Publications

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Photodetectors sensitive to the ultra-violet spectrum were demonstrated using an AlGaN high electron mobility transistor with an GaN nanodot optical floating gate. Peak responsivity of 2 x 10⁹ A/W was achieved with a gain-bandwidth product > 1 GHz at a cut-on energy of 4.10 eV. Similar devices exhibited visible-blind rejection ratios > 10⁶. The photodetection mechanism for $β$-Ga₂O₃ was also investigated. It was concluded that Schottky barrier lowering by self-trapped holes enables photodetector gain.

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Neutron sensing is critical in civilian and military applications. Conventional neutron sensors are limited by size, weight, cost, portability and helium supply. Here the microfabrication of gadolinium (Gd) conversion material-based heterojunction diodes for detecting thermal neutrons using electrical signals produced by internal conversion electrons (ICEs) is described. Films with negligible stress were produced at the tensile-compressive crossover point, enabling Gd coatings of any desired thickness by controlling the radiofrequency sputtering power and using the zero-point near p(Ar) of 50 mTorr at 100 W. Post-deposition Gd oxidation-induced spallation was eliminated by growing a residual stress-free 50 nm neodymium-doped aluminum cap layer atop Gd. The resultant coatings were stable for at least 6 years, demonstrating excellent stability and product shelf-life. Depositing Gd directly on the diode surface eliminated the air gap, leading to a 200-fold increase in electron capture efficiency and facilitating monolithic microfabrication. The conversion electron spectrum was dominated by ICEs with energies of 72, 132 and 174 keV. Results are reported for neutron reflection and moderation by polyethylene for enhanced sensitivity, and γ- and X-ray elimination for improved specificity. The optimal Gd thickness was 10.4 μm for a 300 μm-thick partially depleted diode of 300 mm 2 active surface area. Fast detection (within 10 min) at a neutron source-to-diode distance of 11.7 cm was achieved with this configuration. All ICE energies along with γ-ray and K α,β X-rays were modeled to emphasize correlations between experiment and theory. Semi-conductor thermal neutron detectors offer advantages for field-sensing of radioactive neutron sources.

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The room temperature electronic transport properties of 100 nm-thick thermoelectric Bi0.8Sb0.2 films, sputter-deposited onto quartz substrates and post-annealed in an ex-situ furnace, systematically correlate with the overall microstructural quality, improving with increasing annealing temperature until close to the melting point for the alloy composition. The optimized films have high crystalline quality with ∼99% of the grains oriented with the trigonal axis perpendicular to the substrate surface. Film resistivities and Seebeck coefficients are accurately measured by preventing deleterious surface oxide formation via a SiN capping layer and using Nd-doped Al for contacts. The resulting values are similar to single crystals and significantly better than previous reports from films and polycrystalline bulk alloys.

Neutron sensing is critical in civilian, military, industrial, biological, medical, basic research, and environmental applications. Conventional neutron sensors are limited by size, weight, cost, portability, and helium supply. Here the microfabrication of Gd conversion material-based heterojunction diodes is described for detecting thermal neutrons using electrical signals produced by internal conversion electrons (ICE). Films with negligible stress were produced at the tensile-compressive crossover point, enabling Gd coatings of any desired thickness by controlling the radiofrequency sputtering power and using the zero-point near p(Ar) of 50 mTorr at 100 W. Post-deposition Gd oxidation-induced spallation was eliminated by growing a residual stress-free 50 nm neodymium-doped aluminum cap layer atop Gd. Resultant coatings were stable for at least six years demonstrating excellent product shelf life. Depositing Gd on the diode surface eliminated air gap, leading to improved efficiency and facilitating monolithic microfabrication. The conversion electron spectrum was dominated by ICE with energies of 72, 132, and 174 keV. Results are reported on neutron reflection and moderation by polyethylene for enhanced sensitivity and γ- and X-ray elimination for improved specificity. Optimal Gd thickness was 10.4 μm with 300 μm thick partially depleted diode of 300 mm2 active surface area. Fast detection within 10 minutes at a neutron source-to-diode distance of 11.7 cm was achieved using this configuration. All ICE energies along with γ-ray and Kα X-ray were modeled to emphasize correlations between experiment and theory and to calculate efficiencies. Semiconductor thermal neutron detectors offer advantages for field-sensing of radioactive neutron sources.

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We study nanoporous-carbon (NPC) grown via pulsed laser deposition (PLD) as an electrically conductive anode host material for Mg2+ intercalation. NPC has high surface area, and an open, accessible pore structure tunable via mass density that can improve diffusion. We fabricate 2032 coin cells using NPC coated stainless-steel disk anodes, metallic Mg cathodes, and a Grignardbased electrolyte. NPC mass density is controlled during growth, ranging from 0.06-1.3 g/cm3. The specific surface area of NPC increases linearly from 1,000 to 1,700 m2/g as mass density decreases from 1.3 to 0.26 g/cm3, however, the surface area falls off dramatically at lowermass densities, implying a lack of mechanical integrity in such nanostructures. These structural characterizations correlate directly with coin cell electrochemical measurements. In particular, cyclic voltammetry (CV) scans for NPC with density ∼0.5 g/cm3 and BET surface area ∼1500 m2/g infer the possibility of reversible Mg-ion intercalation. Higher density NPC yields capacitive behavior, most likely resulting from the smaller interplanar spacings between graphene sheet fragments and tighter domain boundaries; lower density NPC results in asymmetrical CV scans, consistent with the likely structural degradation resulting from mass transport through soft, low-density carbon materials.

Compositional-homogeneity and crystalline-orientation are necessary attributes to achieve high thermoelectric performance in Bi1-xSbx thin films. Following deposition in vacuum, and upon air exposure, we find that 50%-95% of the Sb in 100-nm thick films segregates to form a nanocrystalline Sb2O3 surface layer, leaving the film bulk as Bi-metal. However, we demonstrate that a thin SiN capping layer deposited prior to air exposure prevents Sb-segregation, preserving a uniform film composition. Furthermore, the capping layer enables annealing in forming gas to improve crystalline orientations along the preferred trigonal axis, beneficially reducing electrical resistivity.