IoP Emerging Leader
Congratulations to Fabien Massabuau for his nomination as 2024 Emerging Leader in the Institute of Physics’ Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics.
Emerging Leaders special issue
Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics has brought together the best early-career researchers in applied physics. An emerging leader is a top researcher in their field who completed their PhD 10 years prior to invitation (excluding career breaks). They have been identified by the Editorial Board and the applied physics community as the most exciting researchers in their generation. The 'Emerging Leaders' special issue is published annually, read the latest contributions.
Luminescence properties of dislocations in α-Ga2O3
Ga2O3 is an emerging yet already technologically important ultrawide bandgap semiconductor. Defects play a vital role in the development of semiconductor devices, often hampering the full potential of the technology. It is therefore crucial to better understand the properties of defects to identify “killer defects” and implement targeted mitigation methods that will lead to step increase in device performance and reliability. Dislocations is one of the most prominent defects in Ga2O3, yet their properties are to date unknown.
The paper presents an investigation of the optical properties of dislocations in α-Ga2O3. Analysing the evolution of the several luminescence components across the defect allowed us to identify that (i) free electron density decreases at dislocations, highlighting their non-radiative recombination role, and that (ii) point defects accumulate at dislocations, causing an increase in density of donor and acceptor states.
This is the first successful mapping of the luminescence in Ga2O3 with nanoscale resolution, revealing important new insights on the properties of dislocations. Given the technological importance of Ga2O3 devices, we expect that this study will help design more efficient optoelectronic devices solving our Net Zero and Sustainable Development Goals challenges.
Paper available in open access.
November 2024