Oliver Ambacher

Bio: Oliver Ambacher is an academic researcher from Fraunhofer Society. The author has contributed to research in topics: Amplifier & High-electron-mobility transistor. The author has an hindex of 64, co-authored 848 publications receiving 26256 citations. Previous affiliations of Oliver Ambacher include Osram & Siemens.

Design of near lattice-matched AlGaInN-barriers for highly-scalable GaN-based transistor structures

Abstract: AlGaInN layers at compositions near lattice-matched to GaN have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy. X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy show single-phase quaternary layers with smooth morphology. Heterostructures with thin nearly strain-free AlGaInN-barriers exhibit high values for sheet electron density and mobility ranging up to 2.1×1013 cm-2 and 1240 cm2/Vs, respectively. The epitaxial design of the structures comprises a multi-layer spacer which enables a wider separation between channel and barrier compared to a single AlN interlayer and serves as a protection during growth. A series of wafers with varied composition in the barrier reveals that the electron mobility increases with Ga-content in AlGaInN as expected considering the miscibility of quaternary nitrides. (© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Fully unstrained GaN on sacrificial AlN layers by nano‐heteroepitaxy

Abstract: Usually, the fabrication of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) requires unstrained or tensile strained active layers on a selectively removable sacrificial layer, since compressive strain causes instabilities due to buckling effects. For group III-nitride based MEMS, AlN is a promising material for sacrificial layers since it can be epitaxially overgrown and etched selectively to GaN. However, due to the larger lattice constants GaN is growing compressively strained on AlN. Nanoheteroepitaxy opens a way to yield fully unstrained, high quality epitaxial GaN layers on nanocrystalline AlN thin film by means of a 3D strain relaxation mechanism. For this purpose sputtered nanocrystalline AlN films were overgrown with single crystalline GaN and AlGaN/GaN layers by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. The high quality of the layers is proven by an atomically flat surface and a 2D electron gas at the interface of the AlGaN/GaN heterostructure (© 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Composition and Interface Chemistry Dependence in Ohmic Contacts to GaN HEMT Structures on the Ti/Al Ratio and Annealing Conditions

Abstract: Electrical, thermal and chemical properties of Ti/Al/Ti/Au ohmic contacts with different former Ti-Al ratio are investigated for application in GaN HEMTs. Lowest resistivity of 4.22x10-5 Ω.cm2 has been obtained to the channel of the HEMT structure. It is found out that the initial Ti/Al ratio influences the optimal annealing temperature at which the lowest resistivity is obtained and the element distribution and interface chemistry of the annealed contacts. XPS analysis revealed two compounds contributing to ohmic properties: an intermetal compound AlAu2 in the contact layer and a semimetal TiN at the interface with GaN.

Simulation and analysis of low-resistance AlGaN/GaN HFET power switches

Abstract: AlGaN/GaN HFETs yield excellent properties for highly-efficient power-switching devices. A key parameter of highly-efficient switches is the static on-state resistance of the transistor. This paper discusses the main parameters affecting the on-state resistance and in particular the influence of resistive metallization in lateral finger structures and large-area comb structures. Current crowding effects for finger structures are analytically analyzed and compared. Equations are developed and applied in practical examples and verified by two-dimensional finite element simulations. For lateral large-area comb structures different bond configurations are investigated. Furthermore, the two-dimensional simulations method has been applied on real structure layouts of a large-area power switch and the result of this simulation is compared to measurement results

I and i

Abstract: There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality. Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

Principles of Neural Science

Abstract: I have developed "tennis elbow" from lugging this book around the past four weeks, but it is worth the pain, the effort, and the aspirin. It is also worth the (relatively speaking) bargain price. Including appendixes, this book contains 894 pages of text. The entire panorama of the neural sciences is surveyed and examined, and it is comprehensive in its scope, from genomes to social behaviors. The editors explicitly state that the book is designed as "an introductory text for students of biology, behavior, and medicine," but it is hard to imagine any audience, interested in any fragment of neuroscience at any level of sophistication, that would not enjoy this book. The editors have done a masterful job of weaving together the biologic, the behavioral, and the clinical sciences into a single tapestry in which everyone from the molecular biologist to the practicing psychiatrist can find and appreciate his or

Phonons and related crystal properties from density-functional perturbation theory

Abstract: This article reviews the current status of lattice-dynamical calculations in crystals, using density-functional perturbation theory, with emphasis on the plane-wave pseudopotential method. Several specialized topics are treated, including the implementation for metals, the calculation of the response to macroscopic electric fields and their relevance to long-wavelength vibrations in polar materials, the response to strain deformations, and higher-order responses. The success of this methodology is demonstrated with a number of applications existing in the literature.

Band parameters for III–V compound semiconductors and their alloys

Abstract: We present a comprehensive, up-to-date compilation of band parameters for the technologically important III–V zinc blende and wurtzite compound semiconductors: GaAs, GaSb, GaP, GaN, AlAs, AlSb, AlP, AlN, InAs, InSb, InP, and InN, along with their ternary and quaternary alloys. Based on a review of the existing literature, complete and consistent parameter sets are given for all materials. Emphasizing the quantities required for band structure calculations, we tabulate the direct and indirect energy gaps, spin-orbit, and crystal-field splittings, alloy bowing parameters, effective masses for electrons, heavy, light, and split-off holes, Luttinger parameters, interband momentum matrix elements, and deformation potentials, including temperature and alloy-composition dependences where available. Heterostructure band offsets are also given, on an absolute scale that allows any material to be aligned relative to any other.

Conjugated polymer-based organic solar cells

Abstract: The need to develop inexpensive renewable energy sources stimulates scientific research for efficient, low-cost photovoltaic devices.1 The organic, polymer-based photovoltaic elements have introduced at least the potential of obtaining cheap and easy methods to produce energy from light.2 The possibility of chemically manipulating the material properties of polymers (plastics) combined with a variety of easy and cheap processing techniques has made polymer-based materials present in almost every aspect of modern society.3 Organic semiconductors have several advantages: (a) lowcost synthesis, and (b) easy manufacture of thin film devices by vacuum evaporation/sublimation or solution cast or printing technologies. Furthermore, organic semiconductor thin films may show high absorption coefficients4 exceeding 105 cm-1, which makes them good chromophores for optoelectronic applications. The electronic band gap of organic semiconductors can be engineered by chemical synthesis for simple color changing of light emitting diodes (LEDs).5 Charge carrier mobilities as high as 10 cm2/V‚s6 made them competitive with amorphous silicon.7 This review is organized as follows. In the first part, we will give a general introduction to the materials, production techniques, working principles, critical parameters, and stability of the organic solar cells. In the second part, we will focus on conjugated polymer/fullerene bulk heterojunction solar cells, mainly on polyphenylenevinylene (PPV) derivatives/(1-(3-methoxycarbonyl) propyl-1-phenyl[6,6]C61) (PCBM) fullerene derivatives and poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)/PCBM systems. In the third part, we will discuss the alternative approaches such as polymer/polymer solar cells and organic/inorganic hybrid solar cells. In the fourth part, we will suggest possible routes for further improvements and finish with some conclusions. The different papers mentioned in the text have been chosen for didactical purposes and cannot reflect the chronology of the research field nor have a claim of completeness. The further interested reader is referred to the vast amount of quality papers published in this field during the past decade.