Z. Pan

Tensile tests of ropes of very long aligned multiwall carbon nanotubes

We have directly measured the Young’s modulus and tensile strength of multiwall carbon nanotubes by pulling very long (∼2 mm) aligned nanotube ropes with a specially designed stress-strain puller. This puller can apply an axial force to the rope and simultaneously measure the corresponding rope elongation and the change in rope resistance. The average Young’s modulus and tensile strength obtained were 0.45±0.23u200aTPa and 1.72±0.64u200aGPa, respectively, which are lower than those calculated and measured previously. The factors that affect the mechanical strengths of nanotubes are discussed.

Direct growth of aligned open carbon nanotubes by chemical vapor deposition

Abstract Open carbon nanotubes were directly obtained at a very high yield by pyrolysis of acetylene over iron/silica substrates. Scanning electron microscope images show that the nanotubes grow outwards perpendicularly and separately from the surface of the substrate and form an aligned nanotube array. The bottom ends of the tubes can be easily stripped off from the substrate and are found to be opened while the top ends are closed, as verified by transmission electron microscope. The tip growth of tubes might be responsible for the formation of open carbon nanotubes.

Effect of rapid thermal annealing on GaInNAs/GaAs quantum wells grown by plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy

We have studied the effect of rapid thermal annealing (RTA) on GaInNAs/GaAs quantum wells (QWs) grown by molecular-beam epitaxy using a dc plasma as the N source. It was found that RTA at low temperature (LT, 650 degrees C) and high temperature (HT, 900 degrees C) could both improve the QW quality significantly. To clarify the mechanism of quality improvement by RTA, a magnetic field perpendicular to the path of the N plasma flux was applied during the growth of the GaInNAs layers for the sake of comparison. It was found that LT-RTA mainly removed dislocations at interfaces related to the ion bombardment, whereas, HT-RTA further removed dislocations originating from the growth. LT-RTA caused only a slight blueshift of photoluminescence peak wavelength, probably due to defect-assisted interdiffusion of In-Ga at the QW interfaces. The blueshift caused by HT-RTA, on the other hand, was much larger. It is suggested that this is due to the fast defect-assisted diffusion of N-As at the QW interfaces. As defects are removed by annealing, the diffusion of In-Ga at interfaces would be predominant

Conduction band offset and electron effective mass in GaInNAs/GaAs quantum-well structures with low nitrogen concentration

We have investigated the optical transitions in Ga1-yInyNxAs1-x/GaAs single and multiple quantum wells using photovoltaic measurements at room temperature. From a theoretical fit to the experimental data, the conduction band offset Q(c), electron effective mass m(e)*, and band gap energy E-g were estimated. It was found that the Q(c) is dependent on the indium concentration, but independent on the nitrogen concentration over the range x=(0-1)%. The m(e)* of GaInNAs is much greater than that of InGaAs with the same concentration of indium, and increases as the nitrogen concentration increases up to 1%. Our experimental results for the m(e)* and E-g of GaInNAs are quantitatively explained by the two-band model based on the strong interaction of the conduction band minimum with the localized N states

Growth of straight nanotubes with a cobalt-nickel catalyst by chemical vapor deposition

In this letter, we report the catalytic synthesis of a large amount of straight carbon nanotubes using a transition-metal cobalt–nickel/zeolite catalyst. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy images show that they are well graphitized. Raman spectrum shows its peak at 1349 cm−1 (D band) is much weaker than that at 1582 cm−1 (G band). We believe that straight carbon nanotubes contain much less defects than curved nanotubes and might have potential applications in the future.

Photoluminescence properties of a GaN0.015As0.985/GaAs single quantum well under short pulse excitation

Under short pulse laser excitation, we have observed an extra high-energy photoluminescence (PL) emission from GaNAs/GaAs single quantum wells (QWs). It dominates the PL spectra under high excitation and/or at high temperature. By measuring the PL dependence on both temperature and excitation power and by analyzing the time-resolved PL results, we have attributed the PL peak to the recombination of delocalized excitons in QWs. Furthermore, a competition process between localized and delocalized excitons is observed in the temperature-dependent PL spectra under the short pulse excitation. This competition is believed to be responsible for the temperature-induced S-shaped PL shift often observed in the disordered alloy semiconductor system under continuous-wave excitation

Interband luminescence and absorption of GaNAs/GaAs single-quantum-well structures

We have investigated the interband electron transitions in a GaNAs/GaAs single quantum well (QW) by photoluminescence and absorption spectra. The experimental results show that the dominant photoluminescence at low temperature and high excitation intensity originates from transitions within the GaNAs layer. The interband transition energy for QWs with different well widths can be well fitted if a type-II band line up of GaNAs/GaAs QWs is assumed

Growth of carbon nanotubes on cobalt disilicide precipitates by chemical vapor deposition

We have successfully grown carbon nanotubes on cobalt-implanted silicon with various doses. The morphology of such tubes has been examined by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and Raman scattering. On contrary to the commonly used transition-metal nanoparticle catalysts, nanometer-sized CoSi2 precipitates produced in the as-implanted substrates are believed to act as nucleation centers for the formation of carbon nanotubes.

Influence of dual incorporation of In and N on the luminescence of GaInNAs/GaAs single quantum wells

The optical properties of above- and below-band-edge transitions have been investigated by incorporating In atoms into GaNAs/GaAs single quantum wells. The experimental results show that with increasing In concentration the interband luminescence is improved and the luminescence intensity below the band edge in GaInNAs/GaAs decreases significantly. An interpretation is given that N atoms are preferable to form a covalent bond with In than with Ga atoms in a GaInNAs alloy, due to the compensation of the atomic-size difference between In and N atoms on the GaAs substrate. The photoreflectance spectra of the GaInNAs/GaAs single quantum well support the assignment of an intrinsic mechanism to the high-energy luminescence peak.

Strain relaxation of GaNxAs1−x on GaAs (001) grown by molecular-beam epitaxy

A series of samples consisting of a strained layer of GaNxAs1−x of different thickness, covered by a GaAs cap layer of 100 nm were grown by molecular-beam epitaxy. The samples have been characterized by high-resolution x-ray diffraction and simulations based on the dynamical theory in order to determine the strain relaxation in GaNxAs1−x layers. It is found that there is a huge difference between the critical thickness determined by x-ray diffraction and the theoretical calculations according to the Matthews and Blakeslee model. The critical thickness of GaNxAs1−x on GaAs is ten times smaller than the theoretical value. The strain relaxation is a crucial point that affects the quality of GaNAs. Photoluminescence measurements are in good agreement with the x-ray diffraction results. The optical properties degraded rapidly when the GaNxAs1−x thickness exceeded the critical thickness determined above.