Understanding crystal growth and electronic properties of semiconductor nanowires and nanostructures

了解半导体纳米线和纳米结构的晶体生长和电子特性

• 批准号: 121282-2013
• 负责人: Watkins, Simon
• 金额: $ 3.57万
• 依托单位: Simon Fraser University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2017-01-01 至 2018-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=633123
• 关键词: Understanding; crystal; growth; electronic; properties

The focus of my research program is in the rapidly emerging area of semiconductor nanowire materials and applications. Continued progress towards increased functionality and performance in semiconductor devices will require the ability to fabricate structures in which electrons are highly confined in more than one dimension. There are several key issues to be addressed before semiconductor nanowires can be incorporated into useful applications, namely: 1) how to control the growth of defect free nanowires both along the length of the wire, as well as in the radial direction, in order to form various "core-shell" structures for specific device applications; 2) how to measure the electrical conductivity in these very small structures; and 3) how to control the electrical conductivity by means of doping. We will address these questions for certain specific materials combinations, such as III-V semiconductor materials, which will be developed into prototype devices with applications in quantum computing, infrared sensing, and solar energy. Prototype p-n junction structures will be fabricated by metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy (MOVPE) and their electrical properties will be studied using a nanoprobe inside a scanning electron microscope. A significant portion of the proposal will involve extending our recent progress in this area to zinc oxide, a material with great potential for light emitting devices in the visible and ultraviolet. Despite more than a decade of intense effort on this material, many important questions remain, such as: 1) what are the physical mechanisms behind catalyst free nanowire growth; 2) what is the underlying cause of the residual n-type conductivity; and 3) what are the mechanisms responsible for the observed p-doping? We will exploit the high crystalline quality of nanowires grown by our MOVPE process, together with our expertise in semiconductor doping, optical spectroscopy, and in situ electrical measurements to address these questions. The results obtained from this research will lead to the development of device applications that will provide benefits to Canada's semiconductor industry, for example in the fields of advanced lighting technologies, telecommunications, and solar energy.

我的研究项目的重点是在半导体纳米线材料和应用的迅速崛起的领域。半导体器件在功能和性能方面的持续进步将需要制造电子高度限制在一个以上维度的结构的能力。在将半导体纳米线纳入有用的应用之前，有几个关键问题需要解决，即：1)如何控制沿线长度和径向的无缺陷纳米线的生长，以形成用于特定器件应用的各种“核-壳”结构；2)如何测量这些非常小的结构中的电导率；3)如何通过掺杂来控制电导率。我们将为某些特定的材料组合解决这些问题，例如III-V半导体材料，这些材料将被开发成应用于量子计算，红外传感和太阳能的原型设备。原型p-n结结构将通过金属有机气相外延（MOVPE）制造，并将使用扫描电子显微镜内的纳米探针研究其电学特性。该提案的一个重要部分将涉及将我们在该领域的最新进展扩展到氧化锌，这种材料在可见光和紫外线的发光器件中具有很大的潜力。尽管对这种材料进行了十多年的紧张努力，但仍存在许多重要问题，例如：1)无催化剂纳米线生长背后的物理机制是什么；2) n型电导率残留的根本原因是什么；3)观察到的p掺杂的机制是什么？我们将利用MOVPE工艺生产的高晶体质量纳米线，以及我们在半导体掺杂、光谱学和原位电测量方面的专业知识来解决这些问题。从这项研究中获得的结果将导致设备应用的发展，这将为加拿大的半导体行业带来好处，例如在先进的照明技术、电信和太阳能领域。