MoS2, among many other transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), holds great promise for future applications in nano-electronics, opto-electronics and mechanical devices due to its ultra-thin nature, flexibility, sizable band-gap, and unique spin-valley coupled physics. However, there are two main challenges that hinder careful study of this material. Firstly, it is hard to achieve Ohmic contacts to mono-layer MoS2, particularly at low temperatures (T) and low carrier densities. Secondly, materials' low quality and impurities introduced during the fabrication significantly limit the electron mobility of mono- and few-layer MoS2 to be substantially below theoretically predicted limits, which has hampered efforts to observe its novel quantum transport behaviours. Traditional low work function metals doesn't necessary provide good electron injection to thin MoS2 due to metal oxidation, Fermi level pinning, etc. To address the first challenge, we tried multiple contact schemes and found that mono-layer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and cobalt (Co) provide robust Ohmic contact. The mono-layer spacer serves two advantageous purposes: it strongly interacts with the transition metal, reducing its work function by over 1 eV; and breaks the metal-TMDCs interaction to eliminate the interfacial states that cause Fermi level pinning. We measure a flat-band Schottky barrier of 16 meV, which makes thin tunnel barriers upon doping the channels, and thus achieve low-T contact resistance of 3 kohm.um at a carrier density of 5.3x10^12/cm^2. Similar to graphene, eliminating all potential sources of disorder and scattering is the key to achieving high performance in MoS2 devices. We developed a van der Waals heterostructure device platform where MoS2 layers are fully encapsulated within h-BN and electrically contacted in a multi-terminal geometry using gate-tunable graphene electrodes. The h-BN-encapsulation provides excellent protection from environmental factors, resulting in highly stable device performance, even at elevated temperatures. Both optical and electrical characterization confirms our high quality devices, including an ultra-clean interface, a record-high Hall mobility reaching 34,000 cm^2/Vs, and first observation of Shubnikov–de Haas oscillations. The development of Ohmic contact and fabrication of high quality devices are critical to MoS2 application and studying its intrinsic properties. Therefore, the progress made in this work will facilitate efforts to study novel physical phenomena of MoS2 that were not accessible before.

Depuis le début des années 2000, une vaste classe de nanofils de nitrures d’éléments III et de ZnO peut être synthétisée avec un excellent contrôle des propriétés de dopage et de composition. La géométrie spécifique de ces nanofils permet de faire croître des hétérostructures radiales et axiales qui ont des propriétés optiques et de transport très avantageuses par rapport aux couches minces. Ces propriétés en font des candidats prometteurs pour la réalisation d’une nouvelle génération de dispositifs plus efficaces (LEDs, photodétecteurs,…). Pour cela, il est indispensable de comprendre les nouveaux effets induits par la géométrie particulière de ces nanostructures : c’est l’objet de cette thèse. Dans une première partie, je présente une étude des propriétés optiques de nanofils de semiconducteurs à grande énergie de bande interdite. J’analyse d’abord l’effet de la contrainte sur les propriétés d’émission des nanofils cœur-coquille GaN/AlGaN. En particulier, je mets en évidence le croisement des bandes de valence et son influence sur les propriétés optiques des nanofils. Ensuite, je me focalise sur l’effet du confinement quantique et les propriétés de polarisation dans les nanofils hétérostructurés de nitrures d’éléments III. Dans une seconde partie, je m’intéresse à la réalisation et à la caractérisation de dispositifs à base de nanofils de nitrures d’éléments III et de ZnO. J’expose tout d’abord la modélisation et l’étude expérimentale de photodétecteurs à ensemble de nanofils en mettant en avant l’influence des états de surface sur leur réponse. Je m’intéresse ensuite aux propriétés de transport dans des nanofils uniques de nitrures d’éléments III hétérostructurés. Je montre, en particulier, que ces hétérostructures sont le siège d’une résistance différentielle négative. Enfin, je présente la réalisation et la caractérisation de photodétecteurs et de LEDs utilisant des nanofils uniques InGaN/GaN cœur-coquille. Un modèle électrique équivalent permet de rendre compte du comportement observé. / Since the early 2000s, a large class of wide bandgap nanowires can be grown with an excellent control of doping and composition. The specific geometry of the nanowires leads to radial or axial heterostructures with better optical and transport properties compared to thin films. Due to these properties, they are promising candidates for a new generation of more efficient devices (LEDs, photodetectors, etc.). It is essential to understand the new effects induced by the particular geometry of these nanostructures.In the first part, I deal with the optical properties of wide bandgap semiconductor nanowires. First, I analyze the effect of the stress on the emission properties of core-shell GaN/AlGaN nanowires. I highlight the intersection of valence bands and its influence on the optical properties of nanowires. Then, I focus on the effect of quantum confinement and on the polarization properties of III-nitride heterostructured nanowires.In the second part, I describe the fabrication and characterization of III-nitride and ZnO nanowire-based devices. I first model and study photodetectors based on ensemble of nanowires. Then, I focus on the transport properties of single heterostructured nanowires of III-nitride heterostructures. I show in particular that these heterostructures exhibit a negative differential resistance. Finally, I present characterization of photodetectors and LEDs using single core-shell InGaN/GaN nanowires. An equivalent electrical circuit explains the observed behavior

Yuen Yung Hui. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Yuen Yung Hui.

by Lam Siu Dan. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 65-67). / Text in English; abstracts in English and Chinese. / by Lam Siu Dan. / Table of contents --- p.I / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction / Chapter 1.1 --- Interest in GaAs1-xNx/GaAs alloy --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Interest in growing GaAs1-xNx/GaAs using different carrier gases --- p.4 / Chapter 1.3 --- Theoretical calculation of the band gap energy of GaAs1-xNx alloy --- p.4 / Chapter 1.4 --- Advantages of using photoluminescence (PL) --- p.7 / Chapter 1.5 --- Our work --- p.9 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Experimental setup and procedures / Chapter 2.1 --- Growth conditions of GaAs1-xNx on (001) GaAs --- p.10 / Chapter 2.2 --- X-ray diffraction / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Setup --- p.12 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Types of X-ray measurements --- p.12 / Chapter 2.3 --- PL measurements / Chapter 2.3.1 --- Setup --- p.14 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Types of PL measurement --- p.16 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Results and discussions / Chapter 3.1 --- X-ray diffraction of GaAs1-xNx/GaAs / Chapter 3.1.1 --- GaAs1-xNx/GaAs grown using H2 as carrier gas --- p.17 / Chapter 3.1.2 --- GaAs1-xNx/GaAs grown using N2 as carrier gas --- p.28 / Chapter 3.1.3 --- Peak widths of the X-ray rocking curves of GaAs1-xNx/GaAs --- p.30 / Chapter 3.2 --- Room temperature (RT) and 10K PL of GaAs1-xNx/GaAs / Chapter 3.2.1 --- The energy of the NBE peak of GaAs1-xNx/GaAs --- p.32 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- The width of the NBE peak of GaAs1-xNx/GaAs --- p.44 / Chapter 3.3 --- Excitation power density (EPD) dependent PL studies of GaAs1-xNx/GaAs / Chapter 3.3.1 --- The energy of the NBE peak of GaAs1-xNx/GaAs --- p.49 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- The width of the NBE peak of GaAs1-xNx/GaAs --- p.55 / Chapter 3.4 --- Temperature dependent PL studies of GaAs1-xNx/GaAs --- p.57 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Conclusions --- p.62 / References --- p.63

Superfícies funcionais dependem do controle das características das superfícies de um material para obter-se um desempenho funcional desejado. Essas superfícies têm importância em diversas áreas na engenharia, como: eletrônica, ótica, energia e tribologia. No campo da tribologia, uma aplicação é em virabrequins. A funcionalização da superfície adiciona micro cavidades que diminuem o atrito e aumentam as forças de sustentação do virabrequim. Para isso, essas cavidades possuem uma geometria específica, uma microrampa. Devido a essa forma especial, a fabricação dessas microrampas é complexa, já tendo sido alcançada empregando a metodologia de texturização com rebolos padronizados. Essa metodologia consiste na inscrição de padrões geométricos no rebolo durante a dressagem, posteriormente transferidos para a peça. Como a indústria moderna utiliza rebolos de CBN de ligante vitrificado para a retificação de virabrequins, a metodologia de texturização supracitada deve ser aplicável a esse ferramental. Esse trabalho descreve o desenvolvimento de uma unidade de dressagem capaz de inscrever padrões geométricos em rebolos de CBN vitrificados, sendo seu projeto baseado em análise modal. O trabalho apresenta as restrições de projeto, conceitos de solução, simulações dinâmicas e modelagem do processo de texturização. Para maximizar a resposta dinâmica, a unidade foi projetada para operar próxima de sua frequência natural. A unidade projetada é capaz de inscrever padrões geométricos no rebolo utilizando um disco dressador rotativo, e as texturas das peças produzidas com esse rebolo padronizado apresentam boa precisão geométrica para a aplicação em virabrequins. / Engineered surfaces rely on the control of the surface characteristics of a material to achieve a desired functional performance. These functional surfaces are important in several areas of engineering, such as: electronics, optics, energy and tribology. On tribology field, an application is in crankshafts. The surface functionalization is achieved by adding micro-cavities that reduce friction and increase crankshaft lift forces. These cavities have a specific geometry, called microramp. Due to this special geometry, manufacturing microramps is a complex process, having been achieved using the methodology of texturizing via grinding. This methodology consists in the inscription of geometric patterns in the grinding wheel during the dressing operation, later transferred to the piece. As the modern industry uses vitrified CBN grinding wheels for crankshaft grinding, the texturing methodology should be applicable to this tool. This work describes the development of a dressing unit capable of inscribing geometric patterns in vitrified CBN grinding wheels, having its design based on modal analysis. The work presents the design constraints, solution concepts, dynamic simulations and modeling of the texturing process. To maximize dynamic response, the unit is designed to operate near its natural frequency. The designed unit can inscribe geometric patterns on the grinding wheel using a rotating dressing disc, and the textures of the parts produced have good geometric precision for crankshaft applications.

To fully exploit the potential of gallium nitride (GaN) devices for optoelectronics and power electronic applications, the structures of device need to be investigated and optimized. In particular carrier densities, conductivities and localised charges can have a significant impact to device performances. Electrical scanning probe microscopy techniques, including scanning capacitance microscopy (SCM), conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) and kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM), were utilized to study the structures of nitride devices such as high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs), light emitting diodes (LEDs) and junction diodes. These results combine with other characterisation techniques to give an enhanced understanding about the nitride structures. Leakage currents are one of the major challenges in HEMTs, especially leakages in buffer layers which deteriorate the breakdown voltage of the devices. To achieve an insulating buffer layer, carbon doping is usually used to compensate the unintentional n-type doping of nitride materials. Here, I show that vertical leakage can originate from the formation of inverted hexagonal pyramidal defects during the low temperature growth of an AlGaN:C strain relief layer. The semi-polar facets of the defects enhanced the oxygen incorporation and led to the formation of leakage pathways which were observed using SCM. Leakage occurring at HEMT surfaces will lead to current collapses of devices. In this work, I discovered nano-cracks on a HEMT surface. C-AFM showed enhanced conductivity along these nano-cracks. A model based on stress relaxation analysis was proposed to explain the drop of surface potential along the nano-cracks. Advances in the quality of epitaxial GaN grown by MOVPE have been facilitated by understanding the formation of defects within the materials and structures. However, hillocks as a specific type of defects have not been intensively studied yet. In this work, three types of hillocks were discovered on GaN p-i-n diodes and a GaN film grown on patterned sapphire substrates. It was found that pits were always present around the centres of hillocks. Multi-microscopy results showed these pits were developed from either an inversion domain or a nano-pipe or a void under the sample surface. Formation of hillocks was usually associated with a change of growth condition, such as an increase in Mg doping or a decrease in growth temperature and gas flows, despite the formation mechanism is still unclear. GaN$_{1-x}$As$_x$ is a highly mismatched alloy semiconductor whose band-gap can be engineered across the whole visible spectrum. For this reason and the potential to achieve high p-type doping, GaN$_{1-x}$As$_x$ is a promising material for optoelectronic applications. However, the growth of GaN$_{1-x}$As$_{x}$ at intermediate As fraction while maintaining a high conductivity and uniformity of the material is still challenging. Two n-GaN/p-GaN$_{1-x}$As$_x$ diodes with different Ga flows were investigated. Both samples demonstrated that highly Mg-doped GaN$_{1-x}$As$_x$ with high As fraction is achievable. However, the samples contained both amorphous and polycrystalline regions. The electrical scanning probe microscopy results suggested the amorphous structure has a lower hole concentration and hence conductivity than the polycrystalline structure. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of understanding about the electrical properties and conduction mechanisms of the GaN$_{1-x}$As$_x$ alloy.

Neste trabalho, analisamos as propriedades estruturais, morfológicas e óticas de filmes finos de nitreto de índio, depositados em diferentes tipos de substratos (Si , safira-C, safira-A, safira-R, GaN/ safira e vidro) pelo método de deposição as s i s t ida por feixe de elétrons com energia de íons entre 100 e 1180 eV. A temperatura de substrato durante o processo de deposição variou da temperatura ambiente (TA) à 450oC, e ARR( I/A) ,que é a razão do f luxo de íons incidentes no feixe de íons relativa ao f luxo de átomos de In evaporados , de 0,8 até 4,5. O crescimento de InN cristalino foi fortemente influenciado pela orientação cristalográfica do substrato e os filmes sobre safira-C, safira-A e GaN/ safira foram os que apresentaram maior cristalinidade. O melhor valor de energia de íons foi de 100 eV para a formação de InN cristalino e sua cristalinidade aumentou com o aumento da temperatura do substrato. Não observamos influências de ARR( I/A) sobre a cristalinidade de InN e os filmes preparados em TA sobre GaN/ safira apresentaram InN amorfo. / In thi s work, we analyzed the structural , morphological and optical properties of thin indium nitride films grown on some types of subs t rate (Si , c-plane sapphire, a-plane sapphire, r -plane sapphire, GaN/ sapphire and glass ) by the ion beam as s is ted deposition method with ion energy of 100-1180 eV. The substrate temperature during deposition ranged from room temperature (RT) to 450oC and ARR ( I/A) , from 0.8 to 4.5. The growth of crystalline InN was strongly influenced by the crystallographic orientation of substrate and the films on c-plane sapphire, a-plane sapphire and GaN/ sapphire provided more favorable result s . The best value of ion energy was found to be 100 eV for the format ion of crystalline InN and this crystallization increased with increasing the substrate temperature. We found that influence of ARR( I/A) on the crystallization of InN was imperceptible and that the f ilm prepared at RT on the GaN/ sapphire was amorphous of InN.

ii ABSTRACT Percolation phenomena involving the electrical conductivity, dielectric constant, Hall coefficient, magnetoconductivity, relative magnetoresistivity, 1/ f noise and thermoelectric power are investigated in graphite (G) and hexagonal boron-nitride (BN) powder mixtures. Two kinds of systems are used in the experiments: highly compressed discs and parallelepipeds, cut from these discs, as well as 50%G-50%BN and 55%G-45%BN powder mixtures undergoing compression. The measured DC conductivities follow the power-laws 0"( <p, 0) ex: (<p-<Pc)t (<p > <Pc) and O"(<p, 0) ex: (<Pc-<Pti (<p < <Pc), and the low frequency (lOOHz & 1000Hz) dielectric constant varies as c( <p, W ~ 0) ex: (<Pc - <P )-S( <P < <Pc), where <Pc is the percolation threshold, t and s are the conductivity exponents, and s is the dielectric exponent. Near the percolation threshold and at high frequencies, the AC conductivity varies with frequency as 0"( <p, w) ex: WX and the AC dielectric constant varies as c( <p, w) ex: w-Y, where the exponents x and y satisfy the scaling relation x + y = 1. The crossover frequency We scales with DC conductivity as Wc ex: O"q( <p, 0) (<p > <Pc), while on the insulating side, Wc ~ 1, resulting in q ~O for the three G-BN systems. The loss tangent tan t5( <p, w) (<p < <Pc) is found to have a global minimum, in contrary to the results of computer simulations. The Hall constant could not be measured using existing instrumentation. The measured magnetoconductivity and relative magnetoresistivity follow the power-laws - 6. 0" ex: (<p - <Pc)3.08 and 6.R/ R ex: (<p - <Pc)O.28 respectively. These two exponents, iii 3.08 and 0.28, are not in agreement with theory. The 1/ f noise was measured for the conducting discs and parallelepipeds. The normalized 1/ f noise power varies as Sv I V2 ex RW with the exponents w = 1.47 and 1.72 for the disc and parallelepiped samples respectively. Furthermore, the normalized noise power near the percolation threshold is, for the first time, observed to vary inversely with the square-root of sample volume. Based on the Milgrom-Shtrikman-Bergman-Levy (MSBL) formula, thermoelectric power of a binary composite is shown to be a linear function of the WiedemanFranz ratio. A scaling scheme for the Wiedeman-Franz ratio for percolation systems is proposed, which yields power-law behavior for the thermoelectric power. The proposed power-laws for the thermoelectric power can be written as (Sm - Md ex (<p - <Pc)h 1 for <P > <Pc and as (Sm - /~1d ex (<Pc - <p)-h2 for <p < <Pc, where Sm is the thermoelectric power for the composites, Afl is a constant for a given percolation system, and hI and h2 are the two critical exponents. The experimental thermoelectric power data for the G-BN conducting parallelepipeds was fitted to the above powerlaw for <p > <Pc. A least squares fit yielded the exponent hI = -1.13 and parameter MI =9.511l V I I< respectively.

abstract: Photovoltaic (PV) energy has shown tremendous improvements in the past few decades showing great promises for future sustainable energy sources. Among all PV energy sources, III-V-based solar cells have demonstrated the highest efficiencies. This dissertation investigates the two different III-V solar cells with low (III-antimonide) and high (III-nitride) bandgaps. III-antimonide semiconductors, particularly aluminum (indium) gallium antimonide alloys, with relatively low bandgaps, are promising candidates for the absorption of long wavelength photons and thermophotovoltaic applications. GaSb and its alloys can be grown metamorphically on non-native substrates such as GaAs allowing for the understanding of different multijunction solar cell designs. The work in this dissertation presents the molecular beam epitaxy growth, crystal quality, and device performance of AlxGa1−xSb solar cells grown on GaAs substrates. The motivation is on the optimization of the growth of AlxGa1−xSb on GaAs (001) substrates to decrease the threading dislocation density resulting from the significant lattice mismatch between GaSb and GaAs. GaSb, Al0.15Ga0.85Sb, and Al0.5Ga0.5Sb cells grown on GaAs substrates demonstrate open-circuit voltages of 0.16, 0.17, and 0.35 V, respectively. In addition, a detailed study is presented to demonstrate the temperature dependence of (Al)GaSb PV cells. III-nitride semiconductors are promising candidates for high-efficiency solar cells due to their inherent properties and pre-existing infrastructures that can be used as a leverage to improve future nitride-based solar cells. However, to unleash the full potential of III-nitride alloys for PV and PV-thermal (PVT) applications, significant progress in growth, design, and device fabrication are required. In this dissertation, first, the performance of ii InGaN solar cells designed for high temperature application (such as PVT) are presented showing robust cell performance up to 600 ⁰C with no significant degradation. In the final section, extremely low-resistance GaN-based tunnel junctions with different structures are demonstrated showing highly efficient tunneling characteristics with negative differential resistance (NDR). To improve the efficiency of optoelectronic devices such as UV emitters the first AlGaN tunnel diode with Zener characteristic is presented. Finally, enabled by GaN tunnel junction, the first tunnel contacted InGaN solar cell with a high VOC value of 2.22 V is demonstrated. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Electrical Engineering 2019

This thesis devoted to the experimental studies of yellow and blue luminescence (YL and BL relatively) bands in Gallium Nitride samples doped with C and Si. The band BLC was at first observed in the steady-state photoluminescence spectrum under high excitation intensities and discerned from BL1 and BL2 bands appearing in the same region of the spectrum. Using the time-resolved photoluminescence spectrum, we were able to determine the shape of the BLC and its position at 2.87 eV. Internal quantum efficiency of the YL band was estimated to be 90\%. The hole capture coefficient of the BLC related state was determined as 7 10-10 cm3/s. Properties of BLC were investigated. The YL and BLC bands are attributed to electron transitions via the (0/-) and (+/0) transition levels of the CN defect.