The relaxation of lattice-mismatched strain by deep postetching was systematically investigated for InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells ͑MQWs͒. A planar heterojunction wafer, which included an In 0.21 Ga 0.79 N ͑3.2 nm͒/GaN ͑14.8 nm͒ MQW, was etched by inductively coupled plasma dry etching, to fabricate high-density nanopillar, nanostripe, and nanohole arrays. The etching depth was 570 nm for all nanostructures. The diameter of the nanopillars was varied from 50 to 300 nm, then the mesa stripe width of the nanostripes and the diameter of the nanoholes were varied from 100 nm to 440 nm and 50 nm to 310 nm, respectively. The effect of strain relaxation on various optical properties was investigated. For example, in an array of nanopillars with diameter 130 nm and interval 250 nm, a large blueshift in the photoluminescence ͑PL͒ emission peak from 510 nm ͑as-grown͒ to 459 nm occurred at room temperature ͑RT͒. PL internal quantum efficiency ͑defined by the ratio of PL integral intensity at 300 K to that at 4.2 K͒ was enhanced from 34% ͑as-grown͒ to 60%, and the PL decay time at 4.2 K was reduced from 22 ns ͑as-grown͒ to 4.2 ns. These results clearly indicate the reduction of lattice-mismatched strain by postetching, which enhanced strain reduction with decreasing nanopillar diameter down to a diameter of 130 nm, where the strain reduction became saturated. The dependence of RT-PL decay time on nanopillar diameter was measured, and the surface nonradiative recombination velocity was estimated to be 5.8 ϫ 10 2 cm/ s. This relatively slow rate indicates a little etching damage.

Magnonic devices that utilize electric control of spin waves mediated by complex spin textures are an emerging direction in spintronics research. Room-temperature multiferroic materials, such as bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3), would be ideal candidates for this purpose. To realize magnonic devices, a robust long-range spin cycloid with well-known direction is desired, since it is a prerequisite for the magnetoelectric coupling. Despite extensive investigation, the stabilization of a large-scale uniform spin cycloid in nanoscale (100 nm) thin BiFeO3 films has not been accomplished. Here, we demonstrate cycloidal spin order in 100 nm BiFeO3 thin films through the careful choice of crystallographic orientation, and control of the electrostatic and strain boundary conditions. Neutron diffraction, in conjunction with X-ray diffraction, reveals an incommensurate spin cycloid with a unique [11] propagation direction. While this direction is different from bulk BiFeO3, the cycloid length and Néel temperature remain equivalent to bulk at room temperature.

We present a detailed study on the influence of several growth related factors such as indium segregation, spacer layer thickness and Si δ doping on the structural, optical and electrical properties of molecular beam epitaxy grown pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor (P-HEMT) structures. Simulation of a high resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD) rocking curve was performed and compared with the experimental data to determine the quantum well (QW) thickness and composition as well as the indium segregation related changes in the QW composition. It is shown that growth of a thin layer (6 Å) of GaAs on top of the pseudomorphic InGaAs layer followed by 'flash-off' at a higher temperature could minimize the indium segregation related degradation of the hetero interface. Photoluminescence (PL) and surface photo voltage (SPV) peaks corresponding to the sub-band transitions are analysed using a self-consistent solution of Schrödinger and Poisson equations. PL results showed the dependence of the transition energies on the spacer layer thickness and the effectiveness of the carrier transfer into the InGaAs well. SPV spectra showed characteristic peaks from all the layers in the HEMT structures and were correlated with the data obtained from PL and HRXRD.

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