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Title: Morphological Control of GaN and Its Effect within Electrochemical Heterojunctions

Abstract

With morphological control through a solid source chemical vapor deposition process, GaN polycrystalline films, single-crystal nanowires, and mixed film/wires are grown on silicon to form a heterojunction that is a basis for III-V nitride device development. By contacting the GaN/Si structure to the CoCp20/ + redox pair and performing impedance spectroscopy measurements, the band diagram of this junction is built for these three configurations. This serves as a basis for understanding the electrical nature of III-V nitride/Si interfaces that exist in several photonic device technologies, especially in context of using GaN nanomaterials grown on silicon for various applications. When these junctions are exposed to low-power UV illumination in contact with the Fc/Fc+ redox pair, photocurrents of 18, 110, and 482 nA/cm2 are generated for the nanowires, mixed film/wires, and films respectively. These currents, along with the electrostatics investigated through the impedance spectroscopy, show the trends of photoconversion with GaN morphology in this junction. Furthermore, they suggest that the mixed film/wires are a promising design for solar-based applications such as photovoltaics and water splitting electrodes.

Authors:
 [1];  [1]
  1. Stanford Univ., Stanford, CA (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Center on Nanostructuring for Efficient Energy Conversion (CNEEC)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
OSTI Identifier:
1397196
Grant/Contract Number:  
SC0001060
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Journal of the Electrochemical Society
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 163; Journal Issue: 10; Related Information: CNEEC partners with Stanford University (lead); Carnegie Institution at Stanford; Technical University of Denmark; Journal ID: ISSN 0013-4651
Publisher:
The Electrochemical Society
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
25 ENERGY STORAGE; Gallium nitride; heterojunction; silicon

Citation Formats

Parameshwaran, Vijay, and Clemens, Bruce. Morphological Control of GaN and Its Effect within Electrochemical Heterojunctions. United States: N. p., 2016. Web. doi:10.1149/2.0411610jes.
Parameshwaran, Vijay, & Clemens, Bruce. Morphological Control of GaN and Its Effect within Electrochemical Heterojunctions. United States. https://doi.org/10.1149/2.0411610jes
Parameshwaran, Vijay, and Clemens, Bruce. Wed . "Morphological Control of GaN and Its Effect within Electrochemical Heterojunctions". United States. https://doi.org/10.1149/2.0411610jes. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1397196.
@article{osti_1397196,
title = {Morphological Control of GaN and Its Effect within Electrochemical Heterojunctions},
author = {Parameshwaran, Vijay and Clemens, Bruce},
abstractNote = {With morphological control through a solid source chemical vapor deposition process, GaN polycrystalline films, single-crystal nanowires, and mixed film/wires are grown on silicon to form a heterojunction that is a basis for III-V nitride device development. By contacting the GaN/Si structure to the CoCp20/ + redox pair and performing impedance spectroscopy measurements, the band diagram of this junction is built for these three configurations. This serves as a basis for understanding the electrical nature of III-V nitride/Si interfaces that exist in several photonic device technologies, especially in context of using GaN nanomaterials grown on silicon for various applications. When these junctions are exposed to low-power UV illumination in contact with the Fc/Fc+ redox pair, photocurrents of 18, 110, and 482 nA/cm2 are generated for the nanowires, mixed film/wires, and films respectively. These currents, along with the electrostatics investigated through the impedance spectroscopy, show the trends of photoconversion with GaN morphology in this junction. Furthermore, they suggest that the mixed film/wires are a promising design for solar-based applications such as photovoltaics and water splitting electrodes.},
doi = {10.1149/2.0411610jes},
journal = {Journal of the Electrochemical Society},
number = 10,
volume = 163,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Aug 17 00:00:00 EDT 2016},
month = {Wed Aug 17 00:00:00 EDT 2016}
}

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Figures / Tables:

Figure 1 Figure 1: Proposed band diagram of the heterojunction made between n-type GaN and p-type silicon within (a) a p-n junction solar cell, and (b) an electrochemical photocathode configuration. The cathode is in contact with a redox pair A/A that represents a reduction process such as H+ reduction to H2.

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