Advanced semiconductor materials

(2B 1700/2B1823)

General Introduction to the Course

Choice of semiconductors (elemental and compound)
Applications
Crystal Structures
Crystal Planes
Polar axis
Defects
Burgers Vectors

Sebastian Lourdudoss
Information Transmittor Transmission Receiver Destination
source (Modulator) medium (Demodulator)

Classical communication system

NEED FOR
OPTICAL
SOURCES
AND
DETECTORS
Information Electrical Optical Optical Fibre
source transmit source Cable

Optical Electrical Destination

detector receive

Optical fibre communication system

Sebastian Lourdudoss
 Looking for the
materials that match
our needs

Sebastian Lourdudoss
Looking for the materials that match our needs

Sebastian Lourdudoss
Sebastian Lourdudoss
From EU-IST Optimist presentation

Sebastian Lourdudoss
Sebastian Lourdudoss
Looking for the band Direct bandgap vs. indirect bandgap
structure of the materials •Valence band structures roughly the same in
that match our needs both (maxima at k=0)
=> transport properties of p-type roughly the
same
•Conduction band structures have several
minima (at k=0 and k ≠ 0)
Direct: minima at k=0 lowest
Indirect: minima at k ≠ 0 lowest

Implications of conduction band minima at

k=0 (case of direct bandgap)

•Mobility of electron high

•Electron mass low
•Absorption depth or penetration depth low
=> thin layers enough for e.g. solar cells
•Absorption coefficient high (inverse of
absorption depth) => photodetectors
•Radiative recombination high => light
sources (lasers, LED’s)

Sebastian Lourdudoss
 Looking for the
heterojunctions of
the material
combinations that
match our needs

Z.Alferov, IEEE J. Selected Topics

in Quantum Electronics, vol. 6, no.
6, pp. 832-840, 2000

Sebastian Lourdudoss
Crystal Structures

Lattice + Basis
=
Crystal Structure

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 Cubic Lattices

Simple
cubic
Face-
centred
cubic

Body
centred
cubic

Sebastian Lourdudoss
 Compound semiconductors that we will
study have zinc blende structure

Diamond structure
(elemental semiconductors - Si Zinc blende structure
and Ge- i.e., same atom (many compound semiconductors,
everywhere ) i.e., alternating atoms)

Sebastian Lourdudoss
 Zinc blende structure
is just a combination of two fcc structures

Sebastian Lourdudoss
Miller indices of the crystallographic
planes

How to find Miller indices?

1) Find the intercepts of the plane with the
crystal axes. Express them as integral
multiples of the basis vectors
2) Take the reciprocals of the three
integers found in step 1. If possible reduce
these to smallest set of integers h, k and l.
3) Label the plane (hkl)

Planes and directions

(hkl) = single plane
[hkl] = direction of a plane
{hkl} = set of parallel or equivalent planes
<hkl> = set of equivalent directions

Sebastian Lourdudoss
 How to find Miller indices?
z 1) Find the intercepts of the plane with the
crystal axes.
1, 2, 1
Express them as integral multiples of the
basis vectors
1 , 2, 1
2) Take the reciprocals of the three
integers found in step 1.
1, ½, 1
If possible reduce these to smallest set of
integers h, k and l.
y 2, 1, 2
3) Label the plane (hkl)
(212)
Planes and directions
(hkl) = single plane
[hkl] = direction of a plane
{hkl} = set of parallel or equivalent planes
x <hkl> = set of equivalent directions

Sebastian Lourdudoss
 How to find Miller indices?
z 1) Find the intercepts of the plane with the
crystal axes.
1, 1/2, 1
Express them as integral multiples of the
basis vectors
2 , 1, 2
2) Take the reciprocals of the three
integers found in step 1.
1/2, 1, 1/2
If possible reduce these to smallest set of
integers h, k and l.
y 1, 2, 1
3) Label the plane (hkl)
(121)
Planes and directions
(hkl) = single plane
[hkl] = direction of a plane
{hkl} = set of parallel or equivalent planes
x <hkl> = set of equivalent directions

Sebastian Lourdudoss
 Miller indices of the crystallographic
planes

How to find Miller indices in a hexagonal

a3 lattice?
1) Primary axis is the one perpendicular to the
plane of the picture, called c
2) Secondary axes are a1. a2 and a3.
3) Find the intercepts of the plane with the
crystal axes. Express them as integral multiples
of the basis vectors a1. a2,a3 and c.
4) Take the reciprocals of the 4 integers found
a2 in step 3. If possible reduce these to smallest set
of integers h, k, i and l.
5) Label the plane (hkil)
6) h+k =-i
7) Hence sometimes (hkil) is given just as (hkl)

a1 1a2 The plane here is (1120)

1a1
(-1/2)a3
Sebastian Lourdudoss
 Miller indices of the crystallographic
planes
To show h+k = -i in the
a3 hexagonal system
Plane ADC is perpendicular to the plane
of the picture
DE is parallel to AB and the triangle
60o BDE is an equilateral triangle.
B E
a2 Triangles ABC and DEC are similar
C
This leads to
D
(1/k)/(1/h) = [(1/k – 1/s)] /(1/s)
A
=> h+k = s = -i
a1
AB=1/h BD=1/s BC=1/k

Sebastian Lourdudoss
 Violet plane is (1 2, -3, 0)
a3
Green plane is (1, -3,2, 0)

a2

a1 (1/2)a2
1a1
(-1/3)a3
Sebastian Lourdudoss
 c The plane surrounded by the dotted
lines in this hexagonal lattice cuts the
a1, a2, a3 and c axes at 1a1, 1a2, -
(1/2)a3 and ∞, respectively. Here a1,
a2, a3 and c are the respective unit
vectors. The above plane is written in
terms of Miller indices as (1, 1, - 2,
0) in (hkil) notation or (110) in (hkl)
notation. Find the Miller indices of the
a3 plane that cuts a1, a2, a3 and c axes
at 1a1, -(1/3)â2, (1/2)â3 and ∞,
a2 respectively. Write them in both the
notations.
a1

Sebastian Lourdudoss
 Peculiarity of zinc blende structure
with respect to the diamond structure

<111> axes are polar axes in zinc blend

structure, i.e., the layers formed from A
atoms and B atoms do not follow each
other with equal sepration
• If the top side is (111)A then the
bottom side has to be (111)B (why?)
(111)A is (111)In and (111)B is
(111)P in the case of InP
• Etching behaviour of (111)A and
(111)B planes is different. Oxidising
agents attack more readily (111)B
planes (why?)

Sebastian Lourdudoss
 Imperfections in the crystals

Type of imperfection Description

Point defects:
Interstial Extra atom in an interstitial site
Schottky defect Atom missing from correct site
Frenkel defect Atom displaced to interstitial site creating nearby vacancy
Line defects:
Edge dislocations Row of atoms marking edge of a crystallographic plane
extending only part way in crystal
Screw dislocations Row of atoms about which a normal crystallographic
plane appears to be spiral
Plane defects:
Lineage boundary Boundary between two adjacent perfect regions in the
same crystal that are slightly tilted with
respect to each other
Grain boundary Boundary between two crystals in a polycrystalline solid
Stacking fault Boundary between two parts of a closest packing having
alternate stacking sequences

Source: L.V.Azaroff, Introduction to solids, McGraw-Hill, 1977

Sebastian Lourdudoss
 Imperfections in the crystals / Edge
dislocations

(From W.T.Read, Dislocations in Crystals, McGraw-Hill, NY, 1953)

Sebastian Lourdudoss
 Imperfections in
the crystals / Edge
dislocations

(From W.T.Read, Dislocations in

Crystals, McGraw-Hill, NY, 1953)
Sebastian Lourdudoss
 Imperfections in
the crystals / Screw
dislocations

(From W.T.Read, Dislocations in

Crystals, McGraw-Hill, NY, 1953) Screw dislocation: The dislocation AD (of which
only the end A is visible) is parallel to the line
BC, which is parallel to the slip vector.

Sebastian Lourdudoss
 Imperfections in
the crystals /
Burgers vector
Edge dislocations
•Edge dislocations can ”climb” in the direction
perpendicular to the slip plane, i.e. in the z-
direction.
• Climb requires the diffusion of vacancy and
interstitial point defects into and out of the
dislocation’s core => feasible at high T
• They can relieve misfit strain
Screw dislocations
• These cannot relieve misfit strain (if present at
the growth interface)
General
• A dislocation can never just end within the
crystal
• They can form closed loop within the crystal Two basic dislocations along the y axis (dark lines), their
Burgers circuits starting at the white circles and ending at
• They can form a half loop extending in from a the black circles, and their Burgers vectors b (represented
face and then back out the same face by the heavy arrows);
From Donald L.Smith, Thin-Film Deposition, Principles
and Practice, McGraw Hill, NY, 1995
Sebastian Lourdudoss