and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. Detailed XPS analysis revealed that the near midpoint composition, GaAs0.45Sb0.55, passivation scheme exhibits a GaAs-like surface, and that precleaning by HCl and (NH4)2S passivation are mandatory to remove native oxides from the surface of GaAsSb. The valence band offsets, ΔEv, were determined from the difference in the core level to the valence band maximum binding energy of GaAs1-ySby. A valence band offset of >2 eV for all Sb compositions was found, indicating the potential of utilizing Al2O3 on GaAs1-ySby (0 ≤ y ≤ 1) for p-type metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) applications. Moreover, Al2O3 showed conduction band offset of ∼2 eV on GaAs1-ySby (0 ≤ y ≤ 1), suggesting Al2O3 dielectric can also be used for n-type MOS applications. The surface passivation of GaAs0.45Sb0.55 materials and the detailed band alignment analysis of Al2O3 high-κ dielectrics on tunable Sb composition, GaAs1-ySby materials, provides a pathway to utilize GaAsSb materials in future microelectronic and optoelectronic applications.

Heteroepitaxial Ge MOS Devices on Si Using Composite AlAs/GaAs Buffer

Structural and electrical characteristics of epitaxial germanium (Ge) heterogeneously integrated on silicon (Si) via a composite, large bandgap AlAs/GaAs buffer are investigated. Electrical characteristics of N-type metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitors, fabricated from the aforementioned material stack are then presented. Simulated and experimental X-ray rocking curves show distinct Ge, AlAs, and GaAs epilayer peaks. Moreover, secondary ion mass spectrometry, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) profile, and EDS line profile suggest limited interdiffusion of the underlying buffer into the Ge layer, which is further indicative of the successful growth of device-quality epitaxial Ge layer. The Ge MOS capacitor devices demonstrated low frequency dispersion of 1.80% per decade, low frequency-dependent flat-band voltage, VFB, shift of 153 mV, efficient Fermi level movement, and limited C-V stretch out. Low interface state density (Dit) from 8.55 × 1011 to 1.09 × 1012 cm-2 eV-1 is indicative of a high-quality oxide/Ge heterointerface, an effective electrical passivation of the Ge surface, and a Ge epitaxy with minimal defects. These superior electrical and material characteristics suggest the feasibility of utilizing large bandgap III-V buffers in the heterointegration of high-mobility channel materials on Si for future high-speed complementary metal-oxide semiconductor logic applications.

Heterogeneously-Grown Tunable Tensile Strained Germanium on Silicon for Photonic Devices

The growth, structural and optical properties, and energy band alignments of tensile-strained germanium (ε-Ge) epilayers heterogeneously integrated on silicon (Si) were demonstrated for the first time. The tunable ε-Ge thin films were achieved using a composite linearly graded InxGa1-xAs/GaAs buffer architecture grown via solid source molecular beam epitaxy. High-resolution X-ray diffraction and micro-Raman spectroscopic analysis confirmed a pseudomorphic ε-Ge epitaxy whereby the degree of strain varied as a function of the In(x)Ga(1-x)As buffer indium alloy composition. Sharp heterointerfaces between each ε-Ge epilayer and the respective In(x)Ga(1-x)As strain template were confirmed by detailed strain analysis using cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. Low-temperature microphotoluminescence measurements confirmed both direct and indirect bandgap radiative recombination between the Γ and L valleys of Ge to the light-hole valence band, with L-lh bandgaps of 0.68 and 0.65 eV demonstrated for the 0.82 ± 0.06% and 1.11 ± 0.03% strained Ge on Si, respectively. Type-I band alignments and valence band offsets of 0.27 and 0.29 eV for the ε-Ge/In(0.11)Ga(0.89)As (0.82%) and ε-Ge/In(0.17)Ga(0.83)As (1.11%) heterointerfaces, respectively, show promise for ε-Ge carrier confinement in future nanoscale optoelectronic devices. Therefore, the successful heterogeneous integration of tunable tensile-strained Ge on Si paves the way for the design and implementation of novel Ge-based photonic devices on the Si technology platform.