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.     

Negative and persistent photoconductivity in p-type Al0.5Ga0.5As/GaAs/Al0.5Ga0.5As heterostructures under uniaxial stress

Abstract

Illumination of a double p-Al_0.5Ga_0.5As/GaAs/Al_0.5Ga_0.5As heterostructure by a red light emitting diode results in a negative photoconductivity that, after the diode is switched off, slowly relaxes to a positive persistent photoconductivity, characterised by an approximately 1.5-fold increase of the two-dimensional hole concentration. This metastable state may be explained with a model in which deep electron traps are supposed to be located above the Fermi level on the inverted heterointerface. Under uni-axial compression the hole concentration in the persistent photoconductivity state, as well as in the dark state, demonstrates the same linear decrease.     

Exciton localization behaviour in different well width undoped GaN/Al0.07Ga0.93N nanostructures

We report results from optical spectroscopy such as photoluminescence (PL) and time resolved photo-luminescence (TRPL) techniques from different well width MOCVD grown GaN/Al_0.07Ga_0.93N MQW samples. There is evidence of localization at low temperature in all samples. The decay time of all samples becomes non-exponential when the detection energy is increased with respect to the peak of the emission. Localization of carriers (excitons) is demonstrated by the “S-shape” dependences of the PL peak energies on the temperature. The time-resolved PL spectra of the 3-nm well multi quantum wells reveal that the spectral peak position shifts toward lower energies as the decay time increases and becomes red-shifted at longer decay times. There is a gradient in the PL decay time across the emission peak profile, so that the PL process at low temperatures is a free electron-localized hole transition.     

(Al0.1Ga0.9)0.5In0.5P材料的MOCVD生长温度窗口研究

用来制作光电子器件的(Al0.1Ga0.9)0.5 In0.5P为直接带隙的四元合金材料,对应的发光波长为630 nm,在其LP-MOCVD (low press-metalorganic chemical vapor deposition)外延生长过程中温度的高低成为影响其质量的关键,找到合适的生长温度窗口很有必要.实验中分别在700℃,680℃,670℃和660℃的条件下生长出作为发光二极管有源区的(Al0.1Ga0.9)0.5 In0.5P多量子阱结构,通过PL谱的测试对比分析,找出最佳生长温度在670℃附近.之后对比各外延片的PL谱、表面形貌,并对反应室的气流场进行了模拟,对各温度下生长状况的原因作出了深入分析.分析得到,高温下In组分的再蒸发会引起晶格失配并导致位错;低温下O杂质的并入会形成大量非辐射复合中心影响晶体质量,因此导致了(Al0.1Ga0.9)0.5In0.5P生长温度窗口较窄,文章最后提出In源有效浓度的提高是解决高温生长的一条有效途径.     

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.     

Effect of carriers localized in clusters on optical properties of In0.21Ga0.79As/GaAs multiple quantum wells

In_0.21Ga_0.79As multiple quantum wells MQW, with different well thickness L, are grown on [001] and [113] A GaAs growth directions by molecular beam epitaxy MBE. An asymmetric photoluminescence PL line shape denoted LE_A and LE_B in the lower energies side has been observed in both structures. These emissions of deep localized states can be related to the energy potential modulation associated to Indium cluster formation. Temperature dependence of photoluminescence properties has been reported. Localized state ensemble LSE model has investigated atypical behaviors of PL peak energies and the full width at half maximum FWHM of both emissions. These abnormal behaviors are explained by carriers captured by localized recombination centers. Competition processes between localized and delocalized excitons have been occurred to interpret the PL properties. The degree of localization induced by quantum-dot-like states and critical temperatures between different temperatures regions increase as far as away [001] growth direction.     

The temperature dependence of the photoluminescence from overgrown GaAs/Al0.3Ga0.7As quantum dots and wires

Photoluminescence measurements on GaAs/Al_0.3Ga_0.7As quantum dots and wires fabricated using electron bears lithography and reactive ion etching are reported both before and after regrowth with a layer of Al_0.4Ga_0.6As. Dots exhibit little change in luminescence efficiency from the bulk with a reduction in diameter either before or after regrowth. Surface recombination therefore appears to be suppressed. In wires, however, luminescence intensity is very sensitive to wire width, decreasing rapidly with this parameter, but recovers and becomes independent of size after overgrowth. The temperature dependence of the photoluminescence from the dots and wires showed that dots and wires less than 150nm in width luminesced to higher temperatures than the larger diameter structures and dots liminesced to higher temperatures than wires of comparable width. This suggests that there is a finite coherence area effect which increases the radiative lifetimes of excitons in the quantum structures due to the geometric constraint, in the lateral direction in the wires and in all three directions in the dots. Below 20K bound exciton luminescence dominates in the dots but not in the wires. In wires it is still possible for the excitons to diffuse to nonradiative sites within the exciton lifetime. Regrowth at 750°C causes migration of aluminium into the quantum well and causes the shape of the well to become parabolic resulting shifts in the exciton emission to shorter wavelengths, making it difficult to separate the effect of processing from those due to quantum confinement.     

Energy band modulation of GaAs/Al0.26Ga0.74As quantum well in 3D self-assembled nanomembranes

In this study, we investigate the modulation of energy band in 3D self-assembled nanomembranes containing GaAs/Al_0.26Ga_0.74As quantum wells (QWs). Photoluminescence (PL) characterizations demonstrate that the self-assembled structures have different optical transition properties and the modulation of the energy band is thus realized. Detailed spectral analyses disclose that the small strain change in structures with different curvatures cannot cause remarkable change in energy bands in Al_0.26Ga_0.74As layer. On the other hand, the optical transitions of GaAs QW layer is influenced by the strain evolution in term of light emission intensity. We also find the first order Stark effect in rolled-up nanomembrane with diameter of 150 μm, which is closely connected with the coupling effect between the deformation potential and the piezoelectric potential. Our work may pave a way for the fabrication of high performance rolled-QW infrared photo-detectors.     

Influence of Ga(Al)As substrates on surface morphology and critical thickness of InGaAs quantum dots

Influence of Ga(Al)As substrates on surface morphology of InGaAs quantum dots and critical thickness of In_0.5Ga_0.5As film grown by molecular beam epitaxy is investigated. The In_0.5Ga_0.5As quantum dots are grown on (001) surfaces of GaAs and Al_0.25Ga_0.75 A at 450 °C, scanning tunneling microscope images show that the size of quantum dots varied slightly for 10 ML of In_0.5Ga_0.5As grown on GaAs and Al_0.25Ga_0.75As surfaces. Reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) is used to monitor the growth of 4 monolayers (ML) In_0.5Ga_0.5As on Al_0.25Ga_0.75As and GaAs surfaces during deposition. The critical thickness is theoretically calculated by adding energy caused by surface roughness and heat from substrate. The calculations show that the critical thickness of In_0.5Ga_0.5As grown on GaAs and Al_0.25Ga_0.75As are 3.2 ML and 3.8 ML, respectively. The theoretical calculation agrees with the experimental results.     

Electron-density-dependent optical spectra of a remotely-doped GaAs/Al0.33Ga0.67As single quantum well

We have measured electroreflectance (ER) and photoluminescence (PL) spectra of a high-quality remotely-doped GaAs/Al_0.33Ga_0.67As quantum well (QW) as a function of electron density. Both techniques show the transition from the electron Fermi energy to the ground hole subband, although it is enhanced in ER due to its strong blue shift with electron density. The negligible Stokes shift of the transition demonstrates that the holes involved in the recombination are not strongly localised, consistent with the absence of a distinct peak due to the Fermi edge singularity. The ER spectra show in addition several transitions from the Fermi energy to excited hole subbands. Transitions involving the second and third electron subbands shift to lower energy with electron density due to both the Stark shift induced by the charge in the QW and bandgap renormalisation, which we compare to calculations.     

Improvement of photoluminescence and electroluminescence characteristics of MBE-grown In0.53Ga0.47As/In0.53(Ga0.6Al0.4)0.47As quantum well laser structure with InGaAlAs digital alloys by thermal annealing

We investigated the effect of rapid thermal annealing (RTA) on the photoluminescence (PL) and electroluminescence of the In_0.53Ga_0.47As/In_0.53(Ga_0.6Al_0.4)_0.47As multiple quantum well (MQW) laser structure with InGaAlAs barrier layers provided by the digital-alloy technique. The SiO₂- (Si₃N₄-) capped samples followed by the RTA exhibited a significant improvement of PL intensity without any appreciable shifts in PL peak energy for settings of up to 750 °C (800 °C) for 45 s. This improvement is attributed to the annealing of nonradiative defects in InAlAs layers of digital-alloy InGaAlAs and partially those near the heterointerfaces of the digital-alloy layers. The InGaAs/InGaAlAs MQW laser diodes fabricated on the samples annealed at 850 °C show a hugely improved lasing performance. Received: 2 September 2002 / Accepted: 3 September 2002 / Published online: 17 December 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +82-62/970-2204, E-mail: ytlee@kjist.ac.kr     

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.     

Coherent oscillations of holes in GaAs0.86P0.14/Al0.7Ga0.3As surface quantum well

We show that in a GaAs_0.86P_0.14/Al_0.7Ga_0.3As near-surface quantum well, there is coherent oscillation of holes observed in time-resolved reflectivity signal when the top barrier of the quantum well is sufficiently thin. The quantum well states interact with the surface states under the influence of the surface electric field. The time period of the observed oscillation is 120±10 fs.     

Structural and optical characterization of Si-implanted Al0.18Ga0.82N

Both structural and optical activation studies of Si-implanted Al_0.18Ga_0.82N have been made as a function of anneal temperature by using the x-ray rocking curve measurements and photoluminescence (PL) and time-resolved PL (TRPL) measurements. The full width at half maximum values of both (002) and (102) direction $\omega$-rocking curves for the Si-implanted Al_0.18Ga_0.82N samples decrease as the anneal temperature increases from 1150 to 1250 ^°C. The peak widths of the rocking curves for the as-implanted sample are much broader than those for the Si-implanted and annealed samples, indicating the implantation damage recovery after high temperature anneal. With increasing anneal temperature, the PL peak intensity increases and the PL decay becomes slower. The increase of PL intensity and recombination rate is attributed to both an increase of Si-donor activation and lattice damage recovery. These PL and x-ray results are very consistent with the results of anneal temperature-dependent electrical activation study.     

Absence of nonradiative recombination centers in modulation-doped quantum wells revealed by two-wavelength excited photoluminescence

Absence of nonradiative recombination (NRR) centers inside GaAs wells and at GaAs/Al_0.2Ga_0.8As hetero-interfaces in a Si modulation-doped GaAs/Al_0.2Ga_0.8As multiple quantum well (MQW) structure became clear for the first time by an improved two-wavelength excited photoluminescence (PL). The NRR parameters of modulation and uniform-doped MQWs were determined self-consistently by combining the analysis of the PL intensity change due to the below-gap excitation with the internal quantum efficiency and the recombination lifetime. These results showed the superiority of modulation-doping scheme over that of uniform-doping for light emitting devices.     

Band edge offsets in strained (InGa)As-(AlGa)As heterostructures

The excitonic transitions between the ground electron and hole quantum well sublevels in strained In_xGa_1-xAs-Al_yGa_1-yAs multiple quantum well structures (x = 0.12−0.35 and y = 0.2−0.35) have been investigated by means of photoluminescence and photoconductivity measurements. The molecular beam epitaxy grown structures contained an Al_yGa_1-yAs matrix with one unstrained GaAs and three strained In_xGa_1-xAs quantum wells one of which was in the GaAs cladding layers. The ratio of the conduction band edhe line up to the band gap offset for the strained In_xGa_1-xAs-unstrained Al_yGa_1-yAs interface has been found to be 0.67 ± 0.08 for the studied regions of x and y.     

Alloy-disorder scattering of the interacting electron gas in quantum wells and heterostructures of Al x Ga1 − x As

The question whether alloy disorder is screened or unscreened is of fundamental importance. Therefore, we calculate the mobility of the interacting two-dimensional electron gas as realized in Al _x Ga_{1 ? x} As quantum wells and heterostructures in the presence of alloy-disorder scattering. For the screening we use the randomphase approximation and we include many-body effects due to exchange and correlation. We propose to determine the alloy disorder potential V _AD from mobility measurements. If we use V _AD = 1.04 eV we can explain recent experimental results obtained for quantum wells and heterostructures with ultrahigh mobility. From the anomalous linear temperature dependence of the mobility measured in heterostructures, we conclude that the alloy disorder is screened. More experiments are needed to confirm the screening of the alloy disorder and we propose some measurements.     

Optical properties of 1.3 μm room temperature emitting InAs quantum dots covered by In0.4Ga0.6As/GaAs hetero-capping layer

Room temperature 1.3 μm emitting InAs quantum dots (QDs) covered by an In_0.4Ga_0.6As/GaAs strain reducing layer (SRL) have been fabricated by solid source molecular beam epitaxy (SSMBE) using the Stranski–Krastanov growth mode. The sample used has been investigated by temperature and excitation power dependent photoluminescence (PL), photoluminescence excitation (PLE), and time resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) experiments. Three emission peaks are apparent in the low temperature PL spectrum. We have found, through PLE measurement, a single quantum dot ground state and the corresponding first excited state with relatively large energy spacing. This attribute has been confirmed by TRPL measurements which allow comparison of the dynamics of the ground state with that of the excited states. Optical transitions related to the InGaAs quantum well have been also identified. Over the whole temperature range, the PL intensity is found to exhibit an anomalous increase with increasing temperatures up to 100 K and then followed by a drop by three orders of magnitude. Carrier’s activation energy out of the quantum dots is found to be close to the energy difference between each two subsequent transition energies. PACS 68.65.Ac; 68.65.Hb; 78.67.Hc     

Investigation of various optical transitions in GaAs/Al0.3Ga0.7As double quantum ring grown by droplet epitaxy

This work examines the optical transitions of a GaAs double quantum ring (DQR) embedded in Al_0.3Ga_0.7As matrix by photoreflectance spectroscopy (PR). The GaAs DQR was grown by droplet epitaxy (DE). The optical properties of the DQR were investigated by excitation‐intensity and temperature‐dependent PR. The various optical transitions were observed in PR spectra, whereas the photoluminescence (PL) spectrum shows only the DQR and GaAs band emissions. The various optical transitions were identified for the GaAs near‐band‐edge transition, surface confined state (SCS), DQR confined state, wetting layer (WL), spin–orbital split (E_GaAs + Δ_o), and AlGaAs band transition. PR spectroscopy can identify various optical transitions that are invisible in PL. The PR results show that the GaAs/AlGaAs DQR has complex electronic structures due to the various interfaces resulting from DE.