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High pressure semiconductor physics: Looking toward the future on the shoulder of the past
Author(s) -
Yu Peter Y.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
physica status solidi (b)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1521-3951
pISSN - 0370-1972
DOI - 10.1002/pssb.201000708
Subject(s) - semiconductor , diamond , hydrostatic pressure , engineering physics , spintronics , photoluminescence , raman scattering , condensed matter physics , diamond anvil cell , high pressure , materials science , optoelectronics , physics , raman spectroscopy , nanotechnology , optics , mechanics , ferromagnetism , composite material
High pressure measurements attracted attention from the Semiconductor Physics community after the discovery of William Paul's Empirical Rule. The technique gained further momentum with the invention of the diamond‐anvils high pressure cell. Since diamond is transparent from near IR to near UV many forms of optical spectroscopy (such as photoluminescence, modulation spectroscopy, and Raman scattering) have now been routinely carried out under high pressure. The fact that diamonds are also transparent to X‐ray means structural phase transitions induced by pressure can be studied together with optical measurements. Further advances, such as electrical and magnetic measurements under hydrostatic (and sometimes quasi‐hydrostatic) high pressure conditions, have established high pressure as a general, powerful, and indispensable technique in studying semiconductors. From a review of these past achievements I will attempt to “predict” how high pressure techniques will impact semiconductor physics in the future. I will draw examples from areas as diverse as new materials for spintronics and renewable energies, topological insulators to possible multi‐ferroic semiconductors.