arXiv subjects

Saptarsi Ghosh

Publications and source records attributed to Saptarsi Ghosh.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Why Do Thick MOCVD-Grown beta-Ga2O3 Epilayers on (001) Substrates Crack: Crystallographic Origin

Thick, defect free epitaxial layers grown using industry standard techniques are a fundamental requirement for the widespread adoption of fully vertical power devices based on ultra wide bandgap gallium oxide (Ga2O3). However, metal-organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) of such layers on native beta-Ga2O3 substrates with the largest diameter (001) orientation remains relatively unexplored, and the origins of the reported surface roughening and cracking with increasing thickness are not yet fully understood. To address this, we report a systematic study of MOCVD grown beta-Ga2O3 epilayers deposited at growth rates of ~3.5 um/h, with thicknesses from 0.3 to 3.5 um. The epilayers exhibit a relatively smooth but striated surface morphology, with progressively increasing nanometre-scale roughness beyond coalescence and crack formation observed from ~1.8 um thickness. High resolution X ray diffraction reveals that, despite growth on (001) substrates, the epilayers adopt a predominantly (-401)-oriented structure from the earliest stages of growth. Rocking curve analysis further indicates a higher degree of in-plane twist than tilt, both decreasing with increasing epilayer thickness. While the epilayer and substrate are lattice-matched along the [010] in plane direction, the epitaxial alignment in the orthogonal epilayer [104] in plane direction imposes, in theory, a maximum tensile in-plane strain of approximately +4.1% arising from the underlying lattice mismatch, thereby driving crack formation perpendicular to this direction. Our results suggest that this epitaxial relationship is likely associated with faceted reconstruction of the (001) substrate surface during annealing, driven by the minimisation of surface energy under oxygen-rich MOCVD growth conditions.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

A cascade model for the defect-driven etching of porous GaN distributed Bragg reflectors

Fabrication of porous GaN distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs) via the selective electrochemical etching (ECE) of conductive Si-doped layers, separated by non-intentionally doped (NID) layers, provides a straightforward methodology for producing highly reflective DBRs suitable for device overgrowth and integration, which has otherwise proven difficult in the III-nitride epitaxial system via conventional alloying. Such photonic materials can be fabricated by a lithography-free defect-driven etching process, where threading dislocations intrinsic to heteroepitaxy form nanoscale channels that facilitate etchant transport through NID layers. Here, we report the first three-dimensional characterisation of porous GaN-on-Si DBRs fabricated in this methodology with different ECE voltages, using serial-section tomography in a focused ion beam scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM). These datasets reconstruct the pore morphology as etching proliferates through the alternating Si-doped/NID layer stack. Volumetric reconstruction enabled us to enhance the established `kebab' model for defect-driven etching by proposing a `cascade' model where etchant cascades through the material via vertical etching down nanopipes and horizontal etching across pores, forming complex networks directly related to the pathways taken. This accounts for premature nanopipe termination and discontinuities in nanopipe formation, where dislocations are observed to activate and deactivate individually. Statistical analysis of individual etching behaviour, across all dislocations for each tomograph, revealed a greater tendency to form continuous structures that follow conventional kebab behaviour at higher ECE voltages. We propose that higher ECE voltages alter the probability of dislocation etching relative to doped layer etching, thereby empowering morphological optimization through improved mechanistic understanding of ECE.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Buffer-less Gallium Nitride High Electron Mobility Heterostructures on Silicon

Thick metamorphic buffers are perceived to be indispensable for the heteroepitaxial integration of III-V semiconductors on silicon substrates with large thermal expansion and lattice mismatches. However, III-nitride buffers in conventional GaN-on-Si high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) heterostructures impose a substantial thermal resistance, throttling heat extraction, which reduces device efficiency and lifetime. Herein, bypassing the buffer, we demonstrate the direct growth of GaN after the AlN nucleation layer on silicon by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE). By varying reactor pressure, we modulate the growth stress in the submicron epilayers and realise threading dislocation densities similar to that in thick buffered structures. We achieve a GaN-to-substrate thermal resistance of (11(+/-)4) ((m^2)K(GW^-1)), an order of magnitude reduction over conventional designs on silicon and one of the lowest on any non-native substrate. AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterojunctions on this platform show a characteristic 2D electron gas (2DEG), the room-temperature Hall-effect mobility of which, at over 2000 (cm^2/(V-s)), rivals the best-reported values. The low-temperature magnetoresistance of this 2DEG shows clear Shubnikov-de-Haas oscillations, a quantum lifetime > 0.180 ps, and tell-tale signatures of spin-splitting. These results may establish a new paradigm for nitride HEMTs, potentially accelerating applications from energy-efficient transistors to fundamental investigations on electron dynamics in this 2D wide-bandgap system.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2023

Inkjet-Printed High-Yield, Reconfigurable, and Recyclable Memristors on Paper

Reconfigurable memristors featuring neural and synaptic functions hold great potential for neuromorphic circuits by simplifying system architecture, cutting power consumption, and boosting computational efficiency. Their additive manufacturing on sustainable substrates offers unique advantages for future electronics, including low environmental impact. Here, exploiting structure-property relationship of MoS2 nanoflake-based resistive layer, we present paper-based, inkjet-printed, reconfigurable memristors. With >90% yield from a 16x65 device array, our memristors demonstrate robust resistive switching, with $>10^5$ ON-OFF ratio and <0.5 V operation in non-volatile state. Through modulation of compliance current, the devices transition into volatile state, with only 50 pW switching power consumption, rivalling state-of-the-art metal oxide-based counterparts. We show device recyclability and stable, reconfigurable operation following disassembly, material collection and re-fabrication. We further demonstrate synaptic plasticity and neuronal leaky integrate-and-fire functionality, with disposable applications in smart packaging and simulated medical image diagnostics. Our work shows a sustainable pathway towards printable, high-yield, reconfigurable neuromorphic devices, with minimal environmental footprint.

cs.ET↗

arXiv2023

Additive GaN solid immersion lenses for enhanced photon extraction efficiency from diamond color centers

Effective light extraction from optically active solid-state spin centres inside high-index semiconductor host crystals is an important factor in integrating these pseudo-atomic centres in wider quantum systems. Here we report increased fluorescent light collection efficiency from laser-written nitrogen vacancy centers (NV) in bulk diamond facilitated by micro-transfer printed GaN solid immersion lenses. Both laser-writing of NV centres and transfer printing of micro-lens structures are compatible with high spatial resolution, enabling deterministic fabrication routes towards future scalable systems development. The micro-lenses are integrated in a non-invasive manner, as they are added on top of the unstructured diamond surface and bond by Van-der-Waals forces. For emitters at 5 micrometer depth, we find approximately 2x improvement of fluorescent light collection using an air objective with a numerical aperture of NA = 0.95 in good agreement with simulations. Similarly, the solid immersion lenses strongly enhance light collection when using an objective with NA = 0.5, significantly improving the signal-to-noise ratio of the NV center emission while maintaining the NV's quantum properties after integration.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2022

Magnetic properties of nickel electrodeposited on porous GaN substrates with infiltrated and laminated connectivity

We studied the magnetic properties of ferromagnetic-semiconductor composites based on nickel and porous-GaN, motivated by the effort to couple magnetic and semiconductor functionality. Nickel-infiltrated and nickel-coated (laminated thin-film) porous GaN structures were fabricated by electrodeposition, and their magnetic properties were subsequently examined collectively, by vibrating sample magnetometry and on the nanoscale, by magnetic force microscopy. We successfully demonstrated the ability to realize nickel infiltrated porous GaN, where the magnetic properties were dominated by the infiltrated material without a measurable surface contribution. We found that the structure and magnetization of electrodeposited porous-GaN/Ni composites depended on GaN degree of porosity and the amount of deposited nickel. The magnetization evolves from a nearly isotropic response in the infiltrated structures, to a shape-anisotropy controlled magnetic thin-film behaviour. Furthermore, both infiltrated and thin-film nickel electrodeposited on porous GaN were found to have low (< 0.1%) strain and corresponding low coercivity: < 6.4 and < 2.4 kA/m for infiltrated and thin-film, correspondingly. The most likely cause for the lowered strain is increased compliance of the porous GaN compared to bulk. These results encourage deeper investigation of magnetic nanostructure property tuning and of magnetic property coupling to GaN and similar materials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Fabrication and transfer print based integration of free-standing GaN membrane micro-lenses onto semiconductor chips

We demonstrate the back-end integration of broadband, high-NA GaN micro-lenses by micro-assembly onto non-native semiconductor substrates. We developed a highly parallel micro-fabrication process flow to suspend micron scale plano-convex lens platelets from 6" Si growth wafers and show their subsequent transfer-printing integration. A growth process targeted at producing unbowed epitaxial wafers was combined with optimisation of the etching volume in order to produce flat devices for printing. Lens structures were fabricated with 6 to 11 $μ$m diameter, 2 $μ$m height and root-mean-squared surface roughness below 2 nm. The lenses were printed in a vertically coupled geometry on a single crystalline diamond substrate and with $μ$m-precise placement on a horizontally coupled photonic integrated circuit waveguide facet. Optical performance analysis shows that these lenses could be used to couple to diamond nitrogen vacancy centres at micron scale depths and demonstrates their potential for visible to infrared light-coupling applications.

physics.app-ph↗