Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1984. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-98). Also available via the Internet.

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Ce mémoire traite de l’étude de la croissance de nanofils (In,Ga)N par épitaxie en phase vapeur par la méthode aux hydrures (HVPE). L’objectif est de contrôler l’homogénéité, la composition et les dimensions des fils. La première partie de ce travail est consacrée à l’étude de la croissance auto-organisée de nanofils InGaN par HVPE. Les résultats montrent qu’il est possible de maitriser la composition des fils en indium, de 7 % à 90 %, en ajustant la composition de la phase vapeur. Des caractérisations structurales confirment une très bonne qualité cristalline des nanofils InGaN obtenus ainsi qu’une parfaite homogénéité sur leurs longueurs. Ce travail expérimental a été couplé à un travail de modélisation théorique basée sur des calculs thermodynamiques. Un deuxième travail portant sur l’étude de l’épitaxie sélective de réseaux de fils (In,Ga)N sur des templates GaN/c-Al2O3, masqués par un diélectrique, est réalisée. La croissance, parfaitement sélective et reproductible, de nano- et microrods d’InN de très bonne qualité cristalline est démontrée pour la première fois par HVPE. Une étude systématique sur l’influence des paramètres de croissance a permis de déterminer la hiérarchie des vitesses de croissance des différentes facettes des rods et d’identifier les phénomènes physiques mis en jeu. Un modèle de croissance basé sur les énergies de surface et d’interface est proposé afin d’expliquer la présence d’un creux dans les rods d’InN. Des études en photoluminescence sur des ensembles de nanorods d’InN ont mis en évidence un fort dopage de type n et indiquent également la présence d’une surface d’accumulation des porteurs de charge sur les parois des rods. Enfin, l’étude de la faisabilité de la croissance sélective d’InGaN par HVPE est initiée. / This thesis focuses on a comprehensive study of (In, Ga)N nanowires grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE), combining the growth technology, complementary chemical and structural analyses and theoretical modeling. The first part of this work is devoted to the study of the self-induced growth of InGaN nanowires by HVPE. The end result shows that growth of vertically aligned InGaN nanowires with a high crystalline quality can be synthesized by this cost-effective technique. The indium content can be varied from 7 % to 90 % with a high degree of homogeneity along the nanowire length with a good crystal quality. This is achieved by understanding the kinetics of interconnected chemical reactions in the vapor phase, and coupling them with the kinetically controlled composition of solid nanowires. The second focus section of this work looks at the selective area growth of (In, Ga)N nanorods. Well-ordered and vertically aligned InN nano and microrods with high aspect ratio and high crystalline quality are synthetized by HVPE using the SAG approach. The growth occurs through the apertures of a SiNx masked Ga-polar GaN/c-Al2O3 template for adjusted growth temperature and V/III ratio. A systematic study of the evolution of InN nanorods shape under various growth conditions: growth temperature, growth time and the input NH3 partial pressure, is investigated. A growth model based on surface and interface energies is proposed to explain the presence of a void in these InN nanorods. Photoluminescence measurements on InN nanorods reveal strong n-type doping and indicate the presence of a carrier accumulation on the nanorods surfaces. Finally, the selective growth feasibility of InGaN nanorods by HVPE is initiated.

The present work focuses on the growth and characterizations of GaN and InN layers and nanostructures on p-Si(100) and p-Si(111) substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy and the studies of GaN/p-Si and InN/p-Si heterojunctions properties. The thesis is divided in to seven different chapters. Chapter 1 gives a brief introduction on III-nitride materials, growth systems, substrates, possible device applications and technical background. Chapter 2 deals with experimental techniques including the details of PAMBE system used in the present work and characterization tools for III-nitride epitaxial layers as well as nanostructures. Chapter 3 involves the growth of GaN films on p-Si(100) and p-Si(111) substrates. Phase pure wurtzite GaN films are grown on Si (100) substrates by introducing a silicon nitride layer followed by low temperature GaN growth as buffer layers. GaN films grown directly on Si (100) are found to be phase mixtured, containing both cubic and hexagonal modifications. The x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy studies reveal that the significant enhancement in the structural and optical properties of GaN films grown with silicon nitride buffer layer grown at 800 oC, when compared to the samples grown in the absence of silicon nitride buffer layer and with silicon nitride buffer layer grown at 600 oC. Core-level photoelectron spectroscopy of SixNy layers reveals the sources for superior qualities of GaN epilayers grown with the high temperature substrate nitridation process. The discussion has been carried out on the typical inverted rectification behavior exhibited by n-GaN/p-Si heterojunctions. Considerable modulation in the transport mechanism is observed with the nitridation conditions. The heterojunction fabricated with the sample of substrate nitridation at high temperature exhibites superior rectifying nature with reduced trap concentrations. Lowest ideality factors (~1.5) are observed in the heterojunctions grown with high temperature substrate nitridation which is attributed to the recombination tunneling at the space charge region transport mechanism at lower voltages and at higher voltages space charge limited current conduction is the dominating transport mechanism. Whereas, thermally generated carrier tunneling and recombination tunneling are the dominating transport mechanisms in the heterojunctions grown without substrate nitridation and low temperature substrate nitridation, respectively. A brief comparison of the structural, optical and heterojunction properties of GaN grown on Si(100) and Si(111) has been carried out. Chapter 4 involves the growth and characterizations of InN nanostructures and thinfilms on p-Si(100) and p-Si(111) substrates. InN QDs are grown on Si(100) at different densities. The PL characteristics of InN QDs are studied. A deterioration process of InN QDs, caused by the oxygen incorporation into the InN lattice and formation of In2O3/InN composite structures was established from the results of TEM, XPS and PL studies. The results confirm the partial oxidation of the outer shell of the InN QDs, while the inner core of the QDs remains unoxidized. InN nanorods are grown on p-Si(100), structural characterizations are carried out by SEM, and TEM. InN nanodots are grown on p-Si(100), structural characterizations are performed. InN films were grown on Si(100) and Si(111) substrates and structural characterizations are carried out. Chapter 5 deals with the the heterojunction properties of InN/p-Si(100) and InN/p-Si(111).The transport behavior of the InN NDs/p-Si(100) diodes is studied at various bias voltages and temperatures. The temperature dependent ZB BH and ideality factors of the forward I-V data are observed, while it is governed through the modified Richardson’s plot. The difference in FB BH and C-V BH and the deviation of ideality factor from unity indicate the presence of inhomogeneities at the interface. The band offsets derived from C-V measurements are found to be Δ EC=1.8 eV and Δ EV =1.3 eV, which are in close agreement with Anderson’s model. The band offsets of InN/p-Si heterojunctions are estimated using XPS data. A type-III band alignment with a valence band offset of Δ EV =1.39 eV and conduction band offset of ΔEC=1.81 eV is identified. The charge neutrality level model provides a reasonable description of the band alignment of the InN/p-Si interface. The interface dipole deduced by comparison with the electron affinity model is 0.06 eV. The transport studies of InN NR/p-Si(100) heterojunctions have been carried out by conductive atomic force microscopy (CAFM) as well as conventional large area contacts. Discussion of the electrical properties has been carried out based on local current-voltage (I-V) curves, as well as on the 2D conductance maps. The comparative studies on transport properties of diodes fabricated with InN NRs and NDs grown on p-Si(100) substrates and InN thin films grown on p-Si(111) substrates have also been carried out. Chapter 6 deals with the growth and characterizations of InN/GaN heterostructures on p-Si(100) and p-Si(111) substarets and also on the InN/GaN/p-Si heterojunction properties. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies reveal a considerable variation in crystalline quality of InN with grown parameters. Deterioration in the rectifying nature is observed in the case of InN/GaN/p-Si(100) heterojunction substrate when compared to InN/GaN/p-Si (111) due to the defect mediated tunneling effect, caused by the high defect concentration in the GaN and InN films grown on Si(100) and also due to the trap centers exist in the interfaces. Reduction in ideality factor is also observed in the case of n-InN/n-GaN/p–Si(111) when compared to n-InN/n-GaN/p–Si(100) heterojunction. The sum of the ideality factors of individual diodes is consistent with experimentally observed high ideality factors of n-InN/n-GaN/p–Si double heterojunctions due to double rectifying heterojunctions and metal semiconductor junctions. Variation of effective barrier heights and ideality factors with temperature are confirmed, which indicate the inhomogeneity in barrier height, might be due to various types of defects present at the GaN/Si and InN/GaN interfaces. The dependence of forward currents on both the voltage and temperatures are explained by multi step tunneling model and the activation energis were estimated to be 25meV and 100meV for n-InN/n-GaN/p–Si(100) and n-InN/n-GaN/p–Si(111) heterojunctions, respectively. Chapter 7 gives the summary of the present study and also discusses about future research directions in this area.

Diese Arbeit behandelt den Einfluss der Mg- und Si-Dotierung auf das Wachstum von InN-Nanodrähten (ND) sowie die Etablierung, Anwendung und Analyse des selektiven Wachstums von GaN-ND auf Si-Substraten. Das Ziel der Arbeit ist dabei die Herstellung von ND mit homogenen Abständen, Durchmessern und Längen. Zunächst wird die Si- und Mg-Dotierung von InN-ND untersucht. Dazu werden die einzelnen Wachstumsparameter variiert und deren Einfluss analysiert. Für die Si-Dotierung kann dabei eine nicht lineare Abhängigkeit der Morphologie der Nanodrähte mit der Substrattemperatur, dem In- und Si-Fluss beobachtet werden, sowie eine Erweiterung der Wachstumstemperatur zu Werten oberhalb des Einsetzens der Dekomposition bei gleichzeitig verbesserter Homogenität der Länge und des Durchmessers der ND. Für die Mg-Dotierung von InN-ND wird kein Einfluss auf die Morphologie beobachtet. Durch optische und elektrische Messungen wird ein Hinweis auf das erfolgreiche Einbringen der Mg-Atome als Akzeptoren beobachtet. Nach einer Voruntersuchung anhand von nicht-selektivem Wachstum bei hohen Substrattemperaturen, sowie einer Untersuchung zur Dekomposition von GaN-ND werden die Wachstumsparameter für das selektive Wachstum mit einem neuentwickelten Ansatz eingegrenzt. Anschließend wird innerhalb dieser Grenzen der Einfluss der Wachstumsparameter auf das selektive Wachstum untersucht. Ein Schwerpunkt dieser Untersuchungen wird auf die Nukleation gesetzt, bei der anhand von Variationen des Substratdesigns (Maskentyp, -material sowie Substratmaterial) und direkten Analysen für kurze Wachstumszeiten ein neuartiges Nukleationsmodell vorgeschlagen wird. Ein zweiter Schwerpunkt wird auf die Diffusion der Ga-Atome gesetzt. Es wird ein geometrisches Modell zur Analyse der Diffusion auf dem Substrat und den Seitenfacetten vorgeschlagen und durch experimentelle Daten untermauert. Anhand des Modells ergeben sich Diffusionslängen von 400 nm auf dem Substrat respektive 500 nm auf den ND-Seitenfacetten. / The influence of the Si- and Mg-doping of InN NWs as well as the selective area growth (SAG) of GaN NWs on Si substrates is developed, optimized and analyzed to obtain NWs with homogeneous periods, lengths and diameters. The variation of growth parameters for Si-doped InN NWs reveals a nonmonotonic morphology dependence and an extended growth window towards higher substrate temperatures. In addition, the NW density is reduced and the size homogeneity improved for high Si doping levels. In contrast, no impact on the morphology of the InN NWs is observed under Mg-doping. Nevertheless, indications of a successful incorporation of the Mg-acceptors are found by optical and electrical studies. The non-selective growth of GaN NWs at high substrate temperatures is investigated for various Ga-fluxes and substrate temperatures. Furthermore, the decomposition of GaN NWs is observed with an investigation of the NW morphology and the Ga desorption during growth. The nucleation on the mask (Si) and the substrate (AlN) is investigated with a new approach to define a growth window for the SAG. Within this window, the influence of the substrate temperature, growth time, Ga- and N-flux on the SAG is investigated by a separate variation for each parameter. An optimal set of growth parameters with respect to a homogeneous NW morphology is obtained. The growth on substrates with different mask types, mask materials and substrate materials reveals a novel nucleation mechanism. The asymmetric nucleation in the holes of the mask could be attributed to a local increase in the Ga-supply by blocking the impinging Ga-flux at the vertical sidewalls. The diffusion of Ga-atoms on the substrate and the NW is finally investigated. A descriptive model is proposed and the fit to experimental data reveals a diffusion length of 400 nm. The limitation of the axial growth is explained by the diffusion length of Ga atoms on the NW sidewall and a diffusion length of approximately 500 nm is obtained.

Zugl.: Passau, Universiẗat, Diss., 2009.

This research focuses on the nanoscopic investigation of the three-dimensional surface morphology of the neural growth cones from the snail Helisoma trivolvis, and InN and InGaN semiconductor material systems using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). In the analysis of the growth cones, the results obtained from AFM experiments have been used to construct a 3D architecture model for filopodia. The filopodia from B5 and B19 neurons have exhibited different tapering mechanisms. The volumetric analysis has been used to estimate free Ca2+ concentration in the filopodium. The Phase Contrast Microscopy (PCM) images of the growth cones have been corrected to thickness provided by AFM in order to analyze the spatial refractive index variations in the growth cone. AFM experiments have been carried out on InN and InGaN epilayers. Ternary InGaN alloys are promising for device applications tunable from ultraviolet (Eg[GaN]=3.4 eV) to near-infrared (Eg [InN]=0.7 eV). The real-time optical characteristics and ex-situ material properties of InGaN epilayers have been analyzed and compared to the surface morphological properties in order to investigate the relation between the growth conditions and overall physical properties. The effects of composition, group V/III molar ratio and temperature on the InGaN material characteristics have been studied and the growth of high quality indium-rich InGaN epilayers are demonstrated.

In this thesis, we study a series of Si doped InN films. These samples are grown on sapphire (0001) by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). We have doped Si in InN films successfully. In this experiment, we control Si cell temperature to change carrier concentration of samples during InN film growth. The carrier concentration and mobility are explored by van der Pauw Hall measurement. As carrier concentration increases, mobility decreases. Carrier concentration changes with Si cell temperature from 6.16x1018 cm-3 to 1.19x1020 cm-3. Photoluminescence (PL) emission peak energy shows blue shift when carrier concentration increases, but the intensity decreases and full width at half maximum (FWHM) broadens. The PL peak of InN film with 1.19x1020 cm-3 split into two peaks 0.74 eV and 0.89 eV. In Raman spectra, Raman modes position and FWHM do not change with carrier concentration. In temperature dependence PL, the dependence of PL spectra shows decrease when carrier concentration increases. In power dependence PL, the PL emission peak energy of InN films with 6.16x1018 cm-3 and 8.50x1018 cm-3 show blue shift, while the PL peaks of InN films with 1.43x1019 cm-3 and 2.27x1019 cm-3 show no significant move. The fitting of power density vs. intensity is linear for all samples, but all slope of them are less than 1 expect for InN film with 1.43x1019 cm-3.

This theses investigates the carrier dynamics in Indium Nitride thin films grown on Si(111) substrates by means of ultrafast time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) apparatus. The study of energy relaxation shows hot phonon effective is prominent at photogenerated carrier concentration above 4¡Ñ10^18cm^-3 and become insignificant at carrier concentration below 7¡Ñ10^17cm^-3. Effective phonon emission times in the range of 116 to 23 femtoseoncds are obtained from the time evolution of carrier temperature assuming that the carrier-LO-phonon interaction is the dominant energy relaxation process. In the study of carrier recombination, the TRPL¡¦s are studied at the peak energies of the time-integrated PL at various lattice temperatures and are converted to decay rates with a rate equation, which includes the nonradiative and radiative coefficients, and a nonlinear dependence of PL intensity on the photogenerated carrier concentration. The increase with temperatures of the Shockley-Read-Hall rates implies that, in addition to the mid-gap defect states, a thermally activated trapping may become prominent at high lattice temperatures due to the increased kinetic energy gained by the carriers. The radiative recombination is the dominated recombination mechanism at low temperature but become trivial at high temperature. The fitted radiative coefficient at a temperature of 35K is consistent to the theoretical prediction. The Auger recombination exhibits a quadratic dependence on carrier concentration and becomes effective at high carrier concentration and at high temperature. The fitted Auger recombination coefficients are comparable to those of InGaAs and InGaAsP materials with band gap energies in the range of 0.6-0.8eV.