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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

Negative differential resistance in GaN homojunction tunnel diodes and low voltage loss tunnel contacts

The current-voltage characteristics and metastability in GaN p++/n++ homojunction tunnel diodes and n++/p++/i/n tunnel-contacted diodes grown via metal modulated epitaxy have been reported on. The room temperature negative differential resistance (NDR) beginning at ~1.35 V is discussed for GaN homojunction devices grown on sapphire. The NDR vanishes, and the conductivity increases as multiple I-V sweeps are performed, thus implying that charge trapping states with long trap lifetimes exist at defect sites, and these traps play a crucial role in the tunneling mechanism. Additionally, the use of extremely high n-type (N D ~ 4.6×10 20 cm –3 ) and p-type (N A ~ 7.7×10 20 cm –3 ) doping results in a near linear characteristic with minimal rectification at current densities less than 200 A/cm 2 and soft rectification above this current density. Forward-bias tunneling and NDR are still present at 77 K. The highest silicon-doped n++/p++/i/n tunnel-contacted pin diode demonstrates a turn-on voltage of 3.12 V, only 0.14 V higher than that of the pin control diode, and an improved specific on-resistance of 3.24 ×10 –4 Ω cm 2 , which is 13% lower than that of the control pin diode.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Exploiting Fixed Charge to Control Schottky Barrier Height in Si|Al 2 O 3 |MoO x – based Tunnel Diodes

The insertion of a tunneling atomic layer deposited (ALD) Al 2 O 3 film between MoO x and p-type Si has been studied to investigate Schottky barrier height tunability with varied negative fixed charge density. This work seeks to increase the hole-selectivity of MoO x -based contacts through manipulation of interface fixed charge. Fixed charge density and interface trap state densities are determined as a function of alumina processing conditions in metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors (MOSCAPs). Schottky barrier heights were determined from Mott-Schottky analysis of tunnel diodes. An alumina deposition temperature of 80°C and post-deposition annealing at 425°C yielded the highest magnitude of negative fixed charge density (-3.5 × 10 12 q . cm –2 ). High deposition temperature and/or post-deposition annealing produced the lowest interface trap state density (1 × 10 12 eV -1 . cm –2 ). On p-type silicon, Schottky barrier height minimization was not clearly correlated with increasing fixed charge density. However, on n-type silicon, a significant increase in Schottky barrier height was evident (~0.8 eV to > 1 eV) and is attributed to the large negative fixed charge. Here, the findings from this work indicate that Schottky barrier height in carrier selective contacts can be tuned by electrostatic engineering of the SiO x |Al 2 O 3 interface.

aluminum oxide↗
DOE OSTI2019

Ultra-wide-bandgap AlGaN homojunction tunnel diodes with negative differential resistance

The power efficiencies of state-of-the-art Al x Ga 1-x N deep-ultraviolet (UV) emitters operating in the <300 nm wavelength region are currently limited to a few percent in part due to limitations in the series and contact resistance which result in excessive drive voltages. Al x Ga 1-x N tunnel contacts and tunnel junctions in deep-UV devices are a promising route toward increasing these efficiencies by improving the contact resistances, hole injection, and reducing optical absorption by removing undesirable p-GaN contact layers. However, due to doping inefficiencies, standalone tunnel diodes have not been realized in the form of homojunction Al x Ga 1-x N. In this work, Al x Ga 1-x N (0.19 ≤ x ≤ 0.58) homojunction tunnel diodes are fabricated with high reverse bias current densities, and one device with x = 0.19 demonstrates a negative differential resistance at ~2.4 V. Al x Ga 1-x N p++/n++/n tunnel diodes are compared to reference p++/i/n diodes to provide clarity about the role of tunneling conduction vs leakage conduction. Transmission electron microscopy verifies that heavy doping does not result in visible defects such as Mg precipitates and allows for subsequent epitaxy, critical for buried tunnel junction structures. Increasing the bandgap energy of Al x Ga 1-x N for higher Al content tunnel junctions decreases the tunnel current, but still allows sufficient conduction necessary for future improvements in deep UV emitter efficiencies.

Nitrides↗
DOE OSTI2018

Detailed Analysis and Performance Limiting Mechanism of Si Delta-Doped GaAs Tunnel Diode Grown by MBE

High-performance GaAs tunnel diodes (TDs) are fabricated by using Si delta-doping technique. The GaAs TDs exhibited a high peak tunnel-current density of 2,735 A/cm 2 and low specific resistivity of 1.46 x 10 -4 Ω∙cm 2 . However, the performance of the GaAs TDs deteriorated once the amount of Si delta doping exceeded a certain limit, which has been rarely reported elsewhere. Detailed analyses and numerical simulations of GaAs TDs with various amounts of Si delta doping prove that Si amphoteric behavior governs the performance limit. GaAs TDs with precisely controlled Si delta doping are suitable for cutting-edge tandem solar cell applications.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2019

Modeling of the Spin Currents in Resonant Tunneling Diodes Based on Ferromagnetic Semiconductor Spacers

In this paper, we theoretically study the effects of the widths of the central quantum well GaN and the right barrier AlGaN on the spin-polarized currents in resonant tunneling diode based on GaMnN contacts and AlGaN/GaN two barriers. We found that the two spin currents (up and down) can be modulated at low temperature by varying the quantum sizes. Our findings show marked dependence of the spin-current maxima on the quantum well (L{sub w}) width. We report an optimum value of L{sub w} for which the spin-up current reaches its maximum before the spin-down current. Also, we have studied the effect of the right barrier width (L{sub b2}) on the spin currents. We have found that the obtained currents are dramatically reduced by increasing the width of the right barrier at some L{sub b2} widths (L{sub b2} =), so that the two spin currents disappear completely. The obtained results can be useful for the experimenters to create efficient spin filters to sustain and modulate the output spin currents.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

London Penetration Depth Measurements Using Tunnel Diode Resonators

The London penetration depth λ is the basic length scale for electromagnetic behavior in a superconductor. Precise measurements of λ as a function of temperature, field and impurity scattering have been instrumental in revealing the nature of the order parameter and pairing interactions in a variety of superconductors discovered over the past decades. Here we recount our development of the tunnel-diode resonator technique to measure λ as function of temperature and field in small single crystal samples. Furthermore, we discuss the principles and applications of this technique to study unconventional superconductivity in the copper oxides and other materials such as iron-based superconductors. The technique has now been employed by several groups world-wide as a precision measurement tool for the exploration of new superconductors.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2018

Tunnel diode resonator for precision magnetic susceptibility measurements in a mK temperature range and large DC magnetic fields

Precision radio-frequency measurements of the magnetic susceptibility using the tunnel diode resonator (TDR) technique are used to study the delicate effects in magnetic and superconducting materials. High resolution (in ppb range) measurements are particularly important for studies of the London and Campbell penetration depths in a superconductor and for the investigation of magnetic transitions in (anti)ferromagnets. Due to the small rf magnetic-excitation in a mOe range, the TDR is especially useful at low-temperatures in a mK range, if Joule heating generated in the TDR circuitry is efficiently removed and the circuit is stabilized with sub-mK precision. Unfortunately, the circuit has significant magnetic field dependence, and therefore, most of the precision TDR measurements at low-temperatures were conducted in zero magnetic field. In this work, we describe the design of a setup for precision TDR measurements in a dilution refrigerator down to ~40 mK with a 14 T superconducting magnet. The key features of our design are the separated electronics components and the placement of the most field sensitive parts in the field-compensated zone far from the center of solenoid as well as the heat-sinking at a higher temperature stage. As a result, the performance of the working setup is demonstrated using several superconductors.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2019

The role of Mg bulk hyper-doping and delta-doping in low-resistance GaN homojunction tunnel diodes with negative differential resistance

GaN p ++ /n ++ tunnel junctions (TJs) with heavy bulk or delta Mg doping at the junction were grown via molecular beam epitaxy with a hysteresis-free and repeatable negative differential resistance (NDR). The TJ with Mg doping of 5.5 × 10 20 cm -3 shows NDR at~1.8 V and a large current density of 3.4 KA/cm 2 at -1.0 V. Atomic resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy imaging showed no additional defects despite the doping exceeding the solubility limit in GaN allowing subsequent epitaxy of series-connected layers and devices. GaN homojunction TJs grown on bulk GaN showed an improved current density and NDR stability. In addition, the effect of Mg delta doping at the junction was investigated for the first time showing a dramatic improvement in the tunneling characteristics. A metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) grown InGaN light-emitting diode (LED) with an MBE grown GaN homojunction tunnel contact to the MOCVD grown p-GaN layer shows superior lateral conductivity and improved luminescence uniformity, but suffers an added voltage penalty, assumed to be due to interface impurities, compared to control LED with indium-tin-oxide.

Epitaxy↗
DOE OSTI2025

InAs sidewall tunnel diodes enabled by surface states

Negative differential resistance (NDR), where the device current decreases with increasing bias voltage, is a representative phenomenon where quantum mechanics induces counterintuitive physical behavior and offers promising applications such as high-frequency oscillators, amplifiers, and multilevel logic circuits. While the NDR behavior has been extensively studied in various materials and devices, the role of surface properties in NDR, particularly in InAs-based diodes, remains underexplored. In this work, we report the observation of NDR in vertically structured InAs p + n diodes that exhibit a peak-valley current ratio of ∼6, which is suitably high for applications. Circumference-normalized current–voltage characterization revealed that the NDR originates from band-to-band tunneling between the valence band of p + -InAs and the conduction band of an n + -InAs surface, where the n + surface is due to surface states on otherwise n − -InAs. In addition, by comparing devices with various surface passivation methods (without intentional passivation, benzocyclobutene polymer, and silicon nitride), we found that the surface termination significantly affects the NDR characteristics. We present an equivalent circuit model to explain the observed device behavior. These findings offer insights into surface-enabled NDR phenomena and present new knobs for engineering NDR devices.

Circuit theorems↗
DOE OSTI2017

Highly doped layer for tunnel junctions in solar cells

A highly doped layer for interconnecting tunnel junctions in multijunction solar cells is presented. The highly doped layer is a delta doped layer in one or both layers of a tunnel diode junction used to connect two or more p-on-n or n-on-p solar cells in a multijunction solar cell. A delta doped layer is made by interrupting the epitaxial growth of one of the layers of the tunnel diode, depositing a delta dopant at a concentration substantially greater than the concentration used in growing the layer of the tunnel diode, and then continuing to epitaxially grow the remaining tunnel diode.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Highly doped layer for tunnel junctions in solar cells

A highly doped layer for interconnecting tunnel junctions in multijunction solar cells is presented. The highly doped layer is a delta-doped layer in one or both layers of a tunnel diode junction used to connect two or more p-on-n or n-on-p solar cells in a multijunction solar cell. A delta-doped layer is made by interrupting the epitaxial growth of one of the layers of the tunnel diode, depositing a delta dopant at a concentration substantially greater than the concentration used in growing the layer of the tunnel diode, and then continuing to epitaxially grow the remaining tunnel diode.

Fetzer, Christopher M.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Advantages of imperfect dice rolls over coin flips for random number generation

With an eye toward neural-inspired probabilistic computation, recent work has examined the development of true random number generators via stochastic devices. Typically, these devices are operated in a two-state regime to produce a sequence of binary outcomes (i.e., coin flips). However, there is no guarantee that stochastic devices will infallibly produce fair outputs and small deviations from a uniform distribution may have unwanted complications in applications. Using mathematical analysis, we contend that opting instead for a multi-state device (i.e., a dice roll) has benefits in these unfair paradigms. To demonstrate these benefits, we apply this framework to the analysis of a tunnel diode operated in a stochastic regime. In particular, interpreting the binary stochastic output of the tunnel diode as a multi-state die roll output also sees advantages in remaining closer to uniform. Overall, our approach provides a compelling argument for mathematical driven co-design and development of novel probabilistic computing devices and hardware.

applied mathematics↗
DOE OSTI2025

Integration of multiple coinflip devices for high-quality random sampling

Artificial intelligence, scientific computing, and probabilistic computing use random sampling to approximate solutions to various problems, with larger models requiring a substantial quantity of random numbers. To generate the required vast quantity of random numbers at high rates, we explore so-called “coinflip” devices, which are stochastic microelectronic devices ideally capable of independently generating random bits with a tunable weight at a high rate. However, coinflip devices are inherently analog and demonstrate nonidealities, like temperature dependence and drift, that can introduce determinism into the outputs. We present important considerations for building systems of multiple coinflip devices to produce high-quality bitstreams with low error and little dependency on previous bits. Using tunnel diodes as coinflip devices, we implement a control loop to adapt to temperature dependence and generate fair bitstreams with each device. While this can lead to dependencies between bits in a single bitstream, we demonstrate that combining results generated in parallel with individual tunnel diodes can produce fair and unpredictable bitstreams. The suitability of these bitstreams for use in probabilistic computing is then demonstrated through a Monte Carlo approximation of π.

Taylor, Brady Garland [Sandia National Laboratorie↗