Engineering topics

Rich, D. H.

Publications and source records attributed to Rich, D. H..

8 records

NASA NTRS1992

Cathodoluminescence and transmission electron microscopy study of dark line defects in thick In(0.2)Ga(0.8)As/GaAs multiple quantum wells

TEM and cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging and spectroscopy have been performed on In(0.2)Ga(0.8)As/GaAs MQW structures. Cross-sectional and plan-view TEM demonstrates that misfit dislocations (MDs) are confined to the MQW-to-GaAs interfacial regions. The observed large variation in the exciton luminescence intensity is interpreted as due to the presence of nonradiative recombination centers spread homogeneously in the MQW region away from interface MDs. These nonradiative recombination centers compete with exciton and midgap radiative centers at wavelengths of 950 nm and 1000-1600 nm, respectively, resulting in spatiallty correlated dark line defects for all CL imaging wavelengths.

Rich, D. H.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Near-infrared cathodoluminescence imaging of defect distributions in In(0.2)Ga(0.8)As/GaAs multiple quantum wells grown on prepatterned GaAs

The defect distribution in a highly strained In(0.2)Ga(0.8)As/GaAs multiple-quantum-well (MQW) structure grown on a patterned GaAs substrate is examined with cathodoluminescence imaging and spectroscopy in the near IR. By spatially correlating the luminescence arising from the MQW exciton recombination (950 nm) with the longer wavelength (1000-1200 nm) luminescence arising from the defect-induced recombination, it is demonstrated that it is possible to determine the regions of highest film quality in both the mesa and valley regions. The present approach enables a judicious determination of the optimal regions to be used for active pixels in InGaAs/GaAs spatial light modulators.

Rich, D. H.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Dependence of the cathodoluminescence of diamond films on deposition temperature

The deposition temperature dependence of the cathodoluminescence (CL) of diamond thin films grown by microwave-plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition has been investigated. Depositions were made in the temperature range of 400 to 750 C at a pressure of 10 Torr, with a gas mixture of 5 percent CH4 and 5 percent O2 in hydrogen. The intensity of the luminescent peak at 430 nm was used as a measure of diamond quality for the film. This peak was found to be a maximum above 600 C. Examination of the intensities of CL emissions associated with nitrogen and silicon impurities at 530, 560, and 740 nm indicate incorporation of these impurities is more efficient at temperatures above 600 C. Film quality was thus found to be an optimization of competing mechanisms, i.e., improvement of diamond quality as evidenced by the intensity of the 430 nm peak, with the apparent activation of impurities and vacancy defects at elevated temperatures.

Shing, Y. H.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Low-pressure microwave plasma nucleation and deposition of diamond films

Low-pressure microwave plasma nucleation and deposition of diamond films were investigated in the pressure range 10-mtorr to 10 torr, at substrate temperatures 400-750 C and with CH4 and O2 concentrations in H2 plasma of 2-15 percent and 2-10 percent, respectively. The experiments were performed in a microwave plasma system consisting of a microwave plasma chamber, a downstream deposition chamber, and an RF induction heated sample stage. Scanning electron microscopy of diamond films deposited at 600 C with 5 percent CH4 and 5 percent O2 in H2 plasmas showed high-quality well faceted crystallites of 1/2 micron size. Cathodoluminescence measurements of these films showed very few nitrogen impurities and no detectable silicon impurities.

Shing, Y. H.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Absorption and photoluminescence of ultrathin pseudomorphic InAs/GaAs quantum wells

Absorption data are presented for 2-4-monolayer InAs/GaAs single quantum wells obtained at 77 K using a polarization-based measurement technique. The special contribution of the optical loss features arising from bulk GaAs was minimized using the polarization selectivity of absorption in single quantum wells. The double structure observed in the spectra is attributed to transitions involving confined heavy holes and both confined and unconfined electron states.

Ksendzov, A.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Polarized-cathodoluminescence study of uniaxial and biaxial stress in GaAs/Si

The strain-induced splitting of the heavy-hole (hh) and light-hole (lh) valence bands for 4-microns thick GaAs/Si is examined on a microscopic scale using linear polarized-cathodoluminescence imaging and spectroscopy. The energies and intensities of the hh- and lh-exciton luminescence are quantitatively analyzed to determine spatial variations in the stress tensor. The results indicate that regions near and far from the microcracks are primarily subject to uniaxial and biaxial tensile stresses, respectively. The transition region where biaxial stress gradually converts to uniaxial stress is analyzed, and reveals a mixing of lh and hh characters in the strain-split bands.

Rich, D. H.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Diamond film deposition using microwave plasmas under low pressures

Microwave plasma depositions of diamond films have been investigated under low pressures of 10 mTorr to 10 Torr, at low substrate temperatures of 400 to 750 C, using high methane concentrations of 5 to 15 percent and oxygen concentrations of 5 to 10 percent in hydrogen plasmas. The deposition system consists of a microwave plasma chamber, a downstream deposition chamber, and a RF induction-heated sample stage. The deposition system can be operated in either high-pressure microwave or electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) modes by varying the sample stage position. Cathodoluminescence (CL) studies on diamond films deposited at 10 Torr pressure show that CL emissions at 430, 480, 510, 530, 560, 570 and 740 nm can be employed to characterize the quality of diamond films. High-quality, well-faceted diamond films have been deposited at 10 Torr and 600 C using 5 percent CH4 and 5 percent O2 in H2 plasmas; CL measurements on these films show very low N impurities and no detectable Si impurities. Diamond nucleation on SiC has been demonstrated by depositing well-faceted diamond crystallites on SiC-coated Si substrates.

Shing, Y. H.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Optical and structural characterization of InAs/GaAs quantum wells

Three InAs/GaAs single quantum wells of two-, three-, and four-monolayer thickness were characterized using optical and structural techniques. The results of high-resolution transmission electron (HRTEM) microscopy and optical studies which combine absorption, photoluminescence (PL), photoreflectance, and cathodoluminescence are presented. Using the polarization modulated absorptance technique, we observed two absorption features in our samples at 77 K. On the basis of their polarization properties and comparison with an envelope function calculation, these structures are assigned to transitions between the confined heavy-hole and confined and unconfined electron levels. Photoreflectance spectra of the three-monolayer sample in 77-300 K range show only the fundamental quantum well transition. The temperature dependence of this transition is approximately linear with a slope of 2.2 x 10 exp -4 eV/K, which is significantly lower than in both constituent materials. Comparison to the absorption data reveals that the PL spectra are affected by the carrier diffusion and therefore do not provide direct measure of the exciton density of states. The HRTEM images indicate that, while the interfaces of the two-monolayer sample are smooth and the well thickness is uniform, the four-monolayer sample has uneven interfaces and contains domains of two, three, and four monolayers.

Ksendzov, A.↗