Compact optical interconnects require efficient lasers and modulators compatible with silicon. Ab initio modeling of Ge1−xCx (x = 0.78%) using density functional theory with HSE06 hybrid functionals predicts a splitting of the conduction band at Γ and a strongly direct bandgap, consistent with band anticrossing. Photoreflectance of Ge0.998C0.002 shows a bandgap reduction supporting these results. Growth of Ge0.998C0.002 using tetrakis(germyl)methane as the C source shows no signs of C-C bonds, C clusters, or extended defects, suggesting highly substitutional incorporation of C. Optical gain and modulation are predicted to rival III–V materials due to a larger electron population in the direct valley, reduced intervalley scattering, suppressed Auger recombination, and increased overlap integral for a stronger fundamental optical transition.
AlGaN-channel high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) are among a class of ultra wide-bandgap transistors that are promising candidates for RF and power applications. Long-channel Al x Ga 1-x N HEMTs with x = 0.7 in the channel have been built and evaluated across the −50 • C to +200 • C temperature range. These devices achieved room temperature drain current as high as 46 mA/mm and were absent of gate leakage until the gate diode forward bias turn-on at ∼2.8 V, with a modest −2.2 V threshold voltage. A very large I on /I off current ratio, of 8 × 10 9 was demonstrated. A near ideal subthreshold slope that is just 35% higher than the theoretical limit across the temperature range was characterized. The ohmic contact characteristics were rectifying from −50 • C to +50 • C and became nearly linear at temperatures above 100 • C. An activation energy of 0.55 eV dictates the temperature dependence of off-state leakage. AlGaN-channel high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) are among a class of ultra wide-bandgap transistors (UWBG) that are promising candidates for power and RF applications.1-9 Their promise derives from the large critical electric field, which scales as a power law with the bandgap of the material, 10 e.g. E C ∼ E G 2.5 (the exact dependence is a topic of active research) and provides favorable power and RF figures of merit. Enhancement-mode HEMTs are required for power applications, while depletion-mode HEMTs are suitable for RF applications. Power electronics applications utilize GaN/AlGaN HEMTs with dielectric insulators as a means of achieving a large gate voltage swing for high current density and low on-resistance. The dielectric insulators also suppress gate leakage, but at the expense of substantial interface charge density and the potential for hot electrons inducing unwanted trapped charges in the dielectric. These latter effects make gates employing dielectric insulators unsuitable for RF applications with GaN/AlGaN HEMTs.Al y Ga 1-y N/Al x Ga 1-x N HEMTs with high Al in the channel, x = 0.7 and larger, have promising figures of merit and are candidates for next generation power and RF applications. 1,7,11,12 With a bandgap of >5.8 eV, the Al 0.85 Ga 0.15 N barrier is practically an insulator, but since it is combined with a modest conduction band offset to the Al x Ga 1-x N channel it has both insulator and Schottky-like properties. As a crystallographic insulator-like material, it has potential for a very good interface with nearly lattice matched Al x Ga 1-x N channel adjacent to the 2-dimensional electron gas (2DEG). Even as a Schottky barrier it can have a large turn-on voltage to enhance the voltage swing and current drive capability. Although promising, Al x Ga 1-x N channel HEMTs lack maturity and do not yet match the high current density of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs due both to the difficulty of achieving good ohmic contacts and the lack of aggressive dimensional scaling to compensate for limitations of the low-field electron mobility, which is limited by alloy scattering.In this work ...
Conduction and valence band states for the highly mismatched alloy (HMA) Ge:C are projected onto Ge crystal states, Ge vacancy states, and Ge/C atomic orbitals, revealing that substitutional carbon not only creates a direct bandgap, but the new conduction band is optically active. Overlap integrals of the new Ge:C conduction band with bands of pure Ge shows the new band has almost no Ge band character. C sites structurally mimic uncharged vacancies in the Ge lattice, similar to Hjalmarson's model for other HMAs. C perturbs the entire Ge band structure even at the deepest crystal core energy levels. Projection onto atomic sites shows relatively weak localization compared with other HMAs, but does show a strong anisotropy in probability distribution. L-valley conduction band states in Ge are ruled out as major contributors to the carbon state in Ge:C, both by weak inner products between these states and by a negligible effect on optical transition strength when adding C.
The emerging reduction technologies for titanium from ore produce powder instead of sponge. Conventional methods for sintering and melting of titanium powder are costly, as they are energy intensive and require high vacuum, 10-6 Torr or better, since titanium acts as a getter for oxygen at high temperature, adversely affecting mechanical properties. Other melting processes such as plasma arcs have the additional problem of electrode consumption, and direct induction heating of the titanium powder is problematic. Microwave sintering or melting in an atmospheric pressure argon gas environment is potentially cost effective and energy efficient due to the possibility of direct microwave heating of the titanium powder augmented by hybrid heating in a ceramic casket. We are investigating this approach at the Naval Research Laboratory using an S–Band microwave system. The experimental setup and the results of melting and sintering experiments will be described including a rough estimate of energy usage.
Dilute germanium carbides (Ge 1-x C x ) offer a direct bandgap for compact silicon photonics, but widely varying results on its properties have been reported. This work uses ab initio simulations with HSE06 hybrid density functionals and spin-orbit coupling to study the Ge 1-x C x band structure in the absence of defects. Contrary to Vegard's law, the conduction band minimum at k=0 is consistently found to decrease with increasing C content, while L and X valleys change much more slowly. A vanishing bandgap was observed for all alloys with x>0.017. Conduction bands deviate from a constant-potential band anticrossing model except near the center of the Brillouin zone.
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