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We present an original approach to realistic modeling of light focusing by microsphere systems to form the photonic jets for nano-patterning of the substrates with high refractive index. In simulations we analyze the photonic jets produced by a single sphere and close-packed array of microspheres on the photoresist layer and Si substrate. We show how the lithographic profiles can be controlled by varying the exposure dose and system geometry in wide ranges of photoresist layer thicknesses and microsphere sizes. The modeling covers the entire lithographic system and accounts for the interference of focused light transmitted through the microlenses and reflected from the Si substrate. We use our approach to optimize the size of the lithographic pattern and confirm the simulation results experimentally. The suggested set of methods is rather universal and may be applied to other microlens and resist materials to minimize lithography lateral resolution.

The integration of direct bandgap III–V materials on Si is one of the main bottlenecks on the way to cheap and highly efficient optoelectronic devices. The goal of this work is to study the formati...

Tailorable synthesis of III-V semiconductor heterostructures in nanowires (NWs) enables new approaches with respect to designing photonic and electronic devices at the nanoscale. We present a comprehensive study of highly controllable self-catalyzed growth of gallium phosphide (GaP) NWs on template-free silicon (111) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. We report the approach to form the silicon oxide layer, which reproducibly provides a high yield of vertical GaP NWs and control over the NW surface density without a pre-patterned growth mask. Above that, we present the strategy for controlling both GaP NW length and diameter independently in single- or two-staged self-catalyzed growth. The proposed approach can be extended to other III-V NWs.

Control and analysis of the crystal phase in semiconductor nanowires are of high importance due to the new possibilities for strain and band gap engineering for advanced nanoelectronic and nanophotonic devices. In this letter, we report the growth of the self-catalyzed GaP nanowires with a high concentration of wurtzite phase by molecular beam epitaxy on Si (111) and investigate their crystallinity. Varying the growth temperature and V/III flux ratio, we obtained wurtzite polytype segments with thicknesses in the range from several tens to 500 nm, which demonstrates the high potential of the phase bandgap engineering with highly crystalline self-catalyzed phosphide nanowires. The formation of rotational twins and wurtzite polymorph in vertical nanowires was observed through complex approach based on transmission electron microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, and reciprocal space mapping. The phase composition, volume fraction of the crystalline phases, and wurtzite GaP lattice parameters were analyzed for the nanowires detached from the substrate. It is shown that the wurtzite phase formation occurs only in the vertically-oriented nanowires during vapor-liquid-solid growth, while the wurtzite phase is absent in GaP islands parasitically grown via the vapor-solid mechanism. The proposed approach can be used for the quantitative evaluation of the mean volume fraction of polytypic phase segments in heterostructured nanowires that are highly desirable for the optimization of growth technologies.

Controlled growth of heterostructured nanowires and mechanisms of their formation have been actively studied during the last decades due to perspectives of their implementation. Here, we report on the self-catalyzed growth of axially heterostructured GaPN/GaP nanowires on Si(111) by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. Nanowire composition and structural properties were examined by means of Raman microspectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. To study the optical properties of the synthesized nanoheterostructures, the nanowire array was embedded into the silicone rubber membrane and further released from the growth substrate. The reported approach allows us to study the nanowire optical properties avoiding the response from the parasitically grown island layer. Photoluminescence and Raman studies reveal different nitrogen content in nanowires and parasitic island layer. The effect is discussed in terms of the difference in vapor solid and vapor liquid solid growth mechanisms. Photoluminescence studies at low temperature (5K) demonstrate the transition to the quasi-direct gap in the nanowires typical for diluted nitrides with low N-content. The bright room temperature photoluminescent response demonstrates the potential application of nanowire/polymer matrix in flexible optoelectronic devices.

In this paper we demonstrate the results on selective area growth of GaP nanowires via self-catalyzed growth method using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) technique on patterned Si(111) substrates. The pattern fabrication method on a base of the photolithography process over an array of microspherical lenses has been studied theoretically and then optimized in order to obtain the nanostructures with controlled morphology. It was found that the positive resist thickness corresponding to the best achievable resolution in the subwavelength region is 250 nm in case of 1.5 μm silica spheres and excitation with 365 nm LED. The silica growth mask for selective epitaxy was fabricated. The ordered array of GaP nanowires was synthesized with MBE. Large scale ordering and selectivity of the growth technique is demonstrated.

Self-catalyzed GaP nanowire and GaP/GaPAs nanowire heterostructures have been grown on Si(111) by solid-source molecular beam epitaxy. Formation of wurtzite polytype segments with thicknesses varying from the several tens up to the 500 nm depending on the growth condition has been observed. Effect of the V/III flux ratio on the growth mechanism, nanowire structure and morphology was studied by means of scanning electron microscopy and high resolution transmission electron microscopy.

Hight-speed optical nanoemitters are of importance for on-chip optical data processing. A tunnel junctions can be a base for such light emitters, however such structures suffer from low quantum efficiency. One of the ways to improve efficiency of tunneling electron energy to photon generation conversion is the increase of the local density of optical states by using of optical nanoantennas. In this work, we study optoelectronic properties of single gold nanodisc with high spatial resolution. We show nonuniform distribution of electromagnetic near-fields of nanodisk, which is consistent with nanoantenna optical modes. And we demonstrate direct correlation between nanoantenna optical states and features on current-voltage characteristics of tunnel junction between metal tip and nanodisk.

Using of inelastic electron tunnelling is very promising approach to study of subwavelength photons and plasmons sources. Such sources are very important for improving of on-chip data processing. One of the ways for development of efficient and compact optical electrically-driven sources is using of nanoantenna placed into the tunnel junction. In this work, singe optical nanoantenna was investigated under ultra-high vacuum and ambient conditions. Photon maps of nanoantenna excited under scanning tunnel microscope tip was observed and the obtained results was compared with the theoretical predictions of electromagnetic near-field distribution.

In this report, we demonstrate that the use of a GaN seeding layer prepared by droplet epitaxy prior to the growth of epitaxial GaN on Si (111) can lead to the formation of oriented arrays of Y-shaped nanoislands (nanotripods) and nanowires and affects the surface density of the nanostructures. From the transmission electron microscopy studies, it is shown that at least some of the seeding islands have a cubic zinc-blende (ZB) GaN structure, and their {111} facets act as the nucleation centers for further growth of GaN nanorods with a wurtzite (WZ) structure. It is also demonstrated that even if the Ga droplets are deposited on the silicon surface prior to the nitridation, a silicon nitride interlayer between silicon and GaN will be inevitably formed in the further growth process. The density and the position of the seeding centers can be controlled with growth parameter variation during the droplet epitaxy; thus the technique proposed and studied in this report can be used for the preparation of site- and density-controlled arrays of nanostructures.

Wurtzite GaP nanowires are interesting for the direct bandgap engineering and can be used as templates for further growth of hexagonal Si shells. Most wurtzite GaP nanowires have previously been obtained with Au catalysts. Here, we show that long (∼500 nm) wurtzite sections are formed in the top parts of self-catalyzed GaP nanowires grown by molecular beam epitaxy on Si(111) substrates in the droplet consumption stage, which is achieved by abruptly increasing the atomic V/III flux ratio from 2 to 3. We investigate the temperature dependence of the length of wurtzite sections and show that the longest sections are obtained at 610 °C. A supporting model explains the observed trends using a phase diagram of GaP nanowires, where the wurtzite phase is formed within a certain range of the droplet contact angles. The optimal growth temperature for growing wurtzite nanowires corresponds to the largest diffusion length of Ga adatoms, which helps to maintain the required contact angle for the longest time.

The never-ending struggle against counterfeit demands the constant development of security labels and their fabrication methods. This study demonstrates a novel type of security label based on downconversion photoluminescence from erbium-doped silicon. For fabrication of these labels, a femtosecond laser is applied to selectively irradiate a double-layered Er/Si thin film, which is accomplished by Er incorporation into a silicon matrix and silicon-layer crystallization. The study of laser-induced heating demonstrates that it creates optically active erbium centers in silicon, providing stable and enhanced photoluminescence at 1530 nm. Such a technique is utilized to create two types of anti-counterfeiting labels. The first type is realized by the single-step direct laser writing of luminescent areas and detected by optical microscopy as holes in the film forming the desired image. The second type, with a higher degree of security, is realized by adding other fabrication steps, including the chemical etching of the Er layer and laser writing of additional non-luminescent holes over an initially recorded image. During laser excitation at 525 nm of luminescent holes of the labels, a photoluminescent picture repeating desired data can be seen. The proposed labels are easily scalable and perspective for labeling of goods, securities, and luxury items.

We present the results of selective-area growth of GaN nanowires by molecular beam epitaxy on patterned SiOx/Si substrates without using seed layers. The morphological and optical properties of selectively grown GaN nanowires are compared to the properties of GaN nanowires grown on the amorphous SiOx layer. The experimental results show that the selectivity of GaN nanowires is achieved at a substrate temperature of 825 °C which is the lower limit for the selective-area growth of GaN nanowires on SiOx/Si substrates. The study of the photoluminescence spectra of the grown nanowires, measured at 77 K show an emission line at 3.47 eV, which corresponds to strain-free GaN.

Arrays of silicon nanowires were fabricated by dry etching in the ICP mode in a mixture of SF6/O2 gases at a temperature of-140 °C. Defects located near the wafer surface with E a =0.30 eV, σ=(1–10)×10−14 cm2 and E a =0.68–0.74 eV, σ=1×10−15 cm2 were detected by admittance spectroscopy and deep-level transient spectroscopy. An increase in the dry etching time from 3.5 min (for the 1st sample) to 4.5 min (for the 2nd sample) leads to an rise of their concentration, but additional stage of wet etching in 4% KOH during 30 s leads to a vanish of the response from the first sample (N T ˂1011 cm−3), while for the second sample the defect concentration becomes in two times lower.

Gallium phosphide is an important material in terms of III-V semiconductors integration on Si. In this work we study photovoltaic properties of GaP:Be/GaNP (Eg ~ 2.0eV)/GaP:Si p-i-n heterostructure grown on Si (100) with GaP buffer by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. Correlation between the structural and optoelectronic properties of the fabricated device was studied by scanning and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electron beam induced current (EBIC) and deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) techniques. The I–V characteristic of the fabricated mesa diode demonstrates short circuit current of 2.2 mA/cm2 and open circuit voltage of 0.8 V. TEM studies of the epilayer structural properties demonstrate high density of antiphase domains in the n-doped GaP buffer layer; however, they found to be annihilated in dilute nitride layer, where mainly threading dislocations were formed. EBIC investigation shows that crystalline imperfections of the heterostructure leads to poor carriers transport affecting the energy conversion efficiency. We performed numerical modeling concerning presence of the structural defects and discuss their influence on the diode performance. The carried out study is the initial step on the way to development of the growth technique of the GaP-based dilute nitride direct bandgap materials on Si for photonic and photovoltaic applications.

Interest in heteroepitaxy of III-V compounds on Si has been growing rapidly in recent years due to the potential of the optoelectronic components integration on silicon. However, most of the semiconductor compounds conventional in optoelectronics cannot be easily integrated on Si substrates due to the formation of the lattice defects. In this paper, we consider the fabrication of the mask consisting of the ordered nanoscale holes with the use of microsphere photolithography for selective epitaxial growth – promising approach for nanostructures fabrication on mismatched substrates. We have carried out the calculation of electromagnetic wave absorption in the photoresist layer through 1.2 μm microspherical silica lenses. The theoretical optimization of the photoresist thickness parameter allowed to obtain a value at which the minimum holes diameter in the photoresist is achieved. These data are necessary for carrying out the process of lithography through microspherical lenses to create a patterned growth mask.

The integration of direct bandgap III-V materials on Si is one of the main tasks on the way to the development of cheap and highly effective optoelectronic devices. The goal of this work is to study the morphology and optical properties of GaAs nanoparticles grown on Si(111) by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Nanostructure morphology is studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Optical properties are studied by photoluminescence (PL) and Raman spectroscopy. Interestingly, despite large lattice mismatch between the silicon substrate and GaAs no sufficient change of Raman spectra was observed for both continuous layer and nanoparticles indicating that they are relaxed. The room temperature PL signal in the red spectral range was obtained from the epitaxial structure. It is demonstrated that high pump optical excitation of the nanostructures can lead to sufficient change of the PL signal typical for photo-oxidized GaAs.

In this paper we study theoretically influence of group 3 and group 5 deposition rates on A3B5 nanowires (NWs) self-catalyzed vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) growth. Our self-consistent approach allows numerical calculation of chemical potential difference of the growth species, group 5 atomic concentration in the droplet and NW elongation rate for two-component system depending on deposition rates. It is found that chemical potential difference tends to saturation with increasing group 5 deposition rate (J 5), while increase of group 3 deposition rate (J 3) leads to its logarithmic growth. Two growth regimes are distinguished depending on relation between the deposition rates: high J 3 and low J 5 leads to adsorption-limited NW growth and in the opposite case nucleation-limited regime occurs. Nanowire elongation rate increases linearly with group 3 deposition rate in nucleation-limited regime. Further increase of the deposition rate leads to saturation of the growth rate in adsorption-limited regime. On the contrary, elongation rate grows linearly with group 5 deposition rate in adsorption-limited regime with slower linear growth in nucleation-limited regime.