Effect of bismuth on liquid-phase epitaxy (LPE) grown GaAs layer using Ga–As–Bi melt

GaAs epitaxial layers of high structural quality have been realised from Ga–As–Bi melt using liquid-phase epitaxy (LPE). LPE grown GaAs epitaxial layer using bismuth solvent on GaAs substrate has been found to be of good structural perfection as compared to layers using gallium solvent. The temperature-dependent PL spectra of GaAs layer, grown from Ga+Bi mixed solvent has shown that the use of bismuth does not change the band energy. ECV depth profile of heavily zinc-doped epitaxial layer shows uniform doping in the GaAs layer grown using gallium solvent as compared to the layer grown using bismuth solvent.     

Raman scattering study on Ga1–x Mnx As prepared by Mn ions implantation,deposition and post‐annealing

Raman scattering measurements have been performed in Ga_1–x Mn_x As crystals prepared by Mn ions implantation, deposition, and post‐annealing. The Raman spectrum measured from the implanted surface of the sample shows some weak phonon modes in addition to GaAs‐like phonon modes, where the GaAs‐like LO and TO phonons are found to be shifted by approximately 4 and 2 cm^‐1, respectively, in the lower frequency direction compared to those observed from the unimplanted surface of the sample. The weak vibrational modes observed are assigned to hausmannite Mn₃O₄ like. The coupled LO‐phonon plasmon mode (CLOPM), and defects and As related vibrational modes caused by Mn ions implantation, deposition, and post‐annealing are also observed. The compositional dependence of GaAs‐like LO phonon frequency is developed for strained and unstrained conditions and then using the observed LO_GaAs peak, the Mn composition is evaluated to be 0.034. Furthermore, by analyzing the intensity of CLOPM and unscreened LO_GaAs phonon mode, the hole density is evaluated to be 1.84×10¹⁸ cm^‐3. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

LPE growth and characterization of InP/InGaAsP ridge-waveguide lasers at 1.3 μm-wavelength

This paper presents the fabrication and the lasing characteristics of 1.3 μm-wavelength ridge-waveguide laser. The epitaxial material used in this study was grown applying the step-cooling technique of liquid phase epitaxy (LPE). The growth conditions for InGaAsP layers lattice-matched to the (001) InP-substrate are reported for lattice compositions corresponding to photoluminescence peak wavelengths of 1.07, 1.14, and 1.31 μm. We have used a conventional multiple-bin sliding boat to grow the LPE layers and a second apparatus for achieving batches of melts of uniform compositions. In the LPE apparatus the various batch melts (In–Sn In–Zn; In–Ga–As of different composition) were saturated with phosphorus using the seed dissolution technique. The epitaxial layers were grown by a single phase technique at a constant temperature. This LPE growth technique is useful for the fabrication of double-heterostructure wafers with an uniform alloy composition and a well-defined layer thickness. Using these epitaxial materials, metal-clad ridge-waveguide (MCRW) lasers have been prepared with stripe widths of 3.5 μm. CW threshold currents of 18 mA at room temperature are achieved for 200 μm long cavities. These lasers have T₀ values ranging from 50 to 70 K and well linear L-I-characteristics.     

Highly uniform AlGaAs/GaAs and InGaAs(P)/InP structures grown in a multiwafer vertical rotating susceptor MOVPE reactor

Highly uniform AlGaAs/GaAs and InGaAs(P)/InP epitaxial layers have been grown in a vertical rotating susceptor MOVPE reactor capable of accommodating three 2′ wafers. The unique water-cooled “showerhead”-type injection distributor which is located 1.5 cm above the substrates ensures a uniform reactant distribution, resulting in uniform growth over a wide range of growth conditions. Periodic multilayer and single layer structures have been used to investigate the thickness and compositional uniformities. The thickness variations over a radial distance of 48 mm for three wafers grown in the same run are within ± 2% for both AlGaAs and InGaAs layers, resulting in a standard deviation of only 0.9%. The gallium concentration of an InGaAs layer varies from 46.88% to 47.01% over the same radial distance with the standard deviation of 0.043%. Measurements of InGaAsP layers grown onto 2′ InP wafers with different alloy compositions show good compositional uniformity yielding standard deviations within 4.4 nm in PL wavelength and 135 ppm in lattice mismatch over a 46 mm radial distance.     

Lattice Constant of AlAs

The value of AlAs lattice constant was established in two ways. First, by extrapolating the results for Al_xGa_1−xAs LPE (a_AlAs = 5.6608 Å) and MBE grown epitaxial layers (a_AlAs = 5.6620 ± 0.0001 Å). Second, for AlAs MBE-grown epitaxial layer (a_AlAs = 5.6620 ± 0.0001 Å). The measurements were performed with a high accuracy X-ray diffractometer and compared with results of photoluminescence measurements.     

利用Al/AlAs中间层调控GaAs在Si(111)上外延生长的研究

为了实现Ⅲ-V器件在硅基平台上单片集成,近年来Ⅲ-V半导体在硅衬底上的异质外延得到了广泛研究。由于Ⅲ-V半导体与Si之间大的晶格失配以及晶格结构不同,在Si上生长的Ⅲ-V半导体中存在较多的失配位错及反相畴,对器件性能造成严重影响。而Si(111)表面的双原子台阶可以避免Ⅲ-V异质外延过程中形成反相畴。本文利用分子束外延技术通过Al/AlAs作为中间层首次在Si(111)衬底上外延生长了GaAs(111)薄膜。通过一系列对比实验验证了Al/AlAs中间层的插入对GaAs薄膜质量的调控作用,并在此基础上通过低温-高温两步法优化了GaAs的生长条件。结果表明Al/AlAs插层可以为GaAs外延生长提供模板,并在一定程度上释放GaAs与Si之间的失配应力,从而使GaAs薄膜的晶体质量得到提高。以上工作为Ⅲ-V半导体在硅上的生长提供了新思路。     

Phonon behavior and interfacial stress in the strained (InAs)m/(GaAs)n ultrathin superlattices

Phonon behavior in the strained (InAs)_m/(GaAs)_n ultrathin superlattices grown by molecular beam epitaxy has been investigated by means of Raman scattering spectroscopy. The phonon frequency in the GaAs layers shifts toward lower energy with increasing InAs layer thickness under fixed thickness of GaAs layers. The frequency in the InAs layers does not change significantly, as deduced from the behavior of the InAs-like mode in In_xGa_1−xAs alloys. These observed results are phenomenologically discussed on the basis of the combined effect of phonon confinement in the respective layer and stress at the alternating interfaces. Furthermore, a large softening of the phonon confined in the GaAs layers decreases the frequency gap, resulting in traveling of the optical phonons confined in both layers. The strain at the interfaces is estimated by an empirical method, i.e., by comparing the frequency in the superlattice and in the alloy of equivalent composition. In the In_xGa_1−xAs alloys, the composition dependence of the mode frequency is considered as being due to the local strain. The group III elements are considered to be in the local strain state from an extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) analysis.     

Cross‐sectional and surface Raman mapping of thick GaN layers

Raman scattering spectroscopy was utilized for investigation of the structural properties of thick GaN layers. These layers with thickness ∼ 40 μm have been grown by HVPE technique on the sapphire substrates. The investigations have been focused on the strain distribution in GaN layer cross‐section as a function of distance from an interface sapphire/GaN and mapping of the surface and of the inner layer, near the sapphire/GaN interface. From the observed phonon shifts in the Raman spectra strain differences lower than 6.4×10^–4 corresponding to stress differences of 240 MPa were estimated across the thick GaN epitaxial layer. The measurements exhibit that strain in the layer causes changes in the Raman spectra and allow determining the relaxation process in the crystal. The obtained results confirmed, that the mode frequencies in the measured Raman spectra in both directions (parallel or perpendicular to the growth direction) for layer thicknesses over 30 µm are comparable with typical values for bulk material and match the low strain in the structure due to relaxation processes. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The Back-Side Morphology of LPE-Grown AlGaAs/GaAs/AlGaAs Heterostructures after the Complete Removal of the GaAs Substrate by Selective Etching

As-grown surfaces of AlGaAs/GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures were stuck down the glass disks and after that the GaAs substrates were removed completely by selective chemical etching. As a result the back-surface of the heterostructures became open to light. The influence of different factors on the back-surface planarity and on the density of such specific defects as holes in the GaAs layer have been investigated. It is shown that the density of holes can be decreased to a value less than 1 hole/cm² if a glove-box maintained under a pure N₂ atmosphere and connected with LPE installation is used.     

Influence of initial growth parameters on the structural and optical properties of GaAs on (001) Si

The structural and optical properties of GaAs on (001) Si substrates were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and low-temperature photoluminescence (PL). It was found that the success of the two-step growth technique is controlled by the quality (morphology and defect density) of the low-temperature grown AlGaAs nucleation layer. GaAs epilayers grown on low V/III ratio AlGaAs nucleation layers exhibit improved surface morphologies and structural properties. These results were confirmed by optical measurements where it was shown that the best PL response was obtained from GaAs epilayers in which the initial AlGaAs nucleation layers were deposited at a low V/III ratio.     

Se-doped AlGaAs grown on GaAs(111)A by molecular beam epitaxy

The electrical properties of Se-doped Al_0.3Ga_0.7As layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on GaAs(111)A substrates have been investigated by Hall-effect and deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) measurements. In Se-doped GaAs layers, the carrier concentration depends on the misorientation angle of the substrates; it decreases drastically on the exact (111)A surface due to the re-evaporation of Se atoms. By contrast, in Se-doped AlGaAs layers, the decrease is not observed even on exact oriented (111)A. This is caused by the suppression of the re-evaporation of Se atoms, by Se---Al bonds formed during the Se-doped AlGaAs growth. An AlGaAs/GaAs high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) structure has been grown. The Hall mobility of the sample on a (111)A 5° off substrate is 5.9×10⁴ cm²/V·s at 77 K. This result shows that using Se as the n-type dopant is effective in fabricating devices on GaAs(111)A.     

Controllable cubic and hexagonal GaN growth on GaAs(0 0 1) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy

Two kinds of GaN samples were grown on GaAs(0 0 1) substrates. One is grown on nitridized GaAs surface, the other is grown on nitridized AlAs buffer GaAs substrate. X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence measurements find that the GaN sample directly grown on GaAs substrate is pure cubic phase and those grown on AlAs buffer is pure hexagonal phase. The present study shows that the phase of GaN samples grown on GaAs substrates can be controlled using different buffer layers.     

Nearly perfect crystal growth of III–V compounds by the temperature difference method under controlled vapour pressure

Nearly perfect crystals of III–V compounds are grown by a new LPE method which can produce homogeneous and high-quality crystals with controlled stoichiometry. Homogeneous epitaxial growth is performed at fixed temperature with a temperature difference in a melt, under controlled vapour pressure of the group V elements. In the experiment, the fluctuation of growing temperature is ascertained to produce a number of new defects and the effect of controlled vapour pressure is investigated. It has been ascertained that an optimum vapour pressure, which is the function of growing temperature, can suppress the generation of “rooty faults” to a minimum density. There is close agreement between the optimum vapour pressure in the heat treatment of crystals to reduce the generation density of lattice defects and the optimum vapour pressure to obtain defect-free crystals in the process of crystal growth. The epitaxial layers prepared under optimum vapour pressure have the highest mobility and the lowest additional carrier concentration. The lattice constant of the epitaxially grown crystal under controlled vapour pressure also shows a minimum value at optimum pressure. This also shows that the controlled vapour pressure is important in lattice fitting of epitaxial layers. The epitaxial layers grown by the temperature difference method (TDM) under optimum control of the vapour pressure (CVP) are almost as perfect crystallographically as measured by X-ray topography. The experiments are performed for GaP and GaAs.     

Growth of ZnTe layers on (111) GaAs substrates by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy

ZnTe layers were grown on (111) GaAs substrates by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy using dimethylzinc and diethyltelluride as the source materials. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that epitaxial ZnTe layers can be obtained on (111) GaAs substrates. X-ray rocking curves, Raman spectroscopy, and photoluminescence measurements showed that the crystal quality of ZnTe layers depends on the substrate temperature during the growth. A high-crystalline quality (111) ZnTe heteroepitaxial layer with strong near-band-edge emission at 550 nm was obtained at a substrate temperature of 440 °C.     

Fabrication of GaAs quantum wires by metalorganic molecular beam epitaxy and their optical properties

We have grown GaAs quantum wires having nominal cross-sectional dimensions of 20×20 nm² buried in AlGaAs layers, by lateral metalorganic molecular beam epitaxy on the terraced sidewalls of mesa-grooved ( ) substrates. In the photoluminescence spectrum of this sample at 77 K, a dominant emission has been observed at a peak wavelength of 780 nm which corresponds to a blue shift of 80 meV from the GaAs bulk transition. Emission spectroscopy from different positions and imaging by cathodoluminescence have demonstrated that this emission was generated from the sidewalls, indicating that it originates from the quantum wire.     

Transmission electron microscopy observation of GaAs/Al0.3Ga0.7As T-shaped quantum well structure fabricated by glancing angle molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs(100) reverse-mesa etched substrates

GaAs/Al_0.3Ga_0.7As multi-layer structures were grown on GaAs (100) reverse-mesa etched substrates by glancing angle molecular beam epitaxy (GA-MBE). A(111)B facet was formed as a side-facet. Surface migration of Ga and Al atoms from the (100) flat region to the (111)B side-facet region has been investigated to fabricate T-shaped GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells (QWs) under the condition that Ga and Al atoms impinge only an the (100) flat region and do not impinge on the (111)B side-facet. Observation of T-shaped GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wires (QWRs) by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that there is no migration of Al atoms from the (100) to the (111)B facet region at a substrate temperature (T_s) as high as 630°C, under a V/III ratio of 28 (in pressure ratio). On the other hand, very thin GaAs epitaxial layers grown on the (111)B side-facet region owing to the Ga migration were observed for substrate temperatures of 600 and 630°C. It was found that the mass flow of Ga atoms from the (100) region to the (111)B side-facet region increases, with the thermal activation energy of 2.0 eV, as the substrate temperature increases from 570 to 630°C. The GA-MBE growth on a reverse-mesa etched GaAs substrate at a low temperature 570°C or lower is desirable to fabricate a nm-scale GaAs/AlGaAs QWR structure with nm-scale precision.     

Strong enhancement of the optical and electrical properties, and spontaneous formation of an ordered superlattice in(111)B AlGaAs

Strong enhancement in the luminescence intensity is observed in Al_0.22Ga_0.78As epitaxial layers grown on misoriented (111)B GaAs as compared to those simultaneously grown on (100) GaAs. For a 1° misorientation the luminescence intensity is almost 1° to 1000 times that of the (100) layers, depending on the growth temperature. Room temperature electron mobility for 3° misoriented (111)B Al_0.18Ga_0.82As is 19% higher than that for side-by-side grown (100). The strong luminescence associated with a large red shift of 90 meV and the 19% mobility enhancement are related to the long range composition ordering in (111)B AlGaAs, which is observed by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy in a 280 å Al_0.4GaAs quantum well heterostructure with Al_0.7GaAs barriers grown on (111)B GaAs substrates.     

The electrical, optical and crystalline properties of GaAs: C grown by GSMBE using TMG and AsH3 for application to HBTs

We report the results of a comprehensive study on the electrical, optical and crystalline properties of heavily carbon doped p-type (100) GaAs epilayers (p = 6.3 × 10¹⁸−1.3 × 10²⁰ cm^-3; THICKNESS = 250−420 nm) grown by gas source molecular beam epitaxy using trimethylgallium and arsine. X-ray analysis showed epilayer lattice contraction with a mismatch of δa/a = -1.8 × 10^-3 at p = 1.3 × 10²⁰ cm^-3. Room temperature photoluminescence peak energy shifted from 1.40 eV (p = 6.3 × 10¹⁸ cm^-3) to 1.37 eV (p = 1.3 × 10²⁰ cm^-3). Stokes Raman spectra showed two modes assigned as the unscreened LO phonon (292 cm^-1) and the low frequency branch of the coupled hole-plasmon-LO-phonon (266 cm^-1). Conservation of Raman scattering rules under all incident light configurations showed that the (100) GaAs:C epilayers were of high crystalline quality without the presence of faceting or other such crystalline defects. Annealing at 900°C for between 30 s to 45 min, resulted in a significant reduction in the hole concentration, lattice contraction and photoluminescence intensity for all epilayers. The implications of these results for the development of GaAs/AlGaAs HBTs are discussed.     

GaAs LPE growth and its application to FET

Residual impurities and deep levels in the LPE GaAs layers grown by a sliding boat method were studied. Residual impurities were investigated by monitoring oxygen and water vapor contents in the exhaust gas during heat treatment. The results are satisfactorily explained by assuming oxygen as a dominant residual impurity. Electron traps with a density higher than 5 × 10¹² cm^-3 were not observed in the LPE layers, whereas in VPE layers, 0.82 eV electron traps were always observed. LPE double layers (high purity buffer layer and active layer) were fabricated into FET's. GaAs FET's with a 1 μm gate showed no hysteresis loops in the I–V characteristics and had fairly good high-frequency characteristic (f_max = 70 GHz, NF = 2.4 dB at 10.4 GHz).     

Characterization of heterointerfaces in GaAs/MnAs/MnZn-ferrite structures

We have grown GaAs epitaxial films on MnZn-ferrite substrates using MnAs buffer layers and investigated their heterointerfaces with glazing incidence-angle X-ray reflectivity and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It has been found that the heterointerfaces for this structure are quite abrupt and the roughness at the GaAs/MnAs and MnAs/MnZn-ferrite interfaces are 1.1 and 0.2 nm, respectively. We also found that the diffusion of atoms through the GaAs/MnAs interface into the GaAs film is negligible. These results indicate that the MnAs buffer layer for the GaAs/ferrite structure is chemically stable and promising for the application to the future magnetic electronics.