Passivation of GaAs surface by atomic-layer-deposited titanium nitride

The suitability of titanium nitride (TiN) for GaAs surface passivation and protection is investigated. A 2-6-nm thick TiN passivation layer is deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) at 275 ° C on top of InGaAs/GaAs near surface quantum well (NSQW) structures to study the surface passivation. X-ray reflectivity measurements are used to determine the physical properties of the passivation layer. TiN passivation does not affect the surface morphology of the samples, but increases significantly the photoluminescence intensity and carrier lifetime of the NSQWs, and also provides long-term protection of the sample surface. This study shows that ALD TiN coating is a promising low-temperature method for ex situ GaAs surface passivation.     

Optical investigations of GaAs/Ga1−x Al x As Quantum wells grown by molecular-beam epitaxy

Summary Measurements of photoluminescence, excitation photoluminescence and reflectance are performed at various temperatures on a series of GaAs/Ga_1−x Al _x As quantum well structures grown by molecularbeam epitaxy. The selective photoluminescence data of the GaAs buffer layers are analysed in order to correlate the optical properties with the growth conditions. The Stokes shift of the excitation emission line from quantum wells is investigated under various excitation conditions. A considerable decrease of the Stokes shift is observed in the case of nonresonant and intense excitations. Also the extrinsic photoluminescence, as well as its temperature dependence, are interpreted. In addition, the temperature effects on both the bulk and quantum well spectra are shown to clarify the excitation features and the contribution of the interband transitions. To speed up publication, the authors of this paper has agreed to not receive the proofs for correction.     

Optical properties of InGaAsBi/GaAs strained quantum wells studied by temperature-dependent photoluminescence

The effect of bismuth on the optical properties of InGaAsBi/GaAs quantum well structures is investigated using the temperature-dependent photoluminescence from 12 K to 450 K.The incorporation of bismuth in the InGaAsBi quantum well is confirmed and found to result in a red shift of photoluminescence wavelength of 27.3 meV at 300 K.The photoluminescence intensity is significantly enhanced by about 50 times at 12 K with respect to that of the InGaAs quantum well due to the surfactant effect of bismuth.The temperature-dependent integrated photoluminescence intensities of the two samples reveal different behaviors related to various non-radiative recombination processes.The incorporation of bismuth also induces alloy non-uniformity in the quantum well,leading to an increased photoluminescence linewidth.     

Thermal processing of GaAsSb/GaAs low-dimensional strained-layer structures

Strained 100 Å GaAsSb quantum wells in GaAs, grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy have been subjected to thermal anneals up to a temperature of 950°C and for times varying from a few seconds to several minutes. The interdiffusion on the group V sublattice has been monitored using photoluminescence of the ground state emissions from the quantum well. We have made measurements on undoped and both p and n, Be and Si, doped structures. The intermixing is observed to be strongly non-linear. Doping is found to reduce the interdiffusion.     

Insight into optical properties of strain-free quantum dot pairs

Self-assembled GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dot pairs (QDPs) are grown by molecular beam epitaxy using high temperature droplet epitaxy technique. A typical QDP consists of dual-size quantum dots as observed based on atomic force microscopy image. The average height of quantum dot is 5.7 nm for the large quantum dots and 4.6 nm for the small ones. The average peak-to-peak distance of the two dots is about 75 nm. The optical properties of GaAs QDPs are studied by measuring excitation power-dependent and temperature-dependent photoluminescence. Unique photoluminescence properties have been observed from both excitation power-dependent and temperature-dependent measurements. Excitation power-dependent as well as temperature-dependent PL measurements have suggested lateral exciton transfer in the QDPs.     

Type II GaSb/GaAs quantum dot/ring stacks with extended photoresponse for efficient solar cells

We report on the fabrication of GaAs based p–i–n solar cells containing 5 and 10 layers of type II GaSb quantum rings grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Solar cells containing quantum rings show improved efficiency at longer wavelengths into the near-IR extending up to 1500 nm and show enhanced short-circuit current under 1 sun illumination compared to a GaAs control cell. A reduction in the open-circuit voltage is observed due to the build-up of internal strain. The MBE growth, formation and photoluminescence of single and stacked layers of GaSb/GaAs quantum rings are also presented.     

多种含硫溶液钝化(100)GaAs表面的实验研究

为实现GaAs表面的钝化,以Na2S、(NH4)2S、CH3CSNH2为主要研究对象,通过对比实验研究得出较为理想的湿法钝化液。通过光致发光(PL)谱研究了(NH4)2S 叔丁醇、CH3CSNH2 NH4OH、CH3CSNH2 叔丁醇三种不同含硫溶液钝化(100)GaAs表面后的发光特性。PL谱测试发现,(NH4)2S 叔丁醇饱和溶液处理过的(100)GaAs表面光致发光强度最强,PL谱的相对发光强度是未做钝化处理的10倍左右。因此得出(NH4)2S 叔丁醇饱和溶液是较为理想的(100)GaAs表面钝化液。     

Photoluminescence studies of GaAs/GaAlAs multiple quantum well heterostructures

The photoluminescence excited by He:Ne and Nd:YAG lasers of GaAs/Ga_0.75Al_0.25As multiple quantum well heterostructures grown by MBE was measured as a function of temperature from 4.2 K up to room temperature and for different pumping powers at constant temperature. The excitonic transitions associated with carriers confined in the quantum wells as well as other transitions associated with impurities either already present in the substrates or introduced into the samples during growth are identified in the spectra and fully characterized. From Arrhenius plots of the photoluminescence peak integrated intensities versus inverse temperature, activation energies are estimated for acceptor defects in the samples as well as for quantum well related excitonic transitions. Photoluminescence polarization experiments demonstrate a dramatic manifestation of the selection rules governing heavy hole and light hole optical transitions in quantum wells.     

Photoluminescence and capacitance–voltage characterization of GaAs surface passivated by an ultrathin GaN interface control layer

A novel surface passivation technique for GaAs using an ultrathin GaN interface control layer (GaN ICL) formed by surface nitridation was characterized by ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) photoluminescence (PL) and capacitance–voltage (C–V) measurements. The PL quantum efficiency was dramatically enhanced after being passivated by the GaN ICL structure, reaching as high as 30 times of the initial clean GaAs surface. Further analysis of PL data was done by the PL surface state spectroscopy (PLS³) simulation technique. PL and C–V results are in good agreement indicating that ultrathin GaN ICL reduces the gap states and unpins the Fermi level, realizing a wide movement of Fermi level within the midgap region and reduction of the effective surface recombination velocity by a factor of 1/60. GaN layer also introduced a large negative surface fixed charge of about 10¹² cm⁻². A further improvement took place by depositing a Si₃N₄ layer on GaN ICL/GaAs structure.     

The dependence of relaxation kinetics of photoluminescence from interband transitions in InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells on their distance from an interface with Au

Kinetics of relaxation of photoluminescence from the interband transition between dimensionalquantization levels of electrons and holes in InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells as a function of their distance to an interface with Au is investigated. It is demonstrated that the photoluminescence relaxation time becomes several times shorter when the distance from the quantum well to the interface decreases to several tens of nanometers. It is established that the photoluminescence relaxation time at a shorter wavelength corresponding to a recombination transition between excited states of electrons and holes in the quantum well is shorter than that at a longer wavelength corresponding to a recombination transition between the ground states. A theoretical model explaining this phenomenon is proposed.     

Carrier dynamics in type-II GaAsSb/GaAs quantum wells

Time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) characteristics of type-II GaAsSb/GaAs quantum wells are presented. The PL kinetics are determined by the dynamic band bending effect and the distribution of localized centers below the quantum well band gap. The dynamic band bending results from the spatially separated electron and hole distribution functions evolving in time. It strongly depends on the optical pump power density and causes temporal renormalization of the quantum well ground-state energy occurring a few nanoseconds after the optical pulse excitation. Moreover, it alters the optical transition oscillator strength. The measured PL lifetime is 4.5 ns. We point out the critical role of the charge transfer processes between the quantum well and localized centers, which accelerate the quantum well photoluminescence decay at low temperature. However, at elevated temperatures the thermally activated back transfer process slows down the quantum well photoluminescence kinetics. A three-level rate equation model is proposed to explain these observations.     

Manganese diffusion in ingaas/gaas quantum well structures

Manganese diffusion during annealing of structures with InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells and a Mn delta-layer is investigated by photoluminescence and secondary ion mass spectrometry. Annealing at 365–425°C results in quenching of the photoluminescence intensity for the quantum well nearest to the Mn deltalayer, due to Mn diffusion into the quantum well. The penetration of Mn and In into the GaAs coating/cover layer is discovered. Near the surface the profiles of these elements are similar.     

量子限制受主的光致发光研究

对一系列δ掺杂浅受主铍（Be）原子的GaAs/AlAs多量子阱和均匀掺杂Be受主的GaAs体材料中Be原子的能级间跃迁进行了光致发光（PL）研究.实验中所用的样品是通过分子束外延技术生长的均匀掺杂Be受主的GaAs外延单层样品和一系列GaAs/AlAs多量子阱样品,并在每量子阱中央进行了Be原子的δ掺杂,量子阱宽度为30 到200 ?.在4.2 K温度下测量了上述系列样品的光致发光谱,清楚地观察到了束缚激子的受主从基态1s_3/2（Γ₆）到第一激发态 关键词： 量子限制受主 光致发光 多量子阱 δ掺杂     

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.     

氢对GaAs薄膜的钝化作用

报导了射频磁控溅射与沉积气氛掺氢相结合制备单层(13~20 nm厚)高质量GaAs多晶态纳米薄膜的方法,研究了氢钝化对薄膜微观结构及光学性质的影响.对GaAs薄膜进行了X射线衍射、原子力显微镜、吸收光谱、光致荧光谱的研究分析.结果表明,衬底温度500℃的掺氢薄膜和520℃的薄膜呈面心立方闪锌矿结构,薄膜的晶团尺寸较大,微观表面较为粗糙,其吸收光谱出现了吸收边蓝移和明显的激子峰,带隙光致荧光峰强明显增加,说明氢在衬底温度500℃~520℃下对薄膜有重要的钝化作用.     

加偏置电场的抛物量子阱中的电光效应

本文利用密度矩阵方法得到了加偏置电场的抛物量子阱中电光效应的解析表达式,并以典型的GaAs抛物量子阱为例进行了数值计算研究结果表明,电光效应随偏置电场和抛物势频率的增大而增强,同时也表明GaAs量子阱中的电光效应比体GaAs中的要强一个数量级以上。     

正十八硫醇钝化GaAs(100)表面特性研究

为了有效降低GaAs半导体表面态密度,提出了采用正十八硫醇（ODT,CH₃[CH₂]₁₇SH）进行GaAs表面钝化的方案。首先,分别对GaAs（100）晶片进行了常规硫代乙酰胺（TAM,CH₃CSNH₂）钝化和正十八硫醇钝化,通过X射线光电子能谱（XPS）对比分析了钝化前后晶片表面的化学成分,然后利用光致发光光谱（PL）对正十八硫醇处理的GaAs（100）晶片进行了钝化时间的优化,最后通过扫描电子显微镜（SEM）测试了钝化前后的晶片表面形貌。实验结果表明：采用正十八硫醇钝化的GaAs（100）表面,相比常规硫代乙酰胺钝化方案,具有更低的氧化物含量和更厚的硫化层厚度;室温钝化条件下,钝化时间越长,正十八硫醇的钝化效果越好,但PL强度在钝化超过24 h后基本达到稳定,最高PL强度提高了116%;正十八硫醇钝化的GaAs（100）晶片具有良好的表面形貌,表面形成了均匀、平整的硫化物钝化层。数据表明正十八硫醇是钝化GaAs（100）表面一种非常有效的技术手段。     

GaAs surface passivation by ultra-thin epitaxial GaP layer and surface As-P exchange

The GaAs surface passivation effects of epitaxially grown ultra-thin GaP layers and surface As-P exchange have been investigated. Optical properties of passivated and unpassivated InGaAs/GaAs near-surface quantum wells (QWs) grown by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) are studied by low-temperature continuous-wave and time-resolved photoluminescence (PL). By optimizing the growth conditions, smooth surface morphologies and significant improvement of optical properties were observed for both passivation methods. Passivation improved the PL intensity more than two orders of magnitude and notably increased the PL decay time.     

Effect of substrate misorientation on quantum-dot size distribution in the InAs/GaAs system

A study is reported of the effect of (001)GaAs substrate misorientation in the [010] direction on the distribution of MBE-grown self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots in size and position in the GaAs matrix. Temperature-induced narrowing of the exciton photoluminescence line of a quantum-dot ensemble caused by redistribution of photoexcited carriers among dots of different size has been observed. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 855–857 (May 1998)     

A study of GaInP/GaAs interfaces: metallurgical coupling of successive quantum wells

We present a study of GaInP/GaAs interfaces by means of photoluminescence (PL) of multi quantum wells (MQW), embedded in GaInP, or asymmetric structures having an AlGaAs barrier GaInP/GaAs/AlGaAs. The PL energies of quantum wells were compared with calculations based on the transfer matrix envelope function approximation, well suited for asymmetric structures. GaInP/GaAs/AlGaAs MQW structures (GaInP grown first) are in reasonably good agreement with calculations. Reverse ones, AlGaAs/GaAs/GaInP, present a lower PL energy than calculated. But the agreement with theory is recovered on single quantum well samples, or in MQW when the GaInP thickness is increased up to 100 nm. We interpret this phenomenon as a diffusion of arsenic atoms from the next GaAs well through the GaInP barrier. Arsenic atoms exchange with phosphorus atoms at the GaInP-on-GaAs interface of the former well, leading to a small gap strained InGaAs region responsible for the lowering of PL energies.