The thesis focuses on the study of asymmetric multiple quantum wells (AMQWs). There are two main sources of the samples. One is from our laboratory. We used molecular-beam epitaxy to grow the InGaAs/InGaAlAs AMQWs of different well widths and different position arrangement of well width. And we also designed the AMQWs with p-type modulation doping at the different barrier region. The other is from Land Mark Optoelectronics Corporation. They used Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) to grow the InGaAsP AMQWs of different well widths and different position arrangement of well width. There are five experiments in my thesis. First of all, we use electroluminescence (EL) measurement to discuss the EL spectra of the samples. The EL spectra can show the shape, intensity and full width half maximum. Second, we use the photoreflectance (PR) measurement, which uses laser beam to modulate the dielectric constant of samples, to discuss the transition energies by using simulation and curve fitting. And we got build-in electric field from FKO data and simulation. In the last three experiments, we analyzed photocurrent spectra, photoluminescence spectra and electro-absorption spectra individually and then compared the three to all experiments in the thesis. In these experiments, we discovered that the sample C092 exhibits a broad and flat EL spectrum and 2500Å covering from 1.38~1.63£gm. Besides, we also found that the emission of wells is dominated by the arrangement of quantum wells. Moreover, the arrangement of quantum wells is relative to material. Therefore, even if we use the same way of arrangement, the different materials will lead to different results. Finally, we expect that we can use our AMQWs samples to produce broadly tunable laser and broad-band semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) in the future.

The thesis focuses on the broadband characteristic of asymmetric multiple quantum dots . The main sources of the samples are grown from our laboratory. We used molecular beam epitaxy to grow a series samples with different thickness and structures. We also add p type modulation doping in the active layer in asymmetric multiple quantum dots p-i-n laser structures. In our experiment, we use the electroluminescence measurement system to measure the optical signals by adding a forward bias. Then we discuss the spectrum shape, emission intensity, and peak distribution. We also analysis the jump migration between these similar samples. Besides, we use the photo current spectrum, differential absorption coefficient spectrum, and differential refractive coefficient spectrum to analysis the signals. We use sample C240 as our main structure. It organized by three different quantum dots ingredients: In0.64Ga0.36As, In0.75Ga0.25As, and InAs. We find that we get the intensity in C240 is very weak, and the FWMH is 108nm. When we add the quantum dots layer double, we find that the FWHM become 134nm. And then, when we grow 2nm InGaAs quantum well behind the quantum dots structures, the FWMH increases to 156nm. Finally, when we add p type modulation into quantum well, we find the intensity has increased a lot, and the emission wavelength is from 1.18£gm to 1.36£gm. It is about 196nm. By the conclusion, we can find that the emission intensity and FWMH is relative to the different quantum dots layers and doping, we also find that by increasing one quantum layer, we can get the higher FWMH. Finally, we expect that we can use our broadband characteristic of the AMQDs samples to produce broadly tunable laser and broad-band semiconductor optical amplifier in the future.

Semiconductor nanowire field-effect transistors (NWFET) have been recognized as a possible alternative to silicon-based CMOS technology as traditional scaling limits are neared. The core-shell nanowire structure, in particular, also allows for the enhancement of carrier mobility through radial band engineering. In this thesis, we have evaluated the possibility of electron confinement in strained Si-Si1-xGex core-shell nanowire heterostructures. Cylindrical strain distribution was calculated analytically for structures of various dimensions and shell compositions. The strain-induced conduction band edge shift of each region was found using k•p theory coupled with a coordinate system shift to account for strain. A positive conduction band offset of up to 200 meV was found for a Si-Si0.2Ge0.8 structure. We have also designed and characterized a modulation doping scheme for p-type, Ge-SiGe core-shell NWFETs. Finite element simulations of hole density versus radial position were done for different combinations of dopant position and concentration. Three modulation doped nanowire samples, each with a different boron doping density in the shell, were grown using a combined vapor-liquid-solid and chemical vapor deposition process. Low temperature current-voltage measurements of bottom- and top-gate samples indicate that hole mobility is limited by the proximity of charged impurities. / text

Thesis advisor: Zhifeng Ren / Thermoelectrics, as one promising approach for solid-state energy conversion between heat and electricity, is becoming increasingly important within the last a couple of decades as the availability and negative environmental impact of fossil fuels draw increasing attention. Therefore, various thermoelectric materials in a wide working temperature range from room temperature to 1000 degrees Celsius for power generation or below zero for cooling applications have been intensively studied. In general, the efficiency of thermoelectric devices relies on the dimensionless figure-of-merit (ZT) of the material, defined as ZT=(S<super>2</sup>&sigma;)T/&kappa;, where S is the Seebeck coefficient, [sigma] the electrical conductivity, [kappa] the thermal conductivity (sum of the electronic part, the lattice part, and the bipolar contribution at high temperature region), and T the absolute temperature during operation. Techniques to measure those individual parameters will be discussed in the 2nd chapter while the 1st chapter mainly covers the fundamental theory of thermoelectrics. Recently, the idea of using various nanostructured materials to further improve the ZT of conventional thermoelectric materials has led to a renewed interest. Among these types of nanostructured materials, nanocomposites which mainly denote for the nano-grained bulk materials or materials with nano-sized inclusions are the major focus of our study. For nanocomposites, the enhancement in ZT mainly comes from the low lattice thermal conductivity due to the suppressed phonon transport by those interfaces or structure features in the nanometer scale without deteriorating the electron transport. In the last few years, we have successfully demonstrated in several materials systems (Bismuth Telluride, Skutterudites, Silicon Germanium) that ball milling followed by hot pressing is an effective way for preparing large quantities of those nanocomposite thermoelectric materials with high ZT values in the bulk form. Therefore, in the 3rd part of this thesis, I will talk about how I applied the same technique to the Thalllium (Tl) doped Lead Telluride (PbTe) which was reported for an improved Seebeck coefficient due to the creation of resonant states near the Fermi level, leading to a high ZT of about 1.5 at around 500 degrees Celsius. I showed that comparing with conventional tedious, energy consuming melting method, our fabrication process could produce such material with competing thermoelectric performance, but much simpler and more energy effective. Potential problems and perspectives for the future study are also discussed. The 4th chapter of my thesis deals with the challenge that in addition to those nanostructuring routes that mainly reduce the thermal conductivity to improve the performance, strategies to enhance the power factor (enhancing [sigma] or S or both) are also essential for the next generation of thermoelectric materials. In this part, modulation-doping which has been widely used in thin film semiconductor industry was studied in 3-D bulk thermoelectric nanocomposites to enhance the carrier mobility and therefore the electrical conductivity [sigma]. We proved in our study that by proper materials design, an improved power factor and a reduced thermal conductivity could be simultaneously obtained in the n-type SiGe nanocomposite material, which in turn gives an about 30% enhancement in the final ZT value. In order to further improve the materials performance or even apply this strategy to other materials systems, I also provided discussions at the end of chapter. In the last chapter, the structural and transport properties of a new thermoelectric compound Cu₂Se was studied which was originally regarded as a superionic conductor. The [beta]-phase of such material possesses a natural superlattice-like structure, therefore resulting in a low lattice thermal conductivity of 0.4-0.5 Wm^-1K^-1 and a high peak ZT value of ~1.6 at around 700 degrees Celsius. I also studied the phase transition behavior between the cubic [beta]-phase and the tetragonal [alpha]-phase of such material from the discontinuity of transport property curves and the change in crystal structure. In addition, I also talk about the abnormal decrease in specific heat with increasing temperature that I observed in the as-prepared Cu₂Se samples. I suggest this material is of general interest to a broad range of researchers in Physics, Chemistry, and Materials Science. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2012. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Physics.

We have investigated the polarization effect of optical process in the vertically coupled InGaAs quantum dots (QDs) triple layers by varying the thickness of GaAs spacer layer. The TE/TM ratio for the ground state emission decreases from near 4 to 1.5 as the spacer thickness (d) decreases from 40 nm to 5 nm. And, the TE polarization (in-plane polarization) is anisotropic with a stronger component along [01-1] direction. P-type modulation doping further decreases the TE/TM ratio to r = 1.2 for the strong vertical coupling QDs structure of 5-nm spacer. Then, using a cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy directly reveals the InGaAs QDs of 5-nm spacer well aligned along the growth direction. From the electroluminescence (EL) and differential absorption (£G£\) experiments, the higher optical gain and absorption change for the excited state suggest that the e2-hh transition has higher oscillator strength for the vertically coupled QDs. We also investigate for the triple-layer InGaAs vertically coupled quantum dots (VCQDs) by adding modulation doping (MD) in the 5-nm GaAs spacer layers. In addition to the QDs fundamental and excited transitions, a coupled-state transition is observed for the VCQDs. For the VCQDs of p-type MD, the optical transitions at ground state and coupled state are enhanced by the improvement of hole capture for the valence subbands. For the VCQDs of n-type MD, the main absorption change occurs at the coupled state, consistent with the dominant emission peak observed in EL spectra. For GaAs-based solar cells application, in order to enhance absorption at infrared range for GaAs-based solar cells, multi-stack InGaAs VCQDs of 5-nm GaAs spacers are grown in the active region. Due to the strong vertical coupling between QDs would promote quantum efficiency. We have investigated the photovoltaic response for the solar cells by increasing the layer numbers of VCQDs. The device of nine-layer InGaAs VCQDs shows an enhanced short-circuit current density (Jsc) of 10.5 mA/cm2. The value is increased by 42% compared to GaAs reference device. However, the open-circuit voltage (Voc) is reduced from 0.88 V to 0.54 V. Then, we change the GaAs spacer thickness of coupled In0.75Ga0.25As QDs, and investigated the effects on photovoltaic response. For the sample of d =10 nm shows the best performance of current density (Jsc~24 mA/cm2) and efficiency (h~10.6%). The Jsc and h are increases by 55% and 112% more than the device without QDs, respectively.

The purpose of the thesis is enhancing efficiency of asymmetric quantum dots (AMQD) solar cells. The AMQD structures are grown on the n-type GaAs substrate by (MBE). In order to enhance the photovoltaic characteristics, we introduce InGaAs quantum well (QW) and modulation doping in the well to investigate effect of the strain relief and built-in electric field in the active layer. In our experiment, we analyze the optical property of AMQD structures by photoluminescence measurement system, and then decompose emission wavelength by Gaussian fitting to find optical characteristics of each single layer quantum dots. Besides, we also measure photocurrent spectra, external quantum efficiency, electrical absorption, and electro reflectance spectra to discuss carrier transition inside AMQD structure . Finally, we acquire the photovoltaic basic parameter under one sun. The results show that QDs provide additional photocurrent via absorbing extra photons, but the open circuit voltage decrease seriously due to the accumulated strains. So as to relieve the strains and enhance carriers extraction, we introduce QW layers with different growth temperatures and change the modulation doping concentrations . From the results, the higher growth temperature for QW diminishes accumulated strains, and the higher p-type modulation doping concentration indicates an extraction enhancement due to the stronger built-in electric field. By optimizing QW growth conditions, the efficiency has overtaken GaAs baseline cells. In addition, we improve the photon-excited current collection by using matrix pattern and wet etching on the device surface, the best photovoltaic characteristic shows V OC = 0.74 V, J SC = 18.82 mA/cm2, FF = 0.78, £b= 10.86%.