FG Experimentalphysik und funktionale Materialien
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Driven by the continuous research progress in integrated electronics towards increasing complexity and miniaturization, semiconductor technology has not only yielded very powerful electronic devices, but also provided the necessary tools for miniaturization of mechanical, optical and other functions into micro- and nanoscale devices. While transistor scaling approaches the physical limits mainly governed by heat dissipation, further advances are predicted to stem from the integration of additional functionality into integrated circuits instead. For the case of photonics and optoelectronics, which have plenty of applications in computing, communications and sensing, silicon devices have been applied commercially for several years. While being compatible with mainstream electronics, silicon does not offer the optimum properties for mediation between optics and electronics compared to, for example, III-V materials. To alleviate this, properties can be improved both through wavelength-scale structuring and exploitation of resonances, and through alloying with other group-IV materials like germanium and tin.
Both of these avenues are studied within this work. On one hand, nanophotonic structures, most notably metasurfaces, and corresponding simulation and optimization algorithms, are developed for selective filtering and enhancement of light-matter interactions. On the other hand, group-IV materials are studied, most notably their non-destructive characterization with optical methods.
The rapid development of information and communication technologies is reaching critical limits that might compromise the global digitalization progress, one of the main economy pillars nowadays. Among others, limits like the end of Moore’s law, derived from miniaturization issues in nano-scale devices; the need for massive data processing parallelization due to the ever-increasing amount of data generated in every single aspect of our daily routine; and the acute increase of the annual electricity consumption in data center due to energy inefficiency in their computational architectures. Therefore, the need for partial or complete migration of current computing paradigms towards more sustainable ones is of paramount importance to bypass these limits. Neuromorphic computing systems inspired by the neural and synaptic activity of the human brain irrupted as an innovative alternative to merge memory and computing units, traditionally separated following the von Neumann architecture. Emerging non-volatile memory technologies, specifically the Resistive Random Access Memory (RRAM) technology, are playing important roles in the development of new computing paradigms due to their outstanding properties, namely, fast switching, high scalability, long state retention and their multilevel-cell capabilities, among others. The later stands out as a key feature to increase memory densities at lower area cost and it lately gathered special interest concerning neuromorphic applications. Due to the uncertainty surrounding the stochastic processes governing the resistive switching of the RRAM technology, here is still scarce number of real RRAM-based hardware implementations. In this work, motivated by the impact of the inherent stochasticity of the RRAM technology on neuromorphic systems’ performance, a thorough wafer-scale electrical characterization is carried out over HfO2-based RRAM devices to study their quasistatic response. Their non-idealities are identified, in a way that they could be modelled and potentially mitigated to enhance the memristive devices stability and thus, their performance carrying out multiply-accumulate (MAC) tasks, fundamental operations for the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) applications. This characterization supports the adaptation of three physics-based compact models and an empirical study of vector-matrix multiplication (VMM) operations performed using real RRAM devices for neuromorphic applications. The impact of the devices’ non-idealities on the final operation results is assessed along consecutive VMMs. This work sets the baseline of the quasistatic characterization of IHP’s RRAM devices and opens the way towards real ardware neuromorphic systems with such technology.
The integration of germanium (Ge) on silicon (Si) for microelectronics applications requires strain-relaxed SiGe buffer layers (SRB) as virtual substrates. However, the presence of threading dislocations in these layers remains a challenge, as they can affect device performance. Existing methods achieve threading dislocation densities (TDD) around 1 x 10⁵ cm⁻², but a further reduction is desired for industrial applications. A SiGe backside deposition technique originally intended to compensate for wafer bowing surprisingly improves the TDD. The underlying physics remained poorly understood until now. In this work it is shown, that the SiGe backside deposition leads to a parasitic SiGe layer at the edge of the wafer. Partial relaxation of this layer generates dislocations, which fundamentally change the relaxation mechanism of subsequently deposited SiGe layers on the front side. These preexisting dislocations glide from the edge to the center of the wafer, preventing the formation of dislocation bundles and pile-ups. As a result, the TDD decreases significantly for layers with low Ge content. Adjusting the growth conditions and dislocation glide kinetics optimizes early relaxation, achieving a TDD reduction to 4x10⁴ cm⁻² for 25% Ge buffer layers. Additionally, a novel ring deposition technique provides controlled preexisting dislocations at the wafer’s edge, offering better control over the dislocation reservoir than uncontrolled parasitic deposition. Although initial results show promising results, further optimization is needed due to localized mechanical damage during processing. In summary, this research provides insights into strained SiGe layer relaxation, dislocation physics, and their impact on the TDD. By understanding these mechanisms, an enhancement of established buffer approach can be achieved and novel strategies for further TDD reduction can be developed.
The hetero-integration of group IV and III-V epitaxial layers on silicon (Si) substrates enables novel devices for optoelectronic and high-power applications. However, lattice and thermal mismachtes lead to an unavoidable formation of defects in hetero-epitaxy. The consideration of these defects is important in semiconductor devices as they affect material properties and impair the device performances. Besides the structural characterization of the unintentional introduced defects and the question of it’s origin, it is essential to evaluate their electrical activity in order to describe their impact on the device performance.
This work explores the electrical activity of threading dislocations (TDs) in Ge-rich SiGe heterostructures integrated on Si substrates as well as the electrical active defects introduced by the growth of aluminium-nitride (AlN) seed layers for the integration of gallium-nitride (GaN) on Si substrates.
I demonstrated a defect-related p-type conductivity of intrinsically grown Si ₀ ̣₀₆Ge ₀ ̣₉₄/Ge that reaffirms previous work of similar intrinsic Ge-based material. Moreover, I detailed the threading dislocation related leakage currents in rectifying devices, revealing a power law dependence on the threading dislocation density (TDD). By a variation of temperature I determined the dominant mechanism of transport of this leakage currents in different temperature regimes, for which I suggested possible interactions with TD related defect states. Through the reduction of leakage currents in the fabricated MOS capacitors I was able to examine an effective carrier concentration of 5-6x10¹⁵cm⁻³ in the nominally intrinsic Si ₀ ̣₀₆Ge ₀ ̣₉₄ epitaxial layer, which decreases down to 1x10¹⁵cm⁻³in the Ge buffer underneath. By applying deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) I found one dominant hole trap at mid-gap position confirming the presence of an TD-related effective generation-recombination center. In addition, I investigated the hole trapping kinetics of this defect level and associated it with point defects that are trapped in the strain field around threading dislocations.
I obtained insights into defect formation in the Si substrate and at the AlN/Si interface in dependence of the AlN growth temperature. A low temperature growth step prevented a deep in-diffusion of Al atoms into the Si substrate with simultaneous increase of the maximal p-type doping in the vicinity of the AlN/Si interface. Furthermore, I found a bulk hole trap inside the Si substrate at mid-gap position that showed an increase in density by applying a low temperature growth step. In contrast, the defect states at the AlN/Si interface decreased when a low temperature growth step was applied, in comparison to AlN layers grown at continuous high temperatures.
Historically, Ge is one of the oldest materials in the semiconductor industry and its (001) surface has been the subject of extensive investigations by photoelectron spectroscopy. I am going to challenge the predominant attribution of a semi-conducting nature of the Ge(001) surface in this thesis. My investigations reveal the presence of a Ge(001) surface state above the Fermi-level, occupied at room temperature. Employing time- and temperature-dependent angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, I will demonstrate that the presence of this surface state is evidence for the conducting nature of the surface at room temperature.
Sparked by the remarkable properties of the GeSn-alloy and a trend towards Ge-Sn-related multiquantum well fabrication, I investigate the surface electronic structure of Ge(001) after adsorption and incorporation of Sn. With an in-depth analysis of surface core-level shifts, I will extend the growth model of the Sn wetting layer formation by also detailing structural changes in the subsurface region. At the same time, the modifications of the electronic structure will be detailed, observing the removal of the Ge(001) surface states, the creation of a new, Sn-related surface state and the initial stages of the Schottky barrier formation.
β-Ga₂O₃ a transparent semi-conducting oxide that has sparked a lot of interest over the last decade, because it offers an ultra-wide band gap and high break down voltage. However, due to its monoclinic crystal structure, device fabrication is rather challenging and researchers are already looking into alternative materials. One of these candidates is ϵ-Ga₂O₃ and this work presents a combined study by photoelectron spectroscopy and ab initio calculations of its electronic structure. (Hard) X-rays reveal the impact of photoelectron recoil and the absence of a band bending to the surface, while the dispersion of experimentally determined valence states compares favorably with the calculations based on hybrid density-functional theory.
Another alternative to β-Ga₂O₃ be ZnGa₂O₄ and I will present an investigation on the electronic structure of its (100) surface. Due to the novelty of ZnGa₂O₄ single-crystals, I am first going to explore the preparation of a clean and well-ordered surface by standard in-situ sputtering and annealing. I will show that already low annealing temperatures induce Zn-deficiency, leading to non-stoichiometric surfaces, further exacerbated by sputtering. By changing the sputtering parameters and the annealing conditions, the preparation of a surface with sufficient quality for subsequent investigations will be demonstrated. The results by photoemission techniques compare favorably with the expectations from theory and allowing the first fundamental insights into the surface electronic structure.
This thesis focuses on the investigation and characterization of the surfaces and interfaces of chalcopyrite-based Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGSe) thin film solar cells using various x-ray and electron spectroscopies. In particular, the impact of alkali post deposition treatments (PDT) on the chemical and electronic surface and interface structure of CdS/CIGSe absorbers is studied.
The structure of “real world” CdS/CIGSe interfaces and how they are impacted by different alkali PDTs was investigated by a combination of different x-ray spectroscopies. The interface formation is characterized by studying sample sets with different CdS thicknesses. The chemical environment for indium and cadmium is revealed by deriving the modified Auger parameter α'(In) and α'(Cd) using the kinetic energy of most prominent Auger line together with the binding energy of the chosen core level. A more complex situation is found for CdS/CIGSe samples that underwent NaF+KF PDT, where a K-In-Se compound is initially present on top of the chalcopyrite absorber. The conversion of the K-In-Se type species into a Cd-In-(O,OH,S,Se) interface compound is recorded at short CBD-CdS deposition times. It appears the majority of K that is present at the surface of the NaF+KF PDT CIGSe absorber is dissolved in the CBD and partially re-deposited as K-O type species. The Cd/S ratio clearly deviates from the stoichiometry expected for CdS, and a Cd(O,OH,S)-like compound is likely formed. The electronic structure of CdS/CIGSe interface is similarly more complex for the NaF+KF PDT compared to the NaF PDT case, where only Cd(O,OH,S) buffer was formed.
In an attempt to shed more light into this complex situation, the impact of evaporated alkali metals (K, Rb, Cs) on the surface structure of CIGSe was studied in-system by synchrotron-based hard x- ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES), aiming at understanding the underlying mechanism of the interfacial effect of alkalis on the performance of CIGSe devices. In the case of K deposition, two K species are observed by x-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) and HAXPES, one of which species disappears at high annealing temperature. Furthermore, three new In contributions (In-O and K-In-Se, metallic In species) can be observed after K evaporation. The evolution of chemical contribution supports the formation of a K-In-Se and Cu-poor CIGSe (1:3:5) bilayer structure that is similar to what was reported for “real world” NaF+KF PDTs. Deposition of heavy alkali metals (Rb, Cs) induced the formation of alkali selenide phases after alkali evaporation and during low temperature annealing. Similar chemical changes as seen for the K composition (i.e. presence of metallic In, In-O, and alkali-O) are observed. However, detailed analysis of the Alk/Se ratio and composition provide direct evidence for the formation of a Alk-(In)-Se and (Cu,Alk)(In, Ga)Se2 bilayer.
The insights from these studies promise to provide crucial aid to fully exploit alkali pre-treatments in scientific and industrial CIGSe production, and will deliberate use of this means of surface/interface tailoring to push efficiencies even further.
Over the past seven decades Si microelectronics have developed rapidly. The success of the growing microelectronic industry is also caused by the expansion of materials in addition to Si. Open challenges are the monolithic integration of group IV devices on Si photonics as well as overcoming the size mismatch between electronic parts in the nm range and photonic parts in the µm scale. In this thesis the future application of GeSn NIs on Si as a photodetector is evaluated. The key element required for high performance optoelectronic devices is the formation of high-quality GeSn nano-islands (NIs), i.e. overcoming growth challenges such as introduction of defects due to lattice and thermal mismatch between GeSn and Si substrate as well as suppression of Sn precipitation caused by the limited solid solubility of Sn in Ge. To achieve high-quality nanostructures, the selective growth of GeSn NIs on Si(001) seeds via molecular beam epitaxy is investigated, exploiting the advantages of nanoheteroepitaxy (NHE), i.e. growth on nano-patterned substrates. The best compromise between selective growth of GeSn on Si nano-pillars at significant higher growth temperature than the eutectic temperature of GeSn and the incorporation of Sn into the Ge lattice was achieved at 600°C. X-ray diffraction studies confirmed the substitutional incorporation of 1.4at.% Sn into the NIs avoiding considerable Si interdiffusion from the substrate. Transmission electron microscopy images have shown that dislocations and stacking faults caused by plastic relaxation of the GeSn NIs are located near the NIs/substrate interface and thus, dislocation-free GeSn NIs can be formed, due to gliding out of the threading arms triggered by the NHE approach.
The high crystal quality of the GeSn NIs, enables the investigation of the bandgap by μ-photoluminescence (PL) analyses, demonstrating the shrinkage of the direct bandgap with increasing Sn content in the quasi-direct semiconductor.
All NIs however feature a β-Sn droplet on their nano-facets. To suppress the out-diffusion of Sn and hence increase the Sn concentration of the GeSn alloy, the GeSn NIs were overgrown with a thin Ge cap layer. The Ge cap successfully hinders the formation of Sn segregates on top of the NIs. Capping at 600 °C and 650°C results in an enrichment of Sn at the surface, forming a GeSn crust with 8±0.5at.% Sn. This wetting layer both enhances the optoelectronic properties of the NI core and exhibits a relatively strong PL emission attributed to direct radiative recombination.
Finally, a first demonstration of a GeSn NIs based photodetector was successful, due to the utilization of Al nano-antennas exhibiting an enhanced light coupling into the GeSn NIs at a wavelength of 700nm. The responsible mechanisms is the local plasmonic field enhancement of the incoming light. The manipulation of the resonance wavelength into the telecommunication regime, i.e. >1550nm, have to be investigated in future studies.
Trifft elektromagnetische Strahlung auf einen Körper, geben die Photonen ihren Impuls ab, bei einer idealen Reflexion sogar den doppelten Impuls. Auf die Oberfläche des bestrahlten Körpers wird somit eine Kraft ausgeübt. Dieser Strahlungsdruck ist extrem gering, jedoch ergeben sich unter speziellen Bedingungen, wie bei einer Anwendung im luftleeren Raum des Weltalls, konkrete effektive Einsatzbereiche. Die Anwendung des Strahlungsdrucks als Antriebsmittel im Bereich der Raumfahrt ist der Ausgangspunkt folgender Dissertation. Großflächige reflektierende Folien können den Strahlungsdruck der Sonne als spezielles Antriebsmittel für Raumfahrzeuge, sogenannte Sonnensegler, nutzen. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist die Entwicklung einer Messeinrichtung zur Analyse der Kraftwirkung durch sonnenähnliche Strahlung auf dünne, reflektierende Folien. Des Weiteren wird die Messeinrichtung durch verschiedene Messreihen verifiziert, auftretende Effekte werden charakterisiert. Die Messeinrichtung ist in einer Hochvakuumkammer installiert. Der Strahlungsdruck wird durch eine 1600W Xenon Lampe mit sonnenähnlichem Spektrum auf eine 7,5 µm dicke, mit Aluminium beschichtete Kaptonfolie ausgeübt. Die resultierende Krafteinwirkung auf die Folienoberfläche wird mittels einer Präzisionswaage gemessen. In mehreren Testreihen werden Folienproben unterschiedlichen Bestrahlungsstärken ausgesetzt. Die experimentell ermittelten Messdaten bestätigen die theoretisch berechneten Werte des Strahlungsdrucks. Darüber hinaus zeigt sich im Verlauf der Experimente ein bisher unbeachteter Effekt. An der Folienoberfläche haften unter Atmosphäre Wassermolekülschichten, welche im Vakuum zunächst an der Folie haften bleiben. Diese Moleküle werden erst bei Bestrahlung von der Oberfläche desorbiert. Der Impuls durch die entweichenden Moleküle ist um ein Vielfaches größer als der Impuls der Photonen. Dieser Effekt beeinträchtigt die Strahlungsdruckmessung. Um die störenden Einflüsse zu eliminieren, sind in einer Testprozedur Randbedingungen definiert worden.
The LHC is the largest particle accelerator and storage ring in the world, used to investigate fundamentals of particle physics and to develop at the same time the technology of accelerators and detectors. Four main experiments (ATLAS, ALICE, CMS and LHCb) , located around the LHC ring, provide insight into the nature of particles and search for answers to as yet unexplained phenomena in the universe. Two proton or heavy ion beams circulate in the LHC and are brought into collision in the four experiments.
The physics potential of each experiment is determined by the luminosity, which is a ratio of the number of the events during a certain time period to the cross section of a physics process. A measurement of the luminosity is therefore essential to determine the cross section of interesting physics processes.
In addition, safe and high-quality data-taking requires stable beam conditions with almost no beam losses. Each experiment has its own detectors to measure beam losses, hereafter called machine induced background. One such detector is installed in CMS, BCM1F. Based on diamond sensors it was designed and built to measure both, the luminosity and the machine induced background. BCM1F ran smoothly during the first LHC running period from 2009-2012 and delivered valuable beam loss and luminosity information to the control rooms of CMS and LHC. At the end of 2012 the LHC was shut down to improve the performance by increasing the proton energy to 7TeV and decreasing the proton bunch spacing to 25ns. Due to the success of BCM1F an upgrade of its sensors and readout components was planned in order to fulfil the new requirements.
The upgrade of the sensors comprises a two pad instead of one pad metallization. 24 instead of the previous 8 single crystal diamond sensors were foreseen for the new BCM1F to enhance the robustness and redundancy. To instrument BCM1F, 59 sensors were electrically characterized by measuring the leakage current, signal stability and charge collection efficiency. Quality criteria were defined to select sensors for the final installation. An overview of these measurements including a summary of the results is given in this thesis. In addition, an upgraded amplifier was developed within the collaboration in 130nm CMOS technology. It has a peaking time of 7ns instead of the 22ns of the one previously installed. A BCM1F prototype comprising a two pad sensor and the upgraded amplifier was tested at the DESY-II accelerator in a 5GeV electron beam. Results of these test-beam measurements are presented in this thesis as well as simulations to interpret the measurements.
The installation of the upgraded BCM1F was completed in 2014. In 2015 BCM1F was commissioned and started to measure luminosity and machine induced background. At the end, the thesis will describe both types of measurements with the focus on machine induced background demonstrating the functionality of BCM1F.
Zur Deckung des stetig steigenden Energiebedarfs und unter Berücksichtigung des Umweltschutzes werden unter anderem Solarzellen genutzt. Defekte in Solarzellen können die Effizienz verringern. In dieser Arbeit wird das Defektverständnis von Silizium basierten Solarzellen erweitert.
Neue experimentelle Erkenntnisse konnten zu folgenden Schwerpunkten gewonnen werden:
• Siliziumnitrid- und Siliziumkarbidausscheidungen in multikristallinem Silizium
• Rekombinationsaktivität in dünnen Siliziumschichten
• Charakterisierung der Rekombinationsaktivität von Germanium als Modellmaterial für die Siliziumkristallisation
• Rekombinationsaktivität und Verspannung an Korngrenzen
Um Ergebnisse experimenteller Defektcharakterisierung auf allgemein gültige Parameter der Rekombination wie z.B. Ladungsträgerdiffusionslänge oder Oberflächenrekombinationsgeschwindigkeit zurückführen zu können, wurden zu folgenden Phänomenen Modelle entwickelt und Simulationen durchgeführt:
• Getterzonen an Korngrenzen
• Ermittlung von Diffusionslänge und Diffusionskoeffizient in Dünnschichtmaterial
• 3D-Raumladungseffekte
Die Nutzung der gewonnenen Erkenntnisse über die Rekombinationseigenschaften der Defekte liegt in einer möglicherweise zukünftigen kontrollierten Defektbeeinflussung und somit einer Effizienzverbesserung von Solarzellen.