D. A. Pavlov

Bio: D. A. Pavlov is an academic researcher from N. I. Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod. The author has contributed to research in topics: Silicon & Epitaxy. The author has an hindex of 13, co-authored 91 publications receiving 626 citations. Previous affiliations of D. A. Pavlov include Saratov State University.

Field- and irradiation-induced phenomena in memristive nanomaterials

Abstract: The breakthrough in electronics and information technology is anticipated by the development of emerging memory and logic devices, artificial neural networks and brain-inspired systems on the basis of memristive nanomaterials represented, in a particular case, by a simple ‘metal–insulator–metal’ (MIM) thin-film structure. The present article is focused on the comparative analysis of MIM devices based on oxides with dominating ionic (ZrOx, HfOx) and covalent (SiOx, GeOx) bonding of various composition and geometry deposited by magnetron sputtering. The studied memristive devices demonstrate reproducible change in their resistance (resistive switching – RS) originated from the formation and rupture of conductive pathways (filaments) in oxide films due to the electric-field-driven migration of oxygen vacancies and / or mobile oxygen ions. It is shown that, for both ionic and covalent oxides under study, the RS behaviour depends only weakly on the oxide film composition and thickness, device geometry (down to a device size of about 20×20 μm2). The devices under study are found to be tolerant to ion irradiation that reproduces the effect of extreme fluences of high-energy protons and fast neutrons. This common behaviour of RS is explained by the localized nature of the redox processes in a nanoscale switching oxide volume. Adaptive (synaptic) change of resistive states of memristive devices is demonstrated under the action of single or repeated electrical pulses, as well as in a simple model of coupled (synchronized) neuron-like generators. It is concluded that the noise-induced phenomena cannot be neglected in the consideration of a memristive device as a nonlinear system. The dynamic response of a memristive device to periodic signals of complex waveform can be predicted and tailored from the viewpoint of stochastic resonance concept. (© 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Bipolar resistive switching and charge transport in silicon oxide memristor

Abstract: Reproducible bipolar resistive switching has been studied in SiO x -based thin-film memristor structures deposited by magnetron sputtering technique on the TiN/Ti metalized SiO 2 /Si substrates. It is established that, after electroforming, the structure can be switched between the quasi-ohmic low-resistance state related to silicon chains (conducting filaments) and the high-resistance state with semiconductor-like hopping mechanism of charge transport through the defects in silicon oxide. The switching parameters are determined by a balance between the reduction and oxidation processes that, in turn, are driven by the value and polarity of voltage bias, current, temperature and device environment. The results can be used for the development of silicon-based nonvolatile memory and memristive systems as a key component of future electronics.

Noise-assisted persistence and recovery of memory state in a memristive spiking neuromorphic network

Abstract: We investigate the constructive role of an external noise signal, in the form of a low-rate Poisson sequence of pulses supplied to all inputs of a spiking neural network, consisting in maintaining for a long time or even recovering a memory trace (engram) of the image without its direct renewal (or rewriting). In particular, this unique dynamic property is demonstrated in a single-layer spiking neural network consisting of simple integrate-and-fire neurons and memristive synaptic weights. This is carried out by preserving and even fine-tuning the conductance values of memristors in terms of dynamic plasticity, specifically spike-timing-dependent plasticity-type, driven by overlapping pre- and postsynaptic voltage spikes. It has been shown that the weights can be to a certain extent unreliable, due to such characteristics as the limited retention time of resistive state or the variation of switching voltages. Such a noise-assisted persistence of memory, on one hand, could be a prototypical mechanism in a biological nervous system and, on the other hand, brings one step closer to the possibility of building reliable spiking neural networks composed of unreliable analog elements.

Recent Progress in Solar-Blind Deep-Ultraviolet Photodetectors Based on Inorganic Ultrawide Bandgap Semiconductors

Abstract: Due to its significant applications in many relevant fields, light detection in the solar-blind deep-ultraviolet (DUV) wavelength region is a subject of great interest for both scientific and industrial communities. The rapid advances in preparing high-quality ultrawide-bandgap (UWBG) semiconductors have enabled the realization of various high-performance DUV photodetectors (DUVPDs) with different geometries, which provide an avenue for circumventing numerous disadvantages in traditional DUV detectors. This article presents a comprehensive review of the applications of inorganic UWBG semiconductors for solar-blind DUV light detection in the past several decades. Different kinds of DUVPDs, which are based on varied UWBG semiconductors including Ga2O3, MgxZn1−xO, III-nitride compounds (AlxGa1−xN/AlN and BN), diamond, etc., and operate on different working principles, are introduced and discussed systematically. Some emerging techniques to optimize device performance are addressed as well. Finally, the existing techniques are summarized and future challenges are proposed in order to shed light on development in this critical research field.

β-Ga2O3 for wide-bandgap electronics and optoelectronics

Abstract: β-Ga2O3 is an emerging, ultra-wide bandgap (energy gap of 4.85 eV) transparent semiconducting oxide (TSO), which attracted recently much scientific and technological attention. Unique properties of that compound combined with its advanced development in growth and characterization place β-Ga2O3 in the frontline of future applications in electronics (Schottky barrier diodes, field-effect transistors), optoelectronics (solar- and visible-blind photodetectors, flame detectors, light emitting diodes), and sensing systems (gas sensors, nuclear radiation detectors). A capability of growing large bulk single crystals directly from the melt and epi-layers by a diversity of epitaxial techniques, as well as explored material properties and underlying physics, define a solid background for a device fabrication, which, indeed, has been boosted in recent years. This required, however, enormous efforts in different areas of science and technology that constitutes a chain linking together engineering, metrology and theory. The present review includes material preparation (bulk crystals, epi-layers, surfaces), an exploration of optical, electrical, thermal and mechanical properties, as well as device design / fabrication with resulted functionality suitable for different fields of applications. The review summarizes all of these aspects of β-Ga2O3 at the research level that spans from the material preparation through characterization to final devices.

Quantum confinement in Si and Ge nanostructures: Theory and experiment

Abstract: The role of quantum confinement (QC) in Si and Ge nanostructures (NSs) including quantum dots, quantum wires, and quantum wells is assessed under a wide variety of fabrication methods in terms of both their structural and optical properties. Structural properties include interface states, defect states in a matrix material, and stress, all of which alter the electronic states and hence the measured optical properties. We demonstrate how variations in the fabrication method lead to differences in the NS properties, where the most relevant parameters for each type of fabrication method are highlighted. Si embedded in, or layered between, SiO2, and the role of the sub-oxide interface states embodies much of the discussion. Other matrix materials include Si3N4 and Al2O3. Si NSs exhibit a complicated optical spectrum, because the coupling between the interface states and the confined carriers manifests with varying magnitude depending on the dimension of confinement. Ge NSs do not produce well-defined luminescence due to confined carriers, because of the strong influence from oxygen vacancy defect states. Variations in Si and Ge NS properties are considered in terms of different theoretical models of QC (effective mass approximation, tight binding method, and pseudopotential method). For each theoretical model, we discuss the treatment of the relevant experimental parameters.