高Al组分AlGaN多量子阱结构材料发光机制探讨

紫外LED的发光功率和效率还远不能令人们满意,波长短于300 nm的深紫外LED的发光效率普遍较低。厘清高Al组分Al Ga N多量子阱结构的发光机制将有利于探索改善深紫外LED的发光效率的新途径、新方法。为此,本文通过金属有机气相外延技术外延生长了表面平整、界面清晰可辨且陡峭的高Al组分AlGa N多量子阱结构材料,并对其进行变温光致发光谱测试,结合数值计算,深入探讨了Al Ga N量子阱的发光机制。研究表明,量子阱中具有很强的局域化效应,其发光和局域激子的跳跃息息相关,而发光的猝灭则与局域激子的解局域以及位错引起的非辐射复合有关。     

Carbon incorporation in GaAs/Al0.2Ga0.8As triple quantum wells and its effect on laser performance

We report an investigation of the interface quality of the Al_0.2Ga_0.8As/GaAs triple quantum wells (QWs) grown on the GaAs substrates 0° and 6° off (100) towards 〈111〉A at a high CO environment, using the photoluminescence technique. The direct correlation between the quantum well quality and the performance of lasers which contain such quantum wells as an active region is also reported. It is found that impurity-related photoluminescence is observed only in the sample grown on the exact (100) GaAs substrate but not in the tilted one, as confirmed by temperature dependence results. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the intrinsic luminescence is as high as 9.0 meV in the 0° tilted samples and decreases to 3.10 meV in the samples misoriented 6°, indicating a remarkable difference in their interface quality. The impurities incorporated into the interfaces of the QWs are carbon, incorporation of which becomes unobservable by photoluminescence when the quantum wells are grown on substrates misoriented by 6° degrees. The threshold current and quantum efficiency of the laser devices with Al_0.2Ga_0.8As/GaAs quantum wells as their active region are found to be directly related to the interfacial quality of the quantum wells.     

硅锗量子阱结构在硅异质结太阳电池中应用的数值模拟

利用半导体工艺和器件仿真软件silvaco TCAD(Technology Computer Aided Design),模拟研究了采用硅/硅锗合金(silicon/silicon germanium alloy,Si/Si_(1-x)Ge_x)量子阱结构作为吸收层的薄膜晶体硅异质结太阳电池各项性能.模拟结果显示,长波波段光学吸收随锗含量的增加而增加,而开路电压则因Si_(1-x)Ge_x)层带隙的降低而下降.锗含量为0.25时,短路电流密度的增加补偿了开路电压的衰减,效率提升0.2%.氢化非晶硅/晶体硅(a-Si:H/c-Si)界面空穴密度以及Si_(1-x)Ge_x)量子阱的体空穴载流子浓度制约着空穴费米能级的位置,进而影响到开路电压的大小.随着锗含量增加,a-Si:H/c-Si界面缺陷对开压的影响降低,Si_(1-x)Ge_x)量子阱的体缺陷对开压的影响则相应增加.高效率含Si_(1-x)Ge_x)量子阱结构的硅异质结太阳电池的制备需要a-Si:H/c-Si界面缺陷的良好钝化以及高质量Si_(1-x)Ge_x)量子阱的生长.     

Ultrafast all optical modulation based on intersubband transition in semiconductor quantum wells

Ultrafast modulation of interband-resonant light by intersubband-resonant light in n-doped GaAs/AlGaAs and GaN/AlGaN quantum wells was investigated by femtosecond pump-probe technique. A planar-type AlGaAs/GaAs modulation device shows a modulation speed of ～1 ps at room temperature. The observed modulation efficiency indicates that 99% modulation can be achieved with a control pulse energy of ～1 pJ when a waveguide-type device structure is utilized. The feasibility of the all-optical modulation in GaN/AlGaN quantum wells is also investigated. The intersubband carrier relaxation time, which mainly determines the modulation speed, is measured and is found to be extremely fast (130–170 fs). The results indicate that the optical modulation at a bit rate of over 1 Tb/s will be possible by utilizing the intersubband transition in GaN/AlGaN quantum wells. The modulation efficiency in GaN/AlGaN quantum wells is also discussed in comparison with that in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells.     

Deuterium in In-based quantum wells

The photoluminescence (PL) of high quality InGaAs/GaAs typically shows one strong intrinsic band, due to the heavy-bole free-exciton (HHFE) recombination. After sample irradiation with deuterium, two bands appear at energies below that of HHFE: a deeper band, D, due to radiative recombination at a deuterium-related site, and a shallower band, (D,X), attributed to an exciton bound to the same state. A maximum of the binding energy has been observed as a function of the well width for both states. As the indium molar fraction x increases, the strength of the D band decreases, together with its binding energy, until the band becomes no more detectable at x=0.37. The (D,X) band cannot be resolved for x ≥ 0.19. Deuterium diffusion has no beneficial effect on the PL intensity of InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells. Different is the case of InAs/GaAs quantum wells having well width below 2 monolayers. Although no strain relaxation occurs in the samples, the PL of the virgin samples is typical of structures with a high number of defects. After deuterium diffusion, the PL intensity increases by one to three orders of magnitude, depending whether non-radiative centers or thermal escape of carriers from the well rule the PL efficiency.     

量子阱数量变化对双波长LED作用的研究

采用软件理论分析的方法分析了InGaN/GaN量子阱数量变化对双波长发光二极管发光光谱、内量子效率、电子空穴浓度分布、溢出电流等产生的影响.分析结果表明,量子阱数量的增加会引起载流子分配不均的现象,所以量子阱数量的增加并不能有效地提升载流子复合率、内量子效率和发光强度,还会引起开启电压升高的现象,影响能量转化效率.此外,不同发光波长的量子阱数量的增加会引起发光光谱强度的变化. 关键词： 量子阱 数量 数值模拟 双波长发光二极管     

InGaN/GaN laser diode characterization and quantum well number effect

The effect of quantum well number on the quantum efficiency and temperature characteristics of In- GaN/GaN laser diodes （LDs） is determined and investigated. The 3-nm-thick In0.13Ca0.87N wells and two 6-am-thick GaN barriers are selected as an active region for Fabry-Perot （FP） cavity waveguide edge emitting LD. The internal quantum efficiency and internal optical loss coefficient are extracted through the simulation software for single, double, and triple InGaN/GaN quantum wells. The effects of device temperature on the laser threshold current, external differential quantum efficiency （DQE）, and output wavelength are also investigated. The external quantum efficiency and characteristic temperature are improved significantly when the quantum well number is two. It is indicated that the laser structures with many quantum wells will suffer from the inhomogeneity of the carrier density within the quantum well itself which affects the LD performance.     

Defects with bright contrast in the induced-current mode in GaN-based light-emitting structures

InGaN/GaN-based light-emitting structures with multiple quantum wells have been studied by the electron beam induced current method. It is shown that the investigation of the dependence of the collected current on the beam energy allows us to evaluate the fraction of excess charge carriers recombining in quantum wells. Two types of defects with bright contrast have been found. It is shown that bright contrast is associated with the formation of enhanced conductivity channels across the structure with quantum wells. The dependence of the contrast on the beam current has been investigated.     

Efficiency droop alleviation in blue light emitting diodes using the InGaN/GaN triangular-shaped quantum well

The InGaN/GaN blue light emitting diode(LED) is numerically investigated using a triangular-shaped quantum well model,which involves analysis on its energy band,carrier concentration,overlap of electron and hole wave functions,radiative recombination rate,and internal quantum efficiency.The simulation results reveal that the InGaN/GaN blue light emitting diode with triangular quantum wells exhibits a higher radiative recombination rate than the conventional light emitting diode with rectangular quantum wells due to the enhanced overlap of electron and hole wave functions(above 90%) under the polarization field.Consequently,the efficiency droop is only 18% in the light emitting diode with triangular-shaped quantum wells,which is three times lower than that in a conventional LED.     

Effect of heteroboundary spreading on the properties of exciton states in Zn(Cd)Se/ZnMgSSe quantum wells

Exciton states in Zn(Cd)Se/ZnMgSSe quantum wells with different diffusion spreading of interfaces are studied by optical spectroscopy methods. It is shown that the emission spectrum of quantum wells at low temperatures is determined by free excitons and bound excitons on neutral donors. The nonlinear dependence of the stationary photoluminescence intensity on the excitation power density and the biexponential luminescence decay are explained by the neutralization of charged defects upon photoexcitation of heterostructures. With the stationary illumination on, durable (about 40 min) reversible changes in the reflection coefficient near the exciton resonances of quantum wells are observed. It is shown that, along with the shift of exciton levels, the spreading of heteroboundaries leads to three effects: an increase in the excitonphonon interaction, an increase in the energy shift between the emission lines of free and bound excitons, and a decrease in the decay time of exciton luminescence in a broad temperature range. The main reasons for these effects are discussed.     

Near-field mechanism of photoluminescence excitation in quantum well heterostructures

We report a study into the process of energy transfer between quantum wells divided by 30-nm-thick opaque barriers. It was experimentally observed that the intensity of a photoluminescence signal from a quantum well increased by 15% under resonant excitation of exciton transition in the adjacent quantum well. The quantum wells were 30 nm apart. A radiative mechanism of energy transfer in the near-field region of emitting exciton is proposed. Within this theoretical model, the efficiency of the energy transfer decreases by a power law with greater distance between the quantum wells. The theory is found to be in qualitative agreement with the experimental results.     

Intersubband excitations in single-and double-layer electron systems in a parallel magnetic field

The spectrum of neutral intersubband excitations in single and double quantum wells has been studied by the inelastic light scattering method. It is shown that excitation energies in an external magnetic field have an anisotropic component proportional to the dipole moment of excitations along the growth axis of the quantum wells. Consequently, the measurement of excitation energy in a magnetic field makes it possible to experimentally estimate the quantitative measure of asymmetry of the quantum wells (dipole moment of the intersubband transition). In addition, a parallel magnetic field makes it possible to considerably extend the range of momenta studied since it shifts the dispersion curves in the momentum space by the value of the anisotropic component. A new method is proposed for determining the symmetry of double quantum wells. In asymmetric wells, intersubband excitations appear between the layers and have a large dipole moment along the growth axis. In symmetric wells, the magnetic field itself induces the dipole moment of intersubband excitations so that the excitation spectrum does not change upon magnetic field inversion. Analysis of energy anisotropy in intersubband excitations in double quantum wells makes it possible to determine the symmetry of double wells to a high degree of accuracy.     

Self-consistent Hartree method for calculations of exciton binding energy in quantum wells

A new computationally efficient and flexible approach to calculating characteristics of excitons in quantum wells based on a self-consistent variational treatment of the electron–hole Coulomb interaction is developed. It is applied to several different quantum well materials and is shown to give much better (lower) values of exciton energies. The iterative scheme used to calculate the energies and respective wave functions is stable and rapidly convergent. The authors believe that the method can be an important computational tool in computing exciton characteristics in shallow quantum wells exceeding currently existing approaches in accuracy and efficiency. The method can also be naturally generalized for quantum wires and dots.     

基于p-n结中反常光电转换现象的新型带间跃迁量子阱红外探测器

实验发现p-n结中局域载流子具有极高抽取效率,同时伴随着吸收系数的大幅度增加.本文报道上述现象的发现和验证过程,以及基于此现象的新型带间跃迁量子阱红外探测器(interband transition quantum well infrared detector,IQWIP)原型器件的性能.采用共振激发光致发光光谱技术,在InGaN量子阱、InGaAs量子阱、InAs量子点等多个材料体系中均观察到了在p-n结电场作用下的载流子高效逃逸现象,抽取效率分别为95%,87.5%,88%.利用含有InGaAs/GaAs多量子阱的PIN二极管,实验尝试了制备新型的IQWIP原型器件.在无表面减反射膜的实验条件下,利用仅100 nm的有效吸收厚度,实现了31%的外量子效率.基于这个数值推算得到量子阱的光吸收系数达到3.7×10~4cm~(-1),该数值高于传统透射实验测量体材料和量子阱结果.此外,还利用InAsSb/GaSb量子阱材料体系进行了2μm以上波长红外探测的探索.利用上述现象,有望在提高现有器件性能的同时开发出新颖的光-电转换器件.     

GaAs/GaAlAs多量子阱的光致荧光诊断

利用光致荧光技术对GaAs/GaAlAs多量子阱质量进行了诊断。讨论了量子阱厚度涨落,铝成份涨落,各种缺陷和非故意掺杂等对量子阱光致荧光谱的影响,并反过来,又由光致荧光谱来推断引起量子阱质量退化的原因。在一定程度上为分子束外延工艺的改进提供了依据。 关键词：     

Photoluminescence saturation in InGaAs/GaAs single quantum wells

Saturation of the photoluminescence associated with the 11H transition in the InGaAs single quantum wells is observed under high intensity optical excitation. At the onset of saturation, a spill-over of the photoluminescence occurs into the GaAs cladding layers as the excitation intensity is increased. The measurements are used to determine a limiting value of the quantum efficiency of the quantum-well associated photoluminescence.     

Thermal quenching of photoluminescence in ZnO/ZnMgO multiple quantum wells following oxygen implantation and rapid thermal annealing

The temperature-dependent photoluminescence in oxygen-implanted and rapid thermally annealed ZnO/ZnMgO multiple quantum wells is investigated. A difference in the thermal quenching of the photoluminescence is found between the implanted and unimplanted quantum wells. Oxygen implantation and subsequent rapid thermal annealing results in the diffusion of magnesium atoms into quantum wells and thus, leads to an increased fluctuation in the potential of the quantum wells and the observation of a large thermal activation energy. However, a high dose of implantation results in large defect clusters and thus an additional nonradiative channel, which leads to a flat potential fluctuation and a small thermal activation energy.     

Erbium in silicon–germanium quantum wells

Strained Si_1−xGe_x/Si quantum wells have been doped with erbium by implantation. A comparison is made with strained Si_1−xGe_x/Si quantum wells and relaxed Si_1−xGe_x, with x between 10% and 25%, doped with erbium during MBE growth. The erbium concentration was between 1×10¹⁸ and 5×10¹⁸ cm⁻³ throughout the active regions. Transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and photoluminescence studies indicate that good regrowth can been achieved after full amorphisation by implantation of the strained quantum wells. The erbium luminescence is more intense in the Si_1−xGe_x/Si layers, but erbium-implanted samples containing Si_1−xGe_x exhibit defect luminescence in the region of 0.9–1.0 eV. These defects are also present when Si_1−xGe_x/Si quantum wells are implanted with an amorphising dose of silicon, and then regrown. They are attributed to small germanium-rich platelets, rather than to erbium-related defects. Electroluminescence is presented from a forward biased erbium-implanted Si_0.87Ge_0.13/Si structure at a drive current density of only 1.8 mA/cm².     

Effect of hydrogen on the photoelectronic properties of GaAs/InGaAs quantum-well heterostructures with an island palladium layer on the surface

The effect of hydrogen on the photoluminescence and planar conductivity of GaAs/InGaAs quantum-well heterostructures with an island Pd layer at the anodically oxidized surface was studied. Unlike continuous deposited Pd layers, island layers do not cause the formation of defects in the GaAs surface region and yet the Pd layer maintains high catalytic activity with respect to hydrogen. It is found that the thermal treatment of such a structure in a hydrogen atmosphere causes atomic-hydrogen passivation of the defects in quantum wells. Studies of the characteristics of planar photoresistors with an island Pd layer acting as hydrogen sensors show that their hydrogen detectivity is approximately two orders of magnitude higher than that of diode structures with continuous Pd layers.     

量子阱层和垒层具有不同Al组分的270/290/330nm AlGaN基深紫外LED光电性能

为了研究AlGaN量子阱层和垒层中Al组分不同对AlGaN基深紫外发光二极管(LED)光电性能的影响,本文利用MOCVD生长、光刻和干法刻蚀工艺制备了AlGaN量子阱层和垒层具有不同Al组分的270/290/330nm深紫外LED,通过实验和数值模拟计算方法发现,量子阱层和垒层中具有低Al组分紫外LED的AlGaN材料具有较低的位错密度、较高的光输出功率和外量子效率。通过电流-电压(I-V)曲线拟合出的较大的理想因子(3.5)和能带结构图表明,AlGaN深紫外LED的电流产生是隧穿机制占据主导作用,这是因为高Al组分AlGaN量子阱中强极化场造成了有源层区域较大的能带弯曲和电势降。