Theoretical study of back-illuminated separated absorption and multiplication AlGaN APDs with different structural parameters

The low Al-content p-type layer was designed to utilize the polarization field to improve the performance of back-illuminated separated absorption and multiplication AlGaN avalanche photodiodes. The results show that the avalanche breakdown voltage decreases significantly when the polarization field has the same direction as reverse bias field in the multiplication region, and the maximum gain increasing as much as 235% is achieved. Moreover, the effects of both the doping concentration and thickness of each layer on the performance of device are investigated systematically. It is demonstrated that the parameters in inset n₁ layer play an important role on the properties of the device. Finally, the influences of density and distribution of defects on the breakdown voltage and gain are analyzed.     

Investigation of structure and magnetic characteristics of Ni-implanted AlGaN films

The structural, valence of elements and magnetic characteristics of Ni-implanted Al_0.5Ga_0.5N films, deposited on Al₂O₃ substrates by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), were reported. Ni ions were implanted into Al_0.5Ga_0.5N films by Metal Vapor Arc (MEVVA) sources under the energy of 100 keV for 3 h. The films were annealed at 900 K in the furnace for the transference of Ni ions from interstitial sites to substitutional sites in AlGaN and activating the Ni³⁺ ions. Characterizations were carried out in situ using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) and Vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), indicating that the films have wurtzite structure without forming a secondary phase after annealing. Ni ions were successfully implanted into substitutional sites of Al_0.5Ga_0.5N films and the chemical bonding states of Ni³⁺ is Ni–N. The apparent hysteresis loops prove the films exhibited ferromagnetism at 300 K. The room temperature (RT) M_s and H_c obtained were approximately 0.22 emu/g and 32.97 Oe, respectively. From the first-principles calculation, A total magnetic moment of 2.86 μB per supercell is calculated: the local magnetic moment of NiN₄ tetrahedron, 2.38 μB, makes the primary contribution. The doped Ni atom hybridizes with its four nearby N atoms in NiN₄ tetrahedron, then N atoms are spin polarized and couple with Ni atom with strong magnetization, which result in ferromagnetism. Therefore, the p-d exchange mechanism is responsible for ferromagnetism in Ni-doped AlGaN. It is expected that the room temperature ferromagnetic Ni-doped Al_0.5Ga_0.5N films can make it possible to the applications for the spin electric devices.     

InGaN/GaN p-i-n Photodiodes Fabricated with Mg-Doped p-InGaN Layer

Mg-doped p-InGaN layers with In composition of about 10% are grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The effect of the annealing temperature on the p-type behavior of Mg-doped InGaN is studied. It is found that the hole concentration in p-InGaN increases with a rising annealing temperature in the range of 600-850°C, while the hole mobility remains nearly unchanged until the annealing temperature increases up to 750°C, after which it decreases. On the basis of conductive p-type InGaN growth, the p-In_0.1Ga_0.9N/i-In_0.1Ga_0.9N/n-GaN junction structure is grown and fabricated into photodiodes. The spectral responsivity of the InGaN/GaN p-i-n photodiodes shows that the peak responsivity at zero bias is in the wavelength range 350-400nm.     

Tunneling resonances in structures with a two-step barrier

Electron transport through an asymmetric heterostructure with a two-step barrier N⁺GaAs/N⁻GaAs/Al_0.4Ga_0.6As/Al_0.03Ga_0.97As/N⁻GaAs/N⁺GaAs was investigated. Features due to resonance tunneling both through a size-quantization level in a triangular quantum well, induced by an external electric field in the region of the bottom step of the barrier (Al_0.03Ga_0.97As layer), and through virtual levels in two quantum pseudowells of different width are observed in the tunneling current. The virtual levels form above the bottom step or above one of the spacers (N⁻GaAs layer) as a result of interference of electrons, in the first case on account of reflection from the Al_0.4Ga_0.6As barrier and a potential jump at the Al_0.03Ga_0.97As/N⁻GaAs interface and in the second case — from the Al_0.4Ga_0.6As barrier and the potential gradient at the N⁻GaAs/N⁺GaAs junction, reflection from which is likewise coherent. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 67, No. 10, 814–819 (25 May 1998)     

An improved design for Al Ga N solar-blind avalanche photodiodes with enhanced avalanche ionization

To enhance the avalanche ionization, we designed a new separate absorption and multiplication AlGaN solarblind avalanche photodiode(APD) by using a high/low-Al-content AlGaN heterostructure as the multiplication region instead of the conventional AlGaN homogeneous layer. The calculated results show that the designed APD with Al_(0.3)Ga_(0.7)N/Al_(0.45)Ga_(0.55)N heterostructure multiplication region exhibits a 60% higher gain than the conventional APD and a smaller avalanche breakdown voltage due to the use of the low-Al-content Al_(0.3)Ga_(0.7)N which has about a six times higher hole ionization coefficient than the high-Al-content Al_(0.45)Ga_(0.55)N. Meanwhile, the designed APD still remains a good solar-blind characteristic by introducing a quarter-wave AlGaN/AlN distributed Bragg reflectors structure at the bottom of the device.     

Spin-dependent recombination and optical spin orientation in semiconductors

Spin-dependent recombination is observed in Ga_0.6Al_0.4As at 77°K on the intensity of the donor-acceptor pairs photoluminescence. The lifetime is enhanced by a factor 2.3 when photocreated electrons and recombination centers are spin polarized by optical pumping with circularly polarized light. Optical orientation and spin-dependent recombination lead to a steady-state electronic spin polarization as large as 70%.     

Noise characteristics of a superlattice avalanche photodiode

The noise generated due to randomness of multiplication process in the avalanche region of an Al _x Ga_1–x As/GaAs quantum well p⁺-i-n⁺ structure has been studied. The paper presents a quantitative evaluation of the noise performance of the superlattice APD which has not been done so far. Further, useful design data for low noise structure is given.     

Strain modification of AlGaN layers using swift heavy ions

Epitaxial AlGaN/GaN layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on SiC substrates were irradiated with 150 MeV Ag ions at a fluence of 5×10¹² ions/cm². The samples used in this study are 50 nm Al_0.2Ga_0.8N/1 nm AlN/1 μ m GaN/0.1 μ m AlN grown on SI 4H-SiC. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry/channeling strain measurements were carried out on off-normal axis of irradiated and unirradiated samples. In an as-grown sample, AlGaN layer is partially relaxed with a small tensile strain. After irradiation, this strain increases by 0.22% in AlGaN layer. Incident ion energy dependence of dechanneling parameter shows E ^1/2 dependence, which corresponds to the dislocations. Defect densities were calculated from the E ^1/2 graph. As a result of irradiation, the defect density increased on both GaN and AlGaN layers. The effect of irradiation induced-damages are analyzed as a function of material properties. Observed results from different characterization techniques such as RBS/channeling, high-resolution XRD and AFM are compared and complemented with each other to deduce the information. Possible mechanisms responsible for the observations have been discussed in detail.     

High temperature electron transport properties of AlGaN/GaN heterostructures with different Al-contents

Electron transport properties in AlGaN/GaN heterostructures with different Al-contents have been investigated from room temperature up to 680 K. The temperature dependencies of electron mobility have been systematically measured for the samples. The electron mobility at 680 K were measured as 154 and 182 cm²/V·s for Al_0.15Ga_0.85N/GaN and Al_0.40Ga_0.60N/GaN heterostructures, respectively. It was found that the electron mobility of low Al-content Al_0.15Ga_0.85N/GaN heterostructure was less than that of high Al-content Al_0.40Ga_0.60N/GaN heterostructure at high temperature of 680 K, which is different from that at room temperature. Detailed analysis showed that electron occupations in the first subband were 75% and 82% at 700 K for Al_0.15Ga_0.85N/GaN and Al_0.40Ga_0.60N/GaN heterostructures, respectively, and the two dimensional gas (2DEG) ratios in the whole electron system were 30% and near 60%, respectively. That indicated the 2DEG was better confined in the well, and was still dominant in the whole electron system for higher Al-content AlGaN/GaN heterostructure at 700 K, while lower one was not. Thus it had a higher electron mobility. So a higher Al-content AlGaN/GaN heterostructure is more suitable for high-temperature applications.     

Effect of γ radiation from <Superscript>60</Superscript>Co on the formation of metal contacts to GaAs (Al<Subscript>x</Subscript>Ga<Subscript>1−<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>As) structures

The properties of nonrectifying AuGe/GaAs (Al_0.4Ga_0.6As) contacts exposed to heat treatment, ⁶⁰Co γ radiation, and γ radiation combined with the application of an electrical bias are studied. A correlation between the type of interfacial interaction in the contacts and their resistance is found. Results obtained are explained in terms of a diffusion model with a movable boundary of the metal layer.     

AlGaN barrier thickness dependent surface and interface trapping characteristics of AlGaN/GaN heterostructure

The aluminium gallium nitride (AlGaN) barrier thickness dependent trapping characteristic of AlGaN/GaN heterostructure is investigated in detail by frequency dependent conductance measurements. The conductance measurementsin the depletion region biases (−4.8 V to −3.2 V) shows that the Al_0.3Ga_0.7N(18 nm)/GaN structure suffers from both the surface (the metal/AlGaN interface of the gate region) and interface (the AlGaN/GaN interface of the channel region) trapping states, whereas the AlGaN/GaN structure with a thicker AlGaN barrier (25 nm) layer suffers from only interface (the channel region of AlGaN/GaN) trap energy states in the bias region (−6 V to −4.2). The two extracted time constants of the trap levels are (2.6–4.59) μs (surface) and (113.4–33.8) μs (interface) for the Al_0.3Ga_0.7N(18 nm)/GaN structure in the depletion region of biases (−4.8 V to −3.2 V), whereas the Al_0.3Ga_0.7N (25 nm)/GaN structure yields only interface trap states with time constants of (86.8–33.3) μs in the voltage bias range of −6.0 V to −4.2 V. The extracted surface trapping time constants are found to be very muchless in the Al_0.3Ga_0.7N(18 nm)/GaN heterostructure compared to that of the interface trap states. The higher electric field formation across the AlGaN barrier causes de-trapping of the surface trapped electron through a tunnelling process for the Al_0.3Ga_0.7N(18 nm)/GaN structure, and hence the time constants of the surface trap are less.     

Nuclear spin diffusion effects in optically pumped quantum wells

We studied the influence of the nuclear spin diffusion on the dynamical nuclear polarization of low dimensional nanostructures subject to optical pumping. Our analysis shows that the induced nuclear spin polarization in semiconductor nanostructures will develop both a time and position dependence due to a nonuniform hyperfine interaction as a result of the geometrical confinement provided by the system. In particular, for the case of semiconductor quantum wells, nuclear spin diffusion is responsible for a nonzero nuclear spin polarization in the quantum well barriers. As an example we considered a 57 Å GaAs square quantum well and a 1000 Å Al _x Ga_1?x As parabolic quantum well both within 500 Å Al_0.4Ga_0.6As barriers. We found that the average nuclear spin polarization in the quantum well barriers depends on the strength of the geometrical confinement provided by the structure and is characterized by a saturation time of the order of few hundred seconds. Depending on the value of the nuclear spin diffusion constant, the average nuclear spin polarization in the quantum well barriers can get as high as 70% for the square quantum well and 40% for the parabolic quantum well. These results should be relevant for both time resolved Faraday rotation and optical nuclear magnetic resonance experimental techniques.     

AlGaN-based high-performance metal–semiconductor–metal photodetectors

Design, structure growth, fabrication, and characterization of high performance AlGaN-based metal–semiconductor–metal (MSM) photodetectors (PD) are reported. By incorporating AlN nucleation and buffer layers, the leakage current density of GaN MSM PD was reduced to 1.96 × 10⁻¹⁰ A/cm² at a 50 V bias, which is four orders of magnitude lower compared to control devices. A 229 nm cut-off wavelength, a peak responsivity of 0.53 A/W at 222 nm, and seven orders of magnitude visible rejection was obtained from Al_0.75Ga_0.25N MSM PD. Two-color monolithic AlGaN MSM PD with excellent dark current characteristics were demonstrated, where both detectors reject the other detector spectral band with more than three orders of magnitude. High-speed measurements of Al_0.38Ga_0.62N MSM PD resulted in fast responses with greater than gigahertz bandwidths, where the fastest devices had a 3-dB bandwidth of 5.4 GHz.     

Low gain threshold density of a single InGaP quantum well sandwiched by digital alloy

A single In_0.49Ga_0.51P quantum well sandwiched by In_0.49Ga_0.51P/In_0.49(Ga_0.6Al_0.4)_0.51P digital alloy structures was investigated in terms of optical modal gain, where gain saturation effects were also considered for both changes in wavelength and stripe length by using a modal gain contour map analysis. We found the gain threshold density is considerably lower by an order of magnitude when compared to the Mott density (∼2 × 10¹² cm⁻²), which can be attributed to a carrier-harvesting effect through the mini-band of the digital alloy.     

Site-dependent and composition-dependent spatial dielectric functions for Ga1−xAlxAs

In this paper we present analytical site-dependent and composition-dependent spatial dielectric functions for Ga_1?xAl_xAs involving compositions from x =0.1 to x =0.4 in steps of 0.1. The spatial dielectric functions we present describe the response of the valence electrons of Ga_1?xAl_xAs to charges Z = ± 1 (in atomic unit) placed on Ga, Al and As sites. To these sites we assign the effective charges (due to the partial ionicity of the bonds) of Z = +0.16, +0.20 and ?0.16 (in atomic unit).     

Investigation of structural and optical properties of 100 MeV F7+ ion irradiated Ga10Se90-xAlx thin films

Present work focuses on the effect of swift heavy ion (SHI) irradiation of 100 MeV F⁷⁺ ions by varying the fluencies in the range of 1 × 10¹² to 1 × 10¹³ ions/cm² on the morphological, structural and optical properties of polycrystalline thin films of Ga₁₀Se_90-xAl_x (x = 0, 5). Thin films of ~300 nm thickness were deposited on cleaned Al₂O₃ substrates by thermal evaporation technique. X-ray diffraction pattern of investigated thin films shows the crystallite growth occurs in hexagonal phase structure for Ga₁₀Se₉₀ and tetragonal phase structure for Ga₁₀Se₈₅Al₅. The further structural analysis carried out by Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy verifies the defects or disorder of the investigated material increases after SHI irradiation. The optical parameters absorption coefficient (α), extinction coefficient (K), optical band gap (E_g) and Urbach’s energy (E_U) are determined from optical absorption spectra data measured from spectrophotometry in the wavelength range 200–1100 nm. It was found that the values of absorption coefficient and extinction coefficient increase while the value of optical band gap decreases with the increase in ion fluence. This post irradiation change in the optical parameters was interpreted in terms of bond distribution model.     

60Coγ射线对高铝组分Al0.5Ga0.5N基p-i-n日盲型光探测器理想因子的影响

采用⁶⁰Co γ射线源对高铝组分Al_0.5Ga_0.5N盲紫外p-i-n结构光探测器和Si基可见光p-i-n结构探测器进行了累计剂量分别为0.1, 1, 10 Mrad(Si)总剂量辐照实验. 实验发现, 随着辐照剂量的增加, AlGaN盲紫外p-i-n结构光探测器的理想因子显著增大, 辐照后理想因子n > 2; 而Si基可见光p-i-n 结构探测器的理想因子随辐照剂量的变化并不明显. AlGaN盲紫外p-i-n结构光探测器理想因子的退化可能主要是因为欧姆接触性能的退化, Si基可见光p-i-n结构探测器的理想因子的变化则可能是由于敏感层的退化. 关键词： xGa_1?xN')" href="#">高铝组分Al_xGa_1?xN γ射线辐射效应 理想因子 欧姆接触     

Effects of strain-compensated AlGaN/InGaN superlattice barriers on the optical properties of InGaN light-emitting diodes

In this article, metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD)-grown InGaN multiple-quantum-well (MQW) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with Al_0.03Ga_0.97N and Al_0.03Ga_0.97N/In_0.01Ga_0.99N superlattices-barrier layers on c-plane sapphire were studied for the influence of the strain-compensated barrier on the optical properties of the LEDs. High-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) analysis shows that the LEDs with a strain-compensated superlattice barrier (SC-SLB) have better interface quality than those using AlGaN. This difference in quality may result from the alleviation of strain relaxation in superlattice layers to improve the crystalline perfection of the epitaxial structures. It was also found that the degree of the exciton localization effect rises considerably as InGaN grows directly on the AlGaN barrier layers. However, the increase in the strength of the polarization fields within the MQWs (as evaluated from bias-dependent photoluminescence (PL) measurement) could reduce the radiative efficiency of the LEDs and shift their PL peaks toward long wavelengths. With suitable control of crystalline quality and the reduced quantum-confined Stark effect in the MQWs, the SC-SLB LEDs operating at 150-mA-current show a 22.3% increase in light output power as compared to their conventional counterparts.     

Investigation of p-type strained-layer InxGa1−xAs/AlyGa1−yAs quantum well infrared photodetectors for long wavelength infrared imaging arrays applications

Two p-type compressively strained-layer (PCSL) In_xGa_1−xAs/Al_yGa_1−yAs (where,x=0.4, 0.2;y=0, 0.15) quantum well infrared photodetectors (QWIPs) grown by MBE on (100) semi-insulating (SI) GaAs substrates have been investigated for 3-5 μm MWIR and 8-14 μm LWIR imaging arrays applications. The In_0.4Ga_0.6As/GaAs PCSL-QWIP utilizing the resonant transport mechanism between the heavy-hole type-I states and the light-hole type-II states shows a broadband double-peak response between 8 and 9 μm range. Using compressive-strain in the InGaAs quantum well, normal incident absorption was greatly enhanced by reducing the heavy-hole effective mass and increasing the density of states in the off-zone center. Maximum responsivities of 93 mA W⁻¹and 30 mA W⁻¹were obtained at peak wavelengths of λ_p1=8.9 μm and λ_p3=5.5 μm, respectively atV_b=1.6 V, and detectivity (D*) at λ_p1=8.9 μm was found to be 4.0×10⁹cm−√Hz/WatV_b=0.3 V andT=75 K for this QWIP. The In_0.2Ga_0.8As/Al_0.15Ga_0.85As PCSL-QWIP achieves two-color detection with peak wavelengths at 7.4 μm in the LWIR band and 5.5 μm in the MWIR band. This detector is under background limited performance (BLIP) atT=63 K for biases varying from −2.7 V to +3 V. A detectivity (D*) of 1.06×10¹⁰cm √Hz/Wwas obtained at λ_p7.4 μm,V_b1.0 V andT=81 K for this QWIP.     

An attempt to design long-wavelength (>2 μm) InP-based GaInNAs diode lasers

In the present paper, anticipated performance characteristics of various InP-based GaInNAs quantum-well (QW) active regions are determined with the aid of our comprehensive computer model for various sets of parameters (temperature, carrier concentration, QW thickness). It is evident from this analysis that the compressively strained InP-based Ga_0.12In_0.88N_0.02As_0.98/Ga_0.275In_0.725As_0.6P_0.4 QW structure may offer expected lasing emission. Its maximal optical gain of over 2150 cm^?1 has been determined at room temperature for the wavelength of about 2815 nm for the QW thickness of 10 nm and the carrier concentration of 5×10¹⁸ cm^?3. Therefore, the above InP-based QW structure may be successfully applied in compact semiconductor laser sources of the desired radiation of wavelengths longer at room temperature than even 2800 nm. Similar GaAs-based devices emit radiation of distinctly shorter wavelengths, whereas GaSb-based ones avail themselves of more expensive substrates as well as exhibit lower thermal conductivities and worse carrier confinements.