1. |
- Christle, David J., et al.
(author)
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Isolated Spin Qubits in SiC with a High-Fidelity Infrared Spin-to-Photon Interface
- 2017
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In: Physical Review X. - : AMER PHYSICAL SOC. - 2160-3308. ; 7:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The divacancies in SiC are a family of paramagnetic defects that show promise for quantum communication technologies due to their long-lived electron spin coherence and their optical addressability at near-telecom wavelengths. Nonetheless, a high-fidelity spin-photon interface, which is a crucial prerequisite for such technologies, has not yet been demonstrated. Here, we demonstrate that such an interface exists in isolated divacancies in epitaxial films of 3C-SiC and 4H-SiC. Our data show that divacancies in 4H-SiC have minimal undesirable spin mixing, and that the optical linewidths in our current sample are already similar to those of recent remote entanglement demonstrations in other systems. Moreover, we find that 3C-SiC divacancies have a millisecond Hahn-echo spin coherence time, which is among the longest measured in a naturally isotopic solid. The presence of defects with these properties in a commercial semiconductor that can be heteroepitaxially grown as a thin film on Si shows promise for future quantum networks based on SiC defects.
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2. |
- Galeckas, A., et al.
(author)
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Optical and microstructural investigation of heavy B-doping effects in sublimation-grown 3C-SiC
- 2018
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In: Materials Science Forum. - : Trans Tech Publications Ltd. - 9783035711455 ; , s. 221-224
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this work, a complementary microstructural and optical approach is used to define processing conditions favorable for the formation of deep boron-related acceptor centers that may provide a pathway for achieving an intermediate band behavior in highly B-doped 3C-SiC. The crystallinity, boron solubility and precipitation mechanisms in sublimation-grown 3C-SiC crystals implanted to 1-3 at.% B concentrations were investigated by STEM. The revealed defect formation and boron precipitation trends upon thermal treatment in the range 1100-2000oC have been crosscorrelated with the optical characterization results provided by imaging PL spectroscopy. We discuss optical activity of the implanted B ions in terms of both shallow acceptors and deep D-centers, a complex formed by a boron atom and a carbon vacancy, and associate the observed spectral developments upon annealing with the strong temperature dependence of the D-center formation efficiency, which is further enhanced by the presence of implantation-induced defects. © 2018 Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland.
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3. |
- Jian, Jingxin, et al.
(author)
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A nanostructured NiO/cubic SiC p-n heterojunction photoanode for enhanced solar water splitting
- 2019
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In: Journal of Materials Chemistry A. - : ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY. - 2050-7488 .- 2050-7496. ; 7:9, s. 4721-4728
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water-splitting offers a promising method to convert the intermittent solar energy into renewable and storable chemical energy. However, the most studied semiconductors generally exhibit a poor PEC performance including low photocurrent, small photovoltage, and/or large onset potential. In this work, we demonstrate a significant enhancement of photovoltage and photocurrent together with a substantial decrease of onset potential by introducing electrocatalytic and p-type NiO nanoclusters on an n-type cubic silicon carbide (3C-SiC) photoanode. Under AM1.5G 100 mW cm(-2) illumination, the NiO-coated 3C-SiC photoanode exhibits a photocurrent density of 1.01 mA cm(-2) at 0.55 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (V-RHE), a very low onset potential of 0.20 V-RHE and a high fill factor of 57% for PEC water splitting. Moreover, the 3C-SiC/NiO photoanode shows a high photovoltage of 1.0 V, which is the highest value among reported photovoltages. The faradaic efficiency measurements demonstrate that NiO also protects the 3C-SiC surface against photo-corrosion. The impedance measurements evidence that the 3C-SiC/NiO photoanode facilitates the charge transfer for water oxidation. The valence-band position measurements confirm the formation of the 3C-SiC/NiO p-n heterojunction, which promotes the separation of the photogenerated carriers and reduces carrier recombination, thus resulting in enhanced solar water-splitting.
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4. |
- Jokubavicius, Valdas, et al.
(author)
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Growth optimization and applicability of thick on-axis SiC layers using sublimation epitaxy in vacuum
- 2016
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In: Journal of Crystal Growth. - : Elsevier BV. - 0022-0248 .- 1873-5002. ; 448, s. 51-57
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We demonstrate growth of thick SiC layers (100–200 µm) on nominally on-axis hexagonal substrates using sublimation epitaxy in vacuum (10−5 mbar) at temperatures varying from 1700 to 1975 °C with growth rates up to 270 µm/h and 70 µm/h for 6H- and 4H–SiC, respectively. The stability of hexagonal polytypes are related to process growth parameters and temperature profile which can be engineered using different thermal insulation materials and adjustment of the induction coil position with respect to the graphite crucible. We show that there exists a range of growth rates for which single-hexagonal polytype free of foreign polytype inclusions can be maintained. Further on, foreign polytypes like 3C–SiC can be stabilized by moving out of the process window. The applicability of on-axis growth is demonstrated by growing a 200 µm thick homoepitaxial 6H–SiC layer co-doped with nitrogen and boron in a range of 1018 cm−3 at a growth rate of about 270 µm/h. Such layers are of interest as a near UV to visible light converters in a monolithic white light emitting diode concept, where subsequent nitride-stack growth benefits from the on-axis orientation of the SiC layer.
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5. |
- Jokubavicius, Valdas, 1983-, et al.
(author)
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Silicon Carbide Surface Cleaning and Etching
- 2018
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In: Advancing Silicon Carbide Electronics Technology I. - : Materials Research Forum LLC. - 9781945291845 - 9781945291852 ; , s. 1-26
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Silicon carbide (SiC) surface cleaning and etching (wet, electrochemical, thermal) are important technological processes in preparation of SiC wafers for crystal growth, defect analysis or device processing. While removal of organic, particulate and metallic contaminants by chemical cleaning is a routine process in research and industrial production, the etching which, in addition to structural defects analysis, can also be used to modify wafer surface structure, is very interesting for development of innovative device concepts. In this book chapter we review SiC chemical cleaning and etching procedures and present perspectives of SiC etching for new device development.
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6. |
- Jokubavicius, Valdas, et al.
(author)
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Single Domain 3C-SiC Growth on Off-Oriented 4H-SiC Substrates
- 2015
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In: Crystal Growth & Design. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1528-7483 .- 1528-7505. ; 15:6, s. 2940-2947
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We investigated the formation of structural defects in thick (∼1 mm) cubic silicon carbide (3C-SiC) layers grown on off-oriented 4H-SiC substrates via a lateral enlargement mechanism using different growth conditions. A two-step growth process based on this technique was developed, which provides a trade-off between the growth rate and the number of defects in the 3C-SiC layers. Moreover, we demonstrated that the two-step growth process combined with a geometrically controlled lateral enlargement mechanism allows the formation of a single 3C-SiC domain which enlarges and completely covers the substrate surface. High crystalline quality of the grown 3C-SiC layers is confirmed using high resolution X-ray diffraction and low temperature photoluminescence measurements.
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7. |
- Jokubavičius, Valdas
(author)
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Sublimation Growth of 3C-SiC : From Thick Layers to Bulk Material
- 2016
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Silicon carbide (SiC) is a semiconductor material which holds high promises for various device applications. It can be obtained in different crystal structures called polytypes. The most common ones are hexagonal (6H- and 4H-SiC) and cubic (3C-SiC) silicon carbide. The 6H- and 4H-SiC single crystal substrates are commercially available, while technologies for the growth of 3C-SiC are still under development. The unique 3C-SiC properties like isotropy, narrower bandgap (2.4 eV) compared to hexagonal polytypes (about 3 eV) and high electron mobility make it better over hexagonal counterparts for some semiconductor applications, for example, metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs). However, due to lack of high quality material, the full potential of 3C-SiC in device applications has not been revealed. In addition, it has properties suitable to explore new concepts in efficient photovoltaics or solar driven hydrogen generation by water splitting.There is a need for 3C-SiC seeds to grow large 3C-SiC crystals by the widely used Physical Vapor Transport (PVT) technique. In case of hexagonal SiC polytypes such seeds were produced by the Lely method during which hexagonal SiC crystals spontaneously nucleate on the inner walls of a crucible. However, the formation of 3C-SiC using the Lely method is rarely observed. Therefore, the 3C-SiC has to be heteroepitaxially grown on silicon or hexagonal SiC substrates. Silicon is an inexpensive material with very high crystalline quality. However, due to almost 20% mismatch in lattice parameters and 8% difference in thermal expansion coefficient there is a high density of structural defects formed at the 3C-SiC/Si interface. In contrast, the 3C-SiC/hexagonal SiC material system does not encounter such problems, but there are other challenges like polytype stability or formation of structural defects called double positioning boundaries (DPBs).This thesis work mainly focuses on the growth of 3C-SiC on hexagonal SiC substrates using sublimation epitaxy. The research covers the development of growth process for thick (~1 mm) 3C-SiC layers, advancement of the growth process to eliminate DPBs and growth of bulk material using thick 3C-SiC layers as seeds. The 3C-SiC was grown on off-oriented hexagonal SiC substrates. The surfaces of such substrates contain high density of steps. Therefore, they have mostly been used for the growth of homoepitaxial hexagonal layers or bulk crystals via step flow mechanism. However, as demonstrated in this thesis, under special conditions the 3C-SiC with high crystalline quality can also be grown on off-oriented hexagonal substrates. The stability window for the growth of hexagonal and cubic polytypes on nominally on-axis hexagonal SiC substrates is also explored. Moreover, it is demonstrated how the temperature profile inside the graphite crucible is influenced by the change in thermal insulation properties and how such change results in enhanced polytype stability during the growth of thick SiC layers. In addition, different sources for sublimation epitaxial growth of doped SiC layers were analyzed to gain further understanding of new parameter windows.As a part of this thesis, a sublimation etching of 6H-, 4H- and 3C-SiC polytypes is presented using two different etching arrangements in vacuum (10-5 mbar) and Ar ambient. It is demonstrated that this technique can be used to remove residual scratches on the surface as well as to obtain various surface step structures which could be used for the growth of graphene nanostructures.
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8. |
- Jokubavicius, Valdas, et al.
(author)
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Surface engineering of SiC via sublimation etching
- 2016
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In: Applied Surface Science. - Amsterdam : Elsevier BV. - 0169-4332 .- 1873-5584. ; 390, s. 816-822
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present a technique for etching of SiC which is based on sublimation and can be used to modify the morphology and reconstruction of silicon carbide surface for subsequent epitaxial growth of various materials, for example graphene. The sublimation etching of 6H-, 4H- and 3C-SiC was explored in vacuum (10−5 mbar) and Ar (700 mbar) ambient using two different etching arrangements which can be considered as Si-C and Si-C-Ta chemical systems exhibiting different vapor phase stoichiometry at a given temperature. The surfaces of different polytypes etched under similar conditions are compared and the etching mechanism is discussed with an emphasis on the role of tantalum as a carbon getter. To demonstrate applicability of such etching process graphene nanoribbons were grown on a 4H-SiC surface that was pre-patterned using the thermal etching technique presented in this study.
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9. |
- Karlsson, M., et al.
(author)
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Wafer-scale epitaxial graphene on SiC for sensing applications
- 2015
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In: Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering. - : SPIE - The International Society for Optics and Photonics. - 9781628418903
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The epitaxial graphene-on-silicon carbide (SiC-G) has advantages of high quality and large area coverage owing to a natural interface between graphene and SiC substrate with dimension up to 100 mm. It enables cost effective and reliable solutions for bridging the graphene-based sensors/devices from lab to industrial applications and commercialization. In this work, the structural, optical and electrical properties of wafer-scale graphene grown on 2'™'™ 4H semi-insulating (SI) SiC utilizing sublimation process were systemically investigated with focus on evaluation of the graphene'™s uniformity across the wafer. As proof of concept, two types of glucose sensors based on SiC-G/Nafion/Glucose-oxidase (GOx) and SiC-G/Nafion/Chitosan/GOx were fabricated and their electrochemical properties were characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements. In addition, a few similar glucose sensors based on graphene by chemical synthesis using modified Hummer'™s method were also fabricated for comparison.
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10. |
- Kaushik, Priya Darshni, et al.
(author)
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Modifications in structural, optical and electrical properties of epitaxial graphene on SiC due to 100 MeV silver ion irradiation
- 2018
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In: Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing. - : Pergamon Press. - 1369-8001 .- 1873-4081. ; 74, s. 122-128
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Epitaxial graphene (EG) on silicon carbide (SiC) is a combination of two robust materials that are excellent candidates for post silicon electronics. In this work, we systematically investigate structural changes in SiC substrate as well as graphene on SiC and explore the potential for controlled applications due to 100 MeV silver swift heavy ion (SHI) irradiation. Raman spectroscopy showed fluence dependent decrease in intensity of first and second order modes of SiC, along with decrease in Relative Raman Intensity upon ion irradiation. Similarly, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) showed fluence dependent decrease in Si-C bond intensity with presence of C = O, Si-O-Si, Si-Si and C-H bond showing introduction of vacancy, substitutional and sp(3) defects in both graphene and SiC. C1s spectra in XPS shows decrease in C = C graphitic peak and increase in interfacial layer following ion irradiation. Reduction in monolayer coverage of graphene after ion irradiation was observed by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Further, UV-Visible spectroscopy showed increase in absorbance of EG on SiC at increasing fluence. I-V characterization showed fluence dependent increase in resistance from 62.9 O in pristine sample to 480.1 Omega in sample irradiated at 6.6 x 10(12) ions/cm(2) fluence. The current study demonstrates how SHI irradiation can be used to tailor optoelectronic applicability of EG on SiC.
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