Том 50, № 6 (2016)

A summary of the 12th Russian Conference on Semiconductor Physics (RCSP-12), September 20–25, 2015, at “Ershovo” hotel near Zvenigorod, Moscow oblast, is presented. The statistics of reports within sections is given, the trends of changing study interests in comparison with the previous 11th Russian Conference on Semiconductor Physics held in 2013 in Saint Petersburg and the 32nd International Conference on Semiconductor Physics held in 2014 in Austin (Texas, USA) are analyzed. The main features of the present conference are indicated, the most interesting lines of research, in my view, are presented.

In₂Se₃ films are produced by ion-beam evaporation at substrate temperatures of 313 and 623 K. As the target, In₂Se₃ single crystals grown by the vertical Bridgman method are used. The composition and structure of the crystals and films are determined by the X-ray spectral analysis and X-ray diffraction techniques, respectively. It is established that the crystals and films crystallize with the formation of a hexagonal structure. The band gap and refractive index of the In₂Se₃ films are determined from the transmittance and reflectance spectra. It is found that, as the substrate temperature is increased, the band gap increases.

The electrostatic model of ionization equilibrium between hydrogen-like acceptors and v-band holes in crystalline covalent p-type semiconductors is developed. The range of applicability of the model is the entire insulator side of the insulator–metal (Mott) phase transition. The density of the spatial distribution of acceptor- and donor-impurity atoms and holes over a crystal was assumed to be Poissonian and the fluctuations of their electrostatic potential energy, to be Gaussian. The model takes into account the effect of a decrease in the energy of affinity of an ionized acceptor to a v-band hole due to Debye–Hückel ion screening by both free v-band holes and localized holes hopping over charge states (0) and (–1) of acceptors in the acceptor band. All donors are in charge state (+1) and are not directly involved in the screening, but ensure the total electroneutrality of a sample. In the quasiclassical approximation, analytical expressions for the root-mean-square fluctuation of the v-band hole energy W_p and effective acceptor bandwidth W_a are obtained. In calculating W_a, only fluctuations caused by the Coulomb interaction between two nearest point charges (impurity ions and holes) are taken into account. It is shown that W_p is lower than W_a, since electrostatic fluctuations do not manifest themselves on scales smaller than the average de Broglie wavelength of a free hole. The delocalization threshold for v-band holes is determined as the sum of the diffusive-percolation threshold and exchange energy of holes. The concentration of free v-band holes is calculated at the temperature T_j of the transition from dc band conductivity to conductivity implemented via hopping over acceptor states, which is determined from the virial theorem. The dependence of the differential energy of the thermal ionization of acceptors at the temperature 3T_j/2 on their concentration N and degree of compensation K (the ratio between the donor and acceptor concentrations) is determined. Good quantitative agreement between the results of the calculation and data on the series of neutron transmutation doped p-Ge samples is obtained up to the Mott transition without using any fitting parameters.

The technique for measuring the Hall coefficient and electrical conductivity in the thermal cycling mode is used to study the effect of the Sn impurity on the microstructure and properties of pressed ZnSb samples. Tin was introduced as an excess component (0.1 and 0.2 at %) and as a substitutional impurity for Zn and Sb atoms in a concentration of (2–2.5) at % The temperature dependences of the parameters of lightly doped samples are fundamentally like similar curves for ZnSb with 0.1 at % of Cu. The highest Hall concentration, 1.4 × 10¹⁹ cm^–3 at 300 K, is obtained upon the introduction of 0.1 at % of Sn; the dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit attains its maximum value of 0.85 at 660 K. The experimental data are discussed under the assumption of two doping mechanisms, which are effective in different temperature ranges, with zinc vacancies playing the decisive role of acceptor centers. In two ZnSb samples with SnSb and ZnSn additives, the charge-carrier compensation effect is observed; this effect depends on temperature and markedly changes with doping type. As in p-type A^IV–B^VI materials with a low Sn content, hole compensation can be attributed to atomic recharging Sn²⁺ → Sn⁴⁺. Types of compensating complexes are considered.

The characteristics of the injection of electrons into a semiconductor from a microprobe–micrograin nanogap are investigated with a tunneling microscope in the mode of field emission into locally selected surface microcrystals of indium antimonide, indium arsenide, and gallium arsenide. The current mechanisms are established and their parameters are determined by comparing the experimental I–V characteristics and those calculated from formulas of current transport. The effect of limitation of the current into the micrograins of indium antimonide and indium arsenide which manifests itself at injection levels exceeding a certain critical value, e.g., 6 × 10¹⁶ cm^–3 for indium antimonide and 4 × 10¹⁷ cm^–3 for indium arsenide, is discovered. A physical model, i.e., the localization of electrons in the surface area of a micrograin due to their Coulomb interaction, is proposed.

The conditions under which Schottky contacts become ohmic are analyzed. Proceeding from classical concepts of the mechanisms of current flow, a generalized Schottky contact model is investigated. This model takes into account the thermionic current of majority charge carriers and the recombination current of minority carriers in Schottky contacts with a dielectric gap. Based on an analysis of the predictions of this model, ohmicity criteria are obtained for Schottky contacts and the conditions for a low injection level and the ohmicity of Si-based Schottky contacts are compared. It is shown that the conditions for Schottky-contact ohmicity do not coincide with those for p–n junctions.

Model concepts of control over the formation of oxide shells in the course of oxidation are confirmed on the basis of experimental results obtained in a study of the fundamental aspects of how nanostructured layers are formed upon diffusion annealing on faceted single crystals of lead chalcogenides. Auger-spectroscopic data on the distribution of the elemental composition over the thickness of layers based on lead selenide–cadmium selenide solid solutions are presented.

Direct-current generation in a semiconductor superlattice exposed to a high-frequency bichromatic electric field applied along its axis and to a constant magnetic field perpendicular to the surface, i.e., superlattice axis, is studied. In the first non-vanishing approximation in terms of the magnetic-field strength, an explicit expression for the current density in the case of the ratio of electric-field frequencies equal to two is derived.

It is found for the first time that silicon nanoclusters are formed in the surface layer of thermal silicon dioxide under high-temperature annealing (T = 1150°C) in dried nitrogen. Analysis of the cathodoluminescence spectra shows that an imperfect surface layer appears upon such annealing of silicon dioxide, with silicon nanoclusters formed in this layer upon prolonged annealing. Transmission electron microscopy demonstrated that the silicon clusters are 3–5.5 nm in size and lie at a depth of about 10 nm from the surface. Silicon from the thermal film of silicon dioxide serves as the material from which the silicon nanoclusters are formed. This method of silicon-nanocluster formation is suggested for the first time.

In this paper, we present the expressions relating the inter atomic force constants like as bond-stretching force constant (α in N/m) and bond-bending force constant (β in N/m) for the binary (zinc blende structure) and ternary (chalcopyrite structure) semiconductors with the product of ionic charges (PIC) and crystal ionicity (f_i). Interatomic force constants of these compounds exhibit a linear relationship; when plot a graph between Interatomic force constants and the nearest neighbor distance d (Å) with crystal ionicity (f_i), but fall on different straight lines according to the product of ionic charges of these compounds. A fairly good agreement has been found between the observed and calculated values of the α and β for binary and ternary tetrahedral semiconductors.

The Koster–Slater and Anderson models are used to consider substitutional impurities in free-standing single-layer graphene. The density of states of graphene is described using a model (the M model). For the nitrogen and boron impurities, the occupation numbers and the parameter η which defines the fraction of delocalized electrons of the impurity are determined. In this case, experimental data are used for both determination of the model parameters and comparison with the results of theoretical estimations. The general features of the Koster–Slater and Anderson models and the differences between the two models are discussed. Specifically, it is shown that the band contributions to the occupation numbers of a nitrogen atom in both models are comparable, whereas the local contributions are substantially different: the local contributions are decisive in the Koster–Slater model and negligible in the Anderson model. The asymptotic behavior of the wave functions of a defect is considered in the Koster–Slater model, and the electron states of impurity dimers are considered in the Anderson model.

The dependences of the electrical characteristics of thin-film structures with Schottky barrier on gallium arsenide are studied using Monte Carlo numerical simulation in the kinetic approximation with the main scattering mechanisms taken into account. The dependences of the diode conductivity on the voltage and channel thickness are obtained. It is shown that the relation between the diode voltage and conductivity changes at a small channel thickness, which is explained by barrier field expulsion to the substrate.

The spectral characteristics of a high-power semiconductor laser with an external cavity in which longitudinal-mode selection is implemented by means of a holographic volume Bragg grating recorded in photo-thermo-refractive glass are investigated. Mode selection leads to narrowing of the spectrum of the laser diode from an initial width of 6 nm to 5 Å. In the narrowed spectrum, a fine structure representing a set of eigenmodes that correspond to the length of a laser chip is resolved. The number of these modes is limited by the width of the spectral selectivity curve of the grating. It is shown that insertion of the grating into the cavity leads to severalfold enhancement of the grating selectivity. It is demonstrated that the implemented external-cavity design makes it possible to smoothly tune the laser emission wavelength in a 10-nm range.

The passive Q-switching and mode-locking modes are implemented in two-section lasers with three quantum wells. It is demonstrated that raising the reverse bias on the absorbing section changes its spectral and dynamic properties and, accordingly, leads to a change from the Q-switching mode to mode-locking. The pulse-repetition frequency in the mode-locking mode is 75 GHz, with the product of the pulse duration by the spectrum bandwidth being 0.49, which is close to the theoretical limit. It is shown that, in structures with three quantum wells, strong absorption at the lasing wavelength gives rise to a photocurrent across a section of the saturable absorber, which is sufficient for compensation of the applied bias.

The conditions for the formation of ion-doped layers in gallium nitride upon the incorporation of silicon ions followed by photon annealing in the presence of silicon dioxide and nitride coatings are analyzed. The conditions of the formation of ion-doped layers with a high degree of impurity activation are established. The temperature dependences of the surface concentration and mobility of charge carriers in ion-doped GaN layers annealed at different temperatures are studied.

Nanoparticles of silver and cadmium selenide are obtained by the method of synthesis in a flow of immiscible liquids (water/toluene, water/dodecane); these nanoparticles manifest, respectively, the effects of plasmon resonance and the spatial confinement of charge carriers. The reactor used is a polytetrafluoroethylene capillary with temperature-controlled sections for particle nucleation and growth with the supply of precursors using micropumps. The diameters of the particles are determined from absorbance spectra and are found to be 40 nm for Ag nanoparticles and 1–2 nm for CdSe nanoparticles (depending on the growth duration).