IUVSTA 15th International Vacuum Congress (IVC-15), AVS 48th International Symposium (AVS-48), 11th International Conference on Solid Surfaces (ICSS-11)
    Processing at the Nanoscale Monday Sessions
       Session PN-MoA

Paper PN-MoA10
Optical Behavior In Semiconductor-Transparent Conducting Oxide Nanocomposite Thin Films Fabricated by RF Magnetron Sputtering

Monday, October 29, 2001, 5:00 pm, Room 133

Session: Nanostructures from 0 to 3 Dimensions
Presenter: T.J. Bukowski, Sandia National Laboratories
Authors: T.J. Bukowski, Sandia National Laboratories
K. Simmons-Potter, Sandia National Laboratories
P. Lucas, University of Arizona
J.H. Simmons, University of Arizona
Correspondent: Click to Email
Semiconductor nanocrystals were fabricated within a transparent conducting oxide matrix using a dual gun rf magnetron sputtering system. The resulting nanocomposite film is composed of a multilayer structure with controllably thin semiconductor layers forming isolated clusters. Through manipulation of the deposition conditions and subsequent anneals, the size of the nanocrystals can be tailored. This work examines the optical behavior of germanium quantum dots surrounded by indium tin oxide (ITO). ITO has transmittance as high as 90% and resistivities in the range of 7x10@super -5@-5x10@super -4@ @OMEGA@cm. The presence of a transparent conducting oxide matrix surrounding the semiconductor nanoclusters can lead to interesting optical and electronic properties, having exciting photoconductive and photovoltaic applications. Raman and absorption spectroscopies are used to study the development and structure of the multilayer films and to observe changes due to the quantum confinement effect. Photoconductivity is also reported in order to gain insight into the electronic properties of the nanocomposite.