Zengxia Mei

Dual-frequency resonant phonon scattering in BaxRyCo4Sb12 (R= La, Ce, and Sr)

Low temperature transport properties of polycrystalline dual-element-filled skutterudites BaxRyCo4Sb12 (R=La, Ce, and Sr) are reported. Remarkably the combination of Ba and La or Ba and Ce is much more effective in reducing lattice thermal conductivity (κL) than Ba and Sr. The density-functional theory calculations and experimental data suggest that multiple-filled skutterudites using filler elements of different chemical natures, such as the rare earths, the alkaline earths, or the alkalines provide a broader range of resonant phonon scattering. The thermoelectric figure of merit of filled skutterudites can likely be improved by means of such multiple-element void filling.

Nanostructure Formation and Passivation of Large-Area Black Silicon for Solar Cell Applications

Nanoscale textured silicon and its passivation are explored by simple low-cost metal-assisted chemical etching and thermal oxidation, and large-area black silicon was fabricated both on single-crystalline Si and multicrystalline Si for solar cell applications. When the Si surface was etched by HF/AgNO(3) solution for 4 or 5 min, nanopores formed in the Si surface, 50-100 nm in diameter and 200-300 nm deep. The nanoscale textured silicon surface turns into an effective medium with a gradually varying refractive index, which leads to the low reflectivity and black appearance of the samples. Mean reflectance was reduced to as low as 2% for crystalline Si and 4% for multicrystalline Si from 300 to 1000 nm, with no antireflective (AR) coating. A black-etched multicrystalline-Si of 156 mm × 156 mm was used to fabricate a primary solar cell with no surface passivation or AR coating. Its conversion efficiency (η) was 11.5%. The cell conversion efficiency was increased greatly by using surface passivation process, which proved very useful in suppressing excess carrier recombination on the nanostructured surface. Finally, a black m-Si cell with efficiency of 15.8% was achieved by using SiO(2) and SiN(X) bilayer passivation structure, indicating that passivation plays a key role in large-scale manufacture of black silicon solar cells.

Mg0.55Zn0.45O solar-blind ultraviolet detector with high photoresponse performance and large internal gain

A Schottky type metal-semiconductor-metal solar-blind ultraviolet detector was fabricated on high quality wurtzite Mg0.55Zn0.45O epitaxial film. Photoresponse spectra show a responsivity peak of 22 mA/W under 130 V bias. A sharp cutoff was recognized at a wavelength of 270 nm, and a temporal response measurement indicates a fast decay time of less than 500 ns. A large internal gain was observed and interpreted by a reduced Schottky barrier height model, which fits well with the experimental data.

Visible-blind ultraviolet photodetector based on double heterojunction of n-ZnO/insulator-MgO/p-Si

Exploiting a double heterojunction of n-ZnO/insulator-MgO∕p-Si grown by molecular beam epitaxy, a visible-blind ultraviolet (UV) photodetector has been fabricated. The photodetector shows a rectification ratio of ∼104 at ±2V and a dark current of 0.5nA at a reverse bias of −2V.The photoresponse spectrum indicates a visible-blind UV detectivity of our devices with a sharp cut off at the wavelength of 378nm and a high UV/visible rejection ratio. The key role of the middle insulating MgO layer, as a barrier layer for minority carrier transport, has been demonstrated.

Dual-band MgZnO ultraviolet photodetector integrated with Si

We have constructed a dual-band ultraviolet photodetector by growing high quality MgxZn1−xO layers on Si substrate with molecular beam epitaxy. The device performance was studied by current-voltage, capacitance-voltage, spectra photoresponse, and time-resolved photoresponse characterizations. It demonstrates a high UV/visible light rejection ratio of more than 2 orders of magnitude and a fast response speed of less than 100 ms. The cutoff wavelength can be at solar-blind (280 nm)/visible-blind (301 nm) region by applying 1 V forward/2 V reverse bias. The working principle of the dual-band photodetector was finally investigated by interpretation of the specific carrier transport behavior with the energy band diagram.

Controlled growth of Zn-polar ZnO epitaxial film by nitridation of sapphire substrate

Surface nitridation is used to eliminate O-polar inversion domains and control the growth of single-domain Zn-polar ZnO film on sapphire (0001) substrate by rf-plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy. It is found that the nitridation temperature is crucial for achieving quality AlN buffer layers and ZnO films with cation polarity, as demonstrated by ex situ transmission electron microscopy. Under optimal growth conditions, a 4×4 surface reconstruction was observed, which is confirmed to be a characteristic surface structure of the Zn-polar films, and can be used as a fingerprint to optimize the ZnO growth.

Low-temperature interface engineering for high-quality ZnO epitaxy on Si(111) substrate

ZnO(0001)∕Si(111) interface is engineered by using a three-step technique, involving low-temperature Mg deposition, oxidation, and MgO homoepitaxy. The double heterostructure of MgO(111)∕Mg(0001)∕Si(111) formed at −10°C prevents the Si surface from oxidation and serves as an excellent template for single-domain ZnO epitaxy, which is confirmed with in situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction observation and ex situ characterization by transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and photoluminescence. The low-temperature interface engineering method can also be applied to control other reactive metal/Si interfaces and obtain high-quality oxide templates accordingly.

Probing Defects in Nitrogen-Doped Cu2O

Nitrogen doping is a promising method of engineering the electronic structure of a metal oxide to modify its optical and electrical properties; however, the doping effect strongly depends on the types of defects introduced. Herein, we report a comparative study of nitrogen-doping-induced defects in Cu2O. Even in the lightly doped samples, a considerable number of nitrogen interstitials (Ni) formed, accompanied by nitrogen substitutions (NO) and oxygen vacancies (VO). In the course of high-temperature annealing, these Ni atoms interacted with VO, resulting in an increase in NO and decreases in Ni and VO. The properties of the annealed sample were significantly modified as a result. Our results suggest that Ni is a significant defect type in nitrogen-doped Cu2O.

Semiconductor ultraviolet photodetectors based on ZnO and MgxZn1−xO

It is indispensable to develop wide-band-gap based ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors (PDs), which are one of the basic building blocks of solid state UV optoelectronic devices. In the last two decades, we have witnessed the renaissance of ZnO as a wide-band-gap semiconductor and an enormous development of ZnO-based UV PDs as a result of its superb optical and electronic properties. Since the first demonstration, a great variety of UV PDs based on ZnO and its related materials have been proposed and demonstrated. These PDs, with diverse device geometries, exhibit either high performance or multiple functions, reflecting a state-of-the-art technology of UV optoelectronics. In this review, we study the latest progress of UV PDs made on ZnO and MgxZn1−xO, which is a representative alloy of ZnO for band-gap engineering techniques. The discussion focuses on the device performance and the behind device physics according to the architecture of UV PDs.

Comparative study of n-MgZnO/p-Si ultraviolet-B photodetector performance with different device structures

A comparative study of n-MgZnO/p-Si UV-B photodetector performance was carried out with different device structures. The experimental results demonstrate superior photoresponse characteristics of the p-n heterojunction detector against the Schottky type metal-semiconductor-metal counterpart, including a sharper cutoff wavelength at 300 nm, a larger peak photoresponsivity of 1 A/W, and a faster response speed. The role of built-in field and low interface scattering in p-n heterojunction is explored, and the energy band diagram of n-MgZnO/p-Si is employed to interpret the efficient suppression of visible light photoresponse from Si substrate, revealing the applicability of this heterostructure in fabrication of deep ultraviolet detectors.