Search for: All records

We investigate the temperature-dependent complex dielectric function of bulk single-crystal In2O3 over the spectral range of 1–6 eV and temperatures from room temperature to 600 °C under high-vacuum conditions using in situ spectroscopic ellipsometry. The dielectric function was modeled using wavelength-by-wavelength and critical-point model dielectric function analyses. The dielectric function exhibits pronounced alterations with increasing temperature, attributed to thermally induced changes in the band structure and carrier dynamics. We identify direct and indirect interband transitions and excitonic contributions associated with the direct bandgap near the onset of absorption. At elevated temperatures, features in the dielectric function due to indirect transitions emerge below the direct bandgap energy, which shift toward shorter photon energies with increasing temperature. Combining our results with low-temperature data from previous reports, both observed shifts of the direct and indirect transitions can be seamlessly explained with the Bose–Einstein model. The direct transition is coupled less strong to the phonon bath (average temperature θB=512 K), leading to a smaller high-temperature slope (γ=−0.2 meV/K) than for the indirect transition (θB=360 K, γ=−1.3 meV/K). The exciton contributions diminish toward higher temperatures reflected by the decrease in amplitude and increase in broadening model parameters. Our parameter set can be used to calculate the model dielectric function In2O3 at elevated temperatures. 

Electron paramagnetic resonance of Cr3+ ions in β-Ga2O3 is investigated using terahertz spectroscopic ellipsometry under magnetic field sweeping, a technique that enables the polarization resolving capabilities of ellipsometry for magnetic resonance measurements. We employed a single-crystal chromium-doped β-Ga2O3 sample, grown by the Czochralski method, and performed ellipsometry measurements at magnetic field strengths ranging from 2 to 8 T, at frequencies from 82 to 125 and 190 to 230 GHz, and at a temperature of 15 K. Analysis of the frequency-field diagrams derived from all Mueller matrix elements allowed us to differentiate between the effects of electron spin Zeeman splitting and zero-field splitting and to accurately determine the anisotropic Zeeman splitting g-tensor and the zero-field splitting parameters. Our results confirm that Cr3+ ions predominantly substitute into octahedral gallium sites. Line shape analysis of Mueller matrix element spectra using the Bloch–Brillouin model provides the spin volume concentration of Cr3+ sites, showing very good agreement with results from chemical analysis by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy and suggesting minimal occupation of sites with inactive electron paramagnetic resonance. This study enhances our understanding of the magnetic and electronic properties of chromium-doped β-Ga2O3 and demonstrates the effectiveness of high-frequency/high-field electron paramagnetic resonance generalized spectroscopic ellipsometry for characterizing defects in ultrawide-bandgap semiconductors. 

Abstract Ultra-thin films of low damping ferromagnetic insulators with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy have been identified as critical to advancing spin-based electronics by significantly reducing the threshold for current-induced magnetization switching while enabling new types of hybrid structures or devices. Here, we have developed a new class of ultra-thin spinel structure Li_0.5Al_1.0Fe_1.5O₄(LAFO) films on MgGa₂O₄(MGO) substrates with: 1) perpendicular magnetic anisotropy; 2) low magnetic damping and 3) the absence of degraded or magnetic dead layers. These films have been integrated with epitaxial Pt spin source layers to demonstrate record low magnetization switching currents and high spin-orbit torque efficiencies. These LAFO films on MGO thus combine all of the desirable properties of ferromagnetic insulators with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, opening new possibilities for spin based electronics. 

We report the elevated temperature (22 °C [Formula: see text]  T [Formula: see text] 600 °C) dielectric function properties of melt grown single crystal ZnGa 2 O 4 using a spectroscopic ellipsometry approach. A temperature dependent Cauchy dispersion analysis was applied across the transparent spectrum to determine the high-frequency index of refraction yielding a temperature dependent slope of 3.885(2) × 10 −5  K −1 . A model dielectric function critical point analysis was applied to examine the dielectric function and critical point transitions for each temperature. The lowest energy M 0 -type critical point associated with the direct bandgap transition in ZnGa 2 O 4 is shown to red-shift linearly as the temperature is increased with a subsequent slope of −0.72(4) meV K −1 . Furthermore, increasing the temperature results in a reduction of the excitonic amplitude and increase in the exciton broadening akin to exciton evaporation and lifetime shortening. This matches current theoretical understanding of excitonic behavior and critically provides justification for an anharmonic broadened Lorentz oscillator to be applied for model analysis of excitonic contributions.