Fabrication and characterization of GaAs quantum well buried in AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructure nanowires

We developed a growth method for forming a GaAs quantum well contained in an AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructure nanowire using selective-area metal organic vapor phase epitaxy. To find the optimum growth condition of AlGaAs nanowires, we changed the growth temperature between 800 and 850 °C and found that best uniformity of the shape and the size was obtained near 800 °C but lateral growth of AlGaAs became larger, which resulted in a wide GaAs quantum well grown on the top (1 1 1)B facet of the AlGaAs nanowire. To form the GaAs quantum well with a reduced lateral size atop the AlGaAs nanowire, a GaAs core nanowire about 100 nm in diameter was grown before the AlGaAs growth, which reduced the lateral size of AlGaAs to roughly half compared with that without the GaAs core. Photoluminescence measurement at 4.2 K indicated spectral peaks of the GaAs quantum wells about 60 meV higher than the acceptor-related recombination emission peak of GaAs near 1.5 eV. The photoluminescence peak energy showed a blue shift of about 15 meV, from 1.546 to 1.560 eV, as the growth time of the GaAs quantum well was decreased from 8 to 3 s. Transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis of an AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructure nanowire indicated a GaAs quantum well with a thickness of 5−20 nm buried along the 〈1 1 1〉 direction between the AlGaAs shells, showing a successful fabrication of the GaAs quantum well.     

In situ monitoring of CdTe nucleation on GaAs (100) using spectroscopic ellipsometry

In situ spectroscopic ellipsometry was used to monitor the nucleation behavior of CdTe grown on vicinal GaAs (100) substrates by organometallic vapor phase epitaxy. CdTe was grown on GaAs (100) substrates of exact and 2° off towards 110 orientations. A spectroscopic ellipsometer was used to collect in situ data at 44 wavelengths from 4000–7000 Å. The Bruggeman's effective medium approximation was employed to determine the variation of the epilayer volume fraction with thickness, which was an indirect way of monitoring the expected island growth behavior. The Stranski-Krastonov (layer plus island) mode of growth was clearly observed for CdTe growth. The growth on the 2° off substrate was also “denser” than that on exact (100), which implied that coalescence of the islands occurred at lower thickness. This was expected since island nucleation is most favored along the ledges on the surface whose spacing decreases with increasing misorientation. A simple nucleation model, assuming cylinder-like islands, was able to fit the experimental data quite well, lending support to the island growth model.     

The injected carbon impurities in intermixed GaAs/AlAs multiple quantum wells during thermal treatment

Photoluminescence (PL) measurements were performed in order to investigate the carbon impurity effects on the intermixing behavior of GaAs/AlAs multiple quantum wells (MQWs) grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The GaAs/AlAs MQWs were annealed with a carbon source in a furnace annealing system. The PL spectra show that the magnitude of the intermixing of Al and Ga induced by thermal annealing in GaAs/AlAs MQWs increases with depth. The nonuniformity of the intermixing as a function of the depth originated from the carbon impurities which were injected during thermal treatment.     

MOVPE生长AlAs/GaAs Bragg反射膜

采用常压金属有机物气相沉积法生长AlAs/GaAs周期性反射膜,并利用双晶X射线衍射、扫描电子显微镜和记录式分光光度计等分析手段,对材料结构及光学性质进行了分析.实验结果表明,在780℃连续生长的薄膜结构和晶体质量都很好,但是反射率低;通过模拟计算,连续生长存在渐变层,而渐变层大大降低了反射率;在同样生长条件下间断生长得到较高反射率的薄膜材料.     

Arsenic-free GaAs substrate preparation and direct growth of GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum well without buffer layer

High-temperature treatment of GaAs substrate without As flux in a preparation chamber was investigated as a substrate surface cleaning method for molecular beam epitaxial (MBE) growth. Oxide gases such as CO and CO₂ were almost completely desorbed at a temperature above which Ga and As started to evaporate from the substrate. During the cleaning at a temperature as high as 575°C for 30 min, about 100 nm thick GaAs was evaporated from the substrate, but its surface maintained mirror-like smoothness and showed streak pattern with surface reconstruction pattern in the reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) observation. Direct growth of GaAs/Al GaAs quantum well (QW) structures was tried on such surfaces without introducing any buffer layers. The QW structure showed photoluminescence with both intensity and full width at half maximum comparable with those for the QW grown on the substrate cleaned by the conventional method with introducing a GaAs buffer layer.     

Strain analysis of InGaN/GaN multi quantum well LED structures

Five period InGaN/GaN multi quantum well (MQW) light emitting diode (LED) structures were grown by a metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) system on c‐plane sapphire. The structural characteristics as a strain‐stress analysis of hexagonal epilayers MQWs were determined by using nondestructive high resolution x‐ray diffraction (HRXRD) in detail. The strain/stress analysis in AlN, GaN, and InGaN thin films with a variation of the In molar fraction in the InGaN well layers was conducted based on the precise measurement of the lattice parameters. The a‐ and c‐lattice parameters of the structures were calculated from the peak positions obtained by rocking the theta axis at the vicinity of the symmetric and asymmetric plane reflection angles, followed by the in‐plane and out‐of‐plane strains. The biaxial and hydrostatic components of the strain were extracted from the obtained a‐ and c‐direction strains values.     

Optical characterization of sputtered amorphous aluminum nitride thin films by spectroscopic ellipsometry

We have measured and analyzed the optical constants and polarized optical properties of amorphous aluminum nitride (a-AlN) thin films deposited by RF reactive magnetron sputtering onto silicon(1 1 1) and glass substrates. The optical constants were obtained by analysis of the measured ellipsometric spectra in the wavelength range 300–1400 nm, using the Cauchy–Urbach model. Refractive indices and extinction coefficients of the films were determined to be in the range 1.80–2.11 and 8.6 × 10⁻³–1.5 × 10⁻⁵, respectively. Analysis of the absorption coefficient, in the wavelength range 200–1400 nm, shows the bandgap of a-AlN thin films to be 5.84 ± 0.05 eV. From the angle dependence of the p-polarized reflectivity we deduce a Brewster angle of 61° and a principal angle of 64°. Measurement of the polarized optical properties reveals a high transmissivity and very low absorptivity for a-AlN films in the visible and near infrared regions. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the amorphous nature of the films under study.     

Influence of the strain on the formation of GaInAs/GaAs quantum structures

The influence of the strain on the dot morphology of GaInAs quantum dots has been investigated. The strain was varied by the In content in GaInAs/GaAs quantum dots from 60% down to 30% by keeping the emission wavelength at about 900 nm at 10 K. Spectral properties are compared with morphological results determined by scanning electron and scanning transmission electron microscopy confirming a change of the dot geometry from circular to elongated shapes during an overgrowth process. These lowly strained quantum dot layers with enlarged dot sizes exhibit a reduced dot density of 6–9×10⁹ cm⁻² and a strongly enhanced oscillator strength, which make them very interesting for single quantum dot and cavity quantum electrodynamic experiments as well as for applications like single photon emitters.     

Magnitude and polarity of strain-induced fields in pseudomorphic In0.22Ga0.8As quantum well structures on (112) GaAs substrates

When pseudomorphic (In,Ga)As/(Al,Ga)As heterostructures are grown on certain surfaces of the general crystallographic planes of GaAs denoted by (11l), the strain in the structures induces an electric field because of the piezoelectric nature of the III-V semiconductors. We report the experimental determination of the direction and magnitude of the strain-induced electric field by photoluminescence spectroscopy on one of these substrate surfaces: the one for which l = 2. We confirm that for the two surfaces of the (112) GaAs substrate, the induced field is directed out of the substrate for the A surface and toward the substrate for the B surface.     

Stranski-Krastanov formation of InAs quantum dots monitored during growth by reflectance anisotropy spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry

In this study the successful application of reflectance anisotropy spectroscopy (RAS) and spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) for the in-situ investigation of InAs quantum dot growth on GaAs (001) in Stranski-Krastanov growth mode is reported. Both techniques provide the precise determination of the growth mode transition from two-dimensional InAs layer to three-dimensional island growth. In order to optimize the growth conditions, spectral and time-resolved measurements were performed for different growth parameters (temperatures, growth rates and V/III ratios). For high temperature deposition large additional anisotropies, caused by clusters elongated in the [110] direction were found. Decreasing the deposition rate (0.5 to 0.125 ML/s) also results in the formation of large clusters, as decreases in reflectivity due to larger stray light losses prove. Finally, increasing the AsH₃ partial pressure leads to an earlier onset of island formation and an enhanced tendency for cluster formation.     

Growth of InP/InGaAs multiple quantum well structures by chemical beam epitaxy

InP/InGaAs multiple quantum well structures with up to 200 periods have been grown by CBE. These structures exhibit exceptional lateral uniformity, measured as ±1 Å in period, ±13 ppm in lattice mismatch and ±0.5 nm in wavelength across a 2 inch wafer. Good surface morphology, sharp interfaces and excellent growth control have all been demonstrated.     

Organized growth of GaAs/AlAs lateral structures on atomic step arrays: What is possible to do?

Laterally modulated nanostructures, exhibiting large optical and electrical anisotropy, can be grown an vicinal surfaces. However the lateral organization of Ga and Al atoms is far from ideal. We discuss our way of understanding the growth of these structures.     

Characterization of GaAs/AlAs interfacial atomic step structures on a (411)A-oriented substrate by transmission electron microscope

We observed atomic structures of (411)A GaAs/AlAs hetero-interfaces using a transmission electron microscope, and studied the numerical computer simulations of the lattice images for the first time. The observed specimens were GaAs/AlAs multi-layer structures fabricated by molecular beam epitaxy, where the AlAs layers were very thin (0.75-2.1 monolayer). From the hetero-interfacial structures observed in cross-sectional view, it was found that the (411)A atomic step structures were based on Shimomura's model, which has already been proposed in a previous paper. We will discuss the concrete interfacial structure.     

The reduction of the misfit dislocation in non-doped AlAs/GaAs DBRs

The non-doped AlAs/GaAs distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs) with density of misfit dislocation (MD) close to zero had been obtained. The reduction of MD density was achieved by increasing temperature distribution homogeneity on the growing crystal in consequence of higher rotation rate of the wafer. Two structures of DBR were crystallized using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) under the same optimal growth condition. The growth runs differ only in the rotation rate of the wafers. X-ray topograph showed no residual MDs in case of faster rotation. The DBR structure with residual MD density is still highly strained. No additional relaxation process has occurred, what was confirmed by an angular position of DBR zeroth-order peak on high-resolution X-ray diffractometry (HRXRD) rocking curve.     

The effect of inserting strain-compensated GaNAs layers on the luminescence properties of GaInNAs/GaAs quantum well

Photoluminescence (PL) properties of GaInNAs/GaAs quantum wells (QWs) with strain-compensated GaNAs layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy are investigated. The temperature-dependent PL spectra of GaInNAs/GaAs QW with and without GaNAs layers are compared and carefully studied. It is shown that the introduction of GaNAs layers between well and barrier can effectively extend the emission wavelength, mainly due to the reduction of the barrier potential. The PL peak position up to 1.41 μm is observed at the room temperature. After adding the GaNAs layers into QW structures, there is no essential deterioration of luminescence efficiency. N-induced localization states are also not remarkably influenced. It implies that with optimized growth condition, high-quality GaInNAs/GaAs QWs with strain-compensated GaNAs layers can be achieved.     

Surface diffusion kinetics of GaAs and AlAs metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy

We have investigated the surface kinetics during metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE), using high-vacuum scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) observation of two-dimensional (2D) nuclei and denuded zones. Using Monte Carlo simulations based on the solid-on-solid model, from 2D nucleus densities we estimated the surface diffusion coefficients of GaAs and AlAs to be 2 × 10⁻⁶ and 1.5 × 10⁻⁷ cm²/s at 530°C, and the energy barriers for migration to be 0.62 and 0.8 eV, respectively. The 2D nucleus size in the [110] direction was about two times larger than that in the [ 10] direction. The size anisotropy is caused primarily by a difference in the lateral sticking probability (P_s) between steps along the [ 10] direction (A steps) and steps along the [110] direction (B steps). The P_s ratio was estimated to be more than 3:1. Denuded zone widths on upper terraces were 2 ± 0.5 times wider than those on lower terraces. This showed that P_s at descending steps was 10 to 3 × 10² times larger than P_s at ascending steps.     

Difference of anisotropic structures of InAs/GaAs quantum dots between organometallic vapor-phase epitaxy and molecular beam epitaxy

The anisotropies of the baseline in and [1 1 0] of InAs quantum dots (QDs) fabricated by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and organometallic vapor-phase epitaxy (OMVPE) are investigated. The structural and optical difference between QDs by MBE and OMVPE are investigated through an atomic force microscopy, a transmission electron microscopy, and a photoluminescence polarization measurement. It is found that the InAs QD structural anisotropy in MBE agrees with the individual growth rate anisotropy. Moreover, it is found that the mixture of the different structural anisotropies is unique in OMVPE at low growth temperature (440°C) and the growth mode is complex. From the photoluminescence polarization measurement, the InAs QD structures which mainly contribute to the optical property are decided by the plus and minus of the polarization degree of the ground state, and it is shown that the baseline anisotropy of the QDs mainly agrees with the growth rate anisotropy.     

Anomalous temperature-dependent photoluminescence characteristic of as-grown GaInNAs/GaAs quantum well grown by solid source molecular beam epitaxy

The photoluminescence (PL) mechanisms of as-grown GaInNAs/GaAs quantum well were investigated by temperature-dependent PL measurements. An anomalous two-segmented trend in the PL peak energy vs. temperature curve was observed, which has higher and lower temperature-dependent characteristics at low temperature (5–80 K) and high temperature (above 80 K), respectively. The low and high-temperature segments were fitted with two separate Varshni fitting curves, namely Fit_low and Fit_high, respectively, as the low-temperature PL mechanism is dominated by localized PL transitions while the high-temperature PL mechanism is dominated by the e1–hh1 PL transition. Further investigation of the PL efficiency vs. 1/kT relationship suggests that the main localized state is located at 34 meV below the e1 state. It is also found that the temperature (80 K) at which the PL full-width at half-maximum changes from linear trend to almost constant trend correlates well with the temperature at which the PL peak energy vs. temperature curve changes from Fit_low to Fit_high.     

Nucleation and ripening of seeded InAs/GaAs quantum dots

We have investigated the nucleation and ripening of pairs of InAs/GaAs quantum dot layers separated by thin (2–20 nm) GaAs spacer layers. Reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) measurements show that the 2D–3D transition in the second layer can occur for less than 1 monolayer deposition of InAs. Immediately after the islanding transition in the second layer chevrons were observed with included angles as low as 20° and this angle was seen to increase continuously to 45±2° as more material was deposited. Atomic force microscopy showed the dot density in both layers to be the same. It is proposed that surface morphology can radically alter processes that determine the nucleation and ripening of the 3D islands.