Electron transport in sub-micron GaAs channels at 300 K

Transient velocity-field characteristics have been computed for GaAs channels having lengths of 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, and 20 μm for electric fields between 1 and 50 kV/cm at 300 K. The results are compared with earlier calculations and the significant features of the computed results are discussed. It is found that the electron motion for all channel lengths and for all fields is significantly affected by collisions. The threshold field for negative differential mobility increases, and the magnitude of the differential mobility decreases with decrease in the length of the sample. The maximum steady-state velocity increases with decrease in the length and may be as high as 5.4×10⁷ cm/s for 0.1 μm samples.     

Photoconductive response of GaAs epitaxial layers

In the present work the photoconductive response of low resistivity, n-type GaAs epitaxial layers is studied by experimentally monitoring the dependence of the photoconductive gain (PG) optoelectronic parameter upon incident photon flux and temperature. The characterized samples fall into three major categories: ion implanted (II) GaAs epilayers formed within undoped, semi-insulating GaAs substrates; GaAs epitaxial layers grown by liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) on Cr-doped, semi-insulating GaAs substrates; and ungated GaAs MESFETs.     

Microstructure of annealed low-temperature-grown GaAs layers

The crystal structure and orientation of As precipitates in annealed low-temperature GaAs (LT-GaAs) layers have been investigated by transmission electron microscopy. Three types of As precipitates were identified in layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy at substrate temperatures from 180° to 210° C. In the monocrystalline LT-GaAs layers small pseudocubic As precipitates (2–3 nm diameter) coherent with the GaAs lattice were observed. These precipitates lose their coherency when a certain critical size is exceeded. Precipitates of similar sizes are occasionally found for which a TEM lattice image cannot be obtained. These precipitates are believed to be amorphous. Larger As precipitates with a hexagonal structure (>4 nm diameter) were also found in the layers. These hexagonal As precipitates were observed to be largest near structural defects. The effect of these precipitates on the structure and on the electronic properties of the host GaAs is discussed.Dedicated to H.-J. Queisser on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Transport parameters in illuminated layers of semiinsulating GaAs

Measurements are reported on semiinsulating p-type Gallium Arsenide specimens illuminated with photons of energy greater than the energy gap.An excited layer is defined of thickness d given by the sum of the radiation penetration depth and the ambipolar diffusion length.Concentrations n and mobilities μ of the carriers in this layer are determined from galvanomagnetic effects in light and in darkness. The concentration n shows a slow decrease with increasing wavelength out to the absorption edge, where it falls abruptly; μ falls with rising photon energy. As a function of increasing intensity, the mobility remains constant, while n rises linearly with photon-excitation rate. The results are discussed in terms of the variations of d. Further an attempt has been made to find the dependence between electron and hole concentrations in the excited layer measuring the variations of short circuit photomagnetoelectric current (I_PME) as a function of excess conductance (ΔG).     

Ohmic contacts to GaAs epitaxial layers

Formation of ohmic contacts onto GaAs epitaxial layers was reviewed. Because the Fermi energy of GaAs is pinned at the surface near the middle of the bandgap, it is impossible to choose a metal with the proper work function to make an ohmic contact. Instead, it is necessary to create a heavily doped surface layer and using field emission or thermionic field emission to achieve an ohmic contact. The oldest known contact metallization for GaAs is sequentially deposited thin films of Au, Ge, and Ni. It was shown that the ‘dopant diffusion model’, widely accepted to date to explain the formation of an n⁺ layer on GaAs to form the ohmic contact, is incorrect. Instead, the “solid phase regrowth model” was discussed in detail and shown to describe formation of ohmic contacts in this system. Based on this result, general rules for forming ohmic contacts to compound semiconductors with pinned Fermi levels or large values of electron affinities plus bandgap were expressed.     

Magnetic-field-induced second-harmonic generation in semiconductor GaAs

We show that application of a magnetic field induces optical second-harmonic generation (SHG) in GaAs. This phenomenon arises from field-induced symmetry breaking causing new optical nonlinearities. A series of narrow SHG lines is observed in the spectral range from 1.52 to 1.77 eV that we attribute to Landau-level quantization of the band energy spectrum. The rotational anisotropy of the SHG signal distinctly differs from that of the electric-dipole approximation. Model calculations reveal that nonlinear magneto-optical spatial dispersion that comes together with the electric-dipole term is the dominant mechanism for this nonlinearity.     

Difference frequency generation in GaAs microdisks

Semiconductor-based whispering-gallery-mode microcavities are very promising for nonlinear optics applications, thanks to the high optical quality factors attainable with today's technology. We propose to exploit this advantage to generate cw light through phase-matched difference frequency generation in a triply resonant GaAs microdisk. A proper choice of the microdisk radius and thickness allows one to select the generated wavelength in the band of 2.5-2.9 mum. Besides illustrating the design features, we numerically show that temperature can be effectively used to compensate for wavelength shifts induced on the generated field by fabrication errors.     

Laser generation in thin inverse layers

Features of self-excitation in thin inverse layers, based on which a special type of laser device using reflection of light from an amplifying medium can be constructed, are considered. Such devices are promising for use in integrated optics. Corresponding thicknesses of the inverse layers and possible angles of generation that appear close to the limiting angles for total reflection are calculated for a number of practically important special cases.     

Characterization of active layers in GaAs by microwave absorption

Free carrier electric microwave absorption is applied to the analysis of ion implanted and epitaxial active layers in GaAs. An improved version of a previously reported waveguide system is described. It allows a quick and nondestructive determination of the sheet resistance, carrier concentration and carrier mobility of active layers. The usefulness of the method for routine electric material characterization supporting a microelectronic device fabrication is demonstrated. Finally, some explorative microwave measurements of heterostructures and photo-induced effects are reported.     

Electrophysical properties of GaAs layers and the characteristics of fast particle GaAs detectors

Results of complex experiments aimed at finding a relationship between the properties of initial GaAs single-crystal wafers and epitaxial films and the threshold spectrometric characteristics of ionizing radiation detectors are reported.     

Characterization of MOVPE-grown GaAs layers by C-V analysis

A computer simulation study of the capacitance of a surface space charge layer in undoped n-GaAs grown by metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy is presented. The effect of the deep donor level EL2 on the surface capacitance of epilayers with an ideal free surface is estimated. In order to approach the as-grown layer surface the model used is extended considering MIS and Schottky-barrier structures and their voltage-capacitance curves are analysed. The theoretical C-V dependences are compared with experimental C-V curves of a real structure including N⁺-GaAs substrate, undoped n-GaAs epitaxial layer containing EL2 levels and thin native oxide. Conditions are determined at which the EL2 levels as well as the native oxide film may influence the capacitance characteristics.     

Ferromagnetism in Mn-doped GaAs layers: Effects of laser annealing

The properties of Mn-doped GaAs layers grown by laser deposition were investigated with measurements of Hall effect and magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE). The electrical and magnetic parameters of the layers were defined by growth temperature and quantity of sputtered Mn. It was shown that room-temperature ferromagnetism is revealed by MOKE and, after ruby laser 25 ns pulse annealing, by Hall effect measurements.     

Space-charge layers in semi-insulating GaAs: Photoexcited two-dimensional electron systems

Resonant Raman spectra of photoexcited semi-insulating GaAs and Fe/GaAs show features characteristic of two-dimensional electron plasmas. The results are ascribed to the presence of a space-charge layer at the surface, originating in a slight mismatch of Fermi-level positions at the vacuum (or metal) interface and in the bulk. Calculations using values of intersubband transition energies from the data give an estimated shift of ～0.04 eV for the Fermi-level position at T = 85K.     

Surface-emitting second-harmonic generation in AlGaAs/GaAs waveguides

We investigate the impact of waveguide properties on the performance of surface-emitting second-harmonic generation (SESHG) devices. Using multi-layer AlGaAs/GaAs ridge waveguides that are optimized for SESHG at fundamental wavelengths = 1060 and 1550 nm, we achieve nonlinear cross-sections among the highest reported so far. In these devices, characteristics of the guided fundamental wave strongly determine the SESHG performance: multiple reflections in the longitudinal direction affect the conversion efficiency while higher order lateral waveguide modes modify the SESHG farfield. Both effects are significant for applications of SESHG in integrated photonic circuits.     

Second-harmonic generation induced by electric currents in GaAs

We demonstrate a new, nonlinear optical effect of electric currents. First, a steady current is generated by applying a voltage on a doped GaAs crystal. We demonstrate that this current induces second-harmonic generation of a probe laser pulse. Second, we optically inject a transient current in an undoped GaAs crystal by using a pair of ultrafast laser pulses and demonstrate that it induces the same second-harmonic generation. In both cases, the induced second-order nonlinear susceptibility is proportional to the current density. This effect can be used for nondestructive, noninvasive, and ultrafast imaging of currents. These advantages are illustrated by the real-time observations of a coherent plasma oscillation and spatial resolution of current distribution in a device. This new effect also provides a mechanism for electrical control of the optical response of materials.     

Residual strain measurements in InGaAs metamorphic buffer layers on GaAs

This work deals with the strain relaxation mechanism in InGaAs metamorphic buffers (MBs) grown on GaAs substrates and overgrown by InAs quantum dots (QD). The residual strain is measured by using Raman scattering and X-ray diffraction, both in Reciprocal Space Map and in single ω-2θ scan modes (ω and θ being the incidence angles on the sample surface and on the scattering planes, respectively). By relating the GaAs-like longitudinal optical phonon frequency ω^LO of InGaAs MBs to the in-plane residual strain ε measured by means of photoreflectance (PR), the linear ε-vs.-ω^LO working curve is obtained. The results of Raman and XRD measurements, as well as those obtained by PR, are in a very satisfactory agreement. The respective advantages of the techniques are discussed. The measurements confirm that strain relaxation depends on the thickness t of the buffer layer following a ~t^-1/2 power law, that can be explained by an energy-balance model.