Sang-Jun Cho

A comprehensive review of ZnO materials and devices

The semiconductor ZnO has gained substantial interest in the research community in part because of its large exciton binding energy (60meV) which could lead to lasing action based on exciton recombination even above room temperature. Even though research focusing on ZnO goes back many decades, the renewed interest is fueled by availability of high-quality substrates and reports of p-type conduction and ferromagnetic behavior when doped with transitions metals, both of which remain controversial. It is this renewed interest in ZnO which forms the basis of this review. As mentioned already, ZnO is not new to the semiconductor field, with studies of its lattice parameter dating back to 1935 by Bunn [Proc. Phys. Soc. London 47, 836 (1935)], studies of its vibrational properties with Raman scattering in 1966 by Damen et al. [Phys. Rev. 142, 570 (1966)], detailed optical studies in 1954 by Mollwo [Z. Angew. Phys. 6, 257 (1954)], and its growth by chemical-vapor transport in 1970 by Galli and Coker [Appl. Phys. ...

Processing, Structure, Properties, and Applications of PZT Thin Films

There has been a resurgence of complex oxides of late owing to their ferroelectric and ferromagnetic properties. Although these properties had been recognized decades ago, the renewed interest stems from modern deposition techniques that can produce high quality materials and attractive proposed device concepts. In addition to their use on their own, the interest is building on the use of these materials in a stack also. Ferroelectrics are dielectric materials that have spontaneous polarization in certain temperature range and show nonlinear polarization–electric field dependence called a hysteresis loop. The outstanding properties of the ferroelectrics are due to non-centro-symmetric crystal structure resulting from slight distortion of the cubic perovskite structure. The ferroelectric materials are ferroelastic also in that a change in shape results in a change in the electric polarization (thus electric field) developed in the crystal and vice versa. Therefore they can be used to transform acoustic waves to electrical signal in sonar detectors and convert electric field into motion in actuators and mechanical scanners requiring fine control. In a broader sense the ferroelectric materials can be used for pyroelectric and piezoelectric sensors, voltage tunable capacitors, infrared detectors, surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices, microactuators, and nonvolatile random-access memories (NVRAMs), including the potential production of one transistor memory cells, and applications requiring nonlinear optic components. Another set of potential applications seeks to exploit the ferroelastic properties in stacked templates where they are juxtaposed to ferromagnetic materials. Doing so would allow the control of magnetic properties with electric field, which is novel. Such templates taking advantage two or more properties acquired a new name and now goes by multiferroics. After a brief historical development, this article discusses technological issues such as growth and processing, electrical and optical properties, piezo, pyro, and ferroelectric properties, degradation, measurements methods, and application of mainly lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT = PbZr1−xTixO3). The focus on PZT stems from its large electromechanical constant, large saturation polarization and large dielectric constant.

Structural analysis of ferromagnetic Mn-doped ZnO thin films deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering

We report on the structural analysis of ferromagnetic Mn-doped ZnO thin films deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering, using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution x-ray diffraction, and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) measurements. The ferromagnetic Mn-doped ZnO film showed magnetization hysteresis at 5 and 300K. A TEM analysis revealed that the Mn-doped ZnO included a high density of round-shaped cubic and elongated hexagonal MnZn oxide precipitates. The incorporation of Mn caused a large amount of structural disorder in the crystalline columnar ZnO lattice, although the wurtzite crystal structure was maintained. The observed ferromagnetism is discussed based on the structural characteristics indicated by TEM and the behavior of Mn when it is substituted into a ZnO lattice derived from RBS measurements.

Dielectric functions and electronic band structure of lead zirconate titanate thin films

We measure pseudodielectric functions in the visible-deep ultraviolet spectral range of Pb(ZrxTi1−x)O3 (x=0.2,0.56,0.82) (PZT), Pb0.98Nb0.04(Zr0.2Ti0.8)0.96O3, Pb0.91La0.09(Zr0.65Ti0.35)0.98O3, and Pb0.85La0.15Ti0.96O3 films grown on platinized silicon substrates using a sol-gel method and on (0001) sapphire using a radio-frequency sputtering method. Using a parametric optical constant model, we estimate the dielectric functions (ϵ) of the perovskite oxide thin films. Taking the second derivative of the fitted layer dielectric functions and using the standard critical-point model, we determine the parameters of the critical points. In the second derivative spectra, the lowest band-gap energy peak near 4eV is fitted as a double peak for annealed PZTs due to the perovskite phase. As-grown PZTs have mainly pyrochlore phase and the lowest band-gap peak is fitted as a single peak. We also examine the effect of dopants La and Nb, which substitute at Pb and Zr (Ti) sites, respectively. We found three band gaps E...

Surface band bending in as-grown and plasma-treated n-type GaN films using surface potential electric force microscopy

The surface band bending, as well as the effect of plasma-induced damage on band bending, on GaN surfaces, was investigated. The upward band bending, measured by surface potential electric force microscopy (a variant of atomic force microscopy), for the as-grown n-type GaN was about 1.0 eV which increased to ∼1.4 eV after reactive ion etching (RIE). UV illumination decreased the band bending by 0.3 eV with time constants on the order of seconds and hundreds of seconds for the as-grown and RIE treated GaN, respectively. This implies that there is a higher density of the surface states in the samples subjected to the RIE process. After the RIE treatment, the shape of the photoluminescence spectrum remained unchanged, but the intensity dropped by a factor of 3. This effect can be attributed to nonradiative defects created near the surface by the RIE treatment.

Fabrication and current-voltage characterization of a ferroelectric lead zirconate titanate/AlGaN∕GaN field effect transistor

We demonstrated ferroelectric field effect transistors (FFETs) with hysteretic I-V characteristics in a modulation-doped field effect transistors (MODFET) AlGaN∕GaN platform with ferroelectric Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 between a GaN channel and a gate metal. The pinch-off voltage was about 6–7V comparable to that of conventional Schottky gate MODFET. Counterclockwise hysteresis appeared in the transfer characteristics with a drain current shift of ∼5mA for zero gate-to-source voltage. This direction is opposite and much more pronounced than the defect induced clockwise hysteresis in conventional devices, which suggests that the key factor contributing to the counterclockwise hysteresis of the FFET is the ferroelectric switching effect of the lead zirconate titanate gate.

Self-assembled deoxyguanosine based molecular electronic device on GaN substrates

Nanoscale hybrid molecular organic photodetectors based on self-assembled guanosine molecules conjugated to wide-bandgap GaN semiconductors has been realized in the ultraviolet wavelength regime. Metal-semiconductor-metal based photodetector is fabricated using ordering of modified guanosine based semiconductor nanowires which exhibit I-V characteristics with high current response and higher rectification ratio compared to Si based hybrid photodetectors. Photocurrent response of a two-terminal device shows the typical characteristics of a semiconductor photodiode with a cutoff wavelength at ∼325nm. The I-V characteristics have been elucidated using the induced polarization properties of self-assembled guanosine semiconductor.

Visible-ultraviolet spectroscopic ellipsometry of lead zirconate titanate thin films

We measured pseudodielectric functions in the visible-ultraviolet spectral range of Pb(ZrxTi1−x)O3 (x=0.2, 0.56, 0.82) (PZT) grown on platinized silicon substrate using the sol-gel method and also on (0001) sapphire using radio frequency sputtering method. Using a parametric optical constant model, we estimated the dielectric functions of the PZT thin films. Taking the second derivative of the fitted layer dielectric functions and using the standard critical point model, we determined the parameters of the critical points. In the second derivative spectra, the lowest bandgap energy peak near 4eV is fitted as a double peak for annealed PZTs associated with the perovskite phase. As-grown PZTs have mainly pyrochlore phase and the lowest bandgap is fitted as a single peak. We compared the bandgap energies with literature values.

Reactive ion etch damage on GaN and its recovery

Surface properties of GaN subjected to reactive ion etching and their impact on device performance have been investigated by transport, optical, and surface potential measurements. Different etching conditions were studied to minimize plasma-induced damage. Higher etch rates could be obtained at high powers and low pressures, with the accompanying roughening of the surface. Surface potential for the as-grown samples was found to be in the range of 0.5–0.7V using scanning Kevin probe microscopy. However, after etching at a power level of 300W, the surface potential decreased to 0.1–0.2V. An almost linear reduction was observed with increasing power. Additionally, the intensity of the near band edge photoluminescence decreased and the free carrier density increased after etching. These results suggest that the changes in the surface potential may originate from the formation of possible nitrogen vacancies and other surface oriented defects. To recover the etched surface, N2 plasma, rapid thermal annealing, ...

Ultrafast carrier relaxation in bulk and epitaxial ZnO

Time resolved photoluminescence and differential transmission/reflection were measured from ZnO bulk and epitaxial layers. Increased carrier relaxation rates induced by stimulated emission were observed in epitaxial layers. The carrier lifetimes in epitaxial layers (~50 ps) were much shorter than in bulk samples (>1 ns) due to increased nonradiative decay. Full-text article is not available.