A growth diagram for molecular beam epitaxy of AlN on sapphire and 6H–SiC was established using reflection high energy electron diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry. In varying the Al/N ratio and growth temperature, distinctive surface morphologies emerge, which are assigned to three regimes of growth, one N-rich (Al/N<1) and two Al-rich (Al/N>1) regimes. Under N-rich conditions, AlN films exhibit rough surface morphologies. In contrast, Al-rich conditions produce excellent smooth surface morphologies, but with the constraint of Al droplet formation at very high Al/N ratios and low temperatures. The differentiation between N-rich and Al-rich regimes is given only by the Al/N ratio, while the two Al-rich regimes (intermediate self-regulated and droplet regime) are separated by the boundary line of Al droplet formation. For this boundary an Arrhenius dependence of growth temperature was found, yielding an activation energy of 3.4±0.1 eV. The observed morphology transitions are attributed to varying surface adatom mobilities present under the different Al/N ratios.
GaAs-AlxGa1-xAs (AlGaAs) core-shell nanowires show great promise for nanoscale electronic and optoelectronic devices, but the application of these nonplanar heterostructures in devices requires improved understanding and control of nanoscale alloy composition and interfaces. Multiple researchers have observed sharp emission lines of unknown origin below the AlGaAs band edge in photoluminescence (PL) spectra of core-shell nanowires; point defects, alloy composition fluctuations, and self-assembled quantum dots have been put forward as candidate structures. Here we employ laser-assisted atom probe tomography to reveal structural and compositional features that give rise to the sharp PL emission spectra. Nanoscale ellipsoidal Ga-enriched clusters resulting from random composition fluctuations are identified in the AlGaAs shell, and their compositions, size distributions, and interface characteristics are analyzed. Simulations of exciton transition energies in ellipsoidal quantum dots are used to relate the Ga nanocluster distribution with the distribution of sharp PL emission lines. We conclude that the Ga rich clusters can act as discrete emitters provided that the major diameter is ≥4 nm. Smaller clusters are under-represented in the PL spectrum, and spectral lines of larger clusters are broadened, due to quantum tunneling between clusters.
Gated terahertz cyclotron resonance measurements on epitaxial Bi2Se3 thin films capped with In2Se3 enable the first spectroscopic characterization of a single topological interface state from the vicinity of the Dirac point to above the conduction band edge. A precipitous drop in the scattering rate with Fermi energy is observed that is interpreted as the surface state decoupling from bulk states and evidence of a shift of the Dirac point towards mid-gap. Near the Dirac point, potential fluctuations of 50 meV are deduced from an observed loss of differential optical spectral weight near the Dirac point. Potential fluctuations are reduced by a factor of two at higher surface Fermi levels in the vicinity of the conduction band edge inferred from the width of the scattering rate step. The passivated topological interface state attains a high mobility of 3500 cm 2 /V·s near the Dirac point.
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