V. Yu. Davydov

III-nitride tunable cup-cavities supporting quasi whispering gallery modes from ultraviolet to infrared.

Rapidly developing nanophotonics needs microresonators for different spectral ranges, formed by chip-compatible technologies. In addition, the tunable ones are much in demand. Here, we present site-controlled III-nitride monocrystal cup-cavities grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The cup-cavities can operate from ultraviolet to near-infrared, supporting quasi whispering gallery modes up to room temperature. Besides, their energies are identical in large ’ripened’ crystals. In these cavities, the refractive index variation near an absorption edge causes the remarkable effect of mode switching, which is accompanied by the spatial redistribution of electric field intensity with concentration of light into a subwavelength volume. Our results shed light on the mode behavior in semiconductor cavities and open the way for single-growth-run manufacturing the devices comprising an active region and a cavity with tunable mode frequencies.

Observing visible-range photoluminescence in GaAs nanowires modified by laser irradiation

We study the structural and chemical transformations induced by focused laser beam in GaAs nanowires with an axial zinc-blende/wurtzite (ZB/WZ) heterostructure. The experiments are performed using a combination of transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Raman scattering, and photoluminescence spectroscopy. For both the components of heterostructure, laser irradiation under atmospheric air is found to produce a double surface layer which is composed of crystalline arsenic and of amorphous GaOx. The latter compound is responsible for the appearance of a peak at 1.76 eV in photoluminescence spectra of GaAs nanowires. Under an increased laser power density, due to sample heating, evaporation of the surface crystalline arsenic and formation of β-Ga2O3 nanocrystals proceed on the surface of the zinc-blende part of nanowire. The formed nanocrystals reveal a photoluminescence band in a visible range of 1.7–2.4 eV. At the same power density for wurtzite part of the nanowire, total a...

Insight into the performance of multi-color InGaN/GaN nanorod light emitting diodes

We report on the thorough investigation of light emitting diodes (LEDs) made of core-shell nanorods (NRs) with InGaN/GaN quantum wells (QWs) in the outer shell, which are grown on patterned substrates by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy. The multi-bands emission of the LEDs covers nearly the whole visible region, including UV, blue, green, and orange ranges. The intensity of each emission is strongly dependent on the current density, however the LEDs demonstrate a rather low color saturation. Based on transmission electron microscopy data and comparing them with electroluminescence and photoluminescence spectra measured at different excitation powers and temperatures, we could identify the spatial origination of each of the emission bands. We show that their wavelengths and intensities are governed by different thicknesses of the QWs grown on different crystal facets of the NRs as well as corresponding polarization-induced electric fields. Also the InGaN incorporation strongly varies along the NRs, increasing at their tips and corners, which provides the red shift of emission. With increasing the current, the different QW regions are activated successively from the NR tips to the side-walls, resulting in different LED colors. Our findings can be used as a guideline to design effectively emitting multi-color NR-LEDs.

Optical and Structural Properties of Composite Si:Au Layers Formed by Laser Electrodispersion

Composite Si–Au layers prepared by laser electrodispersion with different Si:Au ratios are studied. The microscopic structure of the layers is established and their Raman spectra and optical transmission and reflectance spectra are investigated. It is demonstrated that the sputtering of a two-component Si–Au target radically changes the layer morphology. With increasing Au content in the target, the layers become inhomogeneous and a large number of inclusions arise, which contain silicon nanocrystals and a certain amount of gold. Upon the sputtering of a two-component target, inclusions are most likely formed from large molten droplets, which are ejected from the target and do not manage to divide into nanoparticles. The nanocrystalline structure of the inclusions is attributed to the slow inhomogeneous cooling of particles on the substrate. It is concluded that variations in the photosensitivity spectra of heterostructures with the investigated layers are caused by the formation of inclusions containing silicon nanocrystals with the addition of gold.

Formation of low-porosity compact diamond ceramics: Synthesis and Raman spectroscopic characterization

Abstract Diamond powder has been synthesized by spontaneous crystallization under high static pressure using a Mn-Ni catalyst at 4.5 GPa pressure and 1200 °C. A defined size distribution of the diamond particles has been established through adjustment of the growth period. Chemically modified microcrystalline diamond surfaces have been prepared by boiling in acid solutions. Investigations indicate that the diamond crystals have an octahedron habit with unbroken facets. Raman spectroscopic data show that the prepared diamond powder is pure diamond, without any traces of graphite and other impurities. Second-order Raman-spectra of both, single-crystalline natural diamond and the synthesized microcrystalline form reveal a similar phonon density of states. On the basis of model calculations and comparison with experimental data it is concluded that a polydisperse composition with a dominant size fraction of 28 μm suited best the compact diamond ceramics.

Site-controlled GaN nanocolumns with InGaN insertions grown by MBE

The site-controlled plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PA MBE) has been developed to fabricate the regular array of GaN nanocolumns (NCs) with InGaN insertions on micro-cone patterned sapphire ...

Site-Controlled Growth of GaN Nanorods with Inserted InGaN Quantum Wells on μ-Cone Patterned Sapphire Substrates by Plasma-Assisted MBE

We report on a new approach to fabricate regular arrays of GaN nanorods (NRs) with InGaN QWs by plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy (PA MBE) on micro-cone patterned sapphire substrates (μ-CPSSs). A two-stage PA MBE fabrication process of GaN NRs has been developed, starting with a high temperature nucleation layer growth at metal-rich conditions to aggregate selectively GaN nucleus on c-oriented areas of the μ-CPSSs and followed by growth of 1-μm-thick GaN NRs at strongly nitrogen-rich conditions exactly on the cone tips. These results are explained by energetically favorable GaN growth on the (000-) oriented sapphire surface. Both micro-photoluminescence and micro-cathodoluminescence confirm the formation of regular array of optically and spectrally isolated NRs without usage of any nanolithography.

Effect of the Sapphire-Nitridation Level and Nucleation-Layer Enrichment with Aluminum on the Structural Properties of AlN Layers

The effect of atomic aluminum deposited onto sapphire substrates with different nitridation levels on the quality of AlN layers grown by ammonia molecular-beam epitaxy is investigated. The nitridation of sapphire with the formation of ~1 monolayer of AlN is shown to ensure the growth of layers with a smoother surface and better crystal quality than in the case of the formation of a nitrided AlN layer with a thickness of ~2 monolayers. It is demonstrated that the change in the duration of exposure of nitrided substrates to the atomic aluminum flux does not significantly affect the parameters of subsequent AlN layers.

Towards the indium nitride laser: obtaining infrared stimulated emission from planar monocrystalline InN structures

The observation of a stimulated emission at interband transitions in monocrystalline n-InN layers under optical pumping is reported. The spectral position of the stimulated emission changes over a range of 1.64 to 1.9 μm with variations of free electron concentration in InN layers from 2·1019 cm−3 to 3·1017 cm−3. The main necessary conditions for achieving the stimulated emission from epitaxial InN layers are defined. In the best quality samples, a threshold excitation power density is obtained to be as low as 400 W/cm2 at T = 8 K and the stimulated emission is observed up to 215 K. In this way, the feasibility of InN-based lasers as well as the potentials of crystalline indium nitride as a promising photonic material are demonstrated.

Intercalation of Iron Atoms under Graphene Formed on Silicon Carbide

The intercalation of iron under a graphene monolayer grown on 4H-SiC(0001) is studied. The experiments have been carried out in situ under conditions of ultrahigh vacuum by low-energy electron diffraction, high-energy-resolution photoelectron spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation, and near carbon K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The deposited iron film thicknesses have been varied within 0.1–2 nm and the sample temperatures from room temperature to 700°C. It is shown that the intercalation process begins at temperatures higher than ~350°C. In this case, it is found that intercalated iron atoms are localized not only between graphene and a buffer layer coating SiC, but also under the buffer layer itself. The optimal conditions of the intercalation are realized in the range 400–500°C, because, at higher temperatures, the system becomes unstable due to the chemical interaction of the intercalated iron with silicon carbide. The inertness of the intercalated films to action of oxygen is demonstrated.