Raman scattering by optical phonons in isotopic 70(Ge)n74(Ge)n superlattices

Structural and Thermal Characterisation of Nanofilms by Time-Resolved X-ray Scattering

High time resolution in scattering analysis of thin films allows for determination of thermal conductivity by transient pump-probe detection of dissipation of laser-induced heating, TDXTS. We describe an approach that analyses the picosecond-resolved lattice parameter reaction of a gold transducer layer on pulsed laser heating to determine the thermal conductivity of layered structures below the transducer. A detailed modeling of the cooling kinetics by a Laplace-domain approach allows for discerning effects of conductivity and thermal interface resistance as well as basic depth information. The thermal expansion of the clamped gold film can be calibrated to absolute temperature change and effects of plastic deformation are discriminated. The method is demonstrated on two extreme examples of phononic barriers, isotopically modulated silicon multilayers with very small acoustic impedance mismatch and silicon-molybdenum multilayers, which show a high resistivity.

Goos-Hänchen effect for optical vibrational modes in a semiconductor structure

We study the tunneling of optical vibrational modes with transverse horizontal polarization that impinge, at a given angle, on a semiconductor heterostructure. We find a large influence of the Goos-Hänchen shift on tunneling times. In particular, a Goos-Hänchen shift larger than the barrier thickness is reported for the first time. The relation between Goos-Hänchen and Hartman effects is also discussed. The identity that equals the dwell time to the sum of transmission and interference times, previously derived for one-dimensional tunneling problems, is extended to the two-dimensional case. Closed-form expressions are developed for the relevant quantities. Instead of using the standard approach, the interference time is computed from the vibrational energy density. The present study could be useful for the design of semiconductor devices.

Isotopic homojunction band engineering from diamond

Confinement of charge carriers in semiconductors by quantum wells is usually accomplished with layers that vary in elemental composition, such as aluminum gallium arsenide and gallium arsenide. We fabricated diamond superlattices by creating multilayer structures of isotopically pure carbon isotopes carbon-12 (12C) and carbon-13 (13C), which confine electrons by a difference in band-gap energy of 17 millielectron volts. Cathodoluminescence experiments performed at 80 kelvin showed that excitonic recombination in the higher-energy band of 13C vanishes in favor of increased recombination in the lower-energy 12C material. Carrier confinement was achieved in diamond superlattices made up of both thinner (30 nanometers) and thicker (up to 350 nanometers) layers.

Experimental evidence of the vacancy-mediated silicon self-diffusion in single-crystalline silicon

We have determined silicon self-diffusivity at temperatures 735-875 degrees C based on the Raman shift of longitudinal optical phonon frequencies of diffusion annealed 28Si/30Si isotope superlattices. The activation enthalpy of 3.6 eV is obtained in such low temperature diffusion annealing. This value is significantly smaller than the previously reported 4.95 eV of the self-interstitial mechanism dominating the high temperature region T>>855 degrees C and is in good agreement with the theoretical prediction for the vacancy-mediated diffusion. We present a model, containing both the self-interstitial and the vacancy terms, that quantitatively describes the experimentally obtained self-diffusivity between 735 and 1388 degrees C, with the clear crossover of the two diffusion mechanisms occurring around 900 degrees C.