Том 52, № 3 (2018)

The results of calculations of the dependences of the kinetic coefficients of impact ionization and thermal recombination on an electric field in pure silicon are presented. By analogy with germanium, the dependences of the breakdown field Е_br on the material compensation ratio K are calculated. The validity of such calculation is justified in detail. The Е_br(K) curves are presented and compared with experimental data in the weak-compensation region. Matching with experimental results at which satisfactory agreement between theory and experiment is observed is performed.

The results of calculations of the electronic structure of four-component crystals based on silicon and germanium are reported. The calculations are performed by the method of linearized augmented plane waves. Analysis of the results of calculation makes it possible to determine the dependence of the crystals’ properties on the relation between the numbers of silicon and germanium atoms in the elementary cell and also on the positions of substituting zinc atoms.

The nature of the mechanism of the simultaneous generation of donor–acceptor pairs under heavy doping of n-ZrNiSn intermetallic semiconductor with the Ga acceptor impurity is established. Such spatial arrangement in the crystal lattice of ZrNiSn_1–xGa_x is found when the rate of movement of the Fermi level εF found from calculations of the density distribution of electron states coincides with that experimentally established from dependences lnρ(1/T). It is shown that when the Ga impurity atom (4s²4p¹) occupies the 4b sites of Sn atoms (5s²5p²), structural defects of both acceptor nature and donor nature in the form of vacancies in the 4b site are simultaneously generated. The results are discussed in the scope of the Shklovskii–Efros model of a heavily doped and compensated semiconductor.

Mathematical simulation of the cascade of displacements in SiC is used to consider the specific features of Frenkel-pair generation upon the scattering of 8- and 15-MeV protons. The distribution histograms of energies acquired not only by primary knocked-out atoms, but also by recoil atoms generated in displacement cascades, are calculated. An analysis of the histograms considers two energy ranges. In the first range of “low” energies, the spontaneous recombination of genetically related Frenkel pairs is dominant. Recoil atoms in the second range have a higher energy, which enables these atoms to leave the spontaneousrecombination zone and dissociate into isolated components. The compensation of lightly doped n- and p-4H-SiC samples grown by gas-phase epitaxy is experimentally studied under irradiation with 8- and 15-MeV protons. The carrier removal rates are measured. The calculated and experimental data are compared and estimates are obtained for the size of the spontaneous-recombination zone.

In this two-part work, nanostructures formed in a three-step process of metal-assisted chemical etching of silicon are investigated. In the first part (present publication), the process of the chemical deposition of a layer of self-assembled silver nanoparticles on the surface of a silicon wafer (the first stage of metalassisted chemical etching) is studied. This layer, on the one hand, serves as a catalyst for the subsequent etching of silicon, and, on the other hand, represents a kind of mask for the formation of a certain topology of the emerging Si nanowires. The morphology of the obtained 40- to 60-nm-thick silver nanoparticle layers is investigated by scanning electron microscopy. The spectral dependences of the ellipsometric angles Ψ and Δ are measured using spectroscopic ellipsometry (λ = 250–900nm), and the complex dielectric function of the silver nanolayers is determined from these spectra. The dielectric function features a characteristic plasmon resonance peak in the ultraviolet spectral range. The study of the optical properties of Si nanofilament layers which form during the early stages of metal-assisted chemical etching will be reported as the second part of this work in a separate publication.

Comparative studies of the specific features of the composition and photoluminescence properties of porous silicon with different morphologies are carried out by infrared and photoluminescence spectroscopy. On the basis of the experimental data and commonly accepted theoretical models, the main factors that influence the photoluminescence intensity and its deterioration upon the exposure of porous silicon to directed radiation in the visible region are established. By the example of porous silicon with 50–100 nm pores, the possibility of improving the above characteristics by chemical treatment in polyacrylic acid is shown.

The problem of epitaxial graphene formed on a semiconductor substrate is considered in the context of the extended Hubbard and Holstein–Hubbard models for electron–electron and electron–phonon interactions. The Haldane–Anderson model is chosen for the density of states of the substrate. Three regions of the phase diagram, specifically, spin- and charge-density waves and a spin- and charge-homogeneous paramagnetic state are considered. For a number of special cases used as examples, the similarities and differences of the electron states of graphene on semiconductor and metal substrates are demonstrated. It is shown that the main difference arises, if the Dirac point of graphene lies within the band gap of the semiconductor. Numerical estimations are performed for a SiC substrate.

An analytical solution to the problem of a decrease in energy losses Ω in diode current interrupters is derived for the stage of recovery of the blocking ability due to optimization of the dopant distribution N(x) over the structure thickness. The distribution N(x) close to optimal is found; it makes it possible to decrease Ω by 30–55% compared with standard design interrupters with homogeneously doped high-resistivity layers.

Proton conductivity in graphene oxide and Nafion films depending on humidity and voltages across electrodes is studied in the model of a field-effect transistor. The electrical characteristics of the films are similar to one another, but the mobility of positive charges in Nafion and the current gain are higher by 2–3 orders of magnitude compared with graphene oxide. The negative ion current in graphene-oxide films at positive bias voltage is significant compared with the proton current (up to ~10%), while it is almost lacking in Nafion films (<1%).

Laser-power converters for the wavelength λ = 808 nm are fabricated by liquid-phase epitaxy (LPE) on the basis of n-Al_0.07GaAs–p-Al_0.07GaAs–p-Al_0.25GaAs single-junction heterostructures. The converters are tested with uniform (pulse simulator) and partly nonuniform (laser beam) illumination distribution over the photoreceiving surface. In the former case, a monochromatic efficiency of η = 53.1% is achieved for samples with an area of S = 4 cm² at a power of 1.2 W. At S = 10.2 mm² the efficiency is 58.3% at a laser power of 0.7 W.

The electrical properties and photoluminescence features of uniformly Si-doped GaAs layers grown on GaAs substrates with the (100) and (111)A crystallographic orientations of the surface are studied. The samples are grown at the same As₄ pressure in the growth temperature range from 350 to 510°C. The samples grown on GaAs(100) substrates possess n-type conductivity in the entire growth temperature range, and the samples grown on GaAs(111)A substrates possess p-type conductivity in the growth temperature range from 430 to 510°C. The photoluminescence spectra of the samples exhibit an edge band and an impurity band. The edge photoluminescence band corresponds to the photoluminescence of degenerate GaAs with n- and p-type conductivity. The impurity photoluminescence band for samples on GaAs(100) substrates in the range 1.30–1.45 eV is attributed to V_As defects and Si_As–V_As defect complexes, whose concentration varies with sample growth temperature. Transformation of the impurity photoluminescence spectra of the samples on GaAs(111)A substrates is interpreted as being a result of changes in the V_As and V_Ga defect concentrations under variations in the growth temperature of the samples.

The transition from a two-domain to one-domain surface on a Si(100) substrate is investigated. It is demonstrated using reflection high-energy electron diffraction that at a temperature of 600°C and a deposition rate of 0.652 Å/s onto a Si(100) substrate pre-heated to 1000°C and inclined at an angle of 0.35°C to the plane, a series of reflections from the 1 × 2 superstructure completely vanishes at a constant flow of Si. This is attributed to the transition of the surface from monoatomic to diatomic steps. At growth rates lower than 0.652 Å/s, the transition from a two-domain to one-domain surface is also observed; with a decrease in the growth rate, the intensity ratio I_{2 × 1}/I_{1 × 2} decreases and the maximum of the dependences shifts toward lower temperatures. The complete vanishing of the series of superstructural reflections after preliminary annealing at a temperature of 700°C is not observed; this series only vanishes after annealing at 900 and 1000°C. The growth of Ge islands on a Si(100) surface preliminary annealed at a temperature of 800°C is studied. It is shown that the islands tend to nucleate at the step edges. A mechanism of Ge island ordering on the Si(100) surface is proposed.