Improvement of p-Type AlGaN Conductivity with an Alternating Mg-Doped/Un-Doped AlGaN Layer Structure.

Using molecular beam epitaxy, we prepared seven p-type AlGaN samples of ~25% in Al content, including six samples with Mg-doped/un-doped AlGaN alternating-layer structures of different layer-thickness combinations, for comparing their p-type performances. Lower sheet resistance and higher effective hole mobility are obtained in a layer-structured sample, when compared with the reference sample of uniform Mg doping. The improved p-type performance in a layer-structured sample is attributed to the diffusion of holes generated in an Mg-doped layer into the neighboring un-doped layers, in which hole mobility is significantly higher because of weak ionized impurity scattering. Among the layer-structured samples, that of 6/4 nm in Mg-doped/un-doped thickness results in the lowest sheet resistance (the highest effective hole mobility), which is 4.83 times lower (4.57 times higher) when compared with the sample of uniform doping. The effects of the Mg-doped/un-doped layer structure on p-type performance in AlGaN and GaN are compared.

Synthesis of highly dense MoO2/MoS2 core-shell nanoparticles via chemical vapor deposition.

Nanostructure morphologies of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are gaining much interest owing to their catalytic, sensing, and energy storage capabilities. Here, we report the synthesis of highly dense MoO2/MoS2 core-shell nanoparticles, a new form of TMD nanostructure, via chemical vapor deposition using new growth geometry where a thin film of MoO3 was used as a source substrate for Mo as opposed to using MoO3 powder used in conventional studies. To grow the MoO2/MoS2 core-shell nanoparticles, we precisely control the carrier gas flow rate and sulfur vapor introduction time with respect to the melting of a MoO3 thin film used for Mo precursor. Scanning electron microscope image shows dense coverage of nanoparticles of 50-120 nm in size. The transmission electron microscopy image shows that the nanoparticles consist of crystalline MoO2 core covered with a few layer MoS2 shell. Raman and energy dispersive spectroscopy characterizations further confirm the chemical composition of the nanoparticle containing MoO2 and MoS2. We discuss the growth conditions under which the nanoparticles grow and elucidate its growth mechanism. We also discuss how a small but controllable changes in growth condition could lead to other highly dense growth of vertical/lateral MoO2/MoS2 plates in both source and growth substrates due to the unique growth geometry used in this study.

Tunability in the optical response of defective monolayer WSe2 by computational analysis.

In aiming to achieve red-shifted single-photon emitters that result from localized excitons in monolayer WSe2, we report in this work a theoretical investigation on the optical properties of nanostructures with vacancies and rotational defects. We find that for pristine monolayer WSe2, the complex excitonic manifold, namely, the energies of the bright and dark excitons and the exciton binding energy, agree well with the experimental data when using the GW (Green's function approximation with a screened Coulomb interaction W)-Bethe Salpeter Equation (GW-BSE) method, including spin-orbit coupling. The predicted second and third lowest dark excitons are close in energy and appear below the second bright exciton. Upon introduction of single or double Se vacancies, or a single W vacancy within monolayer WSe2, accurate computational results demonstrate emergence of deeper defect excitons in comparison to shallower values observed for edges, which are consistent with measured emissions upon Ar+ plasma treatment of WSe2 for longer periods of time. Furthermore, using corrected RPA (random phase approximation) calculations, we find that defect excitons red-shift significantly for large rotational defects that pattern the monolayer. Finally, interestingly, first-order Raman intensity calculations demonstrate that a comparison between pristine and defective monolayer WSe2 with a single vacancy can provide a fingerprint for defect characterization. Overall, our results will encourage experimental defect engineering to enable the development of red-shifted single-photon emitters, such as by inducing extended patterning of monolayer WSe2.

Incomplete Ionization of a 110 meV Unintentional Donor in ß-Ga2O3 and its Effect on Power Devices.

Understanding the origin of unintentional doping in Ga2O3 is key to increasing breakdown voltages of Ga2O3 based power devices. Therefore, transport and capacitance spectroscopy studies have been performed to better understand the origin of unintentional doping in Ga2O3. Previously unobserved unintentional donors in commercially available [Formula: see text] Ga2O3 substrates have been electrically characterized via temperature dependent Hall effect measurements up to 1000 K and found to have a donor energy of 110 meV. The existence of the unintentional donor is confirmed by temperature dependent admittance spectroscopy, with an activation energy of 131 meV determined via that technique, in agreement with Hall effect measurements. With the concentration of this donor determined to be in the mid to high 1016 cm-3 range, elimination of this donor from the drift layer of Ga2O3 power electronics devices will be key to pushing the limits of device performance. Indeed, analytical assessment of the specific on-resistance (Ronsp) and breakdown voltage of Schottky diodes containing the 110 meV donor indicates that incomplete ionization increases Ronsp and decreases breakdown voltage as compared to Ga2O3 Schottky diodes containing only the shallow donor. The reduced performance due to incomplete ionization occurs in addition to the usual tradeoff between Ronsp and breakdown voltage.

Dynamic, infrared bandpass filters prepared from polymer-stabilized cholesteric liquid crystals.

We report on the formulation and electrical control of the position and bandwidth of reflective bandpass filters prepared from cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) in the infrared (3-5 µm). These filters are prepared from alignment cells employing infrared transparent electrodes and substrates. The optical nature of the electrodes is shown to strongly influence the resulting transmission of the bandpass filters outside of the spectral reflection.

Single Defect Light-Emitting Diode in a van der Waals Heterostructure.

Single defects in monolayer WSe2 have been shown to be a new class of single photon emitters and have potential applications in quantum technologies. Whereas previous work relied on optical excitation of single defects in isolated WSe2 monolayers, in this work we demonstrate electrically driven single defect light emission by using both vertical and lateral van der Waals heterostructure devices. In both device geometries, we use few layer graphene as the source and drain and hexagonal boron nitride as the dielectric spacer layers for engineered tunneling contacts. In addition, the lateral devices utilize a split back gate design to realize an electrostatically defined p-i-n junction. At low current densities and low temperatures (∼5 K), we observe narrow spectral lines in the electroluminescence (EL) whose properties are consistent with optically excited defect bound excitons. We show that the emission originates from spatially localized regions of the sample, and the EL spectrum from single defects has a doublet with the characteristic exchange splitting and linearly polarized selection rules. All are consistent with previously reported single photon-emitters in optical measurements. Our results pave the way for on-chip and electrically driven single photon sources in two-dimensional semiconductors for quantum technology applications.

Theoretical analysis of the combined effects of sulfur vacancies and analyte adsorption on the electronic properties of single-layer MoS2.

We report a first-principles theoretical investigation on the electronic structure and electron transport of defective single-layer (SL) MoS2, as well as of corresponding structures adsorbed with benzyl viologen (BV), which was shown to provide improved performance of a field effect transistor. O2 adsorption was included to gain an understanding of the response upon air-exposure. Following analysis of the structure and stability of sulfur single vacancy and line defects in SL MoS2, we investigated the local transport at the adsorbed sites via a transport model that mimics a scanning tunneling spectroscopy experiment. Distinct current-voltage characteristics were indicated for adsorbed oxygen species at a sulfur vacancy. The electronic structures of defective MoS2 indicated the emergence of impurity states in the bandgap due to sulfur defects and oxygen adsorption. Electron transport calculations for the MoS2 surface with an extended defect in a device setting demonstrated that physisorption of BV enhances the output current, while facile chemisorption by O2 upon air-exposure causes degradation of electron transport.

Electronic band structures and optical properties of type-II superlattice photodetectors with interfacial effect.

The electronic band structures and optical properties of type-II superlattice (T2SL) photodetectors in the mid-infrared (IR) range are investigated. We formulate a rigorous band structure model using the 8-band k · p method to include the conduction and valence band mixing. After solving the 8 × 8 Hamiltonian and deriving explicitly the new momentum matrix elements in terms of envelope functions, optical transition rates are obtained through the Fermi's golden rule under various doping and injection conditions. Optical measurements on T2SL photodetectors are compared with our model and show good agreement. Our modeling results of quantum structures connect directly to the device-level design and simulation. The predicted doping effect is readily applicable to the optimization of photodetectors. We further include interfacial (IF) layers to study the significance of their effect. Optical properties of T2SLs are expected to have a large tunable range by controlling the thickness and material composition of the IF layers. Our model provides an efficient tool for the designs of novel photodetectors.