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Thin Films and Semiconductor Heterostructures: From Fundamental to Applications
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Thin Films and Semiconductor Heterostructures: From Fundamental to Applications

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Electronic Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 December 2024) | Viewed by 4912

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Martin Weis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Electronics and Photonics, Slovak University of Technology, Bratislava, Slovakia
Interests: nano-sensor; field effect-based biosensors; advanced semiconductors and organic semiconductors; thin-film technology and nanotechnology; nanostructures materials; device physics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Semiconductor heterostructures are engineered materials composed of different semiconducting materials that are stacked or layered together to bring unique electronic properties. In addition, the thin-film technology provides an ideal tool for the design of nanostructured interfaces offering novel quantum effects. These structures are designed to combine the favorable properties of multiple semiconductors, enabling the development of high-performance electronic devices. Semiconductor heterostructures offer a versatile platform for tailoring the electronic properties of materials, enabling the creation of high-performance electronic devices. Through the strategic combination of different semiconductors and the manipulation of carrier behavior, these heterostructures play a crucial role in advancing technologies such as optoelectronics, quantum computing, and high-speed electronics.

This Special Issue will compile recent developments in the field of thin films and semiconductor heterostructures. The articles presented in this Special Issue will cover various topics, including advanced semiconductor materials and 2D materials, the optimization of deposition methods, thin-film device fabrication, and device characterization techniques. Topics are open to metal oxide thin film deposition and characterization for the development of applications.

Prof. Dr. Martin Weis
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • advanced semiconductors and 2D materials
  • thin-film technology and nanotechnology
  • heterostructures and quantum‒well structures
  • device fabrication techniques
  • novel device characterization techniques

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 5275 KiB  
Article
Optimization of In-Situ Growth of Superconducting Al/InAs Hybrid Systems on GaAs for the Development of Quantum Electronic Circuits
by Magdhi Kirti, Máté Sütő, Endre Tóvári, Péter Makk, Tamás Prok, Szabolcs Csonka, Pritam Banerjee, Piu Rajak, Regina Ciancio, Jasper R. Plaisier, Pietro Parisse and Giorgio Biasiol
Materials 2025, 18(2), 385; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18020385 - 16 Jan 2025
Viewed by 1534
Abstract
Hybrid systems consisting of highly transparent channels of low-dimensional semiconductors between superconducting elements allow the formation of quantum electronic circuits. Therefore, they are among the novel material platforms that could pave the way for scalable quantum computation. To this aim, InAs two-dimensional electron [...] Read more.
Hybrid systems consisting of highly transparent channels of low-dimensional semiconductors between superconducting elements allow the formation of quantum electronic circuits. Therefore, they are among the novel material platforms that could pave the way for scalable quantum computation. To this aim, InAs two-dimensional electron gases are among the ideal semiconductor systems due to their vanishing Schottky barrier; however, their exploitation is limited by the unavailability of commercial lattice-matched substrates. We show that in situ growth of superconducting aluminum on two-dimensional electron gases forming in metamorphic near-surface InAs quantum wells can be performed by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs substrates with state-of-the-art quality. Adaptation of the metamorphic growth protocol has allowed us to reach low-temperature electron mobilities up to 1.3 × 105 cm2/Vs in Si-doped InAs/In0.81Ga0.19As two-dimensional electron gases placed 10 nm from the surface with charge density up to 1 × 1012/cm2. Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations on Hall bar structures show well-developed quantum Hall plateaus, including the Zeeman split features. X-ray diffraction and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy experiments demonstrate the coexistence of (011) and (111) crystal domains in the Al layers. The resistivity of 10-nm-thick Al films as a function of temperature was comparable to the best Al layers on GaAs, and a superconducting proximity effect was observed in a Josephson junction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thin Films and Semiconductor Heterostructures: From Fundamental to Applications)
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10 pages, 1729 KiB  
Communication
Band Alignment of Stacked Crystalline Si/GaN pn Heterostructures Interfaced with an Amorphous Region Using X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy
by Kwangeun Kim
Materials 2024, 17(24), 6099; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17246099 - 13 Dec 2024
Viewed by 710
Abstract
The energy band alignment of a stacked Si/GaN heterostructure was investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) depth profiling, highlighting the influence of the amorphous interface region on the electronic properties. The crystalline Si/GaN pn heterostructure was formed by stacking a Si nanomembrane onto [...] Read more.
The energy band alignment of a stacked Si/GaN heterostructure was investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) depth profiling, highlighting the influence of the amorphous interface region on the electronic properties. The crystalline Si/GaN pn heterostructure was formed by stacking a Si nanomembrane onto a GaN epi-substrate. The amorphous layer formed at the stacked Si/GaN interface altered the energy band of the stacked heterostructure and affected the injection of charge carriers across the junction interface region. This study revealed the interfacial upward energy band bending of the stacked Si/GaN heterostructure with surface potentials of 0.99 eV for GaN and 1.14 eV for Si, attributed to the formation of the amorphous interface. These findings challenge the conventional electron affinity model by accounting for interfacial bonding effects. Electrical measurements of the stacked Si/GaN pn heterostructure diode exhibited a rectifying behavior, consistent with the XPS-determined energy band alignment. The diode outperformed early design with a low leakage current density of 5 × 10−5 A/cm2 and a small ideality factor of 1.22. This work underscores the critical role of the amorphous interface in determining energy band alignment and provides a robust methodology for optimizing the electronic performance of stacked heterostructures. The XPS-based approach can be extended to analyze and develop multi-layered bipolar devices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thin Films and Semiconductor Heterostructures: From Fundamental to Applications)
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13 pages, 2282 KiB  
Article
Structural and Photoelectronic Properties of κ-Ga2O3 Thin Films Grown on Polycrystalline Diamond Substrates
by Marco Girolami, Matteo Bosi, Sara Pettinato, Claudio Ferrari, Riccardo Lolli, Luca Seravalli, Valerio Serpente, Matteo Mastellone, Daniele M. Trucchi and Roberto Fornari
Materials 2024, 17(2), 519; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17020519 - 22 Jan 2024
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2070
Abstract
Orthorhombic κ-Ga2O3 thin films were grown for the first time on polycrystalline diamond free-standing substrates by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy at a temperature of 650 °C. Structural, morphological, electrical, and photoelectronic properties of the obtained heterostructures were evaluated by optical [...] Read more.
Orthorhombic κ-Ga2O3 thin films were grown for the first time on polycrystalline diamond free-standing substrates by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy at a temperature of 650 °C. Structural, morphological, electrical, and photoelectronic properties of the obtained heterostructures were evaluated by optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, current-voltage measurements, and spectral photoconductivity, respectively. Results show that a very slow cooling, performed at low pressure (100 mbar) under a controlled He flow soon after the growth process, is mandatory to improve the quality of the κ-Ga2O3 epitaxial thin film, ensuring a good adhesion to the diamond substrate, an optimal morphology, and a lower density of electrically active defects. This paves the way for the future development of novel hybrid architectures for UV and ionizing radiation detection, exploiting the unique features of gallium oxide and diamond as wide-bandgap semiconductors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thin Films and Semiconductor Heterostructures: From Fundamental to Applications)
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