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III-Nitride Nanostructures for Optoelectronic and Magnetic Functionalities: Growth, Characterization and Engineering

Kent, Thomas Frederick

Abstract Details

2014, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Materials Science and Engineering.
Over the last two decades, group III-nitride compound semiconductor materials have revolutionized modern optoelectronics and high frequency devices. In this work, III-nitride based compound semiconductor nanostructures with tailor-made optoelectronic and magnetic functionalities are investigated. The first research vector concerns design, synthesis and characterization of novel ferromagnetic materials based on III-nitrides involving manipulation of magnetic dopants as well as heteroepitaxy of ferromagnetic materials. Synthesis of III-nitride-GdN epitaxial, ferromagnetic nanocomposites is developed using the technique of plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy. Magnetic, structural and optical characteristics of these materials are tailored to yield nanocomposites which preserve the structural and semiconducting characteristics of GaN while integrating the ferromagnetic compound GdN. In the second part of this work, the growth, characterization and development of self-assembled III-nitride nanowire based ultraviolet light emitting diodes is explored. These devices are formed by a novel heterostructure which utilizes synthetic gradients in dipole moment per unit volume to mitigate many of the shortcomings of traditional thin film wide bandgap light emitting diode (LED) device designs for deep ultraviolet wavelengths. The optical and electronic characteristics of these devices are investigated by a number of spectroscopic methods. Combination of this heterostructure with the epitaxy of GdN on III-nitrides is found to yield a unique electrical device which allows electrical modulation of narrow linewidth, ultraviolet Gd intra-f-shell fluorescence at significantly lower voltages compared to existing technology. During the course of this work, a number of unique scientific instruments were developed to aid research efforts in the Myers group. The design, construction and operation of a wide spectral bandwidth, ultrafast semiconductor photoluminescence characterization system, a spectroscopic probe station for high throughput measurements of deep ultraviolet LED’s and a modified closed cycle He cryostat for magnetic field dependent low level optoelectronic measurements is described. The dissertation closes with a discussion of various collaborative works of the author as well as a broad summary, conclusions and suggested future directions.
Myers Roberto (Advisor)
Rajan Siddharth (Committee Member)
Grassman Tyler (Committee Member)
246 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Kent, T. F. (2014). III-Nitride Nanostructures for Optoelectronic and Magnetic Functionalities: Growth, Characterization and Engineering [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1408564155

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Kent, Thomas. III-Nitride Nanostructures for Optoelectronic and Magnetic Functionalities: Growth, Characterization and Engineering. 2014. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1408564155.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Kent, Thomas. "III-Nitride Nanostructures for Optoelectronic and Magnetic Functionalities: Growth, Characterization and Engineering." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1408564155

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)