β-Ga2O3 thin films grown on widely available c-plane sapphire substrates typically exhibit structural defects due to significant lattice and thermal expansion mismatch, which hinder the use of such films in electronic devices. In this work, we studied the impact of a nucleation layer on MOCVD-grown β-Ga2O3 thin film structure and morphology on a c-plane sapphire substrate. The structure and morphology of the films were investigated by X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, transmission and scanning electron microscopy, while the composition was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and micro-Raman spectroscopy. It was observed that the use of a nucleation layer significantly increases the grain size in the films in comparison to the films without, particularly in the samples in which H2O was used alongside O2 as the oxygen source for the nucleation layer growth. Our study demonstrates that a nucleation layer can play a critical role in obtaining high quality β-Ga2O3 thin films on c-plane sapphire.

Growth of gallium oxide thin film was realized with MOCVD on (0001) sapphire substrate. Structural and compositional properties of thin film were studied employing trimethylgallium and water as precursors, carrier gases were H 2 and N 2 . Obtained film is polycrystalline and predominantly consisted of (201) oriented β-Ga 2 O 3 . Sample exhibited blue luminescence which is attributed to oxygen vacancies. H 2 gas proved to have beneficial effect on film quality and overall growth process.

Growth of gallium oxide thin film was realized with MOCVD on (0001) sapphire substrate. Structural and compositional properties of thin film were studied employing trimethylgallium and water as precursors, carrier gases were H2 and N2. Obtained film is polycrystalline and predominantly consisted of (201) oriented β-Ga2O3. Sample exhibited blue luminescence which is attributed to oxygen vacancies. H2 gas proved to have beneficial effect on film quality and overall growth process.

Highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) was scribed by pulsed laser beam to produce square patterns. Patterning of HOPG surface facilitates the detachment of graphene layers during contact printing. Direct HOPG-to-substrate and glue-assisted stamp printing of a few-layers graphene was compared. Printed graphene sheets were visualized by optical and scanning electron microscopy. The number of graphene layers was measured by atomic force microscopy. Glue-assisted stamp printing allows printing relatively large graphene sheets (40×40 μm) onto a silicon wafer. The presented method is easier to implement and is more flexible than the majority of existing ways of placing graphene sheets onto a substrate.

Vertically oriented nanowires (NWs) of single-crystalline wurtzite GaN have been fabricated on sapphire substrates, via metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). We present ex situ investigations on orientation and structure of grown GaN nanowires on GaN(0001) surface using reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED). Both ordered and randomly oriented GaN crystalline structures have been detected.

GaN nanowires (NWs) were successfully grown by Vapor-Liquid-Solid (VLS) growth mechanism on GaN template using metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) with diameters ranging from 20 to 200 nm and length up to few microns. The characterization by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) reveals an optimum growth temperature at 790 degrees C and X-ray diffraction (XRD) investigations indicates oriented crystallinity of grown NWs.

In the GaN-based ternary alloys, InGaN crystals have been recognized as key materials for e-h plasmas-exciton dynamics, because of large exciton binding energies (24.8 meV in GaN). We report investigations of creating and recombination dynamics of excitons in commercially important InxGa1-xN composition range from x=0.1 to 0.18 in which nanoscale indium composition fluctuation occurs and formation of indium rich clusters acting as quantum dots (QD) can be expected. Three MOCVD grown samples having x= 0.1; 0.14 and 0.18 have been investigated using 3D picosecond transient PL spectroscopy. It has been found that the band to band photo excitation at 15 K in whole composition range results in creating of complex luminescence band represented by three close overlapping Gaussian shape single exciton bands. All three exciton bands show fast decay time constants in a picosecond range. For all the samples the PL intensity dependence on excitation pulse power for each exciton band is different. An increase of the excitation pulse power density results in the linear growth of the band at the higher photon energy side. The next energy bands with lower photon energy show correspondingly quadratic and cubic dependences on laser pulse energy and are caused by the formation of biexcitons and triexcitons. Fast decay kinetics and excitation of multi-excitonic complexes are evident for important role of quantum dots by quantum capture of excitons in the considered composition range.

Picosecond time resolved photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy of excitonic processes in MOCVD grown In(x)G(1-x)N mixed films with the In concentration in range from x=0.1 to 0.18 under the band-to-band excitation are considered. It is stated that by an In content in alloy up to 12% the band-band photo excitation at 8 K results in creating of localized excitons and biexcitons represented by close overlapping Gaussian shape luminescence bands having FWHM 27 and 8.7 meV, respectively. PL decay kinetics of both bands involves two exponential decay stages. Excitons and biexcitons in unperturbed lattice positions causes fast decay with tau similar to 10 ps, whereas their transfer to the metastable state due to relaxation of In - Ga local configuration causes slow decay tau similar to 90 ps At increased In content up to 19% both the localized excitons and biexcitons are represented by Gaussian type luminescence bands being non-uniform broadened to the high energy side. The continuous distribution of excitons and biexcitons in transition energies is stated by analysis of the red-shift of luminescence bands during the spectra decay. An additional new narrow low energy PL band arises at low energy side expected to be caused by excitons at InN clusters.

We studied oxyfluoride composites based on lithium silicate glasses with yttrium fluorides and rare-earth dopants. The electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) has been used to obtain information about radiation induced defects in these materials. Spectra have been measured before and after X-ray irradiation at room temperature and at liquid nitrogen temperature. Fluoride crystallites within samples were created by means of thermal treatment at specific temperatures. EPR spectra of radiation induced defects in oxyfluoride glass ceramics, in which crystallites have not been yet created, show no explicit hfs interaction of fluorine nuclei. However, in glass ceramics, which already contains fluoride crystallites, the hfs characteristic to fluorine nuclei appears in the EPR spectra. EPR hyperfine structure could be explained within a model of an F-type centre in YF3 crystalline phase.

Temperature Effects in Up-Conversion Processes of Erbium - Ytterbium Doped Oxyfluoride Silicate GlassEr3+- Yb3+doped oxyfluoride glass has been synthesized and investigated. It was found that the up-conversion spectrum of the sample excited by a 980 nm laser diode is highly dependent on the temperature of the sample. Using fluorescence intensity ratio technique the green up-conversion emissions at 525 nm and 550 nm were studied in detail in the temperature range 120-600 K. The potential applicability of the obtained results in the field of the temperature sensing is discussed.

AlGaN alloy thin film materials are of high interest for light emitting diodes (LED of the ultraviolet (UV) spectral region. Origin of the deep intrinsic and impurity Si states in the AlxGa1-xN (0 < x < 0.35) epilayer structures grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) technique have been considered. Effects of the lattice mismatch and Si-doping in the heterostructures of epilayers with different alloy composition are investigated using time resolved photoluminescence (PL) of donor - deep acceptor (DA) pairs. It is shown that the undoped AlGaN alloys, grown on a GaN buffer layer, due to the lattice mismatch contain the increased concentration of cation vacancy (V-cation) defects acting as a deep acceptor centers and responsible for PL. Si-doping results in both the additional increase of V-cation concentration and the formation in cation sub lattice of new (VcationSication) deep acceptor complexes. It is shown that by increase of the Al content in the AlGaN alloy the composition disorder of both deep acceptor centers V-cation and (VcationSication) complex appears. The corresponding broad PL bands are resolved in number of subbands. It is stated that deposition of Si-doped AlGaN alloy on undoped GaN results in formation of Si-doped GaN interlayer.

AlGaN-InGaN-GaN Near Ultraviolet Light Emitting DiodeA 382-nm InGaN/AlGaN light-emitting diode (LED) was made on a sapphire substrate by metal-organic vapour phase deposition (MOCVD) technique. Growing of the undoped and Si-doped GaN and AlxGa1-xN monocrystalline layers with a surface roughness of < 1 nm required for making light emitting devices has been carried out. To enhance the LED emission efficiency, a modified symmetric composition of an active single quantum well (SQW) structure was proposed. In addition to the conventional p-doped AlGaN:Mg electron overflow blocking barrier, ann-doped AlGaN:Si SQW barrier layer in the structure was formed that was meant to act as an additional electron tunneling barrier.

In the present work we studied the possibility to obtain oxyfluoride glass ceramics based on a lithium and potassium borate glasses with addition of fluorides. Lithium-borate glasses without lanthanum fluoride are transparent up to 275 nm. In samples with LaF3 doped with Ce-activator, an additional absorption at about 300 nm and intense photoluminescence could be observed. Ce-doped potassium-borate glass with addition of fluorides LaF3, LiF and GdF3 was milky and not transparent, an intense photoluminescence has been observed, X-ray diffraction measurements showed a presence of well-pronounced crystalline phases of LiF as well as of GdBO3. (c) 2007 WILEY-VCH Vertag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

In our research the up-conversion processes in Er doped bulk LiF crystal, lithium borate oxyfluoride glass and lithium borate oxyfluoride glass ceramics were studied: up-conversion and traditional photoluminescence spectra, the up-converted signal as a function of the laser power are presented. It was found that sharp luminescence bands in the visible part of the spectrum appear when the bulk crystal is subjected to IR irradiation at 980 nm by a laser diode. After the heat treatment of the glass submicron crystallites were detected by SEM technique. The presence of LiF crystalline phase in the oxyfluoride glass ceramics was proved by XRD method. The questions about the synthesis of the oxyfluoride glass ceramics and the possible mechanisms of the up-conversion process in the mentioned hosts are discussed.