Enhancing SiGeSn nanocrystals SWIR photosensing by high passivation in nanocrystalline HfO2 matrix.

SiGeSn nanocrystals (NCs) in oxides are of considerable interest for photo-effect applications due to the fine-tuning of the optical bandgap by quantum confinement in NCs. We present a detailed study regarding the silicon germanium tin (SiGeSn) NCs embedded in a nanocrystalline hafnium oxide (HfO2) matrix fabricated by using magnetron co-sputtering deposition at room temperature and rapid thermal annealing (RTA). The NCs were formed at temperatures in the range of 500-800 °C. RTA was performed to obtain SiGeSn NCs with surfaces passivated by the embedding HfO2 matrix. The formation of NCs and ß-Sn segregation were discussed in relation to the deposition and processing conditions by employing HRTEM, XRD and Raman spectroscopy studies. The spectral photosensitivity exhibited up to 2000 nm in short-wavelength infrared (SWIR) depending on the Sn composition was obtained. Comparing to similar results on GeSn NCs in SiO2 matrix, the addition of Si offers a better thermal stability of SiGeSn NCs, while the use of HfO2 matrix results in better passivation of NCs increasing the SWIR photosensitivity at room temperature. These results suggest that SiGeSn NCs embedded in an HfO2 matrix are a promising material for SWIR optoelectronic devices.

Graphene/Ferroelectric (Ge-Doped HfO2) Adaptable Transistors Acting as Reconfigurable Logic Gates.

We present an array of 225 field-effect transistors (FETs), where each of them has a graphene monolayer channel grown on a 3-layer deposited stack of 22 nm control HfO2/5 nm Ge-HfO2 intermediate layer/8 nm tunnel HfO2/p-Si substrate. The intermediate layer is ferroelectric and acts as a floating gate. All transistors have two top gates, while the p-Si substrate is acting as a back gate. We show that these FETs are acting memtransistors, working as two-input reconfigurable logic gates with memory, the type of the logic gate depending only on the values of the applied gate voltages and the choice of a threshold current.

Nanocrystallized Ge-Rich SiGe-HfO2 Highly Photosensitive in Short-Wave Infrared.

Group IV nanocrystals (NCs), in particular from the Si-Ge system, are of high interest for Si photonics applications. Ge-rich SiGe NCs embedded in nanocrystallized HfO2 were obtained by magnetron sputtering deposition followed by rapid thermal annealing at 600 °C for nanostructuring. The complex characterization of morphology and crystalline structure by X-ray diffraction, µ-Raman spectroscopy, and cross-section transmission electron microscopy evidenced the formation of Ge-rich SiGe NCs (3-7 nm diameter) in a matrix of nanocrystallized HfO2. For avoiding the fast diffusion of Ge, the layer containing SiGe NCs was cladded by very thin top and bottom pure HfO2 layers. Nanocrystallized HfO2 with tetragonal/orthorhombic structure was revealed beside the monoclinic phase in both buffer HfO2 and SiGe NCs-HfO2 layers. In the top part, the film is mainly crystallized in the monoclinic phase. High efficiency of the photocurrent was obtained in a broad spectral range of curves of 600-2000 nm at low temperatures. The high-quality SiGe NC/HfO2 matrix interface together with the strain induced in SiGe NCs by nanocrystallization of both HfO2 matrix and SiGe nanoparticles explain the unexpectedly extended photoelectric sensitivity in short-wave infrared up to about 2000 nm that is more than the sensitivity limit for Ge, in spite of the increase of bandgap by well-known quantum confinement effect in SiGe NCs.

Bandgap atomistic calculations on hydrogen-passivated GeSi nanocrystals.

We present a detailed study regarding the bandgap dependence on diameter and composition of spherical Ge-rich GexSi1-x nanocrystals (NCs). For this, we conducted a series of atomistic density functional theory (DFT) calculations on H-passivated NCs of Ge-rich GeSi random alloys, with Ge atomic concentration varied from 50 to 100% and diameters ranging from 1 to 4 nm. As a result of the dominant confinement effect in the DFT computations, a composition invariance of the line shape of the bandgap diameter dependence was found for the entire computation range, the curves being shifted for different Ge concentrations by ΔE(eV) = 0.651(1 - x). The shape of the dependence of NCs bandgap on the diameter is well described by a power function 4.58/d1.25 for 2-4 nm diameter range, while for smaller diameters, there is a tendency to limit the bandgap to a finite value. By H-passivation of the NC surface, the effect of surface states near the band edges is excluded aiming to accurately determine the NC bandgap. The number of H atoms necessary to fully passivate the spherical GexSi1-x NC surface reaches the total number atoms of the Ge + Si core for smallest NCs and still remains about 25% from total number of atoms for bigger NC diameters of 4 nm. The findings are in line with existing theoretical and experimental published data on pure Ge NCs and allow the evaluation of the GeSi NCs behavior required by desired optical sensor applications for which there is a lack of DFT simulation data in literature.

GeSi Nanocrystals Photo-Sensors for Optical Detection of Slippery Road Conditions Combining Two Classification Algorithms.

One of the key elements in assessing traffic safety on the roads is the detection of asphalt conditions. In this paper, we propose an optical sensor based on GeSi nanocrystals embedded in SiO2 matrix that discriminates between different slippery road conditions (wet and icy asphalt and asphalt covered with dirty ice) in respect to dry asphalt. The sensor is fabricated by magnetron sputtering deposition followed by rapid thermal annealing. The photodetector has spectral sensitivity in the 360-1350 nm range and the signal-noise ratio is 102-103. The working principle of sensor setup for detection of road conditions is based on the photoresponse (photocurrent) of the sensor under illumination with the light reflected from the asphalt having different reflection coefficients for dry, wet, icy and dirty ice coatings. For this, the asphalt is illuminated sequentially with 980 and 1064 nm laser diodes. A database of these photocurrents is obtained for the different road conditions. We show that the use of both k-nearest neighbor and artificial neural networks classification algorithms enables a more accurate recognition of the class corresponding to a specific road state than in the case of using only one algorithm. This is achieved by comparing the new output sensor data with previously classified data for each algorithm and then by performing an intersection of the algorithms' results.

SiGe nanocrystals in SiO2 with high photosensitivity from visible to short-wave infrared.

Films of SiGe nanocrystals (NCs) in oxide have the advantage of tuning the energy band gap by adjusting SiGe NCs composition and size. In this study, SiGe-SiO2 amorphous films were deposited by magnetron sputtering on Si substrate followed by rapid thermal annealing at 700, 800 and 1000 °C. We investigated films with Si:Ge:SiO2 compositions of 25:25:50 vol.% and 5:45:50 vol.%. TEM investigations reveal the major changes in films morphology (SiGe NCs with different sizes and densities) produced by Si:Ge ratio and annealing temperature. XPS also show that the film depth profile of SiGe content is dependent on the annealing temperature. These changes strongly influence electrical and photoconduction properties. Depending on annealing temperature and Si:Ge ratio, photocurrents can be 103 times higher than dark currents. The photocurrent cutoff wavelength obtained on samples with 25:25 vol% SiGe ratio decreases with annealing temperature increase from 1260 nm in SWIR for 700 °C annealed films to 1210 nm for those at 1000 °C. By increasing Ge content in SiGe (5:45 vol%) the cutoff wavelength significantly shifts to 1345 nm (800 °C annealing). By performing measurements at 100 K, the cutoff wavelength extends in SWIR to 1630 nm having high photoresponsivity of 9.35 AW-1.

Fabrication and characterization of Si1- x Ge x nanocrystals in as-grown and annealed structures: a comparative study.

Multilayer structures comprising of SiO2/SiGe/SiO2 and containing SiGe nanoparticles were obtained by depositing SiO2 layers using reactive direct current magnetron sputtering (dcMS), whereas, Si and Ge were co-sputtered using dcMS and high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS). The as-grown structures subsequently underwent rapid thermal annealing (550-900 °C for 1 min) in N2 ambient atmosphere. The structures were investigated using X-ray diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy together with spectral photocurrent measurements, to explore structural changes and corresponding properties. It is observed that the employment of HiPIMS facilitates the formation of SiGe nanoparticles (2.1 ± 0.8 nm) in the as-grown structure, and that presence of such nanoparticles acts as a seed for heterogeneous nucleation, which upon annealing results in the periodically arranged columnar self-assembly of SiGe core-shell nanocrystals. An increase in photocurrent intensity by more than an order of magnitude was achieved by annealing. Furthermore, a detailed discussion is provided on strain development within the structures, the consequential interface characteristics and its effect on the photocurrent spectra.

Ge nanoparticles in SiO2 for near infrared photodetectors with high performance.

In this work we prepared films of amorphous germanium nanoparticles embedded in SiO2 deposited by magnetron sputtering on Si and quartz heated substrates at 300, 400 and 500 °C. Structure, morphology, optical, electrical and photoconduction properties of all films were investigated. The Ge concentration in the depth of the films is strongly dependent on the deposition temperature. In the films deposited at 300 °C, the Ge content is constant in the depth, while films deposited at 500 °C show a significant decrease of Ge content from interface of the film with substrate towards the film free surface. From the absorption curves we obtained the Ge band gap of 1.39 eV for 300 °C deposited films and 1.44 eV for the films deposited at 500 °C. The photocurrents are higher with more than one order of magnitude than the dark ones. The photocurrent spectra present different cutoff wavelengths depending on the deposition temperature, i.e. 1325 nm for 300 °C and 1267 nm for 500 °C. These films present good responsivities of 2.42 AW-1 (52 µW incident power) at 300 °C and 0.69 AW-1 (57 mW) at 500 °C and high internal quantum efficiency of ∼445% for 300 °C and ∼118% for 500 °C.

Nanostructuring of GeTiO amorphous films by pulsed laser irradiation.

Laser pulse processing of surfaces and thin films is a useful tool for amorphous thin films crystallization, surface nanostructuring, phase transformation and modification of physical properties of thin films. Here we show the effects of nanostructuring produced at the surface and under the surface of amorphous GeTiO films through laser pulses using fluences of 10-30 mJ/cm(2). The GeTiO films were obtained by RF magnetron sputtering with 50:50 initial atomic ratio of Ge:TiO2. Laser irradiation was performed by using the fourth harmonic (266 nm) of a Nd:YAG laser. The laser-induced nanostructuring results in two effects, the first one is the appearance of a wave-like topography at the film surface, with a periodicity of 200 nm and the second one is the structure modification of a layer under the film surface, at a depth that is related to the absorption length of the laser radiation. The periodicity of the wave-like relief is smaller than the laser wavelength. In the modified layer, the Ge atoms are segregated in spherical amorphous nanoparticles as a result of the fast diffusion of Ge atoms in the amorphous GeTiO matrix. The temperature estimation of the film surface during the laser pulses shows a maximum of about 500 °C, which is much lower than the melting temperature of the GeTiO matrix. GeO gas is formed at laser fluences higher than 20 mJ/cm(2) and produces nanovoids in the laser-modified layer at the film surface. A glass transition at low temperatures could happen in the amorphous GeTiO film, which explains the formation of the wave-like topography. The very high Ge diffusivity during the laser pulse action, which is characteristic for liquids, cannot be reached in a viscous matrix. Our experiments show that the diffusivity of atomic and molecular species such as Ge and GeO is very much enhanced in the presence of the laser pulse field. Consequently, the fast diffusion drives the formation of amorphous Ge nanoparticles through the segregation of Ge atoms in the GeTiO matrix. The nanostructuring effects induced by the laser irradiation can be used in functionalizing the surface of the films.

Electrical behavior of multi-walled carbon nanotube network embedded in amorphous silicon nitride.

The electrical behavior of multi-walled carbon nanotube network embedded in amorphous silicon nitride is studied by measuring the voltage and temperature dependences of the current. The microstructure of the network is investigated by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. The multi-walled carbon nanotube network has an uniform spatial extension in the silicon nitride matrix. The current-voltage and resistance-temperature characteristics are both linear, proving the metallic behavior of the network. The I-V curves present oscillations that are further analyzed by computing the conductance-voltage characteristics. The conductance presents minima and maxima that appear at the same voltage for both bias polarities, at both 20 and 298 K, and that are not periodic. These oscillations are interpreted as due to percolation processes. The voltage percolation thresholds are identified with the conductance minima.