Ce manuscrit est consacré à la physique des polaritons dans deux matériaux semiconducteurs à grand gap : ZnO et GaN. Les paramètres polaritoniques de ces matériaux ont été déterminés avec précision grâce à une étude combinant différentes techniques spectroscopiques linéaires et non-linéaires (réflectivité continue, autocorrélation, photoluminescence et mélange à quatre ondes dégénérées). L’interprétation de ces résultats conduit à une meilleure compréhension des processus d’interaction au sein du semiconducteur : le rôle important des interactions polariton-phonon LO dans l’élargissement polaritonique a notamment pu être mis en évidence. Ce travail effectué sur des échantillons massifs est indispensable pour mener au mieux l’étude de l’effet laser à polaritons dans des microcavités présentée dans la seconde partie de ce manuscrit. Pour cette étude, deux microcavités massives semblables, une à base de ZnO l’autre de GaN, ont été réalisées. Les qualités photoniques de ces structures sont à l’état de l’art : elles présentent un bon facteur de qualité (Q ≈ 1000) et un faible désordre photonique. Le régime de couplage fort ainsi que l’effet laser à polaritons sont observés jusqu'à température ambiante. Enfin, l’établissement de diagrammes de phases permet de mettre en exergue le rôle important des phonons LO dans l’abaissement du seuil laser. / This manuscript is devoted to the physics of polaritons in two wide band gap semiconductor : ZnO and GaN. The polaritonic parameters of these materials have been accurately determined through a study which combines linear and non-linear spectroscopies (continuous reflectivity, autocorrelation, photoluminescence and degenerate four-wave mixing). The interpretation of these results lead to a better understanding of the interaction processes in the semiconductor : the important role played by the polariton-LO phonon interactions in the polaritonic damping is highlighted and particularly for ZnO. This preliminary work on bulk samples is essential for a suitable study of polariton lasing in microcavities like it is presented in the second part of this manuscript. For this study, two similar microcavities, one based on ZnO and another on GaN. The photonic properties of these structures are at the state of the art : they have a good quality factor (Q ≈ 1,000) and have a low photon disorder. The strong coupling regime and the polariton lasing are observed to room temperature. Finally, the establishment of phase diagrams allows to highlight the important role of LO phonons in reduction of the laser threshold.

Parmi les nitrures III-V, le matériau InGaN a été intensément étudié depuis les années 2000 pour des applications photovoltaïques, en particulier pour des cellules multi-jonctions, grâce à son large gap modulable pouvant couvrir quasiment tout le spectre solaire. On pourrait alors atteindre de hauts rendements tout en assurant de bas coûts. Cependant, l’un des problèmes de l’InGaN est l’absence de substrat accordé en maille provoquant une grande densité de défauts et limitant ainsi les performances des composants. Nous avons donc étudié la faisabilité de cellules solaires simples jonctions à base d’InGaN sur des substrats alternatifs comme le silicium et le verre afin de baisser les coûts et d’avoir de larges applications. Afin d’adapter l’InGaN sur ces substrats alternatifs, nous avons utilisé une couche tampon en ZnO. Ce travail a été réalisé dans le cadre du projet ANR NewPVonGlass. Plus particulièrement, dans ce projet, mon travail avait pour objectifs de réaliser des caractérisations électriques et optiques des matériaux et des composants. Les deux premières parties de cette thèse introduisent le matériau InGaN et l’effet photovoltaïque. Les techniques de caractérisation utilisées sont expliquées dans le troisième chapitre. Ensuite, les résultats obtenus lors de la caractérisation cristalline du matériau InGaN sont présentés en fonction du substrat, de la concentration d’indium et de l’épaisseur de la couche. Puis, la cinquième partie développe les caractérisations des premières cellules à base d’InGaN sur saphir. Enfin, dans le dernier chapitre, des simulations de cellules solaires à base d’InGaN ont été réalisées. Le modèle développé nous a permis d’optimiser la structure et le dopage du composant et de déterminer les paramètres critiques. Nous montrons donc, dans ce travail, le développement d’une cellule solaire à base d’InGaN : des caractérisations des matériaux de base à celles des cellules solaires, en passant par la modélisation. / Among III-V nitrides, the InGaN material has intensively been studied since the year 2000 for photovoltaic applications, in particular for multi-junction solar cells, thanks to its large tunable band gap covering almost the entire solar spectrum. Then, it will be possible to reach high efficiency and low cost. However, one of the problems of InGaN material is the absence of lattice-matched substrate leading to high defect density which limits device performances. We have thus studied the feasibility of single junction InGaN based solar cells on alternative substrate such as silicon and glass in order to lower the price and to benefit from their wide application fields. To adapt InGaN material on these new substrates, we have utilized ZnO buffer layer. This work has been carried out within the framework of the ANR project NewPVonGlass. More particularly, in this project, I was in charge of the electrical and optical characterizations of the materials and devices. In the two first parts of this manuscript, the InGaN material and the photovoltaic effect are introduced. Then, the characterization techniques are explained in the third chapter. In the fourth part, the results obtained during crystalline characterization of the InGaN materials are presented depending on the substrate, the indium percentage and the InGaN layer thickness. Then, the fifth chapter presents the first InGaN-based solar cell characteristics on sapphire substrate. Finally, in the last part, simulations of InGaN-based solar cell have been performed. The developed model was able to optimize the structure and to determine the critical parameters. Thus, we have shown in this work the development of an InGaN-based solar cell from the base material characterizations to the device tests, through modeling.

Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurde der pseudo-halogenide Gasphasenepitaxie (PHVPE)-Prozess für die GaN-Kristallzüchtung entwickelt. Dieser Prozess basiert auf dem Zyanid als Transportmittel für Ga. Das HCN wurde aus der Reaktion von heißem NH3 entweder mit Graphit oder einem gasförmigen Kohlenstoffträger gewonnen. Als Quelle für reaktiven Stickstoff diente NH3. Im ersten Ansatz wurde ein Reaktor aus Graphit genutzt. In diesem Fall wurden Wachstumsraten von 60 um=h erreicht. Außerdem zeigte der Kristall eine geringe Perfektion mit hoher V-Grubendichte. Im zweiten Ansatz bestand der Reaktor aus mit pyrolytischem Graphit beschichteten Teilen. Diese Änderung des Konzeptes half die Kristallqualität zu verbessern, reduzierte aber gleichzeitig die Wachstumsrate drastisch, weil das Ga-transportmittel nicht mehr ausreichend zur Verfügung stand. Der neu konstruierte, graphitfreie Aufbau stellt den dritten Zugang zur PHVPE dar. In diesem Fall entsteht HCN während eines Degussa-Prozesses am Pt-Katalysator im Züchtungsreaktor. Zur Untersuchung der Reaktionswege wurde ein FTIR-basiertes insitu Abgasmesssystem entwickelt. GaN-Kristalle wurden auf Saphir und Ga2O3 Substraten, AlN/Al2O3 und GaN/Al2O3 Templates gezüchtet. Eine Selbstseparation wurde für dicke GaN-Schichten auf Ga2O3 erreicht. Die Proben wurden mit verschiedenen Methoden charakterisiert, z.B. mit der Röntgenbeugungs-Spektroskopie (XRD) und Elektronenrückstreubeugung (EBSD) für die Kristallperfektion und kristallographische Orientierung, der Transmissionselektronenmikroskopie (TEM) zur Untersuchung von Versetzungen und der Grenzfläche zwischen GaN und dem Ga2O3, der Rasterelektronenmikroskopie (REM) für die Oberflächenmorphologie und Schichtdicke, der energiedispersiven Röntgenspektroskopie (EDX) für die Kristallzusammensetzung, sowie der ex-situ und in-situ Abgasanalyse mit der Fourier-Transform-Infrarotspektroskopie (FTIR) zum Studium der Reaktionswege. / Within the frame of this work the pseudo halide vapor phase epitaxy process (PHVPE) was developed for GaN crystals growth. The process is based on cyanide as a transport agent for Ga. The source of HCN was the reaction of hot NH3 with either graphite or gaseous carbon precursor. Source of reactive nitrogen was NH3. In the first approach the reactor made of graphite was used. In this case growth rate of 60 um/h was achieved. Additionally, the crystals exhibit poor quality with high V-pit density. The second approach was to provide the reactor with pyrolytical boron nitride covered parts. Changing the concept helped to improve the crystals'' quality but simultaneously reduced drastically the growth rate, due to the lack of sufficient supply of Ga transport agent. Newly designed graphite free setup is used in the third approach for PHVPE. In this case, HCN forms during Degussa process on Pt catalyst, inside the growth reactor. For investigation of the reaction paths, an in-situ exhaust gas measurement system based on FTIR was developed. GaN crystals were grown on sapphire and Ga2O3 substrates, AlN/Al2O3 and GaN/Al2O3 templates. Self separation was achieved for thick GaN crystals grown on Ga2O3. The samples were characterized by various methods i.e. x-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD) and electron back scattering diffraction EBSD for crystal quality and crystallographic orientation, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for investigating dislocations and interface between GaN and Ga2O3, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for surface morphology and layer thickness, energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX) for crystals compositions, ex-situ and in-situ exhaust gas analysis by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) for investigation of the reaction paths.

Diese Arbeit befasst sich mit den optischen Eigenschaften von dünnen GaN-Schichten gewachsen in verschiedenen Orientierungen. Hierbei werden die optischen Eigenschaften von verspannten M- und A-plane sowie unverspannten C-plane GaN-Schichten untersucht und die Ergebnisse im Rahmen von Bandstrukturberechnungen diskutiert. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit werden die Bandstrukturverschiebungen theoretisch mittels eines k.p-Näherungsansatzes untersucht. Diese Bandverschiebungen beeinflussen sowohl die Übergangsenergien als auch die Oszillatorstärken. Man findet, dass die C-plane Schicht im Falle einer isotropen Verspannung in der Filmebene keine Anisotropie der optischen Polarisation zeigt. In beiden Fällen zeigen die drei Übergänge von den drei oberen Valenzbändern in das untere Leitungsband andere Polarisationseigenschaften als die entsprechenden Übergänge in C-plane GaN-Schichten. Es wird beobachtet, dass für einen bestimmten Wertebereich der Verspannung in der Filmebene diese Übergänge nahezu vollständig x-,z- bzw. y-artig polarisiert sind. Die verwendeten Schichten wurden auch mittels Transmissionspektroskopie untersucht. Im Falle der M-plane GaN-Schichten können zwei fundamentale Übergänge identifiziert werden, wobei der elektrische Feldvektor E des einfallenden Lichtes einmal parallel (z-Polarisation) und einmal senkrecht (x-Polarisation) auf der c-Achse steht. Die M-plane GaN-Schicht besitzt unterschiedliche Dielektrizitätskonstanten für z-Polarisation und x-Polarisation, welche zu zusätzlichem Dichroismus und Doppelbrechung führen. Als Resultat findet eine Filterung der Polarisation für einfallendes, linear polarisiertes Licht statt. Die elektrische Feldkomponente mit x-Polarisation wird stärker absorbiert als die Komponente mit z-Polarisation. Diese Polarisationsfilterung äußert sich für schmalbandiges Licht in Form einer Drehung der Polarisationsebene in Richtung der c-Achse, wobei ein maximaler Rotationswinkel von 40 Grad gefunden wurde. / In this work, we focus on the optical response of GaN thin films grown along various orientations. The optical properties of strained M- and A- and unstrained C-plane GaN thin films are investigated, and the results are explained with help of band-structure calculations. We calculate the strain-induced band-structure modification using the k.p perturbation approach. The valence-band (VB) states are modified affecting both the transition energies as well as the oscillator strengths. We observe that C-plane GaN does not show any in-plane polarization anisotropy, when an isotropic in-plane strain is applied. For the case of M- and A-plane GaN, one expects to see an in-plane polarization anisotropy even for the unstrained case. Additionally, the in-plane strain significantly changes the band structure and the symmetry of the VB states. The three transitions, involving electrons in the conduction band (CB) and holes in the top three VBs, will exhibit a very different polarization characteristic than the ones for C-plane GaN. These transitions are predominantly x, z, and y polarized, respectively, for a certain range of in-plane strain values, present in our samples. For M-plane GaN thin films, two fundamental transitions can be identified, which occur when the electric field vector E is perpendicular (x-polarization) and parallel c (z-polarization). These transitions give rise to a transmittance spectrum separated by 50 meV at room temperature with respect to each other. This result in a polarization filtering of an incident linearly polarized light beam after transmission, because the electric field component with x-polarization is more strongly absorbed than with z-polarization. This filtering manifests as a rotation of the polarization vector toward the c axis and can be as large as 40 degrees for an initial angle of 60 degrees, for our samples.

Diese Arbeit befasst sich mit der Keimbildung und den Wachstumsmechanismen von GaN-Nanodrähten (NWs), die mittels Molekularstrahlepitaxie (MBE) hergestellt wurden. Die Hauptneuheiten dieser Studie sind der intensive Gebrauch von in-situ Messmethoden und der direkte Vergleich zwischen katalysatorfreien und katalysatorinduzierten NWs. In der MBE bilden sich GaN-NWs auf Silizium ohne Katalysator. Auf Saphir dagegen wachsen NWs unter den gleichen Bedingungen nur in der Anwesenheit von Ni-Partikeln. Die Nukleationsprozesse sind für beide Ansätze fundamental verschieden. In dem katalysatorinduzierten Ansatz reagiert Ga stark mit den Ni-Keimen, deren Kristallstruktur für das Nanodraht-Wachstum entscheidend sind, während in dem katalysatorfreien Ansatz bildet N eine Zwischenschicht mit Si vor der ausgeprägten GaN-Nukleation. Mittels beider Ansätze wachsen einkristalline wurtzite GaN-NWs in Ga-polarer Richtung. Allerdings sind unter denselben Wachstumsbedingungen die katalysatorinduzierten NWs länger als die katalysatorfrei gewachsenen und enthalten viele Stapelfehler. Im Vergleich sind die katalysatorfreien größtenteils defektfrei und ihre Photolumineszenz ist viel intensiver als jene der katalysatorinduzierten NWs. Alle diese Unterschiede können auf den Katalysator zurückgefürt werden. Die Ni-Partikel sammeln die an den Nanodraht-Spitzen ankommenden Ga-Atome ef?zienter ein als die unbedeckte oberste Facette im katalysatorfreien Fall. Außerdem können Stapelfehler sowohl aus der zusätzlichen Festkörperphase des Ni-Katalysators als auch aus der Verunreinigung der NWs mit Katalysatormaterial resultieren. Solch eine Kontaminierung würde schließlich nicht-strahlende Rekombinationszentren verursachen. Somit mag die Verwendung von Katalysatorkeimen zusätzliche Möglichkeiten bieten, das Wachstum von NWs zu kontrollieren. Jedoch sind sowohl die strukturellen als auch die optischen Materialeigenschaften der katalysatorfreien NWs überlegen. / This work focuses on the nucleation and growth mechanisms of GaN nanowires (NWs) by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The main novelties of this study are the intensive employment of in-situ techniques and the direct comparison of self-induced and catalyst-induced NWs. On silicon substrates, GaN NWs form in MBE without the use of any external catalyst seed. On sapphire, in contrast, NWs grow under identical conditions only in the presence of Ni seeds. The processes leading to NW nucleation are fundamentally different for both approaches. In the catalyst-assisted approach, Ga strongly reacts with the catalyst Ni particles whose crystal structure and phases are decisive for the NW growth, while in the catalyst-free approach, N forms an interfacial layer with Si before the intense nucleation of GaN starts. Both approaches yield monocrystalline wurtzite GaN NWs, which grow in the Ga-polar direction. However, the catalyst-assisted NWs are longer than the catalyst-free ones after growth under identical conditions, and they contain many stacking faults. By comparison the catalyst-free NWs are largely free of defects and their photoluminescence is much more intense than the one of the catalyst-assisted NWs. All of these differences can be explained as effects of the catalyst. The seed captures Ga atoms arriving at the NW tip more efficiently than the bare top facet in the catalyst-free approach. In addition, stacking faults could result from both the presence of the additional solid phase constituted by the catalyst-particles and the contamination of the NWs by the catalyst material. Finally, such contamination would generate non-radiative recombination centers. Thus, the use of catalyst seeds may offer an additional way to control the growth of NWs, but both the structural and the optical material quality of catalyst-free NWs are superior.

Ce manuscrit de thèse est consacré aux condensats de polaritons dans deux semi-conducteurs à grand gap : GaN et ZnO. La première partie de ce travail se concentre sur l’étude par spectroscopie optique de deux microcavités planaires (une de GaN, l’autre de ZnO) présentant des structures et des propriétés photoniques identiques. Le régime de couplage fort lumière-matière et l’effet laser à polaritons ont pu être observés de 5 K à 300 K pour les deux microcavités. La réalisation de diagrammes de phase a mis en évidence l’impact variable des résonances avec les phonons LO sur l’abaissement du seuil laser. L’étude de la microcavité GaN a été poussée jusqu’à 350 K et nous avons pu démontrer, pour la première fois à cette température, la persistance du couplage fort et du laser à polaritons pour des conditions d’excitations optimales. La deuxième partie de ce travail est focalisée sur des guides d’onde de ZnO. Outre l’observation du régime de couplage fort de 5 K à 300 K, notre étude a pu mettre en exergue un phénomène laser inédit dans cette géométrie : le laser à polaritons horizontal. / This manuscript is devoted to polariton condensates in two wide band gap semiconductors: GaN and ZnO. The first part of this work focuses on the study by optical spectroscopy of two planar microcavities (one of GaN, the other of ZnO) sharing the same structure and the same photonic properties. The strong coupling and polariton lasing regime have been observed from 5 K to 300 K in both microcavities. The realization of phase diagrams has pointed out the inconstant impact of resonances with LO phonons on the lowering of the laser threshold. The study of the GaN microcavity has been pushed to 350 K and we have demonstrated, for the first time at this temperature, the persistence of the strong coupling regime and the polariton laser under optimal excitation conditions. The second part of this work is focused on ZnO waveguides. Besides the observation of strong coupling regime from 5 K to 300 K, our study has highlighted a new lasing effect in this geometry: the horizontal polariton laser.

Innovation in wireless communication has resulted in accelerating demand for smartphones using multiple communications protocols such as WiFi, Bluetooth and the many cellular standards deployed around the world. The variety of frequency, bandwidth and power requirements associated with each standard typically calls for the implementation of separate radio frequency (RF) front end hardware for each standard. This is a less-than-ideal solution in terms of cost and device area. Software-defined radio (SDR) promises to solve this problem by allowing the RF hardware to be digitally reconfigurable to adapt to any wireless standard. The application of machine learning and cognition algorithms to SDR will enable cognitive radios and cognitive wireless networks, which will be able to intelligently adapt to user needs and surrounding radio spectrum conditions. The challenge of fully reconfigurable transceivers is in implementing digitally-controlled RF circuits which have comparable performance to their fixed-frequency counterparts. Switching-mode power amplifiers (SMPA) are likely to be an important part of fully reconfigurable transmitters since their switching operation provides inherent compatibility with digital circuits, with the added benefit of very high efficiency. As a step to understanding the RF requirements of high efficiency and switching PAs, an inverse class F PA in push-pull configuration is implemented. This configuration is chosen for its similarity to the current mode class D (CMCD) topology. The fabricated PA achieves a peak drain efficiency of over 75% with 42.7 dBm (18.6 W) output power at 2.46 GHz. Since SMPAs cannot directly provide the linearity required by current and future wireless communications standards, amplitude information must be encoded into the RF signal in a different way. Given the superior time resolution of digital integrated circuit (IC) technology, a logical solution is to encode this information into the timing of the signal. The two most common techniques for doing so are pulse width modulation and delta-sigma modulation. However, the design of delta-sigma modulators requires simulation as part of the design process due to the lack of closed-form relationships between modulator parameters (such as resolution and oversampling) and performance figures (such as coding efficiency and signal quality). In particular, the coding efficiency is often ignored although it is an important part of ensuring transmitter efficiency with respect to the desired signal. A study of these relationships is carried out to observe the tradeoffs between them. It is found that increasing the speed or complexity of a DS modulated system does not necessarily translate to performance benefits as one might expect. These observations can have a strong impact on design choices at the system level.

High power Gallium Nitride (GaN) based field effect transistors are used in many high power applications from RADARs to communications. These devices dissipate a large amount of power and sustain high electric fields during operation. High power dissipation occurs in the form of heat generation through Joule heating which also results in localized hot spot formation that induces thermal stresses. In addition, because GaN is strongly piezoelectric, high electric fields result in large inverse piezoelectric stresses. Combined with residual stresses due to growth conditions, these effects are believed to lead to device degradation and reliability issues. This work focuses on studying these effects in detail through modeling of Heterostructure Field Effect Transistors (HFETs) and metal oxide semiconductor hetero-structure field effect transistor (MOSHFETs) under various operational conditions. The goal is to develop a thorough understanding of device operation in order to better predict device failure and eventually aid in device design through modeling. The first portion of this work covers the development of a continuum scale model which couples temperature and thermal stress to find peak temperatures and stresses in the device. The second portion of this work focuses on development of a micro-scale model which captures phonon-interactions at the device scale and can resolve local perturbations in phonon population due to electron-phonon interactions combined with ballistic transport. This portion also includes development of phonon relaxation times for GaN. The model provides a framework to understand the ballistic diffusive phonon transport near the hotspot in GaN transistors which leads to thermally related degradation in these devices.

No description available.

Innovation in wireless communication has resulted in accelerating demand for smartphones using multiple communications protocols such as WiFi, Bluetooth and the many cellular standards deployed around the world. The variety of frequency, bandwidth and power requirements associated with each standard typically calls for the implementation of separate radio frequency (RF) front end hardware for each standard. This is a less-than-ideal solution in terms of cost and device area. Software-defined radio (SDR) promises to solve this problem by allowing the RF hardware to be digitally reconfigurable to adapt to any wireless standard. The application of machine learning and cognition algorithms to SDR will enable cognitive radios and cognitive wireless networks, which will be able to intelligently adapt to user needs and surrounding radio spectrum conditions. The challenge of fully reconfigurable transceivers is in implementing digitally-controlled RF circuits which have comparable performance to their fixed-frequency counterparts. Switching-mode power amplifiers (SMPA) are likely to be an important part of fully reconfigurable transmitters since their switching operation provides inherent compatibility with digital circuits, with the added benefit of very high efficiency. As a step to understanding the RF requirements of high efficiency and switching PAs, an inverse class F PA in push-pull configuration is implemented. This configuration is chosen for its similarity to the current mode class D (CMCD) topology. The fabricated PA achieves a peak drain efficiency of over 75% with 42.7 dBm (18.6 W) output power at 2.46 GHz. Since SMPAs cannot directly provide the linearity required by current and future wireless communications standards, amplitude information must be encoded into the RF signal in a different way. Given the superior time resolution of digital integrated circuit (IC) technology, a logical solution is to encode this information into the timing of the signal. The two most common techniques for doing so are pulse width modulation and delta-sigma modulation. However, the design of delta-sigma modulators requires simulation as part of the design process due to the lack of closed-form relationships between modulator parameters (such as resolution and oversampling) and performance figures (such as coding efficiency and signal quality). In particular, the coding efficiency is often ignored although it is an important part of ensuring transmitter efficiency with respect to the desired signal. A study of these relationships is carried out to observe the tradeoffs between them. It is found that increasing the speed or complexity of a DS modulated system does not necessarily translate to performance benefits as one might expect. These observations can have a strong impact on design choices at the system level.