Wide-band-gap GaN and Ga-rich InGaN alloys, with energy gaps covering the blue and near-ultraviolet parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, are one group of the dominant materials for solid state lighting and lasing technologies and consequently, have been studied very well. Much less effort has been devoted to InN and In-rich InGaN alloys. A major breakthrough in 2002, stemming from much improved quality of InN films grown using molecular beam epitaxy, resulted in the bandgap of InN being revised from 1.9 eV to a much narrower value of 0.64 eV. This finding triggered a worldwide research thrust into the area of narrow-band-gap group-III nitrides. The low value of the InN bandgap provides a basis for a consistent description of the electronic structure of InGaN and InAlN alloys with all compositions. It extends the fundamental bandgap of the group III-nitride alloy system over a wider spectral region, ranging from the near infrared at ∼1.9 μm (0.64 eV for InN) to the ultraviolet at ∼0.36 μm (3.4 eV for GaN...

When group-III nitrides go infrared: New properties and perspectives

During the past decade, two-dimensional materials have attracted incredible interest from the electronic device community The first two-dimensional material studied in detail was graphene and, since 2007, it has intensively been explored as a material for electronic devices, in particular, transistors While graphene transistors are still on the agenda, researchers have extended their work to two-dimensional materials beyond graphene and the number of two-dimensional materials under examination has literally exploded recently Meanwhile several hundreds of different two-dimensional materials are known, a substantial part of them is considered useful for transistors, and experimental transistors with channels of different two-dimensional materials have been demonstrated In spite of the rapid progress in the field, the prospects of two-dimensional transistors still remain vague and optimistic opinions face rather reserved assessments The intention of the present paper is to shed more light on the merits and drawbacks of two-dimensional materials for transistor electronics and to add a few more facets to the ongoing discussion on the prospects of two-dimensional transistors To this end, we compose a wish list of properties for a good transistor channel material and examine to what extent the two-dimensional materials fulfill the criteria of the list The state-of-the-art two-dimensional transistors are reviewed and a balanced view of both the pros and cons of these devices is provided

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Two-dimensional materials and their prospects in transistor electronics

Solid-state spin systems including nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond constitute an increasingly favored quantum sensing platform. However, present NV ensemble devices exhibit sensitivities orders of magnitude away from theoretical limits. The sensitivity shortfall both handicaps existing implementations and curtails the envisioned application space. This review analyzes present and proposed approaches to enhance the sensitivity of broadband ensemble-NV-diamond magnetometers. Improvements to the spin dephasing time, the readout fidelity, and the host diamond material properties are identified as the most promising avenues and are investigated extensively. Our analysis of sensitivity optimization establishes a foundation to stimulate development of new techniques for enhancing solid-state sensor performance.

Sensitivity optimization for NV-diamond magnetometry

Identifying and designing physical systems for use as qubits, the basic units of quantum information, are critical steps in the development of a quantum computer. Among the possibilities in the solid state, a defect in diamond known as the nitrogen-vacancy (NV-1) center stands out for its robustness—its quantum state can be initialized, manipulated, and measured with high fidelity at room temperature. Here we describe how to systematically identify other deep center defects with similar quantum-mechanical properties. We present a list of physical criteria that these centers and their hosts should meet and explain how these requirements can be used in conjunction with electronic structure theory to intelligently sort through candidate defect systems. To illustrate these points in detail, we compare electronic structure calculations of the NV-1 center in diamond with those of several deep centers in 4H silicon carbide (SiC). We then discuss the proposed criteria for similar defects in other tetrahedrally coordinated semiconductors.

http://absimage.aps.org/image/MAR11/MWS_MAR11-2010-000614.pdf

Quantum computing with defects

With the increasing requirements for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) regarding stability, miniaturization and integration, novel materials such as wide band gap semiconductors are attracting more attention. Polycrystalline SiC has first been implemented into Si micromachining techniques, mainly as etch stop and protective layers. However, the outstanding properties of wide band gap semiconductors offer many more possibilities for the implementation of new functionalities. Now, a variety of technologies for SiC and group III nitrides exist to fabricate fully wide band gap semiconductor based MEMS. In this paper we first review the basic technology (deposition and etching) for group III nitrides and SiC with a special focus on the fabrication of three-dimensional microstructures relevant for MEMS. The basic operation principle for MEMS with wide band gap semiconductors is described. Finally, the first applications of SiC based MEMS are demonstrated, and innovative MEMS and NEMS devices are reviewed.

http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0022-3727/40/20/S19/pdf

Group III nitride and SiC based MEMS and NEMS: materials properties, technology and applications

We report on the low-field electron mobility in bulk wurtzite InN at room temperature and over a wide range of carrier concentration calculated by the ensemble Monte Carlo (MC) method. All relevant phonon scatterings are included in the MC simulation. The scattering with ionized impurities is considered in the basic Brooks-Herring and Conwell-Weisskopf formulations. For the steady-state transport, the drift velocity attains a peak value of ∼5×107cm∕s at an electric field strength of 32kV∕cm. The highest calculated low-field mobility for undoped InN amounts to ∼14000cm2∕Vs at room temperature. We compare our theoretically calculated low-field mobilities with experimental data available in the literature and obtain a quite satisfactory agreement. Finally, an empirical low-field mobility model based on the MC simulation results and experimental mobility data is presented.

/pdf/low-field-electron-mobility-in-wurtzite-inn-3kxd4ni07o.pdf

Low-field electron mobility in wurtzite InN

In this paper, we demonstrate an active control of the charge state of a single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centre by using in-plane Schottky-diode geometries with aluminium on hydrogen-terminated diamond surface. A switching between NV+, NV0 and NV− can be performed with the Al-gates which apply electric fields in the hole depletion region of the Schottky junction that induces a band bending modulation, thereby shifting the Fermi-level over NV charge transition levels. We simulated the in-plane band structure of the Schottky junction with the Software ATLAS by solving the drift-diffusion model and the Poisson-equation self-consistently. We simulated the IV-characteristics, calculated the width of the hole depletion region, the position of the Fermi-level intersection with the NV charge transition levels for different reverse bias voltages applied on the Al-gate. We can show that the field-induced band bending modulation in the depletion region causes a shifting of the Fermi-level over NV charge transition levels in such a way that the charge state of a single NV centre and thus its electrical and optical properties is tuned. In addition, the NV centre should be approx. 1–2 μm away from the Al-edge in order to be switched with moderate bias voltages.

/pdf/active-charge-state-control-of-single-nv-centres-in-diamond-cxfr9w7f0r.pdf

Active charge state control of single NV centres in diamond by in-plane Al-Schottky junctions

The formation of two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) at polytypic (hexagonal/cubic) SiC heterojunctions (4H/3C SiC and 6H/3C SiC) is investigated by numerical self-consistent solutions of the Schrodinger and Poisson equations. The free-electron-density distributions and conduction-band profiles in the SiC heterostructures are calculated and compared to those occurring at AlGaN/GaN interfaces. Spontaneous and piezoelectric polarization effects in both SiC/SiC and AlGaN/GaN structures are taken into account. The combined effect of the polarization-induced bound charge and conduction-band offset between the hexagonal and cubic SiC polytypes results in the formation of 2DEGs with very high electron sheet concentration. 2DEG sheet densities about 20% larger than that in Al0.3Ga0.7N/GaN structures are calculated for 4H/3C SiC heterostructures. We also find that the 2DEG densities in the 4H/3C are much less sensitive to variations of the barrier layer thickness. The influence of the barrier doping layer on th...

Formation of two-dimensional electron gases in polytypic SiC heterostructures

An analytical model describing the effects of 2-D quantum-mechanical carrier confinement on the threshold voltage Vth of multiple-gate MOSFETs with rectangular cross section is developed. The model is verified by a comparison with self-consistent solutions of 1-D and 2-D Schroumldinger and Poisson equations. It is shown that: 1) the model results asymptotically approach the case of 1-D confinement in single-gate silicon-on-insulator or double-gate MOSFETs if one body dimension becomes larger than 20 nm and 2) the effect of 2-D confinement is remarkably stronger than a simple combination of two 1-D quantization effects.

An Analytical Model for the Threshold Voltage Shift Caused by Two-Dimensional Quantum Confinement in Undoped Multiple-Gate MOSFETs

We report on the electron transport in zinc blende InN simulated by the ensemble Monte Carlo method. To obtain the relevant band structure parameters, ab initio calculations have been carried out. Then, Monte Carlo transport simulations at room temperature and over a wide range of carrier concentrations have been performed. We obtain a steady-state peak drift velocity around 3.3×107 cm/s at an electric field of 55 kV/cm. For low-doped material, a room-temperature low-field mobility of about 6000 cm2/V s is calculated. A comparison with wurtzite InN does not reveal an advantage for the zinc blende InN phase regarding the electron transport.

Vladimir Polyakov

Papers

Low-field electron mobility in wurtzite InN

Active charge state control of single NV centres in diamond by in-plane Al-Schottky junctions

Formation of two-dimensional electron gases in polytypic SiC heterostructures

An Analytical Model for the Threshold Voltage Shift Caused by Two-Dimensional Quantum Confinement in Undoped Multiple-Gate MOSFETs

Low-field and high-field electron transport in zinc blende InN