Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Benamara, M..
We have synthesized bimagnetic core–shell nanoparticles containing a first-of-its-kind Ni( ii )-chromia nanophase shell and a well-defined, epitaxial core–shell interface.
The interplay between structural properties and charge transfer in self-assembled quantum ring (QR) chains grown by molecular beam epitaxy on top of an InGaAs/GaAs quantum dot (QD) superlattice template is analyzed and characterized. The QDs and QRs are vertically stacked and laterally coupled as well as aligned within each layer due to the strain field distributions that governs the ordering. The strong interdot coupling influences the carrier transfer both along as well as between chains in the ring layer and dot template structures. A qualitative contrast between different dynamic models has been developed. By combining temperature and excitation intensity effects, the tuning of the photoluminescence gain for either the QR or the QD mode is attained. The information obtained here about relaxation parameters, energy scheme, interlayer and interdot coupling resulting in creation of 1D structures is very important for the usage of such specific QR–QD systems for applied purposes such as lasing, detection, and energy-harvesting technology of future solar panels.
The in-plane photoconductivity and photoluminescence are investigated in quantum dot-chain InGaAs/GaAs heterostructures. Different photoconductivity transients resulting from spectrally selecting photoexcitation of InGaAs QDs, GaAs spacers, or EL2 centers were observed. Persistent photoconductivity was observed at 80 K after excitation of electron-hole pairs due to interband transitions in both the InGaAs QDs and the GaAs matrix. Giant optically induced quenching of in-plane conductivity driven by recharging of EL2 centers is observed in the spectral range from 0.83 eV to 1.0 eV. Conductivity loss under photoexcitation is discussed in terms of carrier localization by analogy with carrier distribution in disordered media.
Detailed studies of solar cell efficiency as a function of temperature were performed for quantum wire intermediate band solar cells grown on the (311)A plane. A remotely doped one-dimensional intermediate band made of self-assembled In{sub 0.4}Ga{sub 0.6}As quantum wires was compared to an undoped intermediate band and a reference p-i-n GaAs sample. These studies indicate that the efficiencies of these solar cells depend on the population of the one-dimensional band by equilibrium free carriers. A change in this population by free electrons under various temperatures affects absorption and carrier transport of non-equilibrium carriers generated by incident light. This results in different efficiencies for both the doped and undoped intermediate band solar cells in comparison with the reference GaAs p-i-n solar cell device.