Two-dimensional gallium nitride realized via graphene encapsulation.

The spectrum of two-dimensional (2D) and layered materials 'beyond graphene' offers a remarkable platform to study new phenomena in condensed matter physics. Among these materials, layered hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), with its wide bandgap energy (∼5.0-6.0 eV), has clearly established that 2D nitrides are key to advancing 2D devices. A gap, however, remains between the theoretical prediction of 2D nitrides 'beyond hBN' and experimental realization of such structures. Here we demonstrate the synthesis of 2D gallium nitride (GaN) via a migration-enhanced encapsulated growth (MEEG) technique utilizing epitaxial graphene. We theoretically predict and experimentally validate that the atomic structure of 2D GaN grown via MEEG is notably different from reported theory. Moreover, we establish that graphene plays a critical role in stabilizing the direct-bandgap (nearly 5.0 eV), 2D buckled structure. Our results provide a foundation for discovery and stabilization of 2D nitrides that are difficult to prepare via traditional synthesis.

Spatially resolved correlation of active and total doping concentrations in VLS grown nanowires.

Controlling axial and radial dopant profiles in nanowires is of utmost importance for NW-based devices, as the formation of tightly controlled electrical junctions is crucial for optimization of device performance. Recently, inhomogeneous dopant profiles have been observed in vapor­liquid­solid grown nanowires, but the underlying mechanisms that produce these inhomogeneities have not been completely characterized. In this work, P-doping profiles of axially modulation-doped Si nanowires were studied using nanoprobe scanning Auger microscopy and Kelvin probe force microscopy in order to distinguish between vapor­liquid­solid doping and the vapor­solid doping. We find that both mechanisms result in radially inhomogeneous doping, specifically, a lightly doped core surrounded by a heavily doped shell structure. Careful design of dopant modulation enables the contributions of the two mechanisms to be distinguished, revealing a surprisingly strong reservoir effect that significantly broadens the axial doping junctions.

Effects of electron back-scattering in observations of cross-sectioned GaAs/AlAs superlattice with auger electron spectroscopy.

Cross-sections of GaAs/AlAs thin films prepared by cleavage of MBE-grown superlattices have been analyzed with Auger electron spectroscopy with a spatial resolution of 6 nm. Elemental distributions of Ga, Al, and As were clearly distinguished in line analysis as well as in two dimensional mapping for 50, 20, and 10 nm thin film structures. We have found an oscillation of Al KLL peak position between the two values while the peak positions of Ga LMM and As LMM remain constant. The origin of the Al KLL peak shift is a primary electron beam induced reduction of oxidized Al atoms formed during specimen preparation. The Auger spectra of Al oxide are generated by scattered electrons at regions with small amounts of electron dose, corresponding to AlAs areas further than 10 to 25 nm from the primary beam. The intensity of the Al KLL peaks excited by scattered electrons from the 25 kV primary electron beam is about 10% of the Ga LMM peak intensity originating from the GaAs stripe.