Isotopically Controlled Semiconductors

Abstract

Semiconductor bulk crystals and multilayer structures with controlled isotopic composition have attracted much scientific and technical interest in the past few years. Isotopic composition affects a large number of physical properties, including phonon energies and lifetimes, bandgaps, the thermal conductivity and expansion coefficient and spin-related effects. Isotope superlattices are ideal media for self-diffusion studies. In combination with neutron transmutation doping, isotope control offers a novel approach to metal-insulator transition studies. Spintronics, quantum computing and nanoparticle science are emerging fields using isotope control.

KEYWORDS:

• stable isotopes
• semiconductors
• diffusion
• neutron-transmutation-doping
• phonons
• isotopesuperlattices
• metal-insulator-transition
• spintronics
• nanoparticles
• isotopic composition
• isotope ratio