Series on Semiconductor Science and Technology – serie

Since the arrival of the transistor in 1947, research in hot electrons, like any field in semiconductor research, has grown at a stunning rate. From a physicist's point of view the understanding of hot electrons and their interactions with the lattice has always been a challenging problem of condensed matter physics. Recently, with the advent of novel fabrication techniques such as electron beam or plasma etching and the advanced growth techniques such as the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and metallo-organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD), it has become possible to fabricate semiconductor devices with sub-micron dimensions where the electrons are confined to two (quantum well), one (quantum wire) or zero (quantum dot) dimensions. In devices of such dimensions a few volts applied to the device result in the setting up of very high electric fields, hence a substantial heating of electrons. Thus electronic transport in the device becomes non- linear and can no longer be described using the simple equations of Ohm's law. The understanding of the operations of such devices, and the realisations of more advanced ones make it necessary to understand the dynamics of hot electrons. There is an obvious lack of good reference books on hot electrons in semiconductors. The few that exist either cover a very narrow field or are becoming quite outdated. This book is therefore written with the aim of filling the vacuum in an area where there is much demand for a comprehensive reference book. The book is intended for both established researchers and graduate students, and gives a complete account of the historical development of the subject, together with current research interests and future trends. The contributions are written by leading scientists in the field. They cover the physics of hot electrons in bulk and low dimensional device technology. The material is organised into subject area that can be classified broadly into five groups: (1)introduction and overview, (2)hot electron phonon interactions and the ultra-fast phenomena in bulk and two dimensional structures, (3)hot electrons in both long and short quantum wires and quantum dots, (4) hot electron tunnelling and hot electron transport in superlattices, and (5) novel devices based on hot electron transport. The chapters are grouped according to subject matter as far as possible. However, although there is much overlap of ideas and concepts, each chapter is essentially independent of the others.

This book was motivated in large part by the tremendous interest shown in nitride semiconductors by the scientific community in recent years. The interest is due to the wide range of commercially viable industrial applications such as visible and ultraviolet optoelectronics. The aim of this book is to elucidate the physics of nitride-based materials and related devices, and to provide to graduate students and young researchers a rapid introduction to this burgeoning field. Chapters of tutorial style are of medium length, and have been commissioned from some of the very best experts on each topic, both from academia and from industry. All aspects arising from the dual challenges of achieving high-quality, single crystal material and engineering optoelectronic devices are addressed. In the first chapters, the reader will learn about the nitrides in the context of other semiconductors, and will be exposed to the methods used to grow these materials. The chapters which follow discuss the materials' performance from the point of view of electronic transport, optical and structural properties. Finally, an extensive review of device applications is provided in the area of modern transistors, ultraviolet detectors and light emitters.

This is an open access title. It is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. It is available to read and download as a PDF version on the Oxford Academic platform.The study of electrons and holes confined to two, one and even zero dimensions has uncovered a rich variety of new physics and applications. This book describes the interaction between these confined carriers and the optic and acoustic phonons within and around the confined regions. Phonons provide the principal channel of energy transfer between the carriers and their surroundings and also the main restriction to their room temperature mobility. But they have many other roles; they provide, for example, an essential feature of the operation of the quantum cascade laser. Since their momenta at relevant energies are well matched to those of electrons, they can also be used to probe electronic properties such as the confinement width of 2D electron gases and the dispersion curve of quasiparticles in the fractional quantum Hall effect. The book describes both the physics of the electron-phonon interaction in the different confined systems and the experimental and theoretical techniques that have been used in its investigation. The experimental methods include optical and transport techniques as well as techniques in which phonons are used as the experimental probe. The aim of the book is to provide an up to date review of the physics and its significance in device performance. It is also written to be explanatory and accessible to graduate students and others new to the field.

Optoelectronics and electronics of the years to come are likely to change dramatically. Most of the outdoor lighting systems will be replaced by light-emitting diodes that operate in the whole visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Transistors operating at high frequency and with high power are under development and likely to hit the market very rapidly. Compact solid state lasers that operate in the near-ultraviolet range are going to be utilized for such widely used applications as read-write tasks in printers and CD drives. Ultraviolet detectors will be used at a wide scale for many applications, ranging from flame detectors to medical instruments. This book concerns itself with the questions why nitride semiconductors are so promising over such a wide range of applications, what the current issues are in the research laboratories, and what the prospects of new electronic devices are in the dawn of the twenty first century.

This textbook combines a thorough theoretical treatment of the basic physics of semiconductors with applications to practical devices by putting special emphasis on the physical principles upon which these devices operate. Topics treated are the detailed band structure of semiconductors, the effect of impurities on electronic states, and semiconductor statistics. Also discussed are lattice dynamical, transport, and surface properties as well as optical, magneto-optical, and electro-optical properties. The applied part of the book treats p-n junctions, bipolar junction transistors, semiconductor lasers and photodevices, after which the subject of heterostructures and superlattices is taken up with coverage of electronic, lattice dynamical, optical, and transport properties. The book concludes with treatments of metal-semiconductor devices such as MOSFETs and devices based on heterostructures. Graduate students and lecturers in semiconductor physics, condensed matter physics, electromagnetic theory, and quantum mechanics will find this a useful textbook and reference work.

This textbook combines a thorough theoretical treatment of the basic physics of semiconductors with applications to practical devices by putting special emphasis on the physical principles upon which these devices operate. Topics treated are the detailed band structure of semiconductors, the effect of impurities on electronic states, and semiconductor statistics. Also discussed are lattice dynamical, transport, and surface properties as well as optical, magneto-optical, and electro-optical properties. The applied part of the book treats p-n junctions, bipolar junction transistors, semiconductor lasers and photodevices, after which the subject of heterostructures and superlattices is taken up with coverage of electronic, lattice dynamical, optical, and transport properties. The book concludes with treatments of metal-semiconductor devices such as MOSFETs and devices based on heterostructures. Graduate students and lecturers in semiconductor physics, condensed matter physics, electromagnetic theory, and quantum mechanics will find this a useful textbook and reference work.

This book describes the basic concepts of various physical phenomena in semiconductors and their modulated structures under high magnetic fields. The topics cover magneto-transport phenomena, cyclotron resonance, far-infrared spectroscopy, magneto-optical spectroscopy, diluted magnetic semiconductors in high magnetic fields, as well as the recent advances in the experimental techniques needed for high field experiments. Starting from the introductory part describing the basic theoretical background, each chapter introduces typical experimental data which were actually obtained in very high magnetic fields mostly in the pulsed field range up to several megagauss (20-100T). The book has both the character of a textbook and a monograph. For researchers and students with an interest in semiconductor physics or in high magnetic fields, it will serve as a useful guide.

This text is a first attempt to pull together the whole of semiconductor science and technology since 1970 in so far as semiconductor multilayers are concerned. Material, technology, physics and device issues are described with approximately equal emphasis, and form a single coherant point of view. The subject matter is the concern of over half of today's active semiconductor scientists and technologists, the remainder working on bulk semiconductors and devices. It is now routine to design and the prepare semiconductor multilayers at a time, with independent control over the dropping and composition in each layer. In turn these multilayers can be patterned with features that as a small as a few atomic layers in lateral extent. The resulting structures open up many new ares of exciting solid state and quantum physics. They have also led to whole new generations of electronic and optoelectronic devices whose superior performance relates back to the multilayer structures. The principles established in the field have several decades to go, advancing towards the ultimate of materials engineering, the design and preparation of solids atom by atom. The book should appeal equally to physicists, electronic engineers and materials scientists.

This text is a first attempt to pull together the whole of semiconductor science and technology since 1970 in so far as semiconductor multilayers are concerned. Material, technology, physics and device issues are described with approximately equal emphasis, and form a single coherant point of view. The subject matter is the concern of over half of today's active semiconductor scientists and technologists, the remainder working on bulk semiconductors and devices.It is now routine to design and the prepare semiconductor multilayers at a time, with independent control over the dropping and composition in each layer. In turn these multilayers can be patterned with features that as a small as a few atomic layers in lateral extent. The resulting structures open up many new ares of exciting solid state and quantum physics. They have also led to whole new generations of electronic and optoelectronic devices whose superior performance relates back to the multilayer structures.The principles established in the field have several decades to go, advancing towards the ultimate of materials engineering, the design and preparation of solids atom by atom.The book should appeal equally to physicists, electronic engineers and materials scientists.

Semiconductor optelectronic devices are at the heart of all information generation and processing systems and are likely to be essential components of future optical computers. With more emphasis on optoelectronics and photonics in graduate programmes in physics and engineering, there is a need for a text providing a basic understanding of the important physical phenomena involved. Such a training is necessary for the design, optimization and search for new materials, devices, and application areas. This book provides a simple quantum mechanical theory of important optical processes, i.e., band-to- band, intersubband and excitonic absorption and recombination in bulk, quantum wells, wires, dots, superlattices and strained layers including electro-optic effects. The classical theory of absorption, quantization of radiation, and band picture based on k.p perturbation has been included to provide the necessary background. Prerequisites for the book are a knowledge of quantum mechanics and solid state theory. Problems have been set at the end of each chapter, some of which may guide the reader to study processes not covered in the book. The application areas of the phenomena are also indicated. This book is intended for use by graduate students in physics and engineering, beginners in the field and engineers. The use of simple one-electron theory throughout may also make parts of it useful for second- and third-year undergraduates.

Layered metal-insulator-semiconductor microstructures have become an important research area in semiconductor microelectronics. New devices utilize phenomena occuring at or near the semiconductor surface directly.This monograph provides a survey of the diverse experimental and theoretical results for electron and hole transport in surface and subsurface regions of semiconductors, with an emphasis on the mechanisms involved and special measurement procedures necessary, for example in Hall current measurements.This English edition has been substantially revised and updated from the original Russian edition.

Semiconductor optoelectronic devices are at the heart of all information generation and processing systems and are likely to be essential components of future optical computers. With more emphasis on optoelectronics and photonics in graduate programmes in physics and engineering, there is a need for a text providing a basic understanding of the important physical phenomena involved. Such a training is necessary for the design, optimization, and search for new materials, devices, and application areas. This book provides a simple quantum mechanical theory of important optical processes, i.e. band-to-band, intersubband, and excitonic absorption and recombination in bulk, quantum wells, wires, dots, superlattices, and strained layers including electro-optic effects. The classical theory of absorption, quantization of radiation, and band picture based on k.p perturbation has been included to provide the necessary background. Prerequisites for the book are a knowledge of quantum mechanics and solid state theory. Problems have been set at the end of each chapter, some of which may guide the reader to study processes not covered in the book. The application areas of the phenomena are also indicated.

The book addresses issues associated with physics and technology of injection lasers based on self-organized quantum dots. Fundamental and technological aspects of quantum dot edge-emitting lasers and VCSELs, their current status and future prospects are summarized and reviewed. The theoretically predicted advantages of an ideal QD array for laser applications are discussed. Basic principles of QD formation using self-organization phenomena are reviewed. Structural and optical properties of self-organized QDs are considered with a number of examples in different material systems. Recent achievements in controlling the QD properties including the effects of vertical stacking, changing the matrix bandgap and the surface density of QDs are reviewed. The authors focus on the use of self-organized quantum dots in laser structures, fabrication and characterization of edge- and surface-emitting diode lasers, their properties and optimization with special attention paid to the relationship between structural and electronic properties of QDs and laser characteristics. The threshold and power characteristics of the state-of-the-art QD lasers are demonstrated. Issues related to the long-wavelength (1.3-mm) lasers on a GaAs substrate are also addressed and recent results on InGaAsN-based diode lasers presented for the purpose of comparison.

Semiconductor sensors patterned at the micron scale combined with custom-designed integrated circuits have revolutionized semiconductor radiation detector systems. Designs covering many square meters with millions of signal channels are now commonplace in high-energy physics and the technology is finding its way into many other fields, ranging from astrophysics to experiments at synchrotron light sources and medical imaging. This book is the first to present a comprehensive discussion of the many facets of highly integrated semiconductor detector systems, covering sensors, signal processing, transistors and circuits, low-noise electronics, and radiation effects. The diversity of design approaches is illustrated in a chapter describing systems in high-energy physics, astronomy, and astrophysics. Finally a chapter "Why things don't work" discusses common pitfalls. Profusely illustrated, this book provides a unique reference in a key area of modern science.

Intense Terahertz Excitation of Semiconductors presents the first comprehensive treatment of high-power terahertz applications to semiconductors and low-dimensional semiconductor structures. Terahertz properties of semiconductors are in the center of scientific activities because of the need of high-speed electronics. This research monograph brigdes the gap between microwave physics and photonics. It focuses on a core topic of semiconductor physics providing a full description of the state of the art of the field. _ The reader is introduced to new physical phenomena which occur in the terahertz frequency range at the transition from semi-classical physics with a classical field amplitude to the fully quantized limit with photons. The book covers a wide range of optical, optoelectronic, and nonlinear transport processes, presenting experimental results, clearly visualizing models and basic theories. Background information for future work and exhaustive references of current literature are given. A particularly valuable feature is through the discussion of various technical aspects of the terahertz range like the generation of high-power coherent radiation, optical components, instrumentation, and detection schemes of short intense radiation impulses. The book complements, for the first time in form of a monograph, previous books on infrared physics which dealt with low-power optical and opto-electronic processes. It will be useful not only to scientists but also to advanced students who are interested in terahertz research.

The focus of this book is the remarkable advances in understanding of low pressure RF (radio frequency) glow discharges. A basic analytical theory and plasma physics are explained. Plasma diagnostics are also covered before the practicalities of etcher use are explored.

Nowadays information technology is based on semiconductor and ferromagnetic materials. Information processing and computation are based on electron charge in semiconductor transistors and integrated circuits, and information is stored on magnetic high-density hard disks based on the physics of the electron spins. Recently, a new branch of physics and nanotechnology, called magneto-electronics, spintronics, or spin electronics, has emerged, which aims at simultaneously exploiting both the charge and the spin of electrons in the same device. A broader goal is to develop new functionality that does not exist separately in a ferromagnet or a semiconductor. The aim of this book is to present new directions in the development of spin electronics in both the basic physics and the technology which will become the foundation of future electronics.

Semiconductor quantum structures are at the core of many photonic devices such as lasers, photodetectors, solar cells etc. To appreciate why they are such a good fit to these devices, we must understand the basic features of their band structure and how they interact with incident light. Many books have taken on this task in the past, but their treatments tend either to pluck results from the literature and present them as received truths or to rely on unrealistically simple models. Bands and Photons in III-V Semiconductor Quantum Structures takes the reader from the very basics of III-V semiconductors (some preparation in quantum mechanics and electromagnetism is helpful) and shows how seemingly obscure results such as detailed forms of the Hamiltonian, optical transition strengths, and recombination mechanisms follow. The reader would not need to consult other references to fully understand the material, although a few handpicked sources are listed for those who would like to deepen their knowledge further. Connections to the properties of novel materials such as graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides are pointed out, to help prepare the reader for contributing at the forefront of research in those fields. The book also supplies a complete, up-to-date database of the band parameters that enter into the calculations, along with tables of optical constants and interpolation schemes for alloys. From these foundations, the book goes on to derive the characteristics of photonic semiconductor devices (with a focus on the mid-infrared) using the same principles of building all concepts from the ground up, explaining all derivations in detail, giving quantitative examples, and laying out dimensional arguments whenever they can help the reader's understanding.

Microcavities are semiconductor, metal, or dielectric structures providing optical confinement in one, two or three dimensions. At the end of the 20th century, microcavities have attracted attention due to the discovery of a strong exciton-light coupling regime allowing for the formation of superposition light-matter quasiparticles: exciton-polaritons. In the following century several remarkable effects have been discovered in microcavities, including the Bose-Einstein condensation of exciton-polaritons, polariton lasing, superfluidity, optical spin Hall and spin Meissner effects, amongst other discoveries. Currently, polariton devices exploiting the bosonic stimulation effects at room temperature are being developed by laboratories across the world. This book addresses the physics of microcavities: from classical to quantum optics, from a Boltzmann gas to a superfluid. It provides the theoretical background needed for understanding the complex phenomena in coupled light-matter systems, and it presents a broad overview of experimental progress in the physics of microcavities.

Nanometre sized structures made of semiconductors, insulators, and metals and grown by modern growth technologies or by chemical synthesis exhibit novel electronic and optical phenomena due to the confinement of electrons and photons. Strong interactions between electrons and photons in narrow regions lead to inhibited spontaneous emission, thresholdless laser operation, and Bose-Einstein condensation of exciton-polaritons in microcavities. Generation of sub-wavelength radiation by surface plasmon-polaritons at metal-semiconductor interfaces, creation of photonic band gaps in dielectrics, and realization of nanometer sized semiconductor or insulator structures with negative permittivity and permeability, known as metamaterials, are further examples in the area of Nanophotonics. The studies help develop spasers and plasmonic nanolasers of subwavelength dimensions, paving the way to use plasmonics in future data centres and high-speed computers working at THz bandwidth with less than a few fJ/bit dissipation.The present book is aimed at graduate students and researchers providing them with an introductory textbook on Semiconductor Nanophotonics. It gives an introduction to electron-photon interactions in Quantum Wells, Wires, and Dots and then discusses the processes in microcavities, photonic band gap materials, metamaterials, and related applications. The phenomena and device applications under strong light-matter interactions are discussed, mostly by using classical and semi-classical theories. Numerous examples and problems accompany each chapter.

Since the discovery of the giant magnetoresistance (GMR) effect in magnetic multilayers in 1988, a new branch of physics and technology, called spin-electronics or spintronics, has emerged, where the flow of electrical charge as well as the flow of electron spin, the so-called "spin current", are manipulated and controlled together. Recent progress in the physics of magnetism and the application of spin current has progressed in tandem with the nanofabrication technology of magnets and the engineering of interfaces and thin films. This book is intended to provide an introduction and guide to the new physics and applications of spin current. The emphasis is placed on the interaction between spin and charge currents in magnetic nanostructures.

The book provides a technical account of the basic physics of nanostructures, which are the foundation of the hardware found in all manner of computers. It will be of interest to semiconductor physicists and electronic engineers and advanced research students. Crystalline nanostructures have special properties associated with electrons and lattice vibrations and their interaction. The result of spatial confinement of electrons is indicated in the nomenclature of nanostructures: quantum wells, quantum wires, quantum dots. Confinement also has a profound effect on lattice vibrations. The documentation of the confinement of acoustic modes goes back to Lord Rayleigh's work in the late nineteenth century, but no such documentation exists for optical modes. It is only comparatively recently that any theory of the elastic properties of optical modes exists, and a comprehensive account is given in this book. A model of the lattice dynamics of the diamond lattice is given that reveals the quantitative distinction between acoustic and optical modes and the difference of connection rules that must apply at an interface. The presence of interfaces in nanostructures forces the hybridization of longitudinally and transversely polarized modes, along with, in polar material, electromagnetic modes. Hybrid acoustic and optical modes are described, with an emphasis on polar-optical phonons and their interaction with electrons. Scattering rates in single heterostructures, quantum wells and quantum wires are described and the anharmonic interaction in quantum dots discussed. A description is given of the effects of dynamic screening of hybrid polar modes and the production of hot phonons.

In recent years, the physics community has experienced a revival of interest in spin effects in solid state systems. On one hand, the solid state systems, particularly, semiconductors and semiconductor nanosystems, allow us to perform benchtop studies of quantum and relativistic phenomena. On the other hand, this interest is supported by the prospects of realizing spin-based electronics, where the electron or nuclear spins may play a role of quantum or classical information carriers.This book looks in detail at the physics of interacting systems of electron and nuclear spins in semiconductors, with particular emphasis on low-dimensional structures. These two spin systems naturally appear in practically all widespread semiconductor compounds. The hyperfine interaction of the charge carriers and nuclear spins is particularly prominent in nanosystems due to the localization of the charge carriers, and gives rise to spin exchange between these two systems and a whole range of beautiful and complex physics of manybody and nonlinear systems. As a result, understanding of the intertwined spin systems of electrons and nuclei is crucial for in-depth studying and controlling the spin phenomena in semiconductors.The book addresses a number of the most prominent effects taking place in semiconductor nanosystems including hyperfine interaction, nuclear magnetic resonance, dynamical nuclear polarization, spin-Faraday and spin-Kerr effects, processes of electron spin decoherence and relaxation, effects of electron spin precession mode-locking and frequency focussing, as well as fluctuations of electron and nuclear spins.

Technological evolution and revolution are both driven by the discovery of new functionalities, new materials and the design of yet smaller, faster, and more energy-efficient components. Progress is being made at a breathtaking pace, stimulated by the rapidly growing demand for more powerful and readily available information technology. High-speed internet and data-streaming, home automation, tablets and smartphones are now "necessities" for our everyday lives. Consumer expectations for progressively more data storage and exchange appear to be insatiable.Oxide electronics is a promising and relatively new field that has the potential to trigger major advances in information technology. Oxide interfaces are particularly intriguing. Here, low local symmetry combined with an increased susceptibility to external fields leads to unusual physical properties distinct from those of the homogeneous bulk.In this context, ferroic domain walls have attracted recent attention as a completely new type of oxide interface. In addition to their functional properties, such walls are spatially mobile and can be created, moved, and erased on demand. This unique degree of flexibility enables domain walls to take an active role in future devices and hold a great potential as multifunctional 2D systems for nanoelectronics. With domain walls as reconfigurable electronic 2D components, a new generation of adaptive nano-technology and flexible circuitry becomes possible, that can be altered and upgraded throughout the lifetime of the device. Thus, what started out as fundamental research, at the limit of accessibility, is finally maturing into a promising concept for next-generation technology.

Rapid development of microfabrication and assembly of nanostructures has opened up many opportunities to miniaturize structures that confine light, producing unusual and extremely interesting optical properties. This book addresses the large variety of optical phenomena taking place in confined solid state structures: microcavities. Realisations include planar and pillar microcavities, whispering gallery modes, and photonic crystals. The microcavities represent a unique laboratory for quantum optics and photonics. They exhibit a number of beautiful effects including lasing, superfluidity, superradiance, entanglement etc. Written by four practitioners strongly involved in experiments and theories of microcavities, it is addressed to any interested reader having a general physical background, but in particular to undergraduate and graduate students at physics faculties.

This book is dedicated to GaN and its alloys AlGaInN (III-V nitrides), semiconductors with intrinsic properties well suited for visible and UV light emission and electronic devices working at high temperature, high frequency, and harsh environments. There has been a rapid growth in the industrial activity relating to GaN, with GaN now ranking at the second position (after Si) among all semiconductors. This is mainly thanks to LEDs, but also to the emergence of lasers and high power and high frequency electronics. GaN-related research activities are also diversifying, ranging from advanced optical sources and single electron devices to physical, chemical, and biological sensors, optical detectors, and energy converters. All recent developments of nitrides and of their technology are gathered here in a single volume, with chapters written by world leaders in the field. This third book of the series edited by B. Gil is complementary to the preceding two, and is expected to offer a modern vision of nitrides and of their devices to a large audience of readers.