Intrinsic defects in GaAs and InGaAs through hybrid functional calculations

Vacancies, antisites, and dangling bonds in GaAs and In_0.5Ga_0.5As are studied through hybrid density functionals. The As antisite is found to have a low formation energy in As-rich conditions and defect levels at mid-gap in correspondence of experimental defect densities at the GaAs/oxide and InGaAs/oxide interfaces. In n-type GaAs, the Ga vacancy also shows defect levels in agreement with measured defect densities and competitive formation energies. For both GaAs and InGaAs, the As dangling bonds are located near the valence band maximum. The Ga dangling bond in GaAs is found just below the conduction band-edge in correspondence of experimentally observed states, whereas its defect level is resonant with the conduction band in InGaAs.     

The study of the optical properties of the GaAs with point defects

GaAs is a common material for negative electron affinity photoelectric cathodes. It has a widely application in night vision. It is unavoidable to produce point defects in the process of the GaAs growth. In this article, the first principle method is used to calculate the formation energy and the optical properties of six types familiar point defects in GaAs. Three types of point defects (Ga vacancy defect, As antisite defect and As interstitial defect) are easier to be formed in these six types according to the formation energy calculation. In fact, crystal GaAs is grown in an As-rich environment. The Ga vacancy, As antisite and As interstitial defects are easier to be formed in reality. Hence the theoretical calculation results are in keeping with the experiments. In this article, the optical properties of these three types are compared with that of perfect GaAs. The electron structures are changed as a result of the point defects. Some of the defect levels enter into the band gap and the electron transitions become easier. It makes the optical spectra move to the low-energy region. Additionally, GaAs with Ga vacancy defect and that with As interstitial defect shows similar optical properties. Therefore both of the two types of defects can be considered as the same in the later experiments. The theoretical results in this article provide the basis for experimental study for photoelectric emission of the real GaAs material related to the optical properties and electronic structures.     

Ga sublattice defects in (Ga,Mn)As: thermodynamical and kinetic trends

We have used positron annihilation spectroscopy and infrared absorption measurements to study the Ga sublattice defects in epitaxial Ga(1-x)MnxAs with Mn content varying from 0% to 5%. We show that the Ga vacancy concentration decreases and As antisite concentration increases with increasing Mn content. This is in agreement with thermodynamical considerations for the electronic part of the formation energy of the Ga sublattice point defects. However, the absolute defect concentrations imply that they are determined rather by the growth kinetics than by the thermodynamical equilibrium. The As antisite concentrations in the samples are large enough to be important for compensation and magnetic properites. In addition, the Ga vacancies are likely to be involved in the diffusion and clustering of Mn at low annealing temperatures.     

Investigations of As-antisite-related defects in GaAs

Optically Detected Magnetic Resonance (ODMR) is a powerful tool to study paramagnetic defects in semiconductors. As an example for the successful application of various methods based on ODMR, investigations of As antisite-related defects in GaAs are presented. Information about defect properties such as their microscopic structure, their metastability and thermal stability can be obtained by ODMR which was measured via the Magnetic Circular Dichroism of the optical Absorption (MCDA).Low temperature irradiation of GaAs (4.2 K) with 2 MeV electrons produces the Ga vacancy and some new As antisite-related defects. Annealing steps were investigated at 77 K and above. At 77 K the isolated As antisite defect is detected if semi-insulating (si) GaAs was irradiated. Between 200 K and 300 K the Ga vacancy decays. Its decay is correlated to the formation of an anti-structure pair. A second annealing step was found at about 520 K. There the anti-structure pair decays. EL2 is formed at that temperature if si material was irradiated, but this EL2 formation is not correlated with the anti-structure pair decay. We performed also magneto-optical measurements to investigate the metastability properties of the three As antisite-related defects. They all show metastability.Paper presented at the 132nd WE-Heraeus-Seminar on Positron Studies of Semiconductor Defects, Halle, Germany, 29 August to 2 September 1994     

First-Principles Study on Native Defect Complexes in InN

We present first-principles calculations of the formation energy of different native defects and their complexes in wurtzite InN using density-functional theory and the pseudopotential plane-wave method. Our calculations are aimed in the three cases： N/In = 1, N/In 〉 1 （N-rich）, and N/In 〈 1 （In-rich）. Our results indicate that the antisite defect has the lowest formation energy under N/In = 1. The formation energy of nitrogen interstitial （nitrogen vacancy） defect is significantly low under the N-rich （In-rich） condition. Thus the antisite defect is an important defect if N/In = 1, and the nitrogen interstitial （nitrogen vacancy） defect is a vital defect under the N-rich （In-rich） condition. The atomic site relaxation around the nitrogen interstitial and vacancy is investigated. Our calculations show that the nitrogen vacancy cannot be observed although it is one of the most important defects in InN. Our results are confirmed by experiments.     

Low temperature photoluminescence study of Ga As defect states

Low temperature(77 K)photoluminescence measurements have been performed on different GaAs substrates to evaluate the GaAs crystal quality.Several defect-related luminescence peaks have been observed,including 1.452 eV,1.476 eV,1.326 eV peaks deriving from 78 meV Ga_(As) antisite defects,and 1.372 eV,1.289 eV peaks resulting from As vacancy related defects.Changes in photoluminescence emission intensity and emission energy as a function of temperature and excitation power lead to the identification of the defect states.The luminescence mechanisms of the defect states were studied by photoluminescence spectroscopy and the growth quality of GaAs crystal was evaluated.     

Study of n type porous GaAs by photoluminescence spectroscopy: Effect of the etching time on the deep levels

Photoluminescence (PL) analysis is used to study porous layers elaborated by electrochemical etching of n⁺ Si-doped GaAs substrate with different etching times. Temperature and power dependence photoluminescence (PL) studies were achieved to characterize the effect of the etching time on the deep levels of the n⁺ Si-doped GaAs. The energy emission at about 1.46 eV is attributed to the band-to-band (B-B) (e-h) recombination of a hole gas with electrons in the conduction band. The emission band is composed of four deep levels due to the complex of (V_AsSi_GaV_Ga), a complex of a (Ga vacancy - donor - As vacancy), a (Si_Ga-V_Ga³⁻) defect or Si clustering, and a (gallium antisite double acceptor-effective mass donor pair complex) and which peaked, respectively, at about (0.94, 1, 1.14, and 1.32 eV). The PL intensity behavior as function of the temperature is investigated, and the experimental results are fitted with a rate equation model with double thermal activation energies.     

Effects of strain and local charge on the formation of deep defects in III-V ternary alloys

The effects of external and internal strains and of defect charges on the formation of gallium vacancies and arsenic antisites in GaAs and In0.5Ga0.5As have been investigated by ab initio density functional methods. Present results show that a proper understanding of strain and defect charge permits the development of a defect engineering of semiconductors. Specifically, they predict that arsenic antisites in InGaAs ternary alloys can form, upon p-type doping in the presence of an arsenic overpressure, even in the case of high-temperature epitaxial growths.     

GaAs表面硫化学钝化,CH3CSNH2处理新探

应用同步辐射光电子谱（SRPES）和光致荧光（PL）方法探讨不同钝化条件对GaAs表面键合状态和电子态的影响．发现无论在酸性溶液或碱性溶液条件下，经过CH₃CSNH₂处理的GaAs表面S都与Ga和As成键，形成硫化物钝化层；钝化层形成后，PL谱的强度明显增强，表明GaAs表面复合中心的减少和缺陷态密度的降低 关键词：     

Boron and indium substitution in GaAs(0 0 1) surfaces: Density-functional supercell calculations of the surface stability

Using the density-functional method and surface supercells the surface formation energies are calculated for the most stable GaAs(0 0 1) surface reconstructions without and with up to four indium or/and boron substitutions. Optimal conditions for the growth of the alloys are derived from calculated surface stability diagrams. The incorporation of indium into GaAs without phase separation is possible under strong As-rich conditions and medium to In-rich conditions. Less As-rich conditions can lead to the formation of an InAs phase. Ga-rich conditions give an InGa phase. Isovalent boron incorporation into GaAs without phase separation is possible under strong arsenic and reduced boron exposure. A BAs phase can be formed under more B-rich conditions. More Ga-rich conditions lead to the boron substitution in arsenic positions. The formed boron dimers can be a starting point for the formation of a boron phase. A true antisite boron substitution is less probable. Using the suitable growth conditions obtained for the ternary alloys it is energetically more favourable to incorporate both indium and boron (formation of BInGaAs) than to incorporate only one of the two elements (In or B). The antisite boron incorporation is not favoured in combination with isovalent boron or indium.     

二维缺陷GaAs电子结构和光学性质第一性原理研究

采用基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理方法计算了存在Ga空位缺陷和掺杂B原子的二维GaAs的能带结构、态密度和光学性质.计算结果表明空位缺陷二维GaAs显示出金属特性,B原子的引入使体系变为间接带隙半导体,禁带宽度为0.35 eV.态密度计算发现体系低能带主要由Ga的s态、p态、d态和As的s态、p态构成;高能带主要由Ga和As的s态、p态构成.掺杂B原子与存在空位缺陷的二维GaAs相比,静态介电常数相对较低,变为8.42,且易于吸收紫外光,在3.90～8.63 eV能量范围具有金属反射特性,反射率达到52%.     

Defects at surfaces and interfaces — A scattering theoretical approach

A theory for isolated defects at surfaces and interfaces of semiinfinite solids is presented and applied to vacancies at or near surfaces. Vacancy-induced changes in the surface electronic structure of a simple cubic s-band model are discussed in detail and are found to converge very slowly to corresponding bulk vacancy results when the defect is moved into the solid. Results for Ga and As vacancies at GaAs surfaces are discussed in connection with recent experimental data.     

生长温度对In_(0.5)Ga_(0.5)As/GaAs量子点尺寸的影响

采用分子束外延(MBE)技术制备In_(0.5)Ga_(0.5)As/GaAs量子点,利用扫描隧道显微镜(STM)对不同衬底温度下生长的样品进行表征分析.研究表明量子点密度随温度升高先增大后减小,其尺寸随温度的升高而增大.另外,量子点以S-K模式生长并受Ostwald熟化机制影响,其尺寸增大所需的能量来自应变能和温度提供的能量,高温条件下表面原子的解吸附作用会限制量子点的生长.     

Mechanism for the creation of antisite defects,during combined climb-glide motion of dislocations in sphalerite-structure crystals

Processes are considered which lead to a formation of irregular jogs in a dislocation core, e.g., when in GaAs two As atoms are absorbed at an already existing jog. Then, after glide, the dislocation leaves an arsenic antisite defect behind. This mechanism can give an account of a correlation between the spatial distributions of EL2 donors (that are most likely related to the As_Ga defects) and dislocations in melt-grown GaAs crystals.     

GaAs衬底上生长的GaInP_2外延单晶薄膜的杂质污染研究

各种外延技术已被用来在ＧａＡｓ衬底上生长ＧａｘＩｎ１－ｘＰ外延单晶薄膜（ＧａＩｎＰ２／ＧａＡｓ）．很多文献认为,在ＧａＩｎＰ２／ＧａＡｓ生长过程中会被Ｃ杂质污染．我们用高灵敏的ＣＡＭＥＣＡＩＭＳ４Ｆ型二次离子质谱仪直接测量的结果表明,污染ＧａＩｎＰ２／ＧａＡｓ的微量杂质是Ｓｉ,而不是Ｃ．由ＧａＩｎＰ２／ＧａＡｓ在１．１７ｅＶ附近的光致发光峰的峰值随激发强度的变化形状表明了它应属于施主－受主对复合发光．进一步分析表明,施主为处在Ｇａ格位上的Ｓｉ杂质（ＳｉＧａ）,受主为Ｇａ空位（ＶＧａ）．     

Defect stability in thorium monocarbide:An ab initio study

The elastic properties and point defects of thorium monocarbide(ThC) have been studied by means of density functional theory based on the projector-augmented-wave method. The calculated electronic and elastic properties of ThC are in good agreement with experimental data and previous theoretical results. Five types of point defects have been considered in our study, including the vacancy defect, interstitial defect, antisite defect, schottky defect, and composition-conserving defect. Among these defects, the carbon vacancy defect has the lowest formation energy of 0.29 eV. The second most stable defect(0.49 eV) is one of composition-conserving defects in which one carbon is removed to another carbon site forming a C2 dimer. In addition, we also discuss several kinds of carbon interstitial defects, and predict that the carbon trimer configuration may be a transition state for a carbon dimer diffusion in Th C.     

立方半导体中双空位态的电子结构(Ⅳ)——GaAs,GaP中双空位态的电子结构

利用文献[1]中的基本方程组和Vogl等人的紧束缚哈密顿量,计算了以GaAs,GaP为代表的极性半导体中理想双空位的A₁,E态的波函数。计算表明,理想双空位态的波函数在靠近As空位或P空位处的三个Ga原子处具有最大几率,波函数的其余部分随着离缺陷距离的增加而缓慢非单调地递减。 关键词：     

Self-consistent tight-binding total energy calculations: Application to GaAs/Si and ZnSe/GaAs (100) interfaces

Self-consistent tight-binding total energy calculations are performed for various models of GaAs/Si and ZnSe/GaAs (100) interfaces. A graded GaAs/Si interface with the first monolayer on substrate having 1 As atom per 3 Si atoms followed by a second monolayer with 3 Ga atoms per 1 Si atom and continued with 2 bulk-like As and Ga monolayers is found to be structurally more stable than other interfaces. The instability of the abrupt interface is driven by elastic rather than electrostatic forces. Similar results are obtained for the ZnSe/GaAs (100) interface. The graded interface with Ga atoms exchanged against Zn atoms is found to be energetically most stable. Strong macroscopic electric fields are found in the surface and interface regions for both the GaAs/Si and ZnSe/GaAs interfaces.     

嵌入原子法研究Ni3Al中点缺陷以及Re择优占位和集团化

基于纯金属元素Ni，Al和Re的基本物理性质，建立了一个Ni-Al-Re三元体系的分析型嵌入原子多体势.结合分子动力学计算了Ni₃Al的平衡晶格常数、弹性模量、结合能、空位形成能以及反位置缺陷形成能，并分析了Ni₃Al中点缺陷的存在形式.计算结果表明，当成分偏离理想化学配比时出现反位置缺陷.同时研究了Re在Ni₃Al中的择优占位以及Re在Ni₃Al和Ni中的集团化行为.计算结果表明，Re在Ni₃Al中优先置换Al的位置，且发现当Re原子团的尺寸接近于11?时，Re原子团的长大趋势变弱.计算结果与实验以及其他的理论计算结果相符合. 关键词： 嵌入原子势 3Al')" href="#">Ni₃Al Re 占位 集团化     

On the validity of the amphoteric-defect model in gallium arsenide and a criterion for Fermi-level pinning by defects

Using the theoretically calculated point-defect total-energy values of Baraff and Schlüter in GaAs, anamphoteric-defect model has been proposed by Walukiewicz to explain a large number of experimental results. The suggested amphoteric-defect system consists of two point-defect species capable of transforming into each other: the doubly negatively charged Ga vacancyV _Ga ^2– and the triply positively charged defect complex (AS_Ga+V _As)³⁺, with As_Ga being the antisite defect of an As atom occupying a Ga site andV _As being an As vacancy. When present in sufficiently high concentrations, the amphoteric defect systemV _Ga ^2– /(As_Ga+V _As)³⁺ is supposed to be able to pin the GaAs Fermi level at approximately theE _v +0.6 eV level position, which requires that the net free energy of theV _Ga/(As_Ga+V _As) defect system to be minimum at the same Fermi-level position. We have carried out a quantitative study of the net energy of this defect system in accordance with the individual point-defect total-energy results of Baraff and Schlüter, and found that the minimum net defect-system-energy position is located at about theE _v +1.2 eV level position instead of the neededE _v +0.6 eV position. Therefore, the validity of the amphoteric-defect model is in doubt. We have proposed a simple criterion for determining the Fermi-level pinning position in the deeper part of the GaAs band gap due to two oppositely charged point-defect species, which should be useful in the future.