Field Effect in Semiconductor-Electrolyte Interfaces: Application to Investigations of Electronic Properties of Semiconductor Surfaces

This book presents a state-of-the-art understanding of semiconductor-electrolyte interfaces. It provides a detailed study of semiconductor-electrolyte interfacial effects, focusing on the physical and electrochemical foundations that affect surface charge, capacitance, conductance, quantum effects, and other properties, both from the point of view of theoretical modeling and metrology. The wet-dry interface, where solid-state devices may be in contact with electrolyte solutions, is of growing interest and importance. This is because such interfaces will be a key part of hydrogen energy and solar cells, and of sensors that would have wide applications in medicine, genomics, environmental science, and bioterrorism prevention. The field effect presented here by Pavel Konorov, Adil Yafyasov, and Vladislav Bogevolnov is a new method, one that allows investigation of the physical properties of semiconductor and superconductor surfaces. Before the development of this method, it was impossible to test these surfaces at room temperature. The behavior of electrodes in electrolytes under such realistic conduction conditions has been a major problem for the technical realization of systems that perform measurements in wet environments. This book also describes some material properties that were unknown before the development of the field effect method. This book will be of great interest to students and engineers working in semiconductor surface physics, electrochemistry, and micro- and nanoelectronics.

Table of Contents:
Preface vii Abbreviations xi Introduction xiii CHAPTER ONE: Semiconductor-Electrolyte Interface: Basic Notions and Definitions 1 CHAPTER TWO: Semiconductor-Electrolyte Interface under Polarization: Voltage-Current Relationships (Polarization Characteristics) 7 CHAPTER THREE: Quasi-Equilibrium Field Effect in Semiconductor-Electrolyte Interfaces: Studies of Surface States 15 3.1 QUASI-EQUILIBRIUM FESE 15 3.2 SURFACE STATES INDUCED BY GERMANIUM SURFACE OXIDATION 25 3.3 SURFACE STATES ARISING ON GERMANIUM BY METAL ADSORPTION 27 CHAPTER FOUR: Field Effect in Semiconductor-Electrolyte Interfaces on Nonequilibrium Depletion of Free Charge Carriers from Semiconductor 30 CHAPTER FIVE: Application of Field Effect in Semiconductor-Electrolyte Interfaces for Studies of Surface Charge Layer Characteristics of Semiconductors and Semimetals 37 5.1 WIDE-GAP SEMICONDUCTORS 38 5.2 NARROW-GAP SEMICONDUCTORS 45 5.3 ZERO-GAP SEMICONDUCTORS AND SEMIMETALS 70 5.4 FESE TECHNIQUE AS APPLIED TO STUDIES OF SURFACES OF METAL ELECTRODES AND HTSCMATERIALS 82 CHAPTER SIX: Processes of Spatial and Temporal Self-Organization in the Semiconductor--Electrolyte System and Their Manifestation in the Field Effect 88 6.1 PROCESSES UNDER POLARIZATION 88 6.2 PROCESSES UNDER ADSORPTION 94 6.3 QUASI-PERIODIC OSCILLATIONS IN THE CARBON FIBER--ELECTROLYTE SYSTEM 101 6.4 BELOUSOV-ZHABOTINSKY REACTION 105 CHAPTER SEVEN: Size Quantization in the Semiconductor-Electrolyte System 109 7.1 TWO-DIMENSIONAL QUANTUM SYSTEMS: THEORY 109 7.2 TWO-DIMENSIONAL SIZE QUANTIZATION IN SEMICONDUCTOR-ELECTROLYTE INTERFACES AND ITS MANIFESTATION IN FESE EXPERIMENTS 114 7.3 ONE-DIMENSIONAL QUANTUM SYSTEM: THEORY 119 7.4 FABRICATION OF LOW-DIMENSIONAL QUANTUM STRUCTURES AND THEIR ELECTRONIC PROPERTIES 121 CHAPTER EIGHT: Technique of FESE Method and Some Possibilities for Its Technological Applications 136 8.1 TECHNIQUE OF QUASI-EQUILIBRIUM FESEMETHOD 136 8.2 APPLICATION OF FESE FOR CONTROL OF THE IMPURITY DISTRIBUTION IN SEMICONDUCTORS 140 8.3 METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE STOICHIOMETRIC COMPOSITION OF SOLID SOLUTIONS 141 8.4 FESE TECHNIQUE FOR INVESTIGATION AND CONTROL OF BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS 147 Conclusion 153 Bibliography 155 Index 175