Defect detection in semiconductor layers with built-in electric field with the use of cathodoluminescence

Cathodoluminescence (CL) in scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is commonly accepted as revealing local properties of a specimen region illuminated by an electron beam. CL is widely used to visualize defects in semiconductor structures. However, the presence of a strong electric field in, for example, heterojunctions or p–n junctions causes a separation of generated electron–hole (e–h) pairs and suppresses recombination in the specimen region excited by the beam. As a result CL – a radiative recombination – becomes quenched. At the same time, electron beam-induced current (EBIC) flows throughout the structure, which may produce secondary electroluminescence that is registered by the CL detector. Consequently, the CL measurement is distorted and if there are defects in the structure, they remain unrevealed. The current study shows that registration of the CL signal for different values of electron beam current (including high ones) enables true defect detection in semiconductor layers with built-in electric field. Results for a special test structure prepared with focused ion beam on AlGaAs/GaAs laser heterostructures with an 8 nm InGaAs quantum well are presented.