Том 52, № 12 (2018)

At T = 4.2 K, a strong change (up to 4 times) in the space-charge-limited current (SCLC) is observed for the first time at samples based on semi-insulating PbSnTe:In films grown by molecular-beam epitaxy on BaF₂(111) substrates. The obtained results agree with experiments on the effect of treatment of the surface of PbSnTe:In films on the space-charge-limited current with a variation in the current to 10³ times or more. At a qualitative level, the model is considered which assumes the substantial contribution of localized surface states to space charge formed in the mode of space-charge-limited current due to the injection of charge carriers from contacts.

The influence of nonequilibrium processes in semiconductor structures under the effect of radiation on the characteristics of structures and microwave transistors based on them is analyzed. Special attention is paid to the comparison of pilot (experimental) and series-produced structures and transistors based on them before and after γ-neutron irradiation.

The results of investigations of the effect of the initial conditions (nitridation of the Si(111) substrate, the GaN growth temperature, and the stoichiometry of GaN growth) on the growth kinetics and the GaN/Si(111)-layer polarity under nitrogen-plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy are presented. It is experimentally established that the optimal initial condition for GaN epitaxy on Si(111) substrates is high-temperature nitridation of the Si(111) substrate carried out immediately before GaN growth. It is shown that it is possible to control the polarity of GaN by means of appropriate choice of the growth under conditions with N or Ga enrichment at the initial stage of GaN/Si(111) epitaxy.

The effect of the material of the metal plates (Au, Ta, W) and exposure to a high-power blue laser on the memristive characteristics of metal–insulator–semiconductor (MIS) capacitors with a Si₃N₄ film 6 nm thick fabricated on the basis of n⁺-Si is studied. It is shown that bipolar switching by the current appears only in capacitors with Au. The causes of the absence of bipolar switching in capacitors with Ta and W are explained. The switching of capacitors with Ta by the current and light and the photomemory effect are detected. It is shown that, despite the high doping level of the semiconductor substrate, it decreases the MIS memristor response rate due to a high density of surface states localized at the Si₃N₄/n⁺-Si interface. However, illumination allows a significant increase in the response rate due to a decrease in the semiconductor resistivity. The surface state densities are determined. To improve the frequency characteristics of MIS memristors, it is necessary to achieve a low surface state density.

The longitudinal ρ_xx and Hall ρ_xy resistances were measured in the region of the quantum phase transitions for the quantum Hall effect regime with magnetic fields up to 12 T at temperatures of T = 0.4–30 K in two-dimensional electron systems n-In_0.9Ga_0.1As/In_0.81Al_0.19As. The nonuniversal scaling behavior of the temperature dependence of the width of the resistance ρ_xx peaks related to the effect of the large-scale random potential and of Landau-level mixing with opposite spin directions was found.

The results of studying the reverse dark currents of photodiodes for a wavelength of 1.06 μm grown on a GaAs substrate with the help of an InGaP metamorphic buffer layer are presented. The metalorganic chemical vapor epitaxy (MOCVD) growth technology of InGaP metamorphic buffer layers with a stepwise composition variation is developed. Photodiodes with a photosensitive area of 1 mm in diameter and radiation input through the substrate are fabricated. The photodiode dark current at room temperature and reverse bias of –3 V was 50 nA. It is assumed that the bulk component of the dark current is caused by the tunneling mechanism through the trap levels.

The relaxation rates of lower excited states 1s(T), 2p₀, 2s, 3p₀, and 2p_± of arsenic donors in a germanium crystal are calculated upon the interaction with long-wavelength acoustic phonons depending on the uniaxial stress in the crystallographic direction [111]. The populations of states under optical excitation are estimated for calculated times. It is shown theoretically that optical excitation of the medium forms an inverse population of arsenic donor levels and leads to the possibility of the implementation of a four-level laser scheme with the radiative transition between 2p states and the 1s triplet state at zero strain. The estimated value of the expected gain in the medium under optical excitation conditions by CO₂ laser radiation in the medium at a donor concentration of 2 × 10¹⁵ cm^–3 is ~0.35 cm^–1 at a frequency of 1.98 THz if the laser transition is 2p_± → 1s(T) and 1.25 THz if the laser transition is 2p₀ → 1s(T).

The effects of the residual photoconductivity in HgTe/CdHgTe (013) double quantum-well heterostructures are studied at T = 4.2 K. It is shown that the residual photoconductivity in this system has a bipolar character, i.e., both positive and negative persistent photoconductivity is present depending on the illumination wavelength.

The characteristics of semiconductor chip modulators providing the angular deflection of a laser beam due to all-electric modulation of the optical characteristics of a semiconductor heterostructure are theoretically studied. Designs for quantum-confined semiconductor waveguide heterostructures with a distributed Bragg reflector integrated on the heterostructure surface are developed. The design of a waveguide structure including 20 periods of coupled asymmetric quantum wells, which provide an optical confinement factor of the waveguide mode of 20%, and an optimized doping profile allowing a uniform electric-field distribution to be maintained in the quantum-well region in the entire range of operating voltages are proposed. In this waveguide structure, the change in the refractive index due to the quantum-confined Stark effect reaches 0.086 when the control signal changes from 0 to 6 V. It is shown that the spatial (angular) scanning of the laser beam emitted from the surface of a distributed Bragg mirror with a divergence of less than 0.1° in the range of 1°–2° is feasible for the proposed waveguide structure design.

The current–voltage characteristics of thin-film samples of the GeSbTe system are measured in the current control mode. Voltage oscillations observed after switching are investigated. It is shown that these oscillations can be associated with the formation of a hot current filament and its gradual cooling. The size and temperatures of the current filament are estimated. It is shown that the characteristic temperature in the hot current filament corresponds to the temperature of the phase transition to the crystalline state.

The electrical properties of GaAs nanowires grown on a 6H-SiC (0001) substrate covered with graphene single layers and bilayers are studied. The nanowires are grown by molecular-beam epitaxy, with gold as a catalyst. The electrical properties are studied by measuring and analyzing the current–voltage characteristics of single nanowires vertically grown on a substrate. Numerical simulation of the experimental current–voltage curves revealed the presence of a ~0.6-V-high Schottky barrier between the nanowires and graphene. The appearance of the barrier is due to the formation of excess arsenic at the nanowire/graphene interface.

It is shown that the transport properties of graphitized silicon carbide are controlled by a surface graphene layer heavily doped with electrons. In weak magnetic fields and at low temperatures, a negative magnetoresistance is observed due to weak localization. A crossover in the magnetoresistance from weak localization to weak antilocalization (the latter is the manifestation of the isospin in graphene) is observed for the first time in samples of this kind at elevated temperatures. A pronounced pattern of Shubnikov–de Haas oscillations is observed in strong magnetic fields (up to 30 T). This pattern demonstrated fourfold carrier spectrum degeneracy due to the double spin and double valley degeneracies. Also, the manifestation of the Berry phase is observed. The effective electron mass is estimated to be m* = 0.08m₀, which is characteristic of graphene with a high carrier concentration.

A self-consistent model for calculating the threshold and high-power characteristics of semiconductor quantum well lasers with asymmetric barrier layers is developed. The model, which is based on a system of rate equations, uses the universal condition of global charge neutrality in the laser structure. The electron and hole concentrations in the waveguide region and in the quantum well (QW) and the concentration of photons of stimulated emission are calculated. The local neutrality in the QW is shown to be strongly violated, especially at high injection currents. The violation of neutrality in a QW makes the electron and hole concentrations there dependent on the injection current under lasing conditions: in the structures under consideration, the electron concentration in the QW decreases while the hole concentration increases with increasing injection current. In the case of the ideal functioning of asymmetric barrier layers, when electron–hole recombination in the waveguide region is completely suppressed, the violation of neutrality in the QW has almost no effect on the dependence of the output optical power on the injection current: the quantum efficiency is close to unity and the light–current characteristic is linear. Nevertheless, the violation of neutrality in the QW causes weakening of the temperature dependence of the threshold current and, hence, an increase in the characteristic temperature T₀ of the laser.

JBS diodes based on 4H-SiC irradiated with electrons and protons are studied. This is carried out by using the methods of capacitance–voltage and current–voltage characteristics. It is concluded that, for both kinds of irradiation, deep centers are formed in the upper half of the band gap of silicon carbide. This leads to a sharp decrease in the concentration of ionized carriers in the conduction band and to an exponential increase in the resistance of the base regions of the structures under study.

The structure and electrical properties of transparent indium-oxide thin films produced by plasma-enhanced reactive thermal evaporation at different substrate temperatures are studied. It is found that the films have a grained structure. An increase in the substrate temperature yields a considerable increase in the conductivity of the films and a decrease in the photoconductivity-relaxation time. An interpretation of the effect of the substrate temperature on the observed changes in the electrical and photoelectric properties of the indium-oxide films under study is proposed.