0000000000162019
AUTHOR
Salvatore Cosentino
Growth kinetics of colloidal Ge nanocrystals for light harvesters
Colloidal Ge nanocrystals (NCs) are gaining increased interest because of their potential application in low-cost optoelectronic and light harvesting devices. However, reliable control of colloidal NC synthesis is often an issue and a deeper understanding of the key-role parameters governing NC growth is highly required. Here we report an extended investigation on the growth of colloidal Ge NCs synthesized from a one-pot solution based approach. A systematic study of the effects of synthesis time, temperature and precursor concentration is elucidated in detail. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis reveals the presence of crystalline Ge NCs with a mean size (from 5 to 35 nm) decreasing with the …
Role of Ge nanoclusters in the performance of photodetectors compatible with Si technology
In this work, we investigate the spectral response of metal-oxide- semiconductor photodetectors based on Ge nanoclusters (NCs) embedded in a silicon dioxide (SiO2) matrix. The role of Ge NC size and density on the spectral response was evaluated by comparing the performance of PDs based on either densely packed arrays of 2 nm-diameter NCs or a more sparse array of 8 nm-diameter Ge NCs. Our Ge NC photodetectors exhibit a high spectral responsivity in the 500-1000 nm range with internal quantum efficiency of ~ 700% at - 10 V, and with NC array parameters such as NC density and size playing a crucial role in the photoconductive gain and response time. We find that the configuration with a more…
High-efficiency silicon-compatible photodetectors based on Ge quantum dots
We report on high responsivity, broadband metal/insulator/semiconductor photodetectors with amorphous Ge quantum dots (a-Ge QDs) as the active absorbers embedded in a silicon dioxide matrix. Spectral responsivities between 1-4 A/W are achieved in the 500-900 nm wavelength range with internal quantum efficiencies (IQEs) as high as ∼700%. We investigate the role of a-Ge QDs in the photocurrent generation and explain the high IQE as a result of transport mechanisms via photoexcited QDs. These results suggest that a-Ge QDs are promising for high-performance integrated optoelectronic devices that are fully compatible with silicon technology in terms of fabrication and thermal budget. © 2011 Amer…
Size dependent light absorption modulation and enhanced carrier transport in germanium quantum dots devices
Quantum confinement in closely packed arrays of Ge quantum dots (QDs) was studied for energy applications. In this work, we report an efficient tuning mechanism of the light harvesting and detection of Ge QDs. Thin films of SiGeO alloys, produced by rf-magnetron sputtering, were annealed at 600 degrees C in N-2 to induce precipitation of small amorphous Ge QDs into the oxide matrix. Varying the Ge content, the QD size was tailored between 2 and 4 nm, as measured by high resolution transmission electron microscopy. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements indicate the formation of pure SiO2, as well as the presence of a sub-stoichiometric Ge oxide shell at the QD interface. Light …
Transient photoresponse and incident power dependence of high-efficiency germanium quantum dot photodetectors
We report a systematic study of time-resolved and power-dependent photoresponse in high-efficiency germanium quantum dot photodetectors (Ge-QD PDs), with internal quantum efficiencies greater than 100 over a broad wavelength, reverse bias, and incident power range. Turn-on and turn-off response times (τ on and τ off) are shown to depend on series resistance, bias, optical power, and thickness (W QD) of the Ge-QD layer, with measured τ off values down to ∼40 ns. Two different photoconduction regimes are observed at low and high reverse bias, with a transition around -3 V. A transient current overshoot phenomenon is also observed, which depends on bias and illumination power. © 2012 American …
Light harvesting with Ge quantum dots embedded in SiO2 and Si3N4
Cataloged from PDF version of article. Germanium quantum dots (QDs) embedded in SiO2 or in Si3N4 have been studied for light harvesting purposes. SiGeO or SiGeN thin films, produced by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition, have been annealed up to 850 degrees C to induce Ge QD precipitation in Si based matrices. By varying the Ge content, the QD diameter can be tuned in the 3-9 nm range in the SiO2 matrix, or in the 1-2 nm range in the Si3N4 matrix, as measured by transmission electron microscopy. Thus, Si3N4 matrix hosts Ge QDs at higher density and more closely spaced than SiO2 matrix. Raman spectroscopy revealed a higher threshold for amorphous-to-crystalline transition for Ge QDs e…
Room-temperature efficient light detection by amorphous Ge quantum wells
In this work, ultrathin amorphous Ge films (2 to 30 nm in thickness) embedded in SiO2 layers were grown by magnetron sputtering and employed as proficient light sensitizer in photodetector devices. A noteworthy modification of the visible photon absorption is evidenced due to quantum confinement effects which cause both a blueshift (from 0.8 to 1.8 eV) in the bandgap and an enhancement (up to three times) in the optical oscillator strength of confined carriers. The reported quantum confinement effects have been exploited to enhance light detection by Ge quantum wells, as demonstrated by photodetectors with an internal quantum efficiency of 70%. © 2013 Cosentino et al.