Effect of irradiation on the optical,electrophysical, and surface properties of GaAlAs heterostructures

The effect of irradiation with 3.5-MeV electrons on the properties of GaAlAs-based light-emitting structures is investigated. It is shown that the considerable reduction in the intensity of light emitted as a result of electron irradiation is not accompanied by changes in the recombination and electrical properties of the structures mentioned. Electron microscope and Auger spectral measurements have established that electron irradiation leads to the appearance on the external surface of the n layer of the structure regions of free aluminum accumulation, the number and size of which depend on the electron dose. The assumption is advanced that the regions mentioned may play the role of a gray filter for the light emitted by the structure.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 7, pp. 97–100, July, 1984.