Growth and characterization of strain-compensated InGaAs/GaAsSb type II multiple quantum wells on InP substrate

Strain-compensated InGaAs/GaAsSb type II multiple quantum wells (MQWs) were grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and their optical and electrical properties were studied. High-quality strain-compensated type II MQWs were successfully grown, which have longer emission wavelength than that of lattice-matched type II MQWs. PL peak energy at 300 K of the strain-compensated type II MQWs, where the InGaAs layer has 0.6% tensile strain and GaAsSb layer has 0.6% compressive strain, shows a red-shift of 43 meV, which is 12 meV larger than the calculated energy shift of 31 meV. In addition, the PL intensity and the electron mobility of the strain-compensated MQWs are comparable to those of the lattice-matched MQWs, suggesting that the crystal quality of the strain-compensated MQWs is good and are very promising for low dark current photodiodes in the 2 μm wavelength region.     

Room-temperature direct-bandgap photoluminescence from strain-compensated Ge/SiGe multiple quantum wells on silicon

Strain-compensated Ge/Si_0.15Ge_0.85 multiple quantum wells were grown on an Si_0.1Ge_0.9 virtual substrate using ultrahigh vacuum chemical vapor deposition technology on an n +-Si（001） substrate.Photoluminescence measurements were performed at room temperature,and the quantum confinement effect of the direct-bandgap transitions of a Ge quantum well was observed,which is in good agreement with the calculated results.The luminescence mechanism was discussed by recombination rate analysis and the temperature dependence of the luminescence spectrum.     

Resonant photorefractive effect in InGaAs/GaAs multiple quantum wells

Semi-insulating InGaAs/GaAs multiple quantum wells are fabricated by metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy and proton implantation. Two-wave mixing gain and four-wave mixing diffraction efficiency are measured at wavelengths of 0.91-0.94microm in the Franz-Keldysh geometry. We observe a large photorefractive effect caused by the excitonic electro-optic effect. The maximum diffraction efficiency reaches ~1.5x10(-4) .     

Room-temperature direct-bandgap photoluminescence from strain-compensated Ge/SiGe multiple quantum wells on silicon

Strain-compensated Ge/Si_0.15Ge_0.85 multiple quantum wells were grown on an Si_0.1>Ge_0.9 virtual substrate using ultrahigh vacuum chemical vapor deposition technology on an n⁺-Si(001) substrate. Photoluminescence measurements were performed at room temperature, and the quantum confinement effect of the direct-bandgap transitions of a Ge quantum well was observed, which is in good agreement with the calculated results. The luminescence mechanism was discussed by recombination rate analysis and the temperature dependence of the luminescence spectrum.     

Intermixing behavior in InGaAs/InGaAsP multiple quantum wells with dielectric and InGaAs capping layers

The influence of the InGaAs capping layer on the intermixing behavior of dielectric-capped In_0.53Ga_0.47 As/In_0.81Ga_0.19As_0.37P_0.63 multiple quantum wells (MQWs) was investigated by measuring the change in the photoluminescence spectra after rapid thermal annealing. The magnitude of the energy shift in the transition energy from the first electronic sub-band to the first heavy- and light-hole sub-bands of the MQWs is large when SiO₂ and InGaAs hybrid capping layers are employed, but it is rather small when Si₃N₄ and InGaAs hybrid capping layers are employed. This result indicates that the InGaAs capping layer holds promise for applications involved in the fabrication of integrated photonic devices, but only when it is incorporated with the SiO₂ capping layer. The reason why the InGaAs capping layer behaves differently under the SiO₂ and Si₃N₄ capping layers is also discussed. Received: 4 December 1999 / Accepted: 26 September 2000 / Published online: 10 January 2001     

Photodiffraction in InGaAs/InGaAsP multiple quantum wells enclosed in a microcavity

We report new results on the diffraction properties of photoinduced gratings in InGaAs/InGaAsP MQW structures. The original feature of this device is that the QWs are enclosed in an asymmetric Fabry–Perot microcavity in order to increase the diffraction efficiency. We observe oscillations in the diffraction efficiency due to resonant effects in the microcavity. The experimental spectra are compared with theory. Diffraction efficiency at 1.55 μm attains a maximum value of 2.7% at a write beam fluence of 260 μ J cm⁻², and then decreases at higher fluences. We explain this phenomenon by an absorption saturation at high excitation.     

Band structures and characteristics of InGaAs/InGaAsP strain-compensated quantum well lasers

Analysis is performed for valence band structures and some characteristics of InGaAs/InGaAsP strain-compensated quantum well lasers lattice-matched to InP substrate. The computed results show that band offsets are functions of strain compensation instead of constants; strain compensation changes the band structures and the density of states, and hence affects the optical gain and the threshold current density. Under the condition of zero net strain, the values of the well width, cavity length and relative threshold carrier density and threshold current density are determined for realization of 1.55 m wavelength emission.     

Dual-blue light-emitting diode based on strain-compensated InGaN-AlGaN/GaN quantum wells

Strain-compensated InGaN quantum well (QW) active region employing tensile AlGaN barrier is analyzed. Its spectral stability and efficiency droop for dual-blue light-emitting diode (LED) are improved compared with those of the conventional InGaN/GaN QW dual-blue LED based on stacking structure of two In_0.18Ga_0.82N/GaN QWs and two In_0.12Ga_0.88N/GaN QWs on the same sapphire substrate. It is found that the optimal performance is achieved when the Al composition of strain-compensated AlGaN layer is 0.12 in blue QW and 0.21 in blue-violet QW. The improvement performance can be attributed to the strain-compensated InGaN-AlGaN/GaN QW that can provide a better carrier confinement and effectively reduce leakage current.     

低温InGaAs/InAlAs多量子阱的分子束外延生长与表征

采用气源分子束外延(GSMBE)生长了低温InGaAs材料,研究了生长温度及As压对InGaAs材料性质的影响,得到优化的生长条件为:生长温度为300 ℃、As压为77.3 kPa。通过Be掺杂,并采用In0.52Al0.48As/In0.53Ga0.47As多量子阱结构,将材料的方块电阻提高到1.632106 /Sq,载流子数密度降低至1.0581014 cm-3。X射线衍射结果表明:InGaAs多量子阱材料具有较高的晶体质量。这种Be掺杂InGaAs多量子阱材料缺陷密度大且电阻率高,是制作太赫兹光电导天线较理想的基质材料。收稿日期:; 修订日期:     

低温InGaAs/InAlAs多量子阱的分子束外延生长与表征

采用气源分子束外延(GSMBE)生长了低温InGaAs材料,研究了生长温度及As压对InGaAs材料性质的影响,得到优化的生长条件为：生长温度为300 ℃、As压为77.3 kPa。通过Be掺杂,并采用In0.52Al0.48As/In0.53Ga0.47As多量子阱结构,将材料的方块电阻提高到1.632106 /Sq,载流子数密度降低至1.0581014 cm-3。X射线衍射结果表明：InGaAs多量子阱材料具有较高的晶体质量。这种Be掺杂InGaAs多量子阱材料缺陷密度大且电阻率高,是制作太赫兹光电导天线较理想的基质材料。收稿日期:; 修订日期:     

A dual-blue light-emitting diode based on strain-compensated InGaN-AlGaN/GaN quantum wells

A strain-compensated InGaN quantum well(QW) active region employing a tensile AlGaN barrier is analyzed.Its spectral stability and efficiency droop for a dual-blue light-emitting diode(LED) are improved compared with those of the conventional InGaN/GaN QW dual-blue LEDs based on a stacking structure of two In0.18Ga0.82N/GaN QWs and two In0.12Ga0.88N/GaN QWs on the same sapphire substrate.It is found that the optimal performance is achieved when the Al composition of the strain-compensated AlGaN layer is 0.12 in blue QW and 0.21 in blue-violet QW.The improvement performance can be attributed to the strain-compensated InGaN-AlGaN/GaN QW,which can provide a better carrier confinement and effectively reduce leakage current.     

Field distribution in waveguide of mid-infrared strain-compensated InAlAs/InGaAs/InP quantum cascade laser

In this paper we present calculated mode distributions in double-trench mesa waveguide of a quantum cascade laser (QCL) and far-field distributions of the QCL beam—both calculated and experimental. We have computed electric field distribution in the waveguide, confinement factor and mode absorption for different transversal modes and far-field distributions based on them. The parameters of the modes were calculated for various sizes: width and length, of the QCL waveguide. The maximal mesa width for single-transverse-mode operation was determined to be about 0.7 times wavelength. This value and the mode discrimination depend only slightly on the resonator length. To verify experimentally the results of the simulations we have measured power distribution in the far field by using goniometric profiler. The measured distribution agrees well with the results of the numerical calculations.     

Partial intermixing of strained InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells

Shallow ion implantation and rapid thermal annealing (RTA) was used to modify the optical properties of strained InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells (QWs). After RTA, QW exciton energies, determined from peak positions of the photoluminescence spectra, shifted significantly to higher energies in the implanted areas, whereas they remained basically unaffected in the unimplanted regions. The magnitudes of the energy shifts depend on the well width, RTA temperature and ion implantation fluence. The shifts were interpreted as arising from modification of the shapes of the as-grown QWs due to diffusion of In out of the well material. This process is enhanced by diffusion of vacancies generated near the sample surface by ion implantation. QWs with compositions near the critical thickness exhibit different behaviour from that of fully pseudomorphic layers, due to the presence of dislocations in these layers.     

Interdiffused InGaAs/InP quantum wells for polarization-independent electroabsorption

The interdiffusion of In0.53Ga0.47As/InP quantum well structures is presented as an approach for achieving polarization-independent electroabsorption. By considering different interdiffusion rates on group III and group V sublattices, the TE and TM absorption coefficient spectra calculated for the interdiffused InGaAs/InP quantum well show that with a suitable interdiffusion process the tensile strain induced in the interdiffused quantum well can provide polarization-independent absorption properties. For the quantum well structure and interdiffusion process considered here polarization-independent electroabsorption can be achieved around 1.3 μm, which is of considerable interest for optical switching and modulating devices. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Photoluminescence saturation in InGaAs/GaAs single quantum wells

Saturation of the photoluminescence associated with the 11H transition in the InGaAs single quantum wells is observed under high intensity optical excitation. At the onset of saturation, a spill-over of the photoluminescence occurs into the GaAs cladding layers as the excitation intensity is increased. The measurements are used to determine a limiting value of the quantum efficiency of the quantum-well associated photoluminescence.     

Optical properties of narrow high quality GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells grown by MOVPE

We report optical characterization of high quality quantum well (QW) structures grown by metal-organic vapour-phase epitaxy (MOVPE). Thin QW layers of GaAs of thicknesses between 20 Å and 80 Å inserted between Al_0.36Ga_0.64 As confining layers as well as nominally 20 Å QW's in Al_xGa_1−xAs with varying x have been studied. Exciton confinement energies exceeding 250 meV and a FWHM of 6 meV for the thinnest QW have been observed. The photoluminescence (PL) data allows the observation of monolayer fluctuations in the QW widths and indicates an interface abruptness of about one atomic layer. Photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy allows electronic excited states to be seen.     

Electroluminescence from modulation-doped pseudomorphic AlGaAs/InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells

Low-temperature electroluminescence (EL) is observed in n-type modulation-doped AlGaAs/InGaAs/GaAs quantum well samples by applying a positive voltage between the semitransparent Au gate and alloyed Au-Ge Ohmic contacts made on the top surface of the samples. We attribute impact ionization in the InGaAs QW to the observed EL from the samples. A redshift in the EL spectra is observed with increasing gate bias. The observed redshift in the EL spectra is attributed to the band gap renormalization due to many-body effects and quantum-confined Stark effect.     

Crystallinity and interdiffusion in InP/InGaAs quantum wells grown by Hydride VPE

This paper reports the results of a study on interfacial quality and thermal interdiffusion for InP/InGaAs Quantum Wells (QW) grown by hydride VPE. By controlling well layer as thin as 25 Å, it was estimated that island and valley, whose height was one monolayer and whose lateral size was one third of exciton radius, existed at the interface. For the first time, interdiffusion coefficients for InP/InGaAs QW were obtained from 77K PL peak energy shift. Typical values were 2.5×10⁻¹⁹ cm²/sec and 1.5×10⁻¹⁸ cm²/sec for the annealing temperature of 700°C and 750°C, respectively. These values are over 10² times larger than that in AlGaAs/GaAs QW, and less 10⁻² times smaller than that in InAlAs/InGaAs QW.     

Landau-level interplay in InGaAs double quantum wells

Shubnikov–de Haas (SdH) and Hall measurements have been used to investigate a pair of adjacent two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) which were formed in two n_0.53Ga_0.47As quantum-wells, separated by a thin In_0.52Al_0.48As barrier, grown lattice-matched on InP. This double quantum-well system consists of two asymmetric InGaAs quantum wells, 9 nm and 7 nm respectively, separated by a 4.5 nm InAlAs barrier. The existence of two occupied electronic subbands with differing electron densities can clearly be identified by beating effects in the SdH oscillations. By applying a substrate bias the electron densities can be tuned and the beating is shifted. In the simultaneously performed Hall measurements additional features can be observed: Hall measurements with different total electron densities reveal plateaus for integer filling factors ν (with ν = ν₁ + ν₂, ν₁and ν₂both integers, corresponding to the two subbands). Some even filling factors become suppressed and recover with changing electron density. Also, for some densities an odd filling factor is observed. The systematic tuning of the electron densities via the application of a bias voltage to the front gate reveals two Landau fans, one for each electronic system, respectively, crossing each other. The electron densities for both electronic systems can be identified by analysing the SdH spectra. As a function of the front-gate voltage, these densities seem to show evidence for an anticrossing of the two electronic states and therefore for a strong coupling between the states.