Tailoring the Properties of Dilute Nitride-Bismide Semiconductor Alloys

技术：本项目旨在更好地了解稀氮双化物半导体合金异质结构的微观结构和性能。该项目是跨学科的，由密歇根大学、圣母大学、科克大学和廷德尔研究所（爱尔兰）的研究人员合作完成。主要目标是识别和理解合成/加工机制，以及操纵这些材料的微观结构和由此产生的电子状态和光发射效率所需的条件。稀氮铋合金薄膜将使用等离子体辅助分子束外延，使用两性（IV族）和替代（VI族）掺杂剂合成。微观结构将使用一种新的方法来定制种子成分模式，使用生长前聚焦离子束注入。原子到纳米尺度的结构将使用最先进的显微镜和光谱技术来确定。这些结果将使用一组互补的计算研究来解释，包括密度泛函理论、紧密结合计算和基于有效质量的计算。非技术：该项目涉及与电子和光子学技术相关的材料科学主题领域的基础研究问题。该项目的科学见解有望推动温度不敏感光源、高效光伏电池和高性能晶体管的开发，这些晶体管将用于电信、雷达和汽车行业。研究生，本科生和高中生将受益于在化学，物理和工程学科的跨学科科学学习环境中一起工作。已建立的合作构成了一种有利的方法，受益于研究人员在理论和实验方面的互补专业知识。所创造的新知识将通过出版物和演讲广泛传播。外联活动将强调对妇女和代表性不足的少数民族的指导。

Technical: This project aims for greater understanding of the microstructure and properties of dilute nitride-bismide semiconductor alloy heterostructures. The project is interdisciplinary and collaborative among investigators at U-Michigan, U-Notre Dame, U-College Cork, and the Tyndall Institute (Ireland). A primary objective is to identify and understand synthesis/processing mechanisms along with conditions needed to manipulate the microstructure and consequent electronic states and optical emission efficiencies of these materials. Dilute nitride-bismide alloy films will be synthesized using plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy, using both amphoteric (group IV) and alternative (group VI) dopants. The microstructure will be tailored using a novel approach to seed compositional patterns using pre-growth focused-ion-beam implantation. The atomic-to-nanometer-scale structure will be determined using state-of-the-art microscopic and spectroscopic techniques. These results will be interpreted using a complementary set of computational studies, including density functional theory, tight-binding calculations, and effective-mass based calculations.Non-technical: The project addresses basic research issues in a topical area of materials science with technological relevance in electronics and photonics. The scientific insights from this project are expected to enable the development of temperature-insensitive light-emitters, high efficiency photovoltaics, and high performance transistors to be used in the telecommunications, radar, and automotive industries. Graduate, undergraduate, and high school students will benefit from working together in an interdisciplinary scientific learning environment across disciplines of chemistry, physics, and engineering. The established collaboration constitutes an advantageous approach, benefitting from the complementary expertise of investigators covering theory and experiment. The new knowledge created will be broadly disseminated through publications and presentations. Outreach activities will emphasize the mentoring of women and underrepresented minorities.