III-nitride semiconductors are of great interest owing to their commercial and military applications due to their optoelectronic and mechanical properties. They have been synthesized successfully by many growth methods. Among them, molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) is a promising epitaxial growth method owing to precise control of growth parameters, which significantly affect the film properties, composition, and thickness. However, the understanding of growth mechanism of III-nitride materials grown in this growth regime is far from being complete.In this dissertation, GaN and AIGaN growth mechanism under metal-rich conditions were investigated. The Ga surface desorption behavior during the growth was investigated systematically using reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED). It was found that desorption of Ga atoms from the (0001) GaN surfaces under different III-V ratios deviates from the zeroth-order kinetics in that the desorption rate is independent of the coverage of adsorbed atoms. The desorption energies of Ga are determined to be 2.76 eV with the Ga coverage closing to 100%, 1.89 eV for a ~45% coverage, and 0.82 eV for a 10% coverage, as monitored by the change of the RHEED specular beam intensity during growth. In addition, the GaN surface morphology under different III-V ratios on porous templates matches the dependence of Ga desorption energy on the metal coverage, and III/V ratio dominates the growth mode. In a related AIGaN growth mechanism study, a competition between A1 and Ga atoms to incorporate into the film was found under metal-rich conditions. Employing this mechanism, A1xGa1-xN layers with precisely controlled A1 mole fraction, x in the range 0xxGa1-xN films was determined to be about 1 eV. The A1xGa1-xN layers grown under metal-rich conditions, as compared to that under N-rich conditions, have a better structural and optical quality. Employing A1xGa1-xN layers grown under metal-rich conditions, a lateral geometry GaN/A1GaN MQW-based photodetector was fabricated. It exhibited a flat and narrow spectral response in the range of 297~352 nm in the backillumination configuration.

We are living in an era of digital electronics. The number of robots have already exceeded the human population of the entire earth. An article in the Guardian newspaper dated 30th March 2018 suggests that 10 million UK workers will be jobless within 15 years as they will be replaced by robots. These astonishing facts shed light on the importance of knowledge and how important it is to use it wisely for our benefit without ultimately destroying us. Knowledge in all forms is accessible without going to a library or buying a newspaper. Furthermore to access information, we often use sleek devices such as smart phones, using highly developed multimedia platforms which consume large amounts of power. In 2016, IBM found that humans create 2.5 quintillion bytes of data daily. Since high computing usage is related to large power consumption, the basic building block of electronics i.e. the transistor is required to be more power efficient. This is now possible through spintronics, where the spin of an electron is exploited instead of the charge. A new class of exotic materials called topological insulators are predicted to exhibit efficient spintronic applications. These materials can conduct spin polarised current on their surface while remaining completely insulting from the inside. Moreover, doping topological insulators with magnetic impurities unlocks new avenues for spin memory devices in the form of a single spin polarized dissipationless conduction channel. In topological insulators, there is always a contribution from the inside (bulk) in addition to surface conduction, thereby yielding charge transport rather than spin transport. On this basis, the aim of my PhD was to explore techniques to grow, characterize, fabricate and measure devices on topological Dirac materials, with the hope to experimentally distinguish the bulk from the surface states and also exploit their exotic properties arising from opening of the bulk band gap by intentional magnetic doping. Samples consisted of thin films of Bi2Se3, Sb2Te3, Cr doped Sb2Te3, bilayers of Dy doped Bi2Te3/Cr doped Sb2Te3 and Cd3As2 nanowires. It was found that a seed layer of an undoped topological insulator was a crucial first step to ensure high quality growth by molecular beam epitaxy, followed by the desired stoichiometry. By physically doping Sb2Te3 with Cr, a successful control of the magnetic and electrical properties such as coercivity, anomalous Hall resistance RA xy, Curie temperature Tc, carrier density and mobility were achieved. A substitutional Cr doping ranging from 7.5% to 38% was attained revealing a Tc reaching up to 186 K. Gated electrical measurements displayed a change in RA xy and carrier density by ~ 50% on applicating of just -3 V gate bias in a sample with 29% doping. A comparison between electrical transport, Magneto-optical Kerr effect and terahertz time domain spectroscopy measurements revealed that the mechanism of magnetization was RKKY mediated. Furthermore, the bilayer structure displays a clear exchange bias coupling arising from the proximity of the antiferromagnetic Dy doped Bi2Te3 layer with the ferromagnetic Cr doped Sb2Te3 layer. Electrical transport measurements on Bi2Se3 Hall bars fabricated using Ar+ milling and wet chemical etching were compared. The results showed a more bulk type response in the chemical etched sample even though Ar+ milling was responsible for creating more disorder in the system leading to a higher carrier density and lower mobility. A thickness dependent study on Sb2Te3 thin films revealed a single conducting channel associated with a coupled surface and bulk state for a 12 nm sample, compared to, two conducting channels associated with the top and bottom surfaces for the 25 nm sample. Electrical transport on Dirac semimetal Cd3As2 nanowires reveal an ultra-high mobility of 56884 cm2V-1s-1 at 1.8 K from analysis of Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations. By studying various Dirac materials, new avenues for practical device applications can be explored.

GaInAsSb is a promising material for mid-infrared devices such as lasers and detectors because it is a direct band gap material with large radiative coefficient and a cut-off wavelength that can be varied across the mid-infrared (from 1.7 to 4.9 μm) while remaining lattice matched to GaSb. On the other hand, the potential of the alloy is hampered by predicted ranges of concentration where the constituents of the alloy become immiscible when the crystal is grown near thermodynamic equilibrium at typical growth temperatures. There have been efforts to extend the wavelength of GaInAsSb alloys through such techniques as digital alloy growth and non-equilibrium growth, but most of the compositional range has for a long time been inaccessible due to immiscibility challenges. Theoretical studies also supported the existence of thermodynamic immiscibility gaps for non-equilibrium growth conditions. Lower growth temperatures lead to shorther adatom diffusion length. While a shorter adatom diffusion length suppresses phase separation, too short an adatom length is associated with increased defect formation and eventually loss of crystallinity. On the other hand, hotter growth temperatures move epitaxial growth closer to thermodynamic equilib- rium conditions, and will eventually cause phase separation to occur. In this study thick 2 μm; bulk GaInAsSb layers lattice-matched to GaSb substrates were grown across the entire (lattice-matched) compositional range at low growth temperatures (450°C), including the immiscibility region, when grown under non-equilibrium conditions with MBE. High quality epitaxial layers were grown for all compositions, as evidenced by smooth morphology (atomic force microscopy), high structural quality (X-ray diffraction), low alloy fluctuactions (electron dispersive spectroscopy in cross sectioned samples), and bright room temperature photoluminescence. Because initial theoretical efforts have suggessted that lattice strain can influence layer stability, we have studied effects of strain on alloy stability. Unstable and metastable alloys were grown hot enough for the onset of phase separation, then progressively strained and characterized. We show that strain is effective in suppressing phase separation. Finally, we performed time-resolved carrier lifetime measurements for InAsSb alloy with low concentrations of Ga to investigate the role of Ga in influencing nonradiative carrier recombination. There have been studies on non-Ga containing antimonide structures (InAsSb, InAs/InAsSb) that show long carrier lifetimes, which suggest that Ga plays a role in reducing carrier lifetime, because Ga-containing structures such as InAs/GaSb superlattices have much shorter carrier lifetimes. Ga may reduce carrier lifetime through native defects that increase background carrier concentration, or that create mid-gap electronic states. Here, a series of GaInAsSb alloys were grown with low to zero Ga concentration. No difference in carrier lifetime was observed between Ga and Ga-free structures, and minority carrier lifetimes > 600 ns were observed. Additional work remains to be done to obtain background carrier densities in the samples with Hall measurements.

Ce travail est porté sur les propriétés structurales et optiques de structures à boîtes quantiques III-nitrures dopées avec des terres rares réalisées par épitaxie à jets moléculaires.<br />Pendant la croissance, les terres rares ont une influence drastique sur les boîtes, expliquée par les propriétés surfactantes des atomes de terres rares.<br />La caractérisation optique et structurale montre que les boîtes sont dopées efficacement avec les ions de Eu, Tm et Tb. D'autres localisations des terres rares ont été trouvées, par exemple, pour le Tm, à l'interface du GaN des boîtes et de l'AlN.<br />Ce travail s'intéresse aussi à la dynamique d'excitation de boîtes quantiques dopées aux terres rares. La photoluminescence de couleurs intéressantes est stable de la température de l'hélium liquide jusque la température ambiante.<br />Des structures à boîtes quantiques plus complexes sont aussi abordées : des boîtes InGaN:Eu QDs et des boîtes GaN co-dopées, importante pour la réalisation de composants.<br />Une attention particulière a été mise sur les couches de GaN dopé Eu, où différents sites pour l'Eu ont été mis en évidence près de surface et à l'intérieur de matériau.

Current scholarship on contemporary artist Yinka Shonibare MBE focuses on analyzing his deconstruction of identities through ready-made cultural paradigms epitomized by the use of Dutch wax textiles as an expression of “African-ness.” Through subversive tactics, Shonibare creates disoriented views of power that unveil the masquerade of identity. What is often unstated within this critique, however, is the role of the feminine performance. From the swinging maiden to the ballerina sur les pointes, women and femininity maintain an indelible role in Shonibare’s production. Thus, by evaluating gender with greater precision, I will highlight Shonibare’s dependency on stereotypes of femininity and the female body for cultural intelligibility.

The objective of this research was to design semiconductor material structures for a number of different devices, including GaN metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM), InGaAs/InAlAs MSM, and InAs/GaAs quantum dot photodetectors, and to study the growth conditions for epitaxial material using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) augmented with an rf-plasma nitrogen source. GaN was grown on a LiGaO2 substrate, which has multiple advantages over the most commonly used substrates for III-nitride growth. LiGaO2 substrates have a small lattice mismatch of approximately 1% with GaN, which leads to high-quality epitaxy film by optimization of the growth condition. The combination of nitridation, buffer, super lattice, and Ga-rich condition is the key to improving the quality of GaN film grown by MBE on LiGaO2. The first GaN MSM grown on LiGaO2 was reported, which has the dark current in the range of 10-12A. The device was then lift off and bonded on SiO2/Si wafer. The performance of the device did not degrade after integration. However, the orthorhombic crystal structure of LiGaO2 results in the unusual asymmetric strains within GaN, causing changes in the microstructure of GaN and making integration difficult. The strains within GaN grown on LiGaO2 were investigated using high resolution x-ray. It was found that the critical thickness of GaN on LGO was around 10nm, and the strains relieve with film thickness increasing. The dislocation densities were also calculated and confirmed by AFM, which can be as low as 2䥱07/cm2. Through studying of the strains with the insertion of AlGaN/GaN superlattice buffer, it was found that the strain of the epitaxial layer is dependent on the thickness and critical thickness of both epitaxy and buffer layer. For thin GaN films, Al0.12GaN superlattice buffer would relieve the strain most, and for the thicker layers, the Al0.44GaN superlattice buffer relieves the strain most. The dislocation density measurement shows that an insertion of buffer decreases dislocations significantly. Insertion of superlattice buffers does not decrease dislocation density further. The material structure of InGaAs/InAlAs was studied. The device quality was improved by optimizing the material structure. Depends on the application as optical interconnects, the optimized material structure should insure the device with high speed but reasonable responsivity. Finally, devices were fabricated that achieve speeds as high as 50-70 GHz, comparable with the commercial ultra-fast MSM. The research of quantum dots was focused on modification of the size, strains, and structures of quantum dots by annealing the spacer between quantum dot layers using As4 and P2, respectively, at different temperatures. It was found that the annealing under P2 results in surface exchange, and the annealing under As4 mostly changes dots?zes, causing the changes of energy level.

The purpose of this thesis is to fabricate 12-layer In0.75Ga0.25As quantum dot-in-a-well (In0.1Ga0.9As) structures grown by molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) on GaAs substrate, and analyze the optical properties of laser devices for optical fiber communication systems. For the laser structures, larger Al content AlGaAs cladding layer enhance the optical confinement, but encounter much challenges to improve the quality. After we simulate and fabricate different Al content laser structures, we find the best cladding layer composition - Al0.2Ga0.8As which performs a best material gain. In the active layer, 12 layers In0.75Ga0.25As quantum dots (QDs) and QDs in a well (DWell) structure, and DWell with Be-doping in the well structure are included in this study. The well structure slows down the hot carriers speed and Be-doping decrease the carrier life time and increases the electron-hole pair recombination rate. We increase the QDs deposition coverage to move the emission wavelength to 1.3£gm, but the high temperature cladding layer growth process indirectly anneal the QDs and result in the emission wavelength blue shift to 1.24£gm. In the laser fabrication, to transport the light wave in smaller dispersion loss single mode waveguide, wet etching photolithography processes are adapted in this study to fabricate 2£gm width ridge waveguide. The as-cleaved facets are used as Fabry-Perot laser mirrors in ridge waveguide lasers. Finally, the current density of QD Laser(C528) lasing in CW mode is 581A/cm2, slope efficiency of 510mW/A and maximum power/facet of 65mW are obtained.Then the current density of DWELL+PD Laser(C540) lasing in CW mode is 880A/cm2, slope efficiency of 430mW/A and maximum power/facet of 34mW are obtained.

The experiment divided into two parts. One is silicon solar cell process. The other is InGaN solar cell process. Borosilicafilm solution spin onto the n-type silicon (111) substrate and spread through the high-temperature furnace tube to form a p-n junction silicon solar cell. Then, evaporate top and rear contact by electron beam evaporation system. InGaN p-i-n structure solar cell grows on sapphire substrate by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy system (PA-MBE) and its process is by repeated photolithography, inductive coupled plasma etching and wet etching. In the device fabrication process, the first is defining the sample size(mesa). Second, etched to the n-type GaN layer, and then coated metal as electrode. Finally, we get the device. In the measurement, the measurement of I-V curve of samples in the light by solar simulator of AM1.5 G light source observe open circuit voltage, short circuit current, fill factor, and efficiency. In addition, we measure the external quantum efficiency of the samples by IPCE and observe the photoelectric conversion efficiency of samples at different wavelength. Observed the sample quality and the indium composition of InGaN layer by XRD. We observe the InGaN band gap shift by variable-temperature photoluminescence spectra.

The purpose of this thesis is to fabricate 12-layer InxGa1-xAs quantum dots grown on 2-nm In0.1Ga0.9As quantum wells (DWell) laser structures grown by molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) on GaAs substrats. We expect to optimum the lasers performance by tune the epitaxial recipe and fabrication condition. For the carrier injection efficiency, DWell structure of quantum dots grown on quantum wells is proposed to enhance the carrier capture rate. So we analyze a series of DWell structure in this work. In the epitaxial recipe, we investigate the influences of p-type doping and change the quantum wells growth temperature for the laser structures. In the laser fabrication, to transport the light wave in smaller dispersion loss single mode waveguide, dry etching photolithography processes are adapted in this study to fabricate 2.2mm width ridge waveguide. The as-cleaved facets are used as Fabry-Perot laser mirrors in ridge waveguide lasers. The pattern can be transferred effectively with less under-cut by dry etching compare with wet etching. Finally, the P-type doping DWell laser exhibits high power/facet of 24mW, slope efficiency of 0.209W/A. The maximum power/facet of PWell580 laser reach to 24mW, slope efficiency of 0.238W/A after raising the growth temperature to 580oC.

In this thesis, we study a series of Si-doped GaN thin films and nanodots. These samples are growth on c-face sapphire substrate by Molecular Beam Epitaxy. In Si-doped GaN thin film growth, different Si cell temperature are used to control the dopant concentration. Van der Pauw hall measurement is used to measure the carrier concentrations and the mobilities. As increase Si cell temperature, the carrier concentration and the mobility increase. The maximum carrier concentration is 8 ¡Ñ 1019 cm-3, and the maximum mobility is 194 cm2/V-s. As increasing the Si dopant concentration, the near band edge photoluminescence emission peak intensity increases, but the full width at half maximum broaden from 47 meV to 117 meV. In Raman measurement result, with the increasing of Si dopant concentration, the E2(high) mode shifts from 569.4 cm-1 to 567.9 cm-1. The A1(LO) mode disappears gradually. In the nanodot growth, the AFM images show that the nanodots size become large as increasing the growth time. The nanodots size is change from 1.2 nm to 5.6 nm high and 40 nm to 110 nm wide, but the density of the nanodots decreases from 1.9 ¡Ñ 1010 cm-2 to 6 ¡Ñ 109 cm-2 at 15 sec and 90 sec growth, respectively. According to the AFM image of the nanodots surface morphology, the nanodots growth mode should be the Stranski-Krastanow mode.