Research Opportunities

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Non-destructive, room temperature characterization for wafer-scale semiconductor thin films and devices

Photoreflectance (PR) contactless electroreflectance (CER) spectroscopy is a practical, cost effective method for characterizing semiconductor thin films and real device structures. With unprecedented versatility PR/CER can be used in the development, evaluation, and quality control of a wide variety of advanced III-V and II-VI semiconductor materials, including the group III-Nitrides.

PR/CER is currently in use by several companies for production-line quality control: TRW, Texas Instruments, NORTEL Technologies, and Kopin.

Recently, a new system has been developed which makes possible measurements of photoluminescence and PR/CER without the need to change either sample or optical configurations.

Applications:

• Electromodulators
• Quantum well lasers
• Heterojunction bipolar transistors
• Pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistors

Information obtainable:

• Band structure
• Material quality
• Alloy composition
• Surface/interface electric fields
• 2-D electron gas density
• Quantum well characteristics
• Process- or growth-induced strain and/or damage
• Micro-PR option with spatial resolution of 10 μm