Incorporation behaviour of manganese in MBE grown Ga0.47In0.53As

Acceptor doping of MBE grown Ga_0.47In_0.53As on InP:Fe substrates utilizing manganese is investigated as an alternative for overcoming problems related to beryllium doping. The incorporation behaviour of manganese is analyzed in detail with respect to its application in optoelectronic device structures. Special emphasis is put on low-level and maximum-level doping relevant for use in buffer and contact layers, respectively. The dependence of activation energy and the degree of ionization on acceptor concentration is determined. At high doping levels the free-hole concentration is markedly lower than the doping concentration. It is attributed to the diffusion of acceptor species across the heterointerface into the substrate. Manganese diffusion is demonstrated to be an important effect for the interpretation of the measurement results. Manganese doping is applied in p⁺/n/p^–-layer structures for junction field effect transistor applications. The intended abruptness of acceptor profiles is deteriorated by diffusion of manganese in the Ga_0.47In_0.53As material. The degraded device characteristics obtained are attributed to the acceptor diffusion behaviour established.     

Synchrotron radiation photoemission study of interface formation between MgO and the atomically clean In0.53Ga0.47As surface

The evolution of interface formation between MgO and the atomically clean In_0.53Ga_0.47As is studied by synchrotron radiation based photoemission. The deposition of MgO in a step wise fashion on the decapped In_0.53Ga_0.47As surface at room temperature results in the growth of an ultrathin interfacial oxide layer. Subsequent thermal annealing at 400 °C led to the reduction of the As and In oxides and the appearance of a Ga oxide component. The deposition of metallic Mg resulted in the further removal of the interfacial oxide and the out diffusion of In into the overlayer indicating severe disruption of the interface. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Ion-irradiated In0.53Ga0.47As photoconductive antennas for THz generation and detection at 1.55 μm wavelength

We present a detailed study of the photoconductive antennas made from heavy-ion-irradiated In_0.53Ga_0.47As material. The optical and transport properties of ion-irradiated In_0.53Ga_0.47As material are characterized. The terahertz waveforms emitted and detected by ion-irradiated In_0.53Ga_0.47As photoconductive antennas excited by 1.55 μm wavelength femtosecond laser pulses are reported and the effect of the carrier lifetime on the terahertz signal characteristics emitted by such devices is analysed. The performances of ion-irradiated In_0.53Ga_0.47As photoconductive antennas excited by 1.55 μm and also by 0.8 μm wavelength femtosecond laser pulses are compared to those of similar low-temperature-grown GaAs photoconductive antennas. To cite this article: J. Mangeney, P. Crozat, C. R. Physique 9 (2008).     

Structural and electronic properties of group III Rich In0.53Ga0.47As(001)

The structural and electronic properties of group III rich In_0.53Ga_0.47As(001) have been studied using scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS). At room temperature (300 K), STM images show that the In_0.53Ga_0.47As(001)–(4 × 2) reconstruction is comprised of undimerized In/Ga atoms in the top layer. Quantitative comparison of the In_0.53Ga_0.47As(001)–(4 × 2) and InAs(001)–(4 × 2) shows the reconstructions are almost identical, but In_0.53Ga_0.47As(001)–(4 × 2) has at least a 4× higher surface defect density even on the best samples. At low temperature (77 K), STM images show that the most probable In_0.53Ga_0.47As(001) reconstruction is comprised of one In/Ga dimer and two undimerized In/Ga atoms in the top layer in a double (4 × 2) unit cell. Density functional theory (DFT) simulations at elevated temperature are consistent with the experimentally observed 300 K structure being a thermal superposition of three structures. DFT molecular dynamics (MD) show the row dimer formation and breaking is facilitated by the very large motions of tricoodinated row edge As atoms and z motion of In/Ga row atoms induced changes in As–In/Ga–As bond angles at elevated temperature. STS results show there is a surface dipole or the pinning states near the valence band (VB) for 300 K In_0.53Ga_0.47As(001)–(4 × 2) surface consistent with DFT calculations. DFT calculations of the band-decomposed charge density indicate that the strained unbuckled trough dimers being responsible for the surface pinning.     

Atomic hydrogen cleaning of In0.53Ga0.47As studied using synchrotron radiation photoelectron spectroscopy

The removal of the native oxides from the In_0.53Ga_0.47As surface by exposure to atomic hydrogen has been investigated by highly surface sensitive synchrotron radiation based photoelectron spectroscopy. This shows that it is possible to fully remove the arsenic oxides at low temperatures, while still leaving a low concentration of stable Ga₂O and In₂O at the surface, and no evidence of indium loss from the substrate. The removal of surface carbon contamination is also seen, however full removal is only detected in the absence of prior substrate annealing. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

XPS data for sputter-cleaned In0.53Ga0.47As,GaAs, and InAs surfaces

Core level binding energies and Auger parameters were determined for In, Ga, and As in the three compounds In_0.53Ga_0.47As, GaAs, and InAs. The surfaces were cleaned by 1.5 keV Ar ion bombardment. Under this condition the radiation-induced defects are small. In the case of GaAs the Ga and As3d levels become comparable with available data for chemically cleaned surfaces. The high Ga deficiency of chemically cleaned In_0.53Ga_0.47As surfaces could not be observed. Sputter cleaned surfaces seem to be closer to the bulk composition.     

Efficient photoluminescence from triangular quantum wells at the interface of an InP/In0.53Ga0.47As heterostructure

Efficient photoluminescence (PL) with quantum yield close to 1 from InP/In_0.53Ga_0.47As heterostructures (HSs) at temperatures 77–300 K and low excitation levels is observed and investigated. The PL is due to a quasi-triangular quantum well (TQW) located at the HS interface and consists of two spectrally similar lines: InGaAs interband emission and emission from the bottom level of the TQW. It is found that as the temperature increases, the intersubband emission rises, while the TQW radiation is quenched. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 67, No. 10, 783–787 (25 May 1998)     

Study of single event effect for the InP-based HEMT with In0.53Ga0.47As/In0.3Ga0.7As/In0.7Ga0.3As composite channel

In this study, the single event effects in In_0.53Ga_0.47As/In_0.3Ga_0.7As/In_0.7Ga_0.3As composite channel InP-based HEMT are investigated using TCAD simulation for the first time. Due to the higher conduction band difference between bottom In_0.7Ga_0.3As channel and InAlAs buffer, the electrons in the buffer layer induced by ions strike cannot enter the channel, led to reduce the peak concentration in the composite channel and significantly weakened the drain current for composite channel device. Meanwhile, higher barrier height under the gate for composite channel InP-based HEMT is formed after particle strike, and further attenuate the drain current. Therefore, the single event effects can be effectively reduced by designing channel structure. In addition, drain voltage and incident position also show significant impact drain current. With the increase in the drain voltage, the drain current increase and the most sensitive incident position is the gate electrode for the device.     

Dark current simulation of InP/In0.53Ga0.47As/InP p-i-n photodiode

We report on 2D simulations of dark current for InP/In_0.53Ga_0.47aAs/InP p-i-n photodiode. Our simulation result is in good agreement with experiment confirming that generation-recombination effect is the dominant source of the dark current at low bias. Effects of the thickness and doping concentration of the absorption layer on the dark current are discussed in detail.     

Electron mobilities in isomorphic In0.53Ga0.47As quantum wells on InP substrates

The influence of the doping level, illumination, and width of isomorphic In_0.52Al_0.48As/In_0.53Ga_0.47As/In_0.52Al_0.48As quantum wells grown on InP substrates on the electron mobility is studied. The persistent photoconductivity at low temperatures is found. Band diagrams are calculated and optimal parameters are found for obtaining the maximum electron mobility. The quantum and transport electron mobilities in dimensional quantization subbands are obtained from the Shubnikov-de Haas effect. The electron mobilities are calculated in dimensional quantization subbands upon scattering by ionized impurities taking intersubband transitions into account. Scattering by ionized impurities in samples studied is shown to be dominant at low temperatures.     

Cation diffusion in InP/In0.53Ga0.47As superlattices: strain build-up and relaxation

InP and In_0.53Ga_0.47As are lattice matched and can form superlattices that are free of crystalline defects. Zn indiffusion enhances the diffusion of cations while leaving the anions unaffected; the resultant In_1–x Ga _x P/In_1–x Ga _x As superlattices are strained. Since the as-grown specimens are pseudomorphic, any defects observed after Zn diffusion must be attributed to strain relaxation. Studies of the post-growth strain build-up and relaxation in this novel system suggest a new strain relief mechanism for buried strained layers of face-centred-cubic (fcc) structures. The signature defect of the proposed mechanism is a microtwin along a {111} plane spanning the buried strained layer and terminating at both interfaces with partial dislocations of 1/6112 type. Energy analysis indicates that this new partial-dislocation strain relief mechanism is more effective than the conventional 60 perfect-dislocation mechanism for relieving the in-plane strain in buried strained layers. Therefore, the proposed mechanism is an energetically favourable relaxation channel and limits the useful thicknesses of strained layers in electronic and optoelectronic devices.     

Engineering of AlON interlayer in Al2O3/AlON/In0.53Ga0.47As gate stacks by thermal atomic layer deposition

The presence of an AlN interfacial layer in high-k/In_0.53Ga_0.47As gate stacks improves the interfacial properties and enhances the electrical performance of devices. However, pure AlN is rarely grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) because of the low reactivity of NH₃ toward the common Al-precursor and the predisposition to oxidation of the grown AlN layer. Although a plasma-enhanced ALD technique significantly suppresses the oxygen content in the grown AlN layer, the deterioration of the interface properties by plasma-damage is a critical issue. In this work, an AlON interlayer was engineered by optimizing the NH₃ feeding time in thermal ALD to improve the interface quality in Al₂O₃/AlON/In_0.53Ga_0.47As capacitors. It was determined that a mere increase in the NH₃ feeding time during the ALD of the AlON film resulted in a higher nitrogen incorporation into the AlON interlayer, leading to a reduction in the interface trap density. Furthermore, the out-diffusion of elements from the In_0.53Ga_0.47As layer was effectively suppressed by increasing the NH₃ feeding time. This work demonstrates that simple process optimization can improve the interface quality in high-k/In_0.53Ga_0.47As gate stacks without the use of any plasma-activated nitrogen source.     

Two-dimensional electronic transport in In0.53Ga0.47As quantum Wells

Transport properties of the electrons itinerant two dimensionality in a square quantum well of In_0.53Ga_0.47As are studied in the framework of Fermi-Dirac statistics including the relevant scattering mechanisms. An iterative solution of the Boltzmann equation shows that the ohmic mobility is controlled by LO phonon scattering at room temperature, but below 130 K alloy scattering is predominant. The calculated mobilities with a suitable value of the alloy scattering potential agree with the experimental results over a range of lattice temperature. For lattice temperatures below 25 K where the carrier energy loss is governed by the deformation potential acoustic scattering, the warm electron coefficient is found to be negative. Its magnitude decreases with increasing lattice temperature and is greater for larger channel widths. Values of the small-signal AC mobility of hot electrons at a lattice temperature of 4.2 K are obtained for different sheet carrier densities and channel widths. Cut-off frequencies around 100 GHz are indicated.Dedicated to H.-J. Queisser on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Maskless photoassisted etching of N-type Ga0.47In0.53As in basic solutions

The maskless photoassisted etching of n-type Ga_0.47In_0.53As is examined for basic KOH solutions in comparison with GaAs and InP material. The etch rate increases with laser intensity and with carrier concentration up to a saturation value. The best etch rate is obtained with molar KOH in ethyl alcohol (7 ms^–1 for laser intensity 10⁴ W cm^–2). Selective etching have been realized on heterojunction in order to isolate p-n junctions without the help of masks.     

Spectrum analysis of interband optical transmissions and quantitative model of eigen-energies and absorptions in In0.53Ga0.47As/In0.52Al0.48As multi-quantum well structures

Interband transmission spectra were measured for three In_0.53Ga_0.47As/In_0.52Al_10.48As multi-quantum well specimens having different carrier concentrations by modulation-doping. Spectral shapes of transmissions were clear steplike structures but exciton peaks of first order transitions were masked with the carrier concentrations. The spectral shapes changed hardly between 100 and 310 K. Using our parameters of quantum wells, calculated eigen-energies for three specimens agreed with experiments and absorption coefficients reproduced experimental transmission spectra at any temperature.     

Nonparabolic tendency of electron effective mass estimated by confined states in In0.53Ga0.47As/In0.52Al0.48As multi-quantum-well structures

We observed that a series of peaks, which were clearly extracted from a photocurrent difference spectrum, corresponded to interband optical transitions of an In_0.53Ga_0.47As /In_0.52Al_0.48As multi-quantum wells structure. The nonparabolic tendency of the electron effective mass was suggested from eigenenergies of conduction subbands. The effective mass estimated in a direction normal to the InGaAs quantum well plane was heavier than the effective mass of the bulk band edge and was 0.07 m₀at the top of a quantum potential well.     

Single-well resonant-tunneling diode heterostructures based on In0.53Ga0.47As/AlAs/InP with the peak-to-valley current ratio of 22:1 at room temperature

Current-voltage (I–V) characteristics of resonant-tunneling diode In_0.53Ga_0.47As/AlAs/InP structures are studied at 300 and 77 K. The peak-to-valley current ratios were determined as 22:1 and 44:1 at temperatures of 300 and 77 K, respectively, which correspond to the maximum values for InGaAs/AlAs/InP heterostructures without an additional InAs layer of a quantum subwell in their configuration.     

Raman studies of InAs/In0.53Ga0.47As single quantum wells grown on InP substrate by M.B.E.

We analyzed using the Raman technique a series of single quantum wells of InAs/In _0.53Ga_0.47As at different thicknesses of InAs layer grown on a (100) InP substrate by MBE. These high lattice mismatch systems are particularly interesting for potential applications in the mid-IR wavelength range. The well thickness was between 6 and 12 monolayers. The In _0.53 Ga_0.47As grown on an InAs layer is subject to a tensile biaxial strain and the InAs to a compressive one. In the Raman spectra we observed an intense narrow line corresponding to the LO phonon of the InAs layer between a GaAs-like LO mode and a smaller InAs-like LO phonon typical of In_0.53Ga_0.47As. With the increase of the well thickness the experimental energy shift of the LO phonon of the InAs layer decreases, indicating a smaller strain, whereas the GaAs-like LO phonon of the alloy remains constant and the intensity ratio of these two modes becames smaller. The dominant and sharp features of the InAs LO and GaAs-like LO characterize the good quality of our structures. With the increase of the InAs layer thickness we also observed the appearance and the intensity rise of a weak peak around the frequency of the InAs TO mode. This peak could be associated with the TO mode that is forbidden in our scattering geometry. We believe that this is indicative of a slight deterioration of the structural perfection of the sample with the increase of the well thickness. To our knowledge, this is the first study of vibrational properties of InAs/In _0.53 Ga_0.47As single quantum wells grown on InP substrates.     

Manganese-related luminescence in GaInAs/AlInAs multiple quantum wells grown on InP by molecular beam epitaxy

Two Mn-related luminescence peaks have been observed in a series of nominally undoped Ga_0.47In_0.53As/Al_0.48In_0.52As multiple quantum wells (MQW) grown lattice-matched on InP substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. These two peaks correspond to on-center and on-edge impurity states, respectively. The origin of the Mn impurities is outdiffusion from the Fe-doped semiinsulating InP substrate into the epitaxial layer. The binding energy of Mn acceptors, determined to be 53±3 meV in bulk-like Ga_0.47In_0.53As, increases to 80±5 meV for the on-center Mn state in a 58 Å MQW. The strong well-width dependence of the binding energy is explained in terms of the unique behavior of the Mn impurity in III–V semiconductors. The Mn in Ga_0.47In_0.53As and Ga_0.47In_0.53As/Al_0.48In_0.52As MQWs behaves predominantly as a deep impurity.On leave from: A. F. Ioffe Physicotechnical Institute, Leningrad, USSR     

Recombination in tensile-strained In0.3Ga0.7As quantum well on InP

Photoluminescence (PL) measurements under different excitation powers were carried out at low temperature on tensile-strained In_0.3Ga_0.7As single wells of 6 nm with InGaAs barriers lattice matched to InP substrate. PL measurements taken at 2 K show a main emission band at 0.762 eV probably originating from a type-II transition. The insertion of an ultrathin InAs layer at In_0.3Ga_0.7As on In_0.53Ga_0.47As interface reveals an additional feature at 0.711 eV as well as an excited-state luminescence emission at high pump powers. The InAs insertion improves heterointerface quality, which was confirmed by an increase in PL intensity.