Semiconductor photocathodes with gradient-doping structures have attracted lots of interest in recent years because of their improved performances, such as higher quantum efficiency and longer diffusion length, over uniform-doped devices. It has been suggested that such improvement is due to the built-in electric field generated by the gradient of the doping concentration in the active layer. Under this built-in field, photoelectrons migrate toward the device surface via both diffusion and directional drift. While some past reports have studied and compared the photoelectron behaviors in uniform- and gradient-doped GaAs photocathodes, most of them are based on steady-state measurement and analysis. There has been little prior work focusing on dynamic responses. In this presentation, we report a comparative study of the ultrafast response of a uniform-doped and a gradient-doped GaAs photocathode, both theoretically and experimentally. We first develop a generalized diffusion-drift model, which adds a built-in electric field to a carrier diffusion model to incorporate the carrier drift. Then the theoretical model is used to predict the ultrafast transient behaviors of photoelectrons in both uniform- and gradient-doped photocathodes. Finally, the transient reflectivity of the photocathode devices is experimentally measured using pump-probe reflectometry (PPR), and the results are compared to the theoretical predictions. These comparisons indicate that the theoretical model is able to offer an appropriate physical picture of carrier transportation inside GaAs photocathodes of different doping profiles. It also enables the evaluation of device parameters such as diffusion coefficient and carrier decay time via PPR measurement.
Negative electron affinity (NEA) GaAs photocathodes have attracted a wide scope of interest because of their high quantum efficiency and low dark emission. Traditionally, fabrication of GaAs photocathodes has taken two approaches: molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and metal–organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Understanding the difference between these two methods in terms of device performance can help guide future device development. While past research has indicated that photocathodes grown by MOCVD generally have better spectral response and quantum efficiency, these reports are all based on steady-state analysis and measurement. There has been little prior work comparing the dynamic response of devices fabricated with different technologies. In this presentation, we report a comparative study of the ultrafast response of two gradient-doped GaAs photocathodes fabricated using two different methods, viz. MBE and MOCVD. Our approach is based on femtosecond pump-probe reflectometry (PPR), which measures the transient reflectivity of these devices upon optical excitation by femtosecond pulses. Preliminary PPR result shows that carrier build-up near photocathode surface in the MOCVD device is more efficient compared to the MBE device. A carrier-diffusion model is used to analyze photoelectron transport, accumulation, and decay in the active layer. Experiment-theory comparisons indicate a bi-exponential nature of free-electron population decay near device surface. Excellent agreement between theoretical predictions and measured data not only validates the numerical model but also allows various device parameters to be evaluated quantitatively.
Using first-principle calculations, we compare the quantum efficiency and stability of Cs-GaN planar model and Cs-GaN nanowire model. The results show that the work function of GaN nanowire photocathodes decreases continuously with the increase of θCs, the “Cs-kill” phenomenon disappears, resulting in a lower work function (1.76 eV) than the conventional GaN planar photocathodes (1.82 eV). However, we find that the nanowire GaN photocathodes had a lower stability by calculating the adsorption energy. In addition, the surface atomic structures of both kinds of photocathodes are almost identical, which account for the similarity of their best adsorption sites. Our study is helpful to the growth of GaN nanowire materials in the future and can be used to guide the improvements of GaN-based equipment photoelectric efficiency.
Significant advance has been made over the last decade in the development of broadband optoelectronic devices based on novel technologies such as 2D materials, metamaterials, plasmonics, negative electron affinity photoemission, etc. Understanding carrier dynamics in such devices, especially carrier relaxation and transportation near device surfaces, requires time-resolved, broadband reflective spectroscopy with femtosecond temporal resolutions. Femtosecond pump-probe reflectivity measurement (PPRM) has long been used to study carrier dynamics in semiconductor devices. However, conventional PPRM lacks the necessary bandwidth and the ability to make spectroscopic measurement. In this presentation, we report the demonstration of wavelength-resolved transient reflectivity measurement using a ultrabroad-band few-cycle pump-probe system. The system allows device transient reflectivity to be mapped onto a two-dimensional space formed by time and wavelength, providing a comprehensive characterization of ultrafast carrier dynamics. Preliminary results based on a GaAs substrate and GaAs/AlGaAs layered structures have offered interesting insights into device dynamics that otherwise would not be clear. These results demonstrate the feasibility of performing wavelength-resolved transient reflectivity measurement and the effectiveness of this technique in characterizing broadband optoelectronic devices.
Negative electron affinity (NEA) photocathodes have attracted a lot of interest over the last two decades due to their high quantum efficiency and low dark emission, which are desirable for night vision and other low-light applications. Recently, gradient-doping technique has shown promise to significantly improve the quantum yield of GaAs/AlGaAs heterojunction photocathodes by assisting electron diffusion toward the surface. In the present work, femtosecond pumpprobe transient reflectivity measurement has been used to study the ultrafast carrier dynamics in NEA GaAs/AlGaAs photocathodes. The research focuses on the comparison between a traditional, uniform-doped structure (1.7 μm p-GaAs (1×1019 cm-3) / 0.7 μm p-Al0.57Ga0.43As (3×1018 cm-3) / si-GaAs substrate) and a gradient-doped structure (0.1 μm pGaAs (1×1018 cm-3) / 1.2 μm p-Al0.63Ga0.37As (doping level gradually changes from 1×1018 cm-3 to 1×1019 cm-3) / 0.5 μm p-GaAlAs (1×1019 cm-3) / si-GaAs substrate). Our result indicates that gradient doping not only leads to more efficient electron transportation but also results in better electron accumulation (i.e. higher concentration and longer lifetime) near device surface, a feature well-suited for photocathodes. Moreover, we have shown that pump-probe transient reflectivity measurement is able to offer a direct picture of electron diffusion inside NEA photocathodes, which can be of significant importance to device development.
II-VI colloidal quantum dots (QDs) are ideal for optical sensors thanks to their high fluorescent brightness and good size uniformity. However, embedding colloidal QDs into a glass matrix with the standard sol-gel process leads to the QDs being damaged by the acid catalyst. Here, we report an acid-free sol-gel technique, which proves to be both simple and effective in fabricating silica glass thin films embedded with commercial II-VI colloidal QDs. Octadecylamine ligands are used as a bifunctional aid to not only stabilize the QDs in solution, but also assist the formation of the SiO2 gel. We demonstrate that high-quality QD-embedded glass thin films can be developed with this technique, and our fluorescent tests indicate that, except for a small blueshift in the emission spectrum, the QDs are very well preserved through the sol-gel process. This method offers a fast and low-cost path towards thin-film QD sensors with good mechanical and thermal stabilities, which are desirable for applications involving highly focused laser beams, such as ultrafast nanophotonics.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.