Ce travail porte sur une étude des propriétés électroniques des boîtes quantiques InAs/InP, qui est un système très prometteur pour les télécommunications. Ces nanoparticules sont étudiées pour différentes tailles, densité et dopage. Dans le premier chapitre, nous décrivons l'intérêt du système InAs/InP pour les applications optoélectroniques. Nous présentons la technique de croissance et quelques exemples d'applications de ces boîtes quantiques. Nous donnons une description générale complète des processus d'émission susceptible d'exister dans ces structures. Dans le deuxième chapitre, nous présentons les méthodologies de caractérisation électrique mises en jeu, en insistant sur la complémentarité de deux techniques d'analyse : la spectroscopie transitoire des défauts profonds et la mesure C(V). Dans le troisième chapitre, nous étudions ces boîtes quantiques avec la technique C(V) pour aboutir à une analyse qualitative et quantitative des profils N(W) des échantillons. Une étude de ce profil en fonction de la température nous permet de déterminer les types d'émission qui dominent dans nos structures. L'effet du fort dopage de la couche matrice, ainsi que la densité de boîtes est discuté. Dans le quatrième chapitre, une étude DLTS menée sur l'ensemble des échantillons disponibles montre plusieurs défauts reliés au contrôle de la croissance et de la qualité des interfaces. En outre, une étude plus approfondie nous permet d'extraire la réponse électrique des boîtes quantiques ainsi que leurs états électroniques s et p existants.

Un matériau semi-conducteur utilisé lors de la fabrication d’antennes térahertz (THz), le quaternaire InGaAsP (E_g = 0,79 eV), subit une implantation ionique de Fe suivi d’un recuit thermique rapide (RTA) dans le but d’améliorer ses propriétés d’émission. Le recuit est nécessaire afin de recristalliser la couche amorphisée lors de l’implantation, donnant lieu à un polycristal rempli de défauts de recristallisation. On constate cependant que les matériaux implantés Fe offrent de meilleures performances que ceux simplement endommagés au Ga. Dans le but de départager l’effet des défauts de recristallisation et des impuretés de Fe, des mesures de spectroscopie transitoire des niveaux profonds (DLTS) et de DLTS en courant (I-DLTS), ainsi que de spectrométrie de masse d’ions secondaires par temps de vol (ToF-SIMS) ont été effectuées sur des échantillons non implantés et d’autres recristallisés. Les mesures DLTS et I-DLTS ont pour but de caractériser les niveaux profonds générés par ces deux procédures postcroissance, tout en identifiant le rôle que jouent les impuretés de Fe sur la formation de ces niveaux profonds. De plus, le voisinage des atomes de Fe dans le matériau recristallisé a été étudié à l’aide des mesures ToF-SIMS. Les mesures DLTS sur matériau recristallisé sont peu concluantes, car la mesure de capacité est faussée par la haute résistivité du matériau. Par contre, les mesures I-DLTS sur matériau recristallisé ont permis de conclure que les impuretés de Fe sont responsables de la formation d’une grande variété de niveaux d’énergie se trouvant entre 0,25 et 0,40 eV, alors que les défauts de structure induisent des niveaux de moins de 0,25 eV. La concentration de Fe est élevée par rapport au seuil de solubilité du Fe dans le matériau recristallisé. Il serait donc plausible que des agrégats de Fe se forment. Toutefois, cette hypothèse est infirmée par l'absence de pic aux masses correspondant à la molécule ^(56)Fe_2^+ sur les spectres ToF-SIMS. De plus, un modèle simple est utilisé afin d’estimer si certaines masses présentes sur les spectres ToF-SIMS correspondent à des liaisons non induites par la mesure dans le matériau recristallisé. Bien qu’aucune liaison avec le Ga et l'As n’est détectable, ce modèle n’exclut pas la possibilité de liens préférentiels avec l’In. / A semiconductor material used in the manufacture of terahertz (THz) antennas, the InGaAsP quaternary (E_g = 0,79 eV), is Fe-ion implanted followed by Rapid Thermal Annealing (RTA) in order to improve its emission properties. The annealing is required to recrystallize the layer that was amorphized during implantation, resulting in a polycrystal filled with recrystallization defects. However, the Fe-implanted materials provide better performance than those simply damaged with Ga. In order to disentangle the effect of recrystallization defects and of Fe impurities, Deep-Level Transient Spectroscopy (DLTS) measurements, current DLTS (I-DLTS) measurements and Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) were carried out on non-implanted and on recrystallized samples. The DLTS et I-DLTS measurements aim to characterize deep levels generated by these two post-growth fabrication processes, while identifying the role of Fe impurities on the formation of these deep levels. In addition, a study of the vicinity of Fe atoms in the recrystallized material was performed using ToF-SIMS measurements. The DLTS measurements on recrystallized material were inconclusive because the capacitance measurements were distorted by the high resistivity of the material. On the other hand, the I-DLTS measurements on recrystallized material allowed us to conclude that the Fe impurities are responsible for the formation of a wide variety of energy levels lying between 0.25 and 0.40 eV, while structural defects induce levels lower than 0.25 eV. The Fe concentration is high compared to the solubility threshold of Fe in the material. It is therefore possible that Fe clusters are formed. However, this hypothesis is invalidated by the absence of a peak at the mass channels corresponding to the molecule ^(56)Fe_2^+ on ToF-SIMS mass spectra. Moreover, a simple model is used to estimate whether certain masses present on ToF-SIMS spectra correspond to actual bonds in the recrystallized material, not induced by the measurement. While no bonds with Ga and As were detectable, this model does not exclude the possibility of preferential binding between with In.

This thesis deals with a DLTS-setup and how this can be controlled. The controlling program is constructed in LABVIEW, where a previous built program measuring transients at varying pulses been handled and tried to be implemented for this setup. Parts of the program was implemented successfully, other part needs more work. The heater in the setup has further been connected directly to the sample. This one has been tested to see that the setup can handle the heat and that the difference between the temperature at the sample and the setup did not differ too much. The result showed that the difference was not so big. Finally, DLTS tests was performed at samples of silicon carbide as well as on diamond, where transients could be measured up to 723 °C on the silicon carbide sample, while the tests of diamond only gave noise.

Das Halbleitermaterial Zinkselenid (ZnSe) wurde mit Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy (DLTS) untersucht. Fuer planar N-dotierte, MO-CVD-gewachsene ZnSe-Schichten auf p-GaAs wurden vorwiegend breite Zustandsverteilungen, aber auch tiefe Niveaus gefunden. In kristallin gezuechtetem, undotiertem ZnSe wurden tiefe Stoerstellen nachgewiesen.

Das PICTS-Verfahren ist eine der am häufigsten eingesetzten Methoden zur Charakterisierung semiisolierender Halbleiter. Die methodischen Fortschritte bei der Ermittlung von Störstellenparametern mit diesem Verfahren werden in dieser Arbeit vorgestellt. Als praktikable Methode für den Nachweis einer temperaturabhängigen Änderung des Besetzungsverhältnisses einer Haftstelle wird die Normierung auf die Emissionsrate der Elektronen eingeführt. Es wird gezeigt, dass Peaks, bei denen diese Normierung misslingt, nicht für die Ermittlung der Störstellenparameter herangezogen werden dürfen. Die Untersuchungen belegen, dass für die vollständige Umladung der Störstellen eine geeignete Anregungsintensität verwendet werden muss. Durch PICTS-Messungen an Kupfer-dotierten Proben wird eine systematische Abhängigkeit der Peakhöhen Kupfer-korrelierter Peaks vom Kupfergehalt der Proben nachgewiesen. Mit den Untersuchungen wird belegt, dass sich Kupfer mittels PICTS bis zu einer minimalen AES-Kupfer-Konzentration von [Cu]min ca. 5·1E14/cm^3 nachweisen lässt.

Interest in wide bandgap semiconductors such as silicon carbide (SiC), gallium nitride (GaN), gallium oxide (Ga 2 O 3 ) and diamond has increased due to their ability to deliver high power, high switching frequency and low loss electronic devices for power conversion applications. To meet these requirements, semiconductor material defects, introduced during growth and fabrication, must be minimized. Otherwise, theoretical limits of operation cannot be achieved. In this dissertation, the non-ideal current- voltage (IV) behavior of GaN-based Schottky diodes is discussed first. Here, a new model is developed to explain better the temperature dependent performance typically associated with a multi-Gaussian distribution of barrier heights at the metal-semiconductor interface [Section 3.1]. Application of this model gives researches a means of understanding not only the effective barrier distribution at the MS interface but also its voltage dependence. With this information, the consequence that material growth and device fabrication methods have on the electrical characteristics can be better understood. To show its applicability, the new model is applied to Ru/GaN Schottky diodes annealed at increasing temperature under normal laboratory air, revealing that the origin of excess reverse leakage current is attributed to the low-side inhomogeneous barrier distribution tail [Section 3.2]. Secondly, challenges encountered during MOCVD growth of low-doped GaN drift layers for high-voltage operation are discussed with focus given to ongoing research characterizing deep-level defect incorporation by deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) and deep level optical spectroscopy (DLOS) [Section 3.3 and 3.4]. It is shown that simply increasing TMGa so that high growth rates (>4 µm/hr) can be achieved will cause the free carrier concentration and the electron mobilities in grown drift layers to decrease. Upon examination of the deep-level defect concentrations, it is found that this is likely caused by an increase in 4 deep level defects states located at E C - 2.30, 2.70, 2.90 and 3.20 eV. Finally, samples where the ammonia molar flow rate is increased while ensuring growth rate is kept at 2 µm/hr, the concentrations of the deep levels located at 0.62, 2.60, and 2.82 eV below the conduction band can be effectively lowered. This accomplishment marks an exciting new means by which the intrinsic impurity concentration in MOCVD-grown GaN films can be reduced so that >20 kV capable devices could be achieved. / Doctor of Philosophy / We constantly rely on electronics to help assist us in our everyday lives. However, to ensure functionality we require that they minimize the amount of energy lost through heat during operation. One contribution to this inefficiency is incurred during electrical power conversion. Examples of power conversion include converting from the 120 V wall outlet to the 5 V charging voltage used by cellphones or converting the fluctuating voltage from a solar panel (due to varying sun exposure) to the 120 V AC power found in a typical household. Electrical circuits can be simply designed to accomplish these conversions; however, consideration to every component must be given to ensure high efficiency. A popular example of an electrical power conversion circuit is one that switches the input voltage on and off at high rates and smooths the output with an inductor/capacitor network. A good analogy of this process is trying to create a small stream of water from a fire hydrant which can either be off or on at full power. Here we can use a small cup but turning the fire hydrant on and trying to fill the cup will destroy it. However, if the fire hydrant is pulsed on and off at very short intervals (1 µs), its possible to fill the cup without damaging it or having it overflow. Now, under ideal circumstances if a small hole is poked in the bottom of the cup and the interval of the fire hydrant is timed correctly, a small low power stream of water is created without overflowing the cup and wasting water. In this analogy, a devices capable of switching the stream of water on and off very fast would need to be implemented. In electrical power conversion circuits this device is typically a transistor and diode network created from a semiconducting material. Here, similar to the fire hydrant analogy, a switch would need to be capable of holding off the immense power when in the off position and not impeding the powerful flow when in the on position. The theoretical limit of these two characteristics is dependent on the material properties of the switch where typically used semiconductors include silicon (Si), silicon carbide (SiC), or gallium nitride (GaN). Currently, GaN is considered to be a superior option over Si or SiC to make the power semiconductor switching device, however research is still required to remove non-ideal behavior that ultimately effects power conversion efficiency. In this work, we first examine the spurious behavior in GaN-based Schottky diodes and effectively create a new model to describe the observed behavior. Next, we fabricated Ru/GaN Schottky diodes annealed at different temperatures and applied the model to explain the room-temperature electrical characteristics. Finally, we grew GaN under different conditions (varying TMGa and ammonia) so that quantum characteristics, which have been shown to affect the overall ability of the device, could be measured.

Current leakage in GaN thin films limits reliable device fabrication. A variety of Ga and N rich MBE GaN thin films grown by Rf, NH3, and Rf+ NH3, are examined with electrical measurements on NiIAu Schottky diodes and CAFM. Current-voltage (IV) mechanisms will identify conduction mechanisms on diodes, and CAFM measurements will investigate the microstructure of conduction in GaN thin films. With CAFM, enhanced conduction has been shown to decorate some extended defects and surface features, while CAFM spectroscopy on a MODFET structure indicates a correlation between extended defects and field conduction behavior at room temperature. A remedy for poor conduction characteristics is presented in molten KOH etching, as evidenced by CAFM measurements, Schottky diodes, and MODFET's. The aim of this study is to identify anomalous conduction mechanisms, the likely cause of anomalous conduction, and a method for improving the conduction characteristics. Keywords: 111-Nitride, 111-V, Gallium Nitride, GaN, Electrical Properties, Conduction, Conductivity, Mobility, Hall Measurements, Resistivity, Schottky Diode, Modulation Doped Field Effect Transistor (MODFET), Conductive Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Defects, Molten Potassium Hydroxide (KOH) etching, Silvaco, Atlas, and Illumination.

In dieser Arbeit wurden tiefe Zentren in p-leitendem Zinkselenid mittels Kapazitaetstransientenspektroskopie untersucht. Es wurden Au/p-ZnSe/p-GaAs-Schichtstrukturen verwendet Mit Strom-Spannungs- und Kapazitaets-Spannungs-Messungen erfolgte eine Vorcharakterisierung der Proben. Dies lieferte Aussagen zu den bei kleinen Spannungen wirkenden Barrieren des Schottky-Kontaktes und des Hetero¨uberganges und die Bandkantenoffsets. Die effektiven Akzeptorkonzentrationen im p-ZnSe wurden bestimmt. Mit der DLTS wurden vier Loecher-Haftstellen in den p-ZnSe-Schichten gefunden. Ihre thermischen Aktivierungsenergien waren 0,40eV, 0,62eV, 0,83eV und 0,65eV. Die Konzentration des tiefen Zentrums HT nimmt bei Temperung ¨uber 450~K zu; moeglicherweise aufgrund einer Eindiffusion des als Schottky-Kontakt dienenden Goldes. Einfangmessungen fuer das Zentrum HT ergaben einen thermisch aktivierten Einfang mit Multiphononenemission bei einer Einfangbarriere von 0,46eV. Die Entropieaenderung bei der Emission aus dem Zentrum HT wurde bestimmt. Die Emission aus dem Zentrum HT laeuft schneller als der Einfang ab. Moegliche Gruende dafuer werden diskutiert. Mit Isothermalen Kapazitaetstransienten-Messungen und Spannungsvariationen wurde das Emissionsverhalten des tiefen Zentrums HT weitergehend untersucht. Transparente Gold-Kontakte gestatteten eine Beeinflussung der Emissionstransienten mittels Lichteinstrahlung durch den Schottky-Kontakt.

The pixel element which is an integrated combination of a p-i-n diode with a thin film transistor (TFT) is used to produce image sensor arrays in scanning and displays technologies, necessitating the deposition of hydrogenated silicon based semiconducting and insulating thin films such as a-Si:H, a-SiNx:H over large area. The widely used techniques to achieve this goal is the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) due to its large area and low temperature (&amp / #61603 / 300 &amp / #61616 / C) abilities. In particular, PECVD has proved to be able to deposit both high quality insulator (a-SiNx:H) and active layer of p-i-n diode (intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide, a-SiCx:H) and by sequential deposition, it is possible to minimize the interface related problems, which play an important role in metal insulator semiconductor (MIS) and TFT structures. PECVD deposited a-SiCx:H films over p-type crystal Si and metal substrates (MIS and MIM) were investigated by both admittance spectroscopy (Capacitance or conductance vs. voltage, temperature or frequency measurements) and Deep Level Transient spectroscopy (DLTS) to investigate the interface related problems. In this respect, instability phenomena (due to the creation of metastable states and charge injection into the gate electrode) were studied via the c-Si/a-SiCx:H (and/or a-SiNx:H) heterojunction. Specially, capacitance voltage kinetics were worked out and then the enrolled trap energies were identified with temperature mode DLTS. The expertise gathered as a result of these studies were used in the fabrication and characterization of TFT&amp / #65533 / s. In this respect, inverted gate staggered type Thin Film Transistor produced and characterized for the first time after Combo-251 Pattern Generator was implemented.

Quantum dots (QDs) are a semiconductor nanostructure in which a small island of one type of semiconductor material is contained within a larger bulk of a different one. These structure are interesting for a wide range of applications, including highly efficient LASERs, high-density novel memory devices, quantum computing and more. In order to understand the nature of QDs, electrical characterisation techniques such as capacitance-voltage (CV) profiling and deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) are used to probe the nature of the carrier capture and emission processes. This is limited, however, by the nature of QD formation which results in a spread of sizes which directly affects the energy structure of the QDs. In this work, I sought to overcome this by using Si substrates patterned with a focused ion beam (FIB) to grow an array of identically-sized Ge dots. Although I was ultimately unsuccessful, I feel this approach has great merit for future applications.In addition, this thesis describes several unusual characteristics observed in InAs QDs in a GaAs bulk (grown by molecular beam epitaxy-MBE). Using conventional and Laplace DLTS, I have been able to isolate a single emission transient. I further show an inverted relation between the emission rate and the temperature under high field (emissions increase at lower temperatures). I attribute this to a rapid capture to and emission from excited states in the QD. In addition, I examine a metastable charging effect that results from the application of a sustained reverse bias and decreases the apparent emission rate from the dots. I believe this to be the result of a GaAs defect with a metastable state which acts as a screen, inhibiting emission from the dots due to an accumulation of charge in the metastable state. These unusual characteristics of QDs require further intensive work to fully understand. In this work I have sought to describe the phenomena fully and to provide hypotheses as to their origin.