Warm white LEDs based on Lumogen® Red and Yellow

One of the most widespread solutions for the production of white LEDs is the frequency downconversion of a part of the light, coming from a blue source, by exciting one or more materials (typically Ce:YAG) that emit at longer wavelength [1]. In this work we report ona simple and less expensive method to fabricate warmwhite-light LEDsusingthe photoluminescence of Lumogen®, a perylene-based polymer dyecommercialized by BASF,that has already beenprovedto be a good substitute for conventi onal inorganic colour conversion [2],[3]. Standard InGaN-based blue LEDs (~ 450 nm) were fabricated on a sapphire substrate by metal organic chemical vapour deposition. Both Lumogen® Yellow, and Red dyes wered…

Indium Tin Oxide Photoablation: Spectroscopic Analysis of the Plume

New process of silicon carbide purification intended for silicon passivation

Abstract In this work, we report on a new, efficient and low cost process of silicon carbide (SiC) powder purification intended to be used in photovoltaic applications. This process consists on the preparation of porous silicon carbide layers followed by a photo-thermal annealing under oxygen atmosphere and chemical treatment. The effect of etching time on impurities removal efficiency was studied. Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) results showed that the best result was achieved for an etching time of 10 min followed by gettering at 900 °C during 1 h. SiC purity is improved from 3N (99.9771%) to 4N (99.9946%). Silicon carbide thin films were deposited onto s…

Effects of 5 MeV electron irradiation on deep traps and electroluminescence from near-UV InGaN/GaN single quantum well light-emitting diodes with and without InAlN superlattice underlayer

The electrical properties, electroluminescence (EL) power output and deep trap spectra were studied before and after 5 MeV electron irradiation of near-UV single-quantum-well (SQW) light-emitting diodes (LED) structures differing by the presence or absence of InAlN superlattice underlayers (InAlN SL UL). The presence of the underlayer is found to remarkably increase the EL output power and the radiation tolerance of LEDs, which correlates with a much lower and more slowly changing density of deep traps in the QW region with radiation dose, and the higher lifetime of charge carriers, manifested by higher short-circuit current and open-circuit voltage in current–voltage characteristics under …

Lattice-Matched GaN–InAlN Waveguides at $\lambda=1.55\ \mu$m Grown by Metal–Organic Vapor Phase Epitaxy

We report on the demonstration of low-loss, single-mode GaN-InAlN ridge waveguides (WGs) at fiber-optics telecommunication wavelengths. The structure grown by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy contains AlInN cladding layers lattice-matched to GaN. For slab-like WGs propagation losses are below 3 dB/mm and independent of light polarization. For 2.6-mum-wide WGs the propagation losses in the 1.5- to 1.58-mum spectral region are as low as 1.8 and 4.9 dB/mm for transverse-electric- and transverse-magnetic-polarization, respectively. The losses are attributed to the sidewall roughness and can be further reduced by the optimization of the etching process.

Stability/Instability of Conductivity and Work Function Changes of ITO Thin Films, UV-Irradiated in Air or Vacuum. Measurements by the Four-Probe Method and by Kelvin Force Microscopy

This study shows that, after UV-irradiation in air or vacuum, conductivity and work function of ITO and In2O3 come back to their initial values in a few hours or minutes. In addition to this instability, one of the reported drawbacks of ITO is the indium diffusion into the organic layers of operating LED, leading to performance degradation. So, we have reconsidered ITO as transparent anode and explored alternatives such as NiO.

Custom measurement system for memristor characterisation

Abstract A cheap, compact and customisable characterisation system for memristor devices, working between ± 10 V, is presented. SPICE (Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis) simulations are performed to verify the circuit feasibility and a proper software is developed to drive the system. The potentiality of the realised system is tested by performing several electrical measurements on both Cu/HfO2/Pt memristors and two-terminals commercial devices.

Study of Influence of the LED Technologies on Visual and Subjective/Individual Aspects

The general aim of this paper is that to further deepen and elaborate the results obtained in a previous study of the authors, in which the relationship between the characteristics of five different types of LED lamps and the humans non-image-forming reactions were investigated, by conducting a more detailed statistical analysis and by highlighting the neurological aspects.

Microcavity Light Emitting Diodes Based on GaN membranes Grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy on Silicon

Resonant-cavity InGaN/GaN quantum well light emitting diodes have been fabricated. Nitride layers were grown by molecular beam epitaxy on Si (111). We fabricated the structures using a combination of Si substrate etching, GaN etching and dielectric (Ta2O5/SiO2) mirror deposition. The electroluminescence spectra show that the emission within the distributed Bragg reflector stop band is enhanced in the membrane microcavity. The cavity modes are broadened by some cavity length non-uniformity that is introduced when the GaN is back etched to adjust the cavity length. This process does not need any transfer on an intermediate host substrate and is fully compatible with large area semiconductor p…

Intersubband Transitions in Nitride Based Quantum Wells

The Effect of Nb Incorporation on the Electronic Properties of Anodic HfO2

Hafnium oxide and Nb doped HfO2 were grown by anodizing sputtering-deposited Hf and Hf-4at.%Nb. Photoelectrochemical characterization was carried out in order to estimate solid state properties such as band gap, flat band potential and electrons internal photoemission threshold energy as a function of thickness and composition of anodic oxides. Optical transitions at energy lower than the band gap value of the investigated anodic films were evidenced, and they are attributed to optical transitions involving localized states inside the band gap. Such states were located at 3.6 eV and 3.9 eV below the conduction band edge for the Nb free and Nb containing hafnium oxide, respectively. Impedanc…

AlInN/GaN quantum wells for intersubband transitions

Suppression of leakage currents in GaN-based LEDs induced by reactive-ion etching damages

Forward and reverse leakage currents in GaN/InGaN multi-quantum well light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are caused by reactive-ion etching (RIE) damages during device patterning. A method to recover the damaged surfaces, based on a chemical etch in KOH: ethylene-glycol is described. Leakage currents decrease of more than a factor of 10 and are completely suppressed in most of devices.

InAlN underlayer for near ultraviolet InGaN based light emitting diodes

We report on InAlN underlayer (UL) to improve the efficiency of near ultraviolet (NUV) light emitting diodes (LEDs). While InGaN UL is commonly used in high-efficiency blue LEDs it may absorb light for shorter wavelengths. InAlN lattice-matched to GaN exhibits a bandgap of 4.6 eV. This allows alleviating absorption issues in NUV LEDs. We demonstrate that the internal quantum efficiency of 405 nm single InGaN/GaN quantum well LEDs with InAlN UL is similar to 70% compared to less than 10% for LEDs without UL. Excellent I-V characteristics are achieved thanks to polarization charge screening with high doping level at the InAlN/GaN interface. (C) 2019 The Japan Society of Applied Physics

Fabbricazione di LED bianchi tramite down-conversion di coloranti basati su perilene

A high efficiency cool white LED was obtained by generation of yellow down-conversion from a GaN/InGaN blue LED. Using photoluminescence of a perylene-based polymer dye we achieved a good substitute for conventional inorganic color conversion.

Hybrid Inorganic‐Organic White Light Emitting Diodes

This chapter reviews the state of the art of materials, technologies, characterizations, process and challenges concerning hybrid white light‐emitting diodes (LEDs). Here, for a “hybrid LED” we mean a device based on a layer of organic phosphors (or a mix of inorganic and organic ones) pumped by a high‐energy inorganic LED. Light is emitted by a frequency down‐conversion (sometimes simply named color‐conversion) process. Benefits and weak spots of this technology are investigated with a special attention for the materials involved into the process of frequency down‐conversion, in order to envisage the future impact of the hybrid lighting technology among the well‐established inorganic ones.

Blue lasing at room temperature in high quality factor GaN/AlInN microdisks with InGaN quantum wells

The authors report on the achievement of optically pumped III-V nitride blue microdisk lasers operating at room temperature. Controlled wet chemical etching of an AlInN interlayer lattice matched to GaN allows forming inverted cone pedestals. Whispering gallery modes are observed in the photoluminescence spectra of InGaN/GaN quantum wells embedded in the GaN microdisks. Typical quality factors of several thousands are found (Q>4000). Laser action at similar to 420 nm is achieved under pulsed excitation at room temperature for a peak power density of 400 kW/cm(2). The lasing emission linewidth is down to 0.033 nm.

Erroneous p-type assignment by Hall effect measurements in annealed ZnO films grown on InP substrate

We report on incorrect carrier type identification achieved by Hall effect measurements performed on ZnO films grown by pulsed laser deposition on InP substrates and subsequently annealed for 1 h at 600 C in air. While Hall measurements, after post-growth annealing, reveal a change in the electrical properties of the films, from n-type to p-type, both photocurrent-based and standard C V measurements performed on the same samples show no change in the native n-type doping of the ZnO films. A possible interpretation of the two results is reported. In particular, p-type conductivity observed by Hall effect may be ascribed to a highly conductive thin layer formed during the annealing process at…

Defects in III-N LEDs: experimental identification and impact on electro-optical characteristics

III-N light-emitting-diodes (LEDs) are subject of intense investigations, thanks to their high efficiency and great reliability. The quality of the semiconductor material has a significant impact on the electro-optical performance of LEDs: for this reason, a detailed characterization of defect properties and the modeling of the impact of defects on device performance are of fundamental importance. This presentation addresses this issue, by discussing a set of recent case studies on the topic; specifically, we focus on the experimental characterization of defects, and on the modeling of their impact on the electro-optical characteristics of the devices.

The p-Type Doping of ZnO: Mirage or Reality?

This chapter deals with a critical review on p-type doping of ZnO. In the past 15 years, ZnO has attracted considerable attention due to its unique properties, which make it a promising material for optoelectronic devices applications. However, a reliable p-type ZnO doping remains a major challenge because of self-compensation effects; thus, despite the advantages of these devices, the fabrication of ZnO-based devices is hampered by the lack of a stable p-type doping. A careful and critical analysis of the results reported in literature raises many doubts about the correctness of the doping-type assignments and, in general, the values of the electrical parameters reported. A historical surv…

Frequency-Downconversion Stability of PMMA Coatings in Hybrid White Light-Emitting Diodes

We report on the properties of a poly(methyl methacrylate)-based coating used as a host for an organic dye in hybrid white light-emitting diodes. The device is composed by a pump source, which is a standard inorganic GaN/InGaN blue light-emitting diode (LED) emitting at around 450 nm, and a spin-coated conversion layer making use of Lumogen® F Yellow 083. Under prolonged irradiation, the coating exhibits significant bleaching, thus degrading the color rendering performance of the LED. We present experimental results that confirm that the local temperature rise of the operating diode does not affect the conversion layer. It is also proven that, during the test, the photostability of the orga…

Blue-violet heterojunction LEDs based on hydrothermally synthesized ZnO nanorods

Zinc oxide nanorods have great potential for the realization of high efficiency heterostructure LEDs based on p-doped GaN. Well-aligned vertical nanorods are desirable to enhance the LED outcoupling performances due to a better confinement of the light [1]. However, due to the lack of reproducible p-type ZnO, a p-GaN substrate is still needed. This work reports on the fabrication of n-ZnO/p-GaN heterojunction LEDs based on vertical ZnO nanorods grown by hydrothermal method. The chemical reaction in the hydrothermal growth of ZnO is based on the decomposition of zinc nitrate, (Zn(NO3)2) with resulting Zn2+ ions reacting with the hydroxyl ions obtained by the thermal degradation of hexamethyl…

An experimental study on relationship between LED lamp characteristics and non image-forming

The general aim of the experimental study, presented in this paper, was that to investigate the relationship between the characteristics of five different types of LED (Light Emitting Diode) lamps, which are nowadays those allowing the highest energy consumption reduction, and the humans non image-forming (NIF) reactions.

Defect incorporation in In-containing layers and quantum wells: Experimental analysis via deep level profiling and optical spectroscopy

Abstract Recent studies demonstrated that the performance of InGaN/GaN quantum well (QW) light emitting diodes (LEDs) can be significantly improved through the insertion of an InGaN underlayer (UL). The current working hypothesis is that the presence of the UL reduces the density of non-radiative recombination centers (NRCs) in the QW itself: during the growth of the UL, surface defects are effectively buried in the UL, without propagating towards the QW region. Despite the importance of this hypothesis, the concentration profile of defects in the quantum wells of LEDs with and without the UL was never investigated in detail. This paper uses combined capacitance-voltage and steady-state pho…

Electrochemical fabrication of metal/oxide/conducting polymer junction

After discovery of conducting polymers and the possibility to modify their electrical properties from insulating to metallic like behavior by doping and a careful choice of the processing conditions, a large amount of research effort has been devoted to the theoretical understanding of their solid state properties as well as to exploit the possible application of conducting polymers in many technological fields including large area organic electronics, polymer photovoltaic cell, and sensors. 1-4 Organic thin film transistors appear very promising devices for the development of low cost, flexible, and disposable plastic electronics. In order to reduce the operating voltage it has been sugges…

Electrochemical Fabrication of Inorganic/Organic Field Effect Transistor

After discovery of conducting polymers and the possibility to modify their electrical properties (from insulating to metallic-like behaviour) by doping and a careful choice of the processing conditions, a large amount of research effort has been devoted to the theoretical understanding of their solid state properties as well as to exploit the possible application of conducting polymers in many technological fields including: large area organic electronics, polymer photovoltaic cell and sensors (1-2). Organic thin-film transistors appears very promising for the development of low cost, flexible and disposable plastic electronics. In order to reduce the operating voltage it has been suggested…

Enhancement of photoconversion efficiency in dye-sensitized solar cells exploiting pulsed laser deposited niobium pentoxide blocking layers

Abstract Among all the photovoltaic technologies developed so far, dye-sensitized solar cells are considered as a promising alternative to the expensive and environmentally unfriendly crystalline silicon-based solar cells. One of the possible strategies employed to increase their photovoltaic efficiency is to reduce the charge recombination at the cell conductive substrate through the use of a compact blocking layer. In this paper, we report on the fabrication and characterization of dye-sensitized solar cells employing niobium pentoxide (Nb 2 O 5 ) thin film blocking layer deposited through the pulsed laser deposition technique on conductive substrates. The careful selection of the optimal…

Deposition of High Quality Indium Tin Oxide Films by Monitoring InO Emission Lines

Room temperature polariton luminescence from a GaN∕AlGaN quantum well microcavity

The authors report on the demonstration of strong light-matter coupling at room temperature using a crack-free UV microcavity containing GaN/AlGaN quantum wells (QWs). Lattice-matched AlInN/AlGaN distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs) with a maximum peak reflectivity of 99.5% and SiO2/Si3N4 DBRs were used to form high finesse hybrid microcavities. State-of-the-art GaN/Al0.2Ga0.8N QWs emitting at 3.62 eV with a linewidth of 45 meV at 300 K were inserted in these structures. For a 3 lambda/2 microcavity containing six QWs, the interaction between cavity photons and QW excitons is sufficiently large to reach the strong coupling regime. A polariton luminescence is observed with a vacuum field Rabi…

Film di ZnO drogati di tipo p per diffusione termica di atomi di fosforo da substrati di InP

We report on p-type doping of ZnO films grown by pulsed-laser deposition on InP substrates. Electrical properties change of the films, from n-type to p-type, has been observed after postgrowth annealing at 600°C for 1h in air.

Stability improvement of PMMA and Lumogen® coatings for hybrid white LEDs

Hybrid white LEDs employing perylene-based dyes for the frequency down-conversion of blue light, generated by a standard inorganic source, suffer from colour rendering variations due to the degradation of the organic molecule under prolonged irradiation. To avoid such inconvenient, proper encapsulation of the dyes in resins or other polymer matrices can prevent their accelerated ageing; nevertheless, embedding polymers can also exhibit significant bleaching caused by chemico-physical agents. Among all, polymethyl methacrilate (PMMA) is one of the most used materials for the fabrication of hybrid LEDs' colour conversion coatings, therefore its stability needs to be investigated.

Indium surfactant effect on AlN/GaN heterostructures grown by metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy: Applications to intersubband transitions

We report on a dramatic improvement of the optical and structural properties of AlN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) grown by metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy using indium as a surfactant. This improvement is observed using photoluminescence as well as x-ray diffraction. Atomic force microscopy shows different surface morphologies between samples grown with and without In. This is ascribed to a modified relaxation mechanism induced by different surface kinetics. These improved MQWs exhibit intersubband absorption at short wavelength (2 mu m). The absorption linewidth is as low as 65 meV and the absorption coefficient is increased by 85%.

Fabrication and characterization of microscale HfO2-based Memristors

Memristors are metal/insulator/metal devices whose resistance can be switched between two different states (i.e. the low resistive state LRS, and the high resistive state, HRS) by applying a proper voltage value over the two metal contacts [1], [2]. Their simple structure makes memristors prone to extreme down scaling and 3-D stacking potentiality, and excellent compatibility with the complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology. Moreover, because of their low power consumption and high speed, memristors are rightly considered the elemental bricks for a next generation of high-density nonvolatile memories. HfO2 has attracted much attention as an oxide material for memristor app…

Fabrication and characterization of micrometer-scale ZnO memristors

Memristors are an interesting class of resistive random access memory (RRAM) based on the electrical switching of metal oxide film resistivity . They are characterized for exhibiting resistive switching between a high-resistance state (HRS) and a low-resistance state (LRS) and have been recently considered as one of the most promising candidates for next-generation nonvolatile memory devices because of their low power consumption, fast switching operation, nondestructive readout, and remarkable scalability. The device structure is simply an oxide layer sandwiched between two metal electrodes. The switching behaviour is dependent both on the oxide material and the choice of metal electrodes.…

UV Metal Semiconductor Metal Detectors. A Robust Choice for (Al,Ga)N Based Detectors

UV detection is interesting for combustion optimization, air contamination control, fire and solar blind rocket launching detection. Most of these applications require that UV detectors have a huge dynamic response between UV and the visible, and a very low dark current in the range of the UV flux measured. (Al,Ga)N alloys present a large direct bandgap in this range and therefore can be used as an active region in such detectors. To take advantage of the large Schottky barrier, the good alloy quality, and to avoid any doping problems, we have developed MSM photodetectors. High quality material has been grown with MOCVD and MBE on sapphire substrates. Stress management is employed for alumi…

Deep traps in InGaN/GaN single quantum well structures grown with and without InGaN underlayers

The electrical properties and deep trap spectra were compared for near-UV GaN/InGaN quantum well (QW) structures grown on free-standing GaN substrates. The structures differed by the presence or absence of a thin (110 nm) InGaN layer inserted between the high temperature GaN buffer and the QW region. Capacitance-voltage profiling with monochromatic illumination showed that in the InGaN underlayer (UL), the density of deep traps with optical threshold near 1.5 eV was much higher than in the QW and higher than for structures without InGaN. Irradiation with 5 MeV electrons strongly increased the concentration of these 1.5 eV traps in the QWs, with the increase more pronounced for samples witho…

Low-temperature growth of n ++-GaN by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition to achieve low-resistivity tunnel junctions on blue light emitting diodes

We report on low-resistivity GaN tunnel junctions (TJ) on blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Si-doped n ++-GaN layers are grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition directly on LED epiwafers. Low growth temperature (<800 °C) was used to hinder Mg-passivation by hydrogen in the p ++-GaN top surface. This allows achieving low-resistivity TJs without the need for post-growth Mg activation. TJs are further improved by inserting a 5 nm thick In0.15Ga0.85N interlayer (IL) within the GaN TJ thanks to piezoelectric polarization induced band bending. Eventually, the impact of InGaN IL on the internal quantum efficiency of blue LEDs is discussed.

Characterization of the defect density states in MoOx for c-Si solar cell applications

Thin layers of MoOx have been deposited by thermal evaporation followed by post-deposition annealing. The density of states distributions of the MoOx films were extracted deconvoluting the absorption spectra, measured by a photothermal deflection spectroscopy setup, including the small polaron contribution. Results revealed a sub-band defect distribution centered 1.1 eV below the conduction band; the amplitude of this distribution was found to increase with post-deposition annealing temperature and film thickness.

Electrochemical methods for carrier type identification of ZnO films grown by pulsed laser deposition on InP.

Optical, structural, and morphological characterisation of epitaxial ZnO films grown by pulsed-laser deposition

We report on ZnO epitaxial growth by pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) on different substrates, such as quartz, sapphire, and GaN template. Approximately 1 mu m-thick films were grown under different substrate temperatures and background oxygen conditions. X-ray diffraction analysis indicated preferential growth along the c-axis direction with a full-width at half maximum(FWHM) of the rocking curve as narrow as 230 arcs in the case of the GaN template. Low-temperature photoluminescence showed A-excitonic emission near 3.36 eV and a FWHM of (DXA)-X-0 emission as small as 2.89 meV at 9 K. Atomic force microscope measurements showed that roughness as low as 18 nm could be obtained. These results p…

Al(In)N/GaN Heterostructures for Intersubband Transitions

AlInN based Microcavities

Room-temperature polariton luminescence from a bulk GaN microcavity

We report strong exciton-photon coupling at room temperature in a hybrid high quality bulk 3 lambda/2 GaN cavity with a bottom lattice-matched AlInN/AlGaN distributed Bragg reflector through angle-resolved polarized photoluminescence (PL). Coupling of the optically active free excitons (X-A, X-B, and X-C) to the cavity mode is demonstrated, with their contribution to the PL spectra varying with polarization. Under TE polarization, exciton oscillator strengths for X-A and X-B are about one order of magnitude larger than in bulk GaAs. Photoluminescence exhibits a strong bottleneck effect despite its thermal lineshape.

Analysis of Transition Metal Oxides based Heterojunction Solar Cells with S-shaped J-V curves

The use of transition metal oxides for the selective carrier contact in the crystalline silicon solar cells technology is rising to interest for the excellent optoelectrical properties of these materials whose implementation, however, can result in lousy performing cells due to an S-shaped electrical characteristic. In this paper, we fabricated solar cells showing S-shaped J-V curve and carried out an analysis of the reasons of such behavior using a model involving the series of a standard cell equivalent circuit with a Schottky junction in order to explain these atypical performances. A good matching between the experimental measurements and the adopted theoretical model was obtained. The …

White LED light obtained by frequency down-conversion of perylene-based dyes

Resistive switching behaviour in ZnO and VO 2 memristors grown by pulsed laser deposition

The resistive switching behaviour observed in microscale memristors based on laser ablated ZnO and VO 2 is reported. A comparison between the two materials is reported against an active device size. The results show that devices up to 300 × 300 μm 2 exhibit a memristive behaviour regardless of the device size, and 100 × 100 μm 2 ZnO-based memristors have the best resistance off/on ratio.

Electrochemical fabrication of amorphous TiO2/Poly-3,4 Ethylenedioxythiophene (PEDOT) hybrid structures for electronic devices.

Generation of white LED light by frequency downconversion using a perylene-based dye

A high efficiency white light emitting diode (LED) was fabricated by generation of frequency down-conversion from a GaN/InGaN blue LED. In place of conventional inorganic phosphors, a perylene-based dye was used for colour conversion. The resulting hybrid structure is analysed by focusing on the visual performance of the realised LEDs employing the most relevant photometric parameters of a light source. Preparation of the organic polymer is described as well. The thermal stability of the dye was investigated and a simple structure which avoids colour degradation is proposed.

Solar blind AlGaN photodetectors with a very high spectral selectivity

Solar blind detectors based on AlGaN heterostructures grown on sapphire by Molecular Beam Epitaxy and with a dielectric interference filter deposited on the back side are demonstrated to provide record spectral selectivity. Rejection ratios of 2 x 10(4), and better than 5 x 10(4), measured between 280 and 320 nm, are achieved in Metal Semiconductor Metal detectors and Schottky diodes respectively. The whole detector process is fully compatible with low cost array fabrication.

Progress in Violet Light-Emitting Diodes Based on ZnO/GaN Heterojunction

Progress in light-emitting diodes (LEDs) based on ZnO/GaN heterojunctions has run into several obstacles during the last twenty years. While both the energy bandgap and lattice parameter of the two semiconductors are favorable to the development of such devices, other features related to the electrical and structural properties of the GaN layer prevent an efficient radiative recombination. This work illustrates some advances made on ZnO/GaN-based LEDs, by using high-thickness GaN layers for the p-region of the device and an ad hoc device topology. Heterojunction LEDs consist of a quasicoalesced non-intentionally doped ZnO nanorod layer deposited by chemical bath deposition onto a metal&ndash

Effects of the process conditions on the plume of a laser-irradiated indium–tin-oxide target

Abstract The plume of a laser-ablated indium–tin-oxide target was investigated by optical emission spectroscopy. Atomic and ionic species of indium, tin and oxygen were observed; moreover, molecular bands of indium oxide were identified in the fluorescent spectra. The effects of the oxygen as a background gas and of the laser fluence on the behaviour of the ejected particles were studied with respect to the intensity of the emission and the delay time as a function of the observation distance from the target surface. The non-linear behaviour of the fluorescent species with the process conditions could infer spatial variations of the plume composition. The analysis demonstrates a plume expan…

Influence of electrodes layout on hydrothermally-grown GaN/ZnO LEDs

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) based on zinc oxide, with wide direct band gap, have drawn much attention in the last years. ZnO, which is natural n-type, has excellent physical and chemical properties, is inexpensive, abundant and nontoxic. Unfortunately, the preparation of reproducible and high quality p-type ZnO film is comparatively difficult, due to the low solubility of acceptor dopants, self-compensating effects, and acceptor level energy height. Although many groups have reported on ZnO-based homostructure LEDs, the results are controversial as recently reviewed in [1]. Hence, heterojunction LEDs based on ZnO as the nside and GaN as the p-side of the junction have been put forward [2].…

Solar blind detectors based on AlGaN grown on sapphire

Solar blind detectors have been fabricated based on AlGaN heterostructures grown on sapphire by molecular beam epitaxy or chemical vapour deposition. MSM and Schottky detectors were investigated. High performance devices have been obtained thanks to an optimization of the material crystalline quality (including the suppression of cracks) and of the process. We show that the spectral limitations of MSM detectors are dictated by intrinsic phenomena that are analysed in details while the responsivity and detectivity also depends on the technological process with a special emphasis on the geometry of finger and contact pads. One and two dimensional arrays have been fabricated and preliminary re…

Internal photoemission in solar blind AlGaN Schottky barrier photodiodes

We have analyzed the photoresponse of solar blind AlGaN Schottky barrier photodiodes below the alloy band gap energy, in the 3.5-4.5 eV range, and we show that it is dominated by internal photoemission. The n-type Schottky barrier height is shown to increase linearly with the band gap energy of the AlGaN alloy. The amplitude of the internal photoemission signal is about 20 times smaller than the value given by the Fowler theory based on a free electron model. We explain this result by taking into account the interband transitions and the ballistic transport of photoexcited electrons in the metal. This low value of internal photoemission allows us to achieve a spectral rejection ratio betwee…

Effects of InAlN underlayer on deep traps detected in near-UV InGaN/GaN single quantum well light-emitting diodes

Two types of near-UV light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with an InGaN/GaN single quantum well (QW) differing only in the presence or absence of an underlayer (UL) consisting of an InAlN/GaN superlattice (SL) were examined. The InAlN-based ULs were previously shown to dramatically improve internal quantum efficiency of near-UV LEDs, via a decrease in the density of deep traps responsible for nonradiative recombination in the QW region. The main differences between samples with and without UL were (a) a higher compensation of Mg acceptors in the p-GaN:Mg contact layer of the sample without UL, which correlates with the presence of traps with an activation energy of 0.06 eV in the QW region, (b) the…

Resistive switching in microscale anodic titanium dioxide-based memristors

Licence CC BY-NC-ND The potentiality of anodic TiO2 as an oxide material for the realization of resistive switching memory cells has been explored in this paper. Cu/anodic-TiO2/Ti memristors of different sizes, ranging from 1 × 1 μm2 to 10 × 10 μm2 have been fabricated and characterized. The oxide films were grown by anodizing Ti films, using three different process conditions. Measured IV curves have shown similar asymmetric bipolar hysteresis behaviors in all the tested devices, with a gradual switching from the high resistance state to the low resistance state and vice versa, and a R_OFF/R_ON ratio of 80 for the thickest oxide film devices.

BIOLOGICAL MONITORING AND NEPHROTOXIC SUBSTANCES

A long latent period elapses between the exposure to toxic substances, injuring the kidney and the development of advanced stages of kidney failure. As regards the biological monitoring of people exposed to nephrotoxic substances, we need precocious indicators of renal damages, able to avoid the onset of nephropathies. The aim of this study has been underlining these biological markers. We have considered two groups of workers: the first one made up of people exposed to aromatic poly cyclic hydrocarbons (APH). The second one was made up of people exposed to welding smokes. We have examined 240 male subjects. The entire sample has been subjected to the dosing of the following biological indi…

Current status of AlInN layers lattice-matched to GaN for photonics and electronics

We report on the current properties of Al1-x InxN (x approximate to 0.18) layers lattice- matched ( LM) to GaN and their specific use to realize nearly strain- free structures for photonic and electronic applications. Following a literature survey of the general properties of AlInN layers, structural and optical properties of thin state- of- the- art AlInN layers LM to GaN are described showing that despite improved structural properties these layers are still characterized by a typical background donor concentration of ( 1 - 5) x 10(18) cm(-3) and a large Stokes shift (similar to 800 meV) between luminescence and absorption edge. The use of these AlInN layers LM to GaN is then exemplified …

Deposition of indium tin oxide films by laser ablation: Processing and characterization

Abstract In this work an indium tin oxide thin film fabrication technique based on pulsed laser deposition is described and the electrical, optical and mechanical properties of the deposited films are reported. Deposition of high quality films on cold substrates was proved. The third harmonic (355 nm) of an Nd:YAG laser was employed to photoablade the indium tin oxide target.

Warm white LED light by frequency down-conversion of mixed yellow and red Lumogen®

This work reports on the benefits and promising opportunities offered by white LED hybrid technology, based on a mixing perylene-based dyes in order to obtain a warm white light for frequency-down conversion. In a standard Ce:YAG-based white LED, the white light appears cold due to the weakness of red wavelength components in the emission spectrum. In order to obtain a warmer white, one possible solution is to add a red phosphor to the yellow one to move the chromatic coordinates properly, though the luminous efficiency drastically decreases due to the increased light absorption of the coating layer. It is generally believed that the low efficiency of warm white LEDs is the main issue today…

Warm white LED light by frequency down- conversion of mixed perylene-based dyes

The growing demand of the solid-state lighting market for the development of sources for illumination has led to the fabrication of the first white LED in 1997, which employed a blue LED coated by a Ce:YAG phosphor to mix the down-converted yellow light with the blue one. The white light appears cold due to the weakness of red components in the emission spectrum. In order to obtain a warmer white, one possible solution is to add a red phosphor to the yellow one to move the chromatic coordinates properly, though the luminous efficiency drastically decreases due to the increased light absorption of the coating layer. It is generally believed that the low efficacy of warm white LEDs is the mai…

Electrochemical Fabrication of High K Niobium-Tantalum Mixed Oxides/Poly 3-4 Ethylene Dioxythiophene Junctions.

Electrochemical Fabrication and Physicochemical Characterization of Metal/High-k Insulating Oxide/Polymer/Electrolyte Junctions

Photoelectrochemical polymerization of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), PEDOT, was successfully realized on anodic film grown to 50 V on magnetron sputtered Ti-6 atom % Si alloys. Scanning electron microscopy allowed us to evidence formation of compact and uniform polymer layers on the oxide surface. Photoelectrochemical and impedance measurements showed that photopolymerization allows one to grow PEDOT in its conducting state, while a strong cathodic polarization is necessary to bring the polymer in its p-type semiconducting state. Information on the optical and electrical properties of metal/oxide/polymer/electrolyte junctions proves that PEDOT has promising performance as an electrolyte…

Well-aligned hydrothermally synthesized zinc oxide nanorods on p-GaN without a seed layer

Zinc oxide nanorods have great potential for the realization of high efficiency heterostructure LEDs based on pdoped gallium nitride. In order to obtain a good confinement of the light, a well-aligned nanorod waveguiding structure is desirable. This paper reports on the fabrication of vertical zinc oxide nanorods using a solution-based growth process that does not require a seed layer. The nanorods obtained follow the crystalline growth direction of the GaN layer along the c-axis. Various results with different reagent concentrations are reported.

Nitride-based heterostructures grown by MOCVD for near- and mid-infrared intersubband transitions

Intersubband (lSB) optical absorption in different nitride-based heterostructures grown by metal-organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) is reported. The role of indium in AlInN/GaN multi-quantum wells (MQWs) is investigated. At high concentration (15%) AlInN is quasi lattice-matched to GaN and no cracks appear in the structure. At very low indium concentration (similar to 2%) the material quality is improved without decreasing the ISB transition wavelength with respect to the case of indium-free structures. Different mechanisms of strain relaxation in pure and 2% indium-doped AlN/GaN MQW structures are also investigated. ISB transition wavelengths of 2 urn for AlN/GaN MQWs, and 3 mu n f…

Multiscale Approach in Studying the Influence of Annealing Conditions on Conductivity of TiO2 Nanotubes

Titanium oxide nanotubes (NTs) have attracted much attention during last decade due to their special characteristics such as one-dimensional highly ordered geometry with large surface area and good chemical and optical stability.

Forming-Free and Self-Rectifying Resistive Switching Effect in Anodic Titanium Dioxide-Based Memristors

The paper presents the resistive switching of electroforming-free Ti/anodic- TiO 2 /Cu memristors. Anodic TiO 2 thin films were prepared by anodizing Ti layers. Microscale devices were fabricated by direct laser-assisted photolithography. Experimental results showed a bipolar and self-rectifying behavior of the devices, which could be useful for crossbar array configurations. Moreover, a gradual resistive switching of the devices in both directions was observed, indicating the presence of multi-level resistance states.

Density of States characterization of TiO2 films deposited by Pulsed Laser Deposition for Heterojunction solar cells

The application of titanium dioxide (TiO2) in the photovoltaic field is gaining traction as this material can be deployed in doping-free heterojunction solar cells with the role of electron selective contact. For modeling-based optimization of such contact, knowledge of the titanium oxide defect density of states is crucial. In this paper, we report a method to extract the defect density through nondestructive optical measures, including the contribution given by small polaron optical transitions. The presence of both related to oxygen-vacancy defects and polarons is supported by the results of optical characterizations and the evaluation of previous observations resulting in a defect band …

Hybrid LEDs pave way to new lighting applications

Many analysts agree that the global lighting market is close to a real revolution: the LED revolution. One of the most widespread solutions for the production of white LEDs is the conversion of a part of the light, coming from a known source, by exciting one or more materials that emit at a longer wavelength. The result is an emission spectrum given by the superposition of the single source and the photoexcited material; the big advantage is that the phenomenon of photoluminescence replaces the further integration of other solid-state devices of different colors. The photoluminescence of a perylene-based polymer dye turned out to be a good substitute for conventional inorganic color convers…

Study and optimization of near UV InGaN/GaN based Light Emitting Diodes at low injection current regimes

How does an In-containing underlayer prevent the propagation of defects in InGaN QW LEDs?: identification of SRH centers and modeling of trap profile

Recent reports indicated that the use of an InAlN underlayer (UL) can significantly improve the efficiency of InGaN/GaN quantum well (QW) LEDs. Currently, this result is explained by considering that the UL reduces the density of nonradiative recombination centers in the QWs. However, an experimental proof of the reduction of defects in the QWs is not straightforward. In this paper, we use combined electrical (I-V), optical (L-I), capacitance (C-V), steady-state photocapacitance (SSPC) and light-assisted capacitance-voltage (LCV) measurements to explain why devices with UL have a much higher efficiency than identical LEDs without UL. Specifically, we demonstrated an improvement in both elec…

Growth of device-quality ZnO films by pulsed-laser deposition

In this work, we report on ZnO crystalline growth by pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) on quartz, sapphire, and GaN template. 1 m films were grown under different substrate temperature and background oxygen conditions. X-ray diffraction analysis indicates preferential growth along the c-axis direction with a full-width at half maximum (FWHM) of the rocking curve smaller than 200”. Low-temperature photoluminescence showed A-excitonic emission near 3.36 eV and a FWHM of D0XA emission as small as 2.89 meV at 9 K. The results prove that PLD is a low-cost technique suitable to grow heteroepitaxial ZnO structures for emitting devices.

Effects of the Buffer Layers on the Performances of (Al,Ga)N Ultraviolet Photodetectors

The fabrication of (Al,Ga)N-based metal–semiconductor–metal (MSM) photovoltaic detectors requires the growth of high-quality (Al,Ga)N films. Inserting a low-temperature deposited buffer layer enables the growth of an epitaxial layer with a reduced density of defects. Two structures using GaN and AlN buffer layers have been deposited by low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition and used to fabricate MSM interdigitated detectors. The devices have been characterized to investigate the effects of the buffer layers on the detector performances.

Photoelectrochemical Polymerization of 3-4 Ethylenedioxythiophene on High k Niobium-Tantalum Mixed Oxides.

Anodized Ti-Si Alloy as Gate Oxide of Electrochemically-Fabricated Organic Field-Effect Transistors

Organic field-effect transistors were fabricated using an electrochemical route. The dielectric oxide was grown by anodization of a Ti:Si alloy, while 3,4-polyethylenedioxythiophene has been employed as a semiconducting polymer. OutputI-Vcharacteristics showed a transistor effect dependent on dielectric thickness. Fitting between I-V measurements and theoretical simulations in the triode region confirmed the presence of a conduction path through the polymer which degrades the electrical characteristics of the devices.

Chemical Bath Deposition as a Simple Way to Grow Isolated and Coalesced ZnO Nanorods for Light-Emitting Diodes Fabrication

A way to grow and characterize isolated and coalesced ZnO nanorods on $p$ -GaN/sapphire structure is presented. Chemical bath deposition can be used to grow ZnO nanorods of device-quality, simply controlling the duration time of the growth process and the concentration of the nutrient solution in the bath. Increasing the duration of the process, as well as the concentration of the solution, leads to compact and sound layers instead of separated nanorods. However, too high concentrations stop the growth process. Light-emitting diodes fabricated on these ZnO-p-GaN heterostructure have a peak of electroluminescence at 400 nm and exhibit interesting electrical and optical properties. Optical po…

Coalescence of ZnO nanorods grown by chemical bath deposition

In this work, a way to grow isolated and coalesced ZnO nanorods on p-GaN/sapphire structure is presented. Chemical bath deposition [1],[2] was used to grow ZnO nanorods of device-quality on a p-GaN/n-GaN/sapphire template, simply controlling the duration time of the growth process and the concentration of the nutrient solution in the bath. Several p-GaN templates were soaked in a nutrient solution, prepared with different concentration of zinc nitrate hexahydrate (Sigma-Aldrich, reagent grade 98%) and hexamethylenetetramine (Alfa Aesar, ACS 99%) in deionized water, while being heated at a temperature of 80 °C for a period varying from 8 to 25 hours; then, the samples were left in the soluti…

High Performance Solar Blind Detectors based on AlGaN grown by MBE and MOCVD

ABSTRACTSolar blind detectors based on AlGaN grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy and Metal Organic Vapor Phase Epitaxy have been fabricated and characterized. Metal Semiconductor Metal (MSM) detectors and vertical Schottky detectors have been realized, with a design that allows back side illumination. The growth was optimized in order to improve the layer quality, avoid crack formation, and provide the best detector performance. The technological process was also optimized in order to reduce the dark currents and improve the spectral rejection ratio, which is a key factor for solar blind detection. As a result, a rejection ratio of 5 decades between the UV (below 300 nm) and 400 nm, and a steep…

Color Conversion Light-Emitting Diodes Based on Carbon Dots: A Review

This paper reviews the state-of-the-art technologies, characterizations, materials (precursors and encapsulants), and challenges concerning multicolor and white light-emitting diodes (LEDs) based on carbon dots (CDs) as color converters. Herein, CDs are exploited to achieve emission in LEDs at wavelengths longer than the pump wavelength. White LEDs are typically obtained by pumping broad band visible-emitting CDs by an UV LED, or yellow–green-emitting CDs by a blue LED. The most important methods used to produce CDs, top-down and bottom-up, are described in detail, together with the process that allows one to embed the synthetized CDs on the surface of the pumping LEDs. Experimental results…

Mid-infrared intersubband absorption in lattice-matched AlInN/GaN multiple-quantum wells

We report the observation of midinfrared intersubband (ISB) absorption in nearly lattice-matched AlInNGaN multiple-quantum-wells. A clear absorption peak is observed around 3 μm involving transitions from the conduction band ground state to the first excited state. In addition to ISB absorption, photoluminescence experiments were carried out on lattice- matched AlInNGaN single quantum wells in order to determine the spontaneous polarization discontinuity between GaN and Al0.82 In0.18 N compounds. The experimental value is in good agreement with theoretical predictions. Our results demonstrate that the AlInNGaN system is very promising to achieve crack-free and low dislocation density struct…

First InGaN/GaN thin Film LED using SiCOI engineered substrate

InGaN / GaN multiple quantum well (MQW) light emitting diodes (LEDs) were deposited by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) onto SiCOI engineered substrates. SiCOI substrates are composed of SiC thin film transferred on a silicon substrate through silicon oxide layer by the Smart Cut™ technology. LEDs structures grown on SiCOI were characterized, then transferred onto Si substrates via a metallic bonding process and SiCOI substrates were removed. Three different metallic stacks were used for metallic bonding, including mirror and barrier diffusion. Vertical thin film LED obtained were characterized and showed a 2 to 3 times increase of external quantum efficiency. These results d…

Photo-Electrochemical deposition of Poly-3,4 Ethylenedioxythiophene on Anodic Films on Ti-Si Alloys.

Pulsed laser deposition of ZnO and VO2 films for memristor fabrication

Memristors are resistive switching memory devices which have attracted much attention over the last years for high-density memory applications because of their simple structure, small cell size, high speed, low power consumption, potential for 3-D stacking and excellent compatibility with the complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology [1]. Beside nonvolatile memory applications, memristors have been also proposed for other different applications including biosensors [2] and neuromorphic [3] circuits. The device structure is simply an oxide material sandwiched between two metal electrodes. The switching behavior is not only dependent on the oxide material but also on the choic…

Current Spreading Length and Injection Efficiency in ZnO/GaN-Based Light-Emitting Diodes

We report on carrier injection features in light-emitting diodes (LEDs) based on nonintentionally doped-ZnO/p-GaN heterostructures. These LEDs consist of a ZnO layer grown by chemical-bath deposition (CBD) onto a p-GaN template without using any seed layer. The ZnO layer (~1- $\mu \text{m}$ thickness) consists of a dense collection of partially coalesced ZnO nanorods, organized in wurtzite phase with marked vertical orientation, whose density depends on the concentration of the solution during the CBD process. Due to the limited conductivity of the p-GaN layer, the recombination in the n-region is strongly dependent on the spreading length of the holes, ${L}_{h}$ , coming from the p-contact…

In situ monitoring of pulsed laser indium–tin-oxide film deposition by optical emission spectroscopy

We performed optical emission spectroscopy to monitor the plasma produced during the ablation of indium-tin-oxide targets under different oxygen pressure conditions using a pulsed UV laser. Molecular bands of InO were identified in the fluorescent spectra produced by pulsed laser ablation. InO line monitoring allowed obtaining the optimal conditions for good-quality ITO film deposition. We demonstrated that it is possible to correlate InO line spectroscopic parameters with the conditions required to fabricate a high-conductivity and high-transparent ITO thin film. In particular, low resistivity (10-4 to 10-3 Ω cm) was obtained in films deposited at room temperature by regulating oxygen pres…

Photodétecteurs UV à base GaAlN

A Simple Apparatus for the Determination of the Optical Constants and the Thickness of Absorbing Thin Films

We report on a simple and inexpensive apparatus useful for measuring the optical constants n, k and the thickness of weakly absorbing thin films. The measurement is based on an accurate determination of the reflectance and transmittance of a specimen illuminated by a laser beam. The laser beam is incident on a transparent substrate coated with the film to be evaluated, with an angle of incidence equal to the Brewster angle for the substrate, and its polarization can be switched between the p and s states. If the thickness is known to be within a presumptive range, measurements of the p and s reflectance and transmittance allow a calculation of the optical constants n, k and the thickness of…

Correlation between in situ structural and optical characterization of the semiconductor-to-metal phase transition of VO2 thin films on sapphire

A detailed structural investigation of the semiconductor-to-metal transition (SMT) in vanadium dioxide thin films deposited on sapphire substrates by pulsed laser deposition was performed by in situ temperature-dependent X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. The structural results are correlated with those of infrared radiometry measurements in the SWIR (2.5-5 μm) and LWIR (8-10.6 μm) spectral ranges. The main results indicate a good agreement between XRD and optical analysis, therefore demonstrating that the structural transition from monoclinic to tetragonal phases is the dominating mechanism for controlling the global properties of the SMT transition. The picture that emerges is a SMT tr…

Multilayer (Al,Ga)N Structures for Solar-Blind Detection

We report on solar-blind metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) detectors fabricated on stacks of (Al,Ga)N layers with different Al mole fraction. These structures were grown by molecular beam epitaxy on sapphire substrates to allow backside illumination and a low-temperature GaN buffer layer. They consist of a 0.3-0.4-/spl mu/m active layer grown on a thick (Al,Ga)N window layer (/spl ap/1 /spl mu/m) that is transparent at the wavelength of interest. Different Al contents were used in the window layer. We observed that, in general, samples with a high Al content were cracked, which is explained in terms of mechanical strain. MSM photodetectors fabricated on these samples showed large leakage curr…

AlInN Based Quantum Wells for Intersubband Transitions