Michl Kaiser

Fabry-Perot enhanced Faraday rotation in graphene.

We demonstrate that giant Faraday rotation in graphene in the terahertz range due to the cyclotron resonance is further increased by constructive Fabry-Perot interference in the supporting substrate. Simultaneously, an enhanced total transmission is achieved, making this effect doubly advantageous for graphene-based magneto-optical applications. As an example, we present far-infrared spectra of epitaxial multilayer graphene grown on the C-face of 6H-SiC, where the interference fringes are spectrally resolved and a Faraday rotation up to 0.15 radians (9°) is attained. Further, we discuss and compare other ways to increase the Faraday rotation using the principle of an optical cavity.

Broadband and omnidirectional light harvesting enhancement of fluorescent SiC

In the present work, antireflective sub-wavelength structures have been fabricated on fluorescent 6H-SiC to enhance the white light extraction efficiency by using the reactive-ion etching method. Broadband and omnidirectional antireflection characteristics show that 6H-SiC with antireflective sub-wavelength structures suppress the average surface reflection significantly from 20.5 % to 1.01 % over a wide spectral range of 390-784 nm. The luminescence intensity of the fluorescent 6H-SiC could be enhanced in the whole emission angle range. It maintains an enhancement larger than 91 % up to the incident angle of 70 degrees, while the largest enhancement of 115.4 % could be obtained at 16 degrees. The antireflective sub-wavelength structures on fluorescent 6H-SiC could also preserve the luminescence spectral profile at a large emission angle by eliminating the Fabry-Pérot microcavity interference effect.

Polycrystalline SiC as Source Material for the Growth of Fluorescent SiC Layers

Polycrystalline doped SiC act as source for fluorescent SiC. We have studied the growth of individual grains with different polytypes in the source material. We show an evolution and orientation of grains of different polytypes in polycrystalline SiC ingots grown by the Physical Vapor Transport method. The grain influence on the growth rate of fluorescent SiC layers grown by a sublimation epitaxial process is discussed in respect of surface kinetics.

Nucleation and growth of polycrystalline SiC

The nucleation and bulk growth of polycrystalline SiC in a 2 inch PVT setup using isostatic and pyrolytic graphite as substrates was studied. Textured nucleation occurs under near-thermal equilibrium conditions at the initial growth stage with hexagonal platelet shaped crystallites of 4H, 6H and 15R polytypes. It is found that pyrolytic graphite results in enhanced texturing of the nucleating gas species. Reducing the pressure leads to growth of the crystallites until a closed polycrystalline SiC layer containing voids with a rough surface is developed. Bulk growth was conducted at 35 mbar Ar pressure at 2250°C in diffusion limited mass transport regime generating a convex shaped growth form of the solid-gas interface leading to lateral expansion of virtually [001] oriented crystallites. Growth at 2350°C led to the stabilization of 6H polytypic grains. The micropipe density in the bulk strongly depends on the substrate used.

Carrier Lifetimes and Influence of In-Grown Defects in N-B Co-Doped 6H-SiC

The thick N-B co-doped epilayers were grown by the fast sublimation growth method and the depth-resolved carrier lifetimes have been investigated by means of the free-carrier absorption (FCA) decay ...

The role of defects in fluorescent silicon carbide layers grown by sublimation epitaxy

Donor-acceptor co-doped SiC is a promising light converter for novel monolithic all-semiconductor white LEDs due to its broad-band donor-acceptor pair luminescence and potentially high internal quantum efficiency. Besides sufficiently high doping concentrations in an appropriate ratio yielding short radiative lifetimes, long nonradiative lifetimes are crucial for efficient light conversion. The impact of different types of defects is studied by characterizing fluorescent silicon carbide layers with regard to photoluminescence intensity, homogeneity and efficiency taking into account dislocation density and distribution. Different doping concentrations and variations in gas phase composition and pressure are investigated.

Lateral Boron Distribution in Polycrystalline SiC Source Materials

Polycrystalline SiC containing boron and nitrogen are used in growth of fluorescent SiC for white LEDs. Two types of doped polycrystalline SiC have been studied in detail with secondary ion mass spectrometry: sintered SiC and poly-SiC prepared by sublimation in a physical vapor transport setup. The materials are co-doped materials with nitrogen and boron to a concentration of 1x1018 cm-3 and 1x1019 cm-3, respectively. Depth profiles as well as ion images have been recorded. According to ocular inspection, the analyzed poly-SiC consists mainly of 4H-SiC and 6H-SiC grains. In these grains, the boron concentration is higher and the nitrogen concentration is lower in the 6H-SiC compared to the 4H-SiC polytype. No inter-diffusion between grains is observed.

Step-flow growth of fluorescent 4H-SiC layers on 4 degree off-axis substrates

Homoepitaxial layers of fluorescent 4H-SiC were grown on 4 degree off-axis substrates by sublimation epitaxy. Luminescence in the green spectral range was obtained by co-doping with nitrogen and boron utilizing donor-acceptor pair luminescence. This concept opens possibilities to explore green light emitting diodes using a new materials platform.

Morphological and Optical Stability in Growth of Fluorescent SiC on Low Off-Axis Substrates

Fluorescent silicon carbide was grown using the fast sublimation growth process on low off-axis 6H-SiC substrates. In this case, the morphology of the epilayer and the incorporation of dopants are influenced by the Si/C ratio. Differently converted tantalum foils were introduced into the growth cell in order to change vapor phase stochiometry during the growth. Fluorescent SiC grown using fresh and fully converted tantalum foils contained morphological instabilities leading to lower room temperature photoluminescence intensity while an improved morphology and optical stability was achieved with partly converted tantalum foil. This work reflects the importance of considering the use of Ta foil in sublimation epitaxy regarding the morphological and optical stability in fluorescent silicon carbide.

Modeling of the Mass Transport during Homo-Epitaxial Growth of Silicon Carbide by Fast Sublimation Epitaxy

Ballistic and diffusive growth regimes in the Fast Sublimation Growth Process of silicon carbide can be determined using suggested theoretical model for the mean free path calculations. The influences of temperature and inert gas pressure on the mass transport for the growth of epitaxial layers were analyzed theoretically and experimentally.