Advanced crystal growth techniques with III-V boron compound semiconductors
dc.contributor.author | Whiteley, Clinton E. | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2011-03-23T19:17:57Z | |
dc.date.available | 2011-03-23T19:17:57Z | |
dc.date.graduationmonth | May | en_US |
dc.date.issued | 2011-03-23 | |
dc.date.published | 2011 | en_US |
dc.description.abstract | Semiconducting icosahedral boron arsenide, B[subscript]12As[subscript]2, is an excellent candidate for neutron detectors and radioisotope batteries, for which high quality single crystals are required. Thus, the present study was undertaken to grow B[subscript]12As[subscript]2 crystals by precipitation from metal solutions (nickel) saturated with elemental boron and arsenic in a sealed quartz ampoule. B[subscript]12As[subscript]2 crystals of 8-10 mm were produced when a homogeneous mixture of the three elements was held at 1150 °C for 48-72 hours and slowly cooled (3°C/hr). The crystals varied in color and transparency from black and opaque to clear and transparent. X-ray topography (XRT), Raman spectroscopy, and defect selective etching confirmed that the crystals had the expected rhombohedral structure and a low density of defects (5x10[superscript]7 cm[superscript]-2). The concentrations of residual impurities (nickel, carbon, etc) were found to be relatively high (10[superscript]19 cm[superscript]-3 for carbon) as measured by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and elemental analysis by energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The boron arsenide crystals were found to have favorable electrical properties (μ = 24.5 cm[superscript]2 / Vs), but no interaction between a prototype detector and an alpha particle bombardment was observed. Thus, the flux growth method is viable for growing large B[subscript]12As[subscript]2 crystals, but the impurity concentrations remain a problem. | en_US |
dc.description.advisor | James H. Edgar | en_US |
dc.description.degree | Doctor of Philosophy | en_US |
dc.description.department | Department of Chemical Engineering | en_US |
dc.description.level | Doctoral | en_US |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/2097/8110 | |
dc.language.iso | en_US | en_US |
dc.publisher | Kansas State University | en |
dc.subject | boron arsenide | en_US |
dc.subject | crystal growth | en_US |
dc.subject | neutron detectors | en_US |
dc.subject.umi | Chemical Engineering (0542) | en_US |
dc.title | Advanced crystal growth techniques with III-V boron compound semiconductors | en_US |
dc.type | Dissertation | en_US |