A New Method for Growth and Analysis of Next-generation Infrared (IR) Detector Materials

Abstract

This report describes the development of a new analysis and crystal growth method for next generation infrared materials, namely, dilute nitride III-V semiconductors, which may be used in future low-cost night vision systems. The key to this method is isotopic enrichment of nitrogen-15 during material growth via molecular beam epitaxy, which allows enhanced detection of nitrogen using resonant nuclear reaction analysis. We synthesized films of gallium arsenide nitride (GaAsN) using nitrogen gas enriched in nitrogen-15 and examined them using x-ray diffraction, secondary ion mass spectroscopy, and nuclear reaction analysis. This analysis confirmed that the incorporation of nitrogen-15 into the material corresponds with the expected enrichment of the feed gas. This finding opens up the possibility of examining the material using ion beam channeling methods to ascertain the lattice position of the incorporated nitrogen atoms.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 2009
Accession Number
ADA494658

Entities

People

  • John D. Demaree
  • Stefan P. Svensson

Organizations

  • United States Army Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Sensors

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Crystal Lattices
  • Crystals
  • Detection
  • Detectors
  • Diffraction
  • Gallium Arsenides
  • Infrared Detectors
  • Ion Beams
  • Ions
  • Mass Spectrometry
  • Mass Spectroscopy
  • Molecular Beam Epitaxy
  • Nuclear Reactions
  • Semiconductors
  • Spectra
  • Spectroscopy
  • X Rays

Fields of Study

  • Materials science

Readers

  • Analytical Chemistry
  • Aquatic Ecology
  • Semiconductor Device Technology

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics