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.

Reduced surface electron accumulation at InN films by ozone induced oxidation

Abstract: A room temperature ozone induced oxidation of thin InN films is proposed to improve the electric transport properties. The sheet carrier density is reduced upon oxidation by a value which is in the order of the electron concentration of an untreated InN surface. Thus, ozone effectively passivates the surface defect states on InN and might be an effective method to prepare InN films for electronic applications. A model for the improved electron transport properties is proposed taking into account the decreased surface band bending and the decreased influence of surface electrons on the net mobility of InN layers.

Comparison of N-face and Ga-face AlGaN/GaN-Based High Electron Mobility Transistors Grown by Plasma-Induced Molecular Beam Epitaxy

Abstract: Nominally undoped GaN/AlxGa1-xN/GaN high electron mobility transistors were grown by plasma-induced molecular beam epitaxy in order to study the formation and electric transport properties of two-dimensional electron gases. By depositing an AlN nucleation layer on sapphire substrates before the growth of the GaN buffer layer, we were able to change the polarity of the wurtzite films from N- to Ga-face. The change in polarity causes a change in the sign of the spontaneous and piezoelectric polarization directed along the c-axis of the strained AlGaN barrier. The sign and the gradient in polarization at one of the GaN/AlGaN interfaces is mainly responsible for the generation and confinement of the two-dimensional electron gas. Ga- and N-face heterostructures with mobilities up to 1050 and 1200 cm2/Vs, respectively, and sheet carrier concentrations of up to 1.2×1013 cm-2 at room temperature were realized. Transistors processed from heterostructures with both polarities show maximum source-drain currents between 800 and 850 mA/mm and a transconductance of up to 250 mS/mm.

Raman studies of Ge-promoted stress modulation in 3C-SiC grown on Si(111)

Abstract: We present a study of the stress state in cubic silicon carbide (3C–SiC) thin films (120 and 300 nm) grown by solid-source molecular-beam epitaxy (SSMBE) on Si(111) substrates modified by the deposition of germanium prior to the carbonization of Si. μ-Raman measurements were used to determine the residual stress existing in the 3C–SiC layers. The stress is found to decrease linearly with increasing Ge quantity but with different strength depending on the 3C–SiC thickness deposited after the introduction of Ge. Based on secondary ions mass spectroscopy (SIMS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses it is suggested that the Ge introduced prior to the carbonization step remains in the near-interface region and reduces the Si outdiffusion, which further reduces the stress state of the 3C–SiC layers.

Atomic scale confirmation of ferroelectric polarization inversion in wurtzite-type AlScN

Abstract: This work presents the first atomic scale evidence for ferroelectric polarization inversion on the unit cell level in a wurtzite-type material based on epitaxial Al0.75Sc0.25N thin films. The electric field induced formation of Al-polar inversion domains in the originally N-polar film is unambiguously determined by atomic resolution imaging using aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Anisotropic etching supports STEM results confirming a complete and homogenous polarization inversion at the film surface for the switched regions and the virtual absence of previous inversion domains in as-deposited regions. Local evidence of residual N-polar domains at the bottom electrode interface is observed and can be explained by both stress gradients and electric field deflection. The epitaxial relationship of the sapphire/AlN/Mo/AlScN multilayer stack is discussed in detail. Selected-area electron diffraction experiments and XRD pole figures reveal a Pitsch–Schrader type orientation relation between the Mo electrode and the AlScN film.

Piezoelectric actuation of (GaN/)AlGaN/GaN heterostructures

Abstract: A detailed analysis of the piezoelectric response of (GaN/)AlGaN/GaN heterostructures is reported. The electromechanical properties of two types of heterostructures with an Al content of 31% are compared. Only a single two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) is formed for samples with thin GaN cap layers, while both a 2DEG and a two-dimensional hole gas coexist in the case of thick GaN caps. The lower GaN layer represents the mechanically supporting layer, while the AlGaN film, and in some cases an additional GaN cap layer, serves as the piezoelectrically active layers for actuation. The 2DEG (at the lower AlGaN/GaN interface) provides the conducting channel which was used as back electrode for the applied external voltage. Electroreflectance spectroscopy is applied in order to determine the electric field distribution across the whole structure as a function of the applied voltage. It is found that only a part of the modulation voltage drops across the active region. Piezoelectric force microscopy yields the...

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.