X-Ray double crystal rocking curves of Ga1−x Al x As/GaAs laser structures

Summary The double crystal X-ray rocking curves of Ga_1−x Al _x As/GaAs laser structures, with both a single and double confinement, have been calculated on the basis of the Takagi-Taupin dynamica theory. It has been demonstrated that very small changes in the thickness and composition of the active and the internal confining layers give rise to dramatic modifications of the rocking curves; this offers in principle a very powerful tool for measuring very precisely thickness and composition of these layers. However, the shape of the Bragg peak of the external confining layers exhibits a nearly period behaviour as a function of the thickness of the active or the internal confining layer; a simple relation between the thickness period and the composition difference of the considered layers has been obtained for the first time. Finally, the effect of the interchange of the confining layers on the rocking curves has been discussed.     

超晶格中GaAs/InGaAs界面与InGaAs/GaAs界面的特性差异

In_xGa_1-xAs缓冲层上生长In_yGa_1-yAs/GaAs超晶格（x＜y）．阱层处于压缩应变，垒层处于伸张应变，其厚度均小于Mathews-Blakeslee（M-B）平衡理论计算的临界厚度．透射电子显微镜及俄歇电子能谱、二级离子质谱测试发现，GaAs/In_yGa_1-yAs界面铟组分过渡区比In_yGa_1-yAs/GaAs界面铟组 关键词：     

Microprobe photoluminescence measurement on heteroepitaxial GaAs on Si grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

Microprobe photoluminescence (PL) measurements at 77 K were used to study the effect of the GaAs layer thickness on optical quality and variations in strain in GaAs/Si containing microcracks. PL peak intensities increase with the increase in thickness of GaAs layers and the peak intensity for the 5.5 m GaAs layer was a factor of 20 higher than those for the 1–2 m GaAs layers. Spatial nonuniformities in strain in the vicinity of two microcracks reveal that stress was almost released at the intersection of two microcracks and is maximum half way between two microcracks.On leave from Semiconductor Materials Lab., Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST)     

Diagnostics of heterostructures of resonant-tunneling diodes during epitaxial growth. II. Monitoring techniques based on reflection method

It is shown that the reflection methods, in particular, the reflection anisotropy method, can be efficiently used for in situ studying and monitoring the growth of heterostructures with layers thinner than 10 monolayers. A change in the layer composition at direct GaAs/AlAs heterointerfaces of the active region of the resonant-tunneling diode is recorded by the reflection anisotropy method with a thickness resolution of ～1 monolayer immediately during the growth. To estimate the quality of the formed active region of the resonant-tunneling diode, comparative reflection anisotropy spectroscopy is used.     

Growth and characterization of straight InAs/GaAs nanowire heterostructures on Si substrate

Vertical InAs/GaAs nanowire (NW) heterostructures with a straight InAs segment have been successfully fabricated on Si (111) substrate by using AlGaAs/GaAs buffer layers coupled with a composition grading InGaAs segment. Both the GaAs and InAs segments are not limited by the misfit strain induced critical diameter. The low growth rate of InAs NWs is attributed to the AlGaAs/GaAs buffer layers which dramatically decrease the adatom diffusion contribution to the InAs NW growth. The crystal structure of InAs NW can be tuned from zincblende to wurtzite by controlling its diameter as well as the length of GaAs NWs. This work helps to open up a road for the integration of high-quality III-V NW heterostructures with Si.     

Long-wavelength IR spectroscopy of ZnTe/CdTe superlattices with quantum dots

This paper reports on the results of investigations of the lattice IR reflection spectra of ZnTe/CdTe multilayer superlattices with CdTe quantum dots grown by molecular-beam epitaxy on a GaAs substrate with a CdTe buffer layer. It is found that the lattice IR reflection spectra of the studied structures exhibit three intense bands associated with vibrational excitations in the GaAs substrate, ZnTe barriers separating the layers with CdTe quantum dots, and the CdTe buffer layer. An analysis of the reflection bands and shifts in the phonon frequencies has revealed internal elastic stresses both in the surface layer of the GaAs substrate and in the ZnTe barriers. It is established that elastic stresses undergo relaxation in the separating ZnTe layers with an increase in their thickness. An additional mode observed in the reflection spectra is explained by manifestations of ZnTe-like vibrations in the ZnCdTe alloy due to interdiffusion of Cd and Zn at the interfaces.     

Combined effects of substrate compliance and film compositional grading on strain relaxation in layer-by-layer semiconductor heteroepitaxy: the case of InAs/In0.50Ga0.50As/GaAs(1 1 1)A

A systematic theoretical analysis is presented of the combined effects of substrate compliance and film compositional grading on the relaxation of strain due to lattice mismatch in layer-by-layer semiconductor heteroepitaxy. The analysis is based on a combination of continuum elasticity theory and a novel atomistic simulation approach for modeling structural and compositional relaxation in layer-by-layer heteroepitaxial systems. Results are presented for InAs epitaxy on GaAs(1 1 1)A compliant substrates with some marginal film compositional grading that consists of one monolayer of In_0.50Ga_0.50As grown on the substrate surface prior to InAs growth. A parametric study is carried out over a wide range of substrate thicknesses. Interfacial stability with respect to misfit dislocation formation, the dependence on substrate thickness of a thermodynamic critical film thickness, and the completion of the coherent-to-semicoherent interfacial transition are examined in detail. In addition, the structural characteristics and compositional distribution of the corresponding semicoherent interfaces, the associated strain fields, as well as the film surface morphological characteristics are analyzed. Most importantly, the role of segregation at defects of a semicoherent interface in the thermodynamics of layer-by-layer heteroepitaxial growth is demonstrated. Our study shows that systematic combination of the mechanical behavior of thin compliant substrates with grading of the epitaxial film composition provides a very promising engineering strategy for strain relaxation in heteroepitaxy.     

具有非均匀渐变界面DBR的光学特性分析

应用特征矩阵法研究了非均匀渐变界面Al_0.9Ga_0.1As/Al_yGa_1-yAs/GaAs/Al_xGa_1-xAs DBR的光学特性.建立了非均匀渐变界面Al_yGa_1-yAs的折射率模型，并得到了渐变界面特征矩阵的解析解，通过特征矩阵法分别计算了突变GaAs/Al_0.9Ga_0.1As DBR和渐变DBR的反射谱和反射相移，分析了非均匀渐变层对DBR光学特性的影响，对渐变DBR，需要在DBR前面再增加一定厚度的非均匀渐变相位匹配层才能使整个DBR满足中心波长相位匹配条件，并通过光学厚度近似方法求出相位匹配层厚度. 关键词： DBR 反射谱 反射相移 特征矩阵法     

GaAs间隔层厚度对InAs/GaAs量子点分子光学性质的影响

采用光致荧光发射谱(PL)和时间分辨荧光发射谱(TRPL)研究了GaAs间隔层厚度对自组装生长的双层InAs/GaAs量子点分子光学性质的影响.首先,测量低温下改变激发强度的PL谱,底层量子点和顶层量子点的PL强度比值随激发强度发生变化,表明两层量子点之间的耦合作用和层间载流子的转移随着间隔层厚度变大而变弱.接着测量改变温度的PL谱,量子点荧光光谱峰值位置(Emax)、半峰全宽及积分强度随温度发生变化,表明GaAs间隔层厚度直接影响到量子点内载流子的动力学过程和量子点发光的热淬灭过程.最后,TRPL测量发现60mL比40mL间隔层厚度样品的载流子隧穿时间有明显延长.     

Growth of quantum wire arrays by MBE on nonplanar substrates

With single-step molecular beam epitaxy growth, GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wire (QW wire) arrays were fabricated over mesas an GaAs nonplanar substrates patterned by conventional photolithography and wet chemical etching. Faceting and surface migration of atoms during crystal growth resulted in lateral variation in the quantum well (QW) layer thickness on different facet planes. This caused the tops of the mesas to be sharp enough to provide lateral quantum-size-effects (QSEs). In conventional photoluminescence (PL), PL with a micro-optical-system, and photoreflectance measurements under different conditions, a large blue shift was observed in the energy level positions for electronic transitions corresponding to QWs at the tops of mesas compared with those corresponding to QWs on nonpatterned areas of the same substrate. The blue shift was in contradiction with the fact that the GaAs QW layers at the tops of mesas were thicker than those on nanpatterned areas, and illustrated the realization of QW wires at the tops of mesas. Calculations also proved that there was a lateral QSE at the tops of mesas and this was further proof for the formation of QW wires there.     

Tuning vertically stacked InAs/GaAs quantum dot properties under spacer thickness effects for 1.3 μm emission

Coherent InAs islands separated by GaAs spacer (d) layers are shown to exhibit self-organized growth along the vertical direction. A vertically stacked layer structure is useful for controlling the size distribution of quantum dots. The thickness of the GaAs spacer has been varied to study its influence on the structural and optical properties. The structural and optical properties of multilayer InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) have been investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and photoluminescence (PL) measurements. The PL full width at half maximum (FWHM), reflecting the size distribution of the QDs, was found to reach a minimum for an inter-dots GaAs spacer layer thickness of 30 monolayers (ML). For the optimized structure, the TEM image shows that multilayer QDs align vertically in stacks with no observation of apparent structural defects. Furthermore, AFM images showed an improvement of the size uniformity of the QDs in the last layer of QDs with respect to the first one. The effect of growth interruption on the optical properties of the optimized sample (E30) was investigated by PL. The observed red shift is attributed to the evolution of the InAs islands during the growth interruption. We show the possibility of increasing the size of the QDs approaching the strategically important 1.3 m wavelength range (at room temperature) with growth interruption after InAs QD deposition.     

Raman study of confined TO phonons in GaAs/AlAs superlattices grown on GaAs (311)A and B surfaces

The use of Raman scattering in different polarization geometries makes it possible to observe the splitting of transverse optical (TO) phonon modes confined in GaAs/AlAs superlattices grown on faceted GaAs (311)A surfaces. The frequencies of TO modes with atomic displacements in the direction along the facets were observed to be higher than in the transverse one. Increased splitting, up to 3.5 cm ^− 1, was observed for (311)A superlattices when the average thickness of the GaAs layers was 6 monolayers or less. The splitting was absent in superlattices grown on (311)B surfaces under the same conditions. The effect of splitting is reputed to be caused by corrugation of GaAs/AlAs (311)A interfaces and formation of lateral superlattices or arrays of quantum wires, depending on the GaAs layer thickness.     

Effects of Interface Roughness on Interlayer Coupling in Fe/Cr/Fe Structure

Effect of interface roughness on antiferromagnetic coupling between Fe layers in a Fe/Cr/Fe trilayer, with Cr layer having a wedge form has been studied. All the samples have been deposited simultaneously on substrates having different roughness, thus it is being considered that there is no variation in the morphological features like grain size and grain texture of the films. Measurements have been done as a function of Cr spacer layer thickness and the peak value of antiferromagnetic coupling strength is compared among different trilayers, thus any influence of spacer layer thickness fluctuation from sample to sample has also been avoided. The samples are characterized by X-ray reflectivity (XRR) and magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE). XRR results show that the roughness of the substrate is not replicated at the successive interfaces. Antiferromagnetic coupling between Fe layers decreases with the increase of roughness of Fe/Cr/Fe interfaces.     

GaAs quantum well structures investigation by local cathodoluminescence

The article shows the cathodoluminescence technique application to a quality analysis of a semiconductor multilayer heterostructures. Two structures with a GaAs quantum well embedded between the AlGaAs and GaInP barriers were investigated. The AlGaAs/GaAs/GaInP and GaInP/GaAs/AlGaAs structures were grown by MOCVD on a GaAs substrate. In this work we study the interface quality of quantum-dimensional GaAs layer by means of the local cathodoluminescence. Degradation and broadening of GaAs/GaInP interface occurring during the growth process of GaAs on GaInP layer was assumed to result in the formation of a layer with mixed composition at the interface. In addition, the presence of the layer prevented the formation of a quantum well in the GaAs layer. The transition layer was clearly observed by the cathodoluminescence. In the other case it was found that the growth of a structure with GaAs layer on top of AlGaAs produced a quantum well with a 10 nm thickness. The interface quality and layer thicknesses were also confirmed by the X-ray diffraction investigation of these structures.     

基于MOCVD三步生长的GaAs/Si外延技术EI北大核心CSCD

在硅(Si)上外延生长高质量的砷化镓(GaAs)薄膜是实现硅基光源单片集成的关键因素。但是,Si材料与GaAs材料之间较大的晶格失配、热失配等问题对获得高质量的GaAs薄膜造成了严重影响。本文利用金属有机化学气相沉积(MOCVD)技术开展Si基GaAs生长研究。通过采用三步生长法,运用低温成核层、高温GaAs层与循环热退火等结合的方式,进一步降低Si基GaAs材料的表面粗糙度和穿透位错密度。并利用X射线衍射(XRD)ω-2θ扫描追踪采用不同方法生长的样品中残余应力的变化。最终,在GaAs低温成核层生长时间62 min(生长厚度约25 nm)时,采用三步生长、循环热退火等结合的方式获得GaAs(004)XRD摇摆曲线峰值半高宽(FWHM)为401″、缺陷密度为6.8×10^(7) cm^(-2)、5μm×5μm区域表面粗糙度为6.71 nm的GaAs外延材料,在材料中表现出张应力。     

Nonmonotonic bias voltage dependence of the magnetocurrent in GaAs-based magnetic tunnel transistors

Magnetic tunnel transistors are used to study spin-dependent hot electron transport in thin CoFe films and across CoFe/GaAs interfaces. The magnetocurrent observed when the orientation of a CoFe base layer moment is reversed relative to that of a CoFe emitter, is found to exhibit a pronounced nonmonotonic variation with electron energy. A model based on spin-dependent inelastic scattering in the CoFe base layer and strong electron scattering at the CoFe/GaAs interface, resulting in a broad electron angular distribution, can well account for the variation of the magnetocurrent in magnetic tunnel transistors with GaAs(001) and GaAs(111) collectors.     

Control of unpolarized emission in closely stacked InAs quantum dot structure

In this work, we studied the effect of some growth parameters on the polarization behavior of InAs/GaAs closely stacked quantum dot (CSQDs). In particular, we focused on the surface reconstruction time of GaAs spacer, its thickness and the number of QD layers. We found that the most effective parameter to enhance the TM/TE intensity ratio is the surface reconstruction time of the GaAs spacer before the subsequent QD deposition. By varying this parameter between 20 s and 120 s, a TM/TE ratio as high as 0.86 has been achieved. A further fine tuning of GaAs spacer thickness and QD layer number increased this ratio up to a value of 0.92 in structures containing only 3 QD layers.     

Atomic layer molecular beam epitaxy growth of InAs on GaAs substrates

InAs layers with thickness ranging from 0.1 to 2.5 m have been grown directly on highly mismatched (7.4%) (001) GaAs substrates by atomic layer molecular beam epitaxy (ALMBE). This growth method, based on the modulated deposition of one or both component species, provides InAs layers with excellent flat morphology, independently of the total thickness. A detailed study of the evolution of the electron diffraction (RHEED) pattern indicates that a complete decoupling between the InAs epitaxial layer and the GaAs substrate is reached in less that 10 monolayers. Evidence is obtained that layer-by-layer nucleation takes place from the beginning of the growth.     

Double-crystal X-ray diffractometry in the role of X-ray standing-wave method

It is shown that the atomic displacements (induced by foreign layers) comparable with or smaller than the interatomic distances can be detected in perfect multilayer systems by double-crystal X-ray diffractometry alone. It was earlier thought that the detection of displacements as small as those was accessible only to the specific methods such as the X-ray standing-wave method. The measurements were carried out on a GaAs/InAs/GaAs system, where InAs was a foreign layer. Its thickness did not exceed three monolayers, while the structure was of the insular type and represented a set of separate quantum dots. The displacement of the capping GaAs layer relative to the GaAs buffer was measured with an accuracy of less than 0.1 of the thickness of the atomic layer.     

GaAs(001)表面外延生长Mn薄膜的XPS研究

利用x射线光电子能谱的深度剖面技术,对不同衬底温度下分子束外延生长的Mn薄膜及其与GaAs(001)衬底间的界面进行了元素组分和化学结合状态随深度变化的研究。实验发现衬底温度等于400K时制备的fcc-Mn/GaAs(001)体系中,fcc-Mn层与GaAs衬底之间存在一层较厚的Mn-Ga-As的缓冲层;衬底温度等于300K(室温)时制备的a-Mn/GaAs(001)体系中也存在类似的缓冲层,但它的厚度与fcc-Mn的情形相比要小得多;而当衬底温度等于450K时制备的体系在GaAs衬底之上全部是Mn-Ga