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Graphene metrology needs to keep up with the fast pace of developments in graphene growth and transfer. Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) is a non-contact, fast, and non-destructive characterization technique for mapping the electrical properties of graphene. Here we show several case studies of graphene characterization on a range of different substrates that highlight the versatility of THz-TDS measurements and its relevance for process optimization in graphene production scenarios.

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd. Magnonics is a budding research field in nanomagnetism and nanoscience that addresses the use of spin waves (magnons) to transmit, store, and process information. The rapid advancements of this field during last one decade in terms of upsurge in research papers, review articles, citations, proposals of devices as well as introduction of new sub-topics prompted us to present the first roadmap on magnonics. This is a collection of 22 sections written by leading experts in this field who review and discuss the current status besides presenting their vision of future perspectives. Today, the principal challenges in applied magnonics are the excitation of sub-100 nm wavelength magnons, their manipulation on the nanoscale and the creation of sub-micrometre devices using low-Gilbert damping magnetic materials and its interconnections to standard electronics. To this end, magnonics offers lower energy consumption, easier integrability and compatibility with CMOS structure, reprogrammability, shorter wavelength, smaller device features, anisotropic properties, negative group velocity, non-reciprocity and efficient tunability by various external stimuli to name a few. Hence, despite being a young research field, magnonics has come a long way since its early inception. This roadmap asserts a milestone for future emerging research directions in magnonics, and hopefully, it will inspire a series of exciting new articles on the same topic in the coming years.

Positron annihilation spectroscopy in the Doppler and coincidence Doppler mode was applied on Ge 1 − xSn x epitaxial layers, grown by chemical vapor deposition with different total As concentrations ( ∼ 10 19– 10 21 cm − 3), high active As concentrations ( ∼ 10 19 cm − 3), and similar Sn concentrations (5.9%–6.4%). Positron traps are identified as mono-vacancy complexes. Vacancy-As complexes, V-As i, formed during the growth were studied to deepen the understanding of the electrical passivation of the Ge 1 − xSn x:As epilayers. Larger mono-vacancy complexes, V-As i ( i ≥ 2), are formed as the As doping increases. The total As concentration shows a significant impact on the saturation of the number of As atoms ( i = 4) around the vacancies in the sample epilayers. The presence of V-As i complexes decreases the dopant activation in the Ge 1 − xSn x:As epilayers. Furthermore, the presence of Sn failed to hinder the formation of larger V-As i complexes and thus failed to reduce the donor-deactivation.

This paper benchmarks various epitaxial growth schemes based on n-type group-IV materials as viable source/drain candidates for Ge nMOS devices. Si:P grown at low temperature on Ge, gives an active carrier concentration as high as 3.5 × 1020 cm−3 and a contact resistivity down to 7.5 × 10−9 Ω.cm2. However, Si:P growth is highly defective due to large lattice mismatch between Si and Ge. Within the material stacks assessed, one option for Ge nMOS source/drain stressors would be to stack Si:P, deposited at contact level, on top of a selectively grown n-Si y Ge1−x−y Sn x at source/drain level, in line with the concept of Si passivation of n-Ge surfaces to achieve low contact resistivities as reported in literature (Martens et al. 2011 Appl. Phys. Lett., 98, 013 504). The saturation in active carrier concentration with increasing P (or As)-doping is the major bottleneck in achieving low contact resistivities for as-grown Ge or Si y Ge1−x−y Sn x . We focus on understanding various dopant deactivation mechanisms in P-doped Ge and Ge1−x Sn x alloys. First principles simulation results suggest that P deactivation in Ge and Ge1−x Sn x can be explained both by P-clustering and donor-vacancy complexes. Positron annihilation spectroscopy analysis, suggests that dopant deactivation in P-doped Ge and Ge1−x Sn x is primarily due to the formation of P n -V and Sn m P n -V clusters.

The E centers (dopant-vacancy pairs) play a significant role in dopant deactivation in semiconductors. In order to gain insight into dopant-defect interactions during epitaxial growth of in situ phosphorus doped Ge, positron annihilation spectroscopy, which is sensitive to open-volume defects, was performed on Ge layers grown by chemical vapor deposition with different concentrations of phosphorus (similar to 1 x 10(18)-1 x 10(20) cm(-3)). Experimental results supported by first-principles calculations based on the two component density-functional theory gave evidence for the existence of mono-vacancies decorated by several phosphorus atoms as the dominant defect type in the epitaxial Ge. The concentration of vacancies increases with the amount of P-doping. The number of P atoms around the vacancy also increases, depending on the P concentration. The evolution of P-n-V clusters in Ge contributes significantly to the dopant deactivation. Published under license by AIP Publishing.

We examined the vacancy trapping proficiency of Sn and P atoms in germanium using positron annihilation spectroscopy measurements, sensitive to the open-volume defects. Epitaxial Ge1 xSnx films were grown by chemical vapor deposition with different P concentrations in the 3: 0 1019-1: 5 1020 cm 3 range. We corroborate our findings with first principles simulations. Codoping of Ge with a Sn concentration of up to 9% is not an efficient method to suppress the free vacancy concentration and the formation of larger phosphorus-vacancy complexes. Experimental results confirm an increase in the number of P atoms around the monovacancy with P-doping, leading to dopant deactivation in epitaxial germanium-tin layers with similar Sn content. Vice versa, no impact on the improvement of maximum achieved P activation in Ge with increasing Sn-doping has been observed. Theoretical calculations also confirm that Pn-V (vacancy) complexes are energetically more stable than the corresponding SnmPn-V and Snm-V defect structures with the same number of alien atoms (Sn or P) around the monovacancy. he strong attraction of vacancies to the phosphorus atoms remains the dominant dopant deactivation mechanism in Ge as well as in Ge1 xSnx. Published under license by AIP Publishing.

In situ doped epitaxial Si: P films with P concentrations > 1 x 10(21) at./cm(3) are suitable for source-drain stressors of n-FinFETs. These films combine the advantages of high conductivity derived from the high P doping with the creation of tensile strain in the Si channel. It has been suggested that the tensile strain developed in the Si: P films is due to the presence of local Si3P4 clusters, which however do not contribute to the electrical conductivity. During laser annealing, the Si3P4 clusters are expected to disperse resulting in an increased conductivity while the strain reduces slightly. However, the existence of Si3P4 is not proven. Based on first-principles simulations, we demonstrate that the formation of vacancy centered Si3P4 clusters, in the form of four P atoms bonded to a Si vacancy, is thermodynamically favorable at such high P concentrations. We suggest that during post epi-growth annealing, a fraction of the P atoms from these clusters are activated, while the remaining part goes into interstitial sites, thereby reducing strain. We corroborate our conjecture experimentally using positron annihilation spectroscopy, electron spin resonance, and Rutherford backscattering ion channeling studies. (C) 2016 AIP Publishing LLC.

Deep-ultraviolet solar-blind photodiodes based on high-quality AlN films grown on sapphire substrates with a metal–semiconductor–metal configuration were simulated and fabricated. The Schottky contact is based on TiN metallization. The material is characterized by the micro-Raman spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction technique. The detector presents an extremely low dark current of 100 fA at −100 V dc bias for large device area as high as 3.1 mm2. It also exhibits a rejection ratio between 180 and 300 nm of three orders of magnitude with a very sharp cut-off wavelength at 203 nm (∼6.1 eV). The simulation to optimize the photodiode topology is based on a 2D energy-balance model using the COMSOL® software. Simulation performed for different spacing for a given bias between electrodes show that a compromise must be found between the dark current and the responsivity for the optimization of the device performance. The measurement results are in good agreement with the model predictions.

The low-temperature electrical transport properties of nanocrystalline boron-doped diamond (b-NCD) thin films have been found to be strongly affected by the system's granularity. The important differences between the high and low-temperature behaviour are caused by the inhomogeneous nucleation of superconductivity in the samples. In this paper we will discuss the experimental data obtained on several b-NCD thin films, which were studied by either varying their thickness or boron concentration. It will be shown that the low-temperature properties are influenced by the b-NCD grain boundaries as well as by the appearance of an intrinsic granularity inside these granules. Moreover, superconducting effects have been found to be present even in insulating b-NCD films and are responsible for the negative magnetoresistance regime observed at low temperatures. On the other hand, the low-temperature electrical transport properties of b-NCD films show important similarities with those observed for granular superconductors. ispartof: Journal of physics d-applied physics vol:43 issue:37 status: published