Light emission by semiconductor structure with quantum well and array of quantum dots

A new type of composite active region of a laser, which contains an In_0.2Ga_0.8As quantum well (QW) and an array of InAs quantum dots (QDs) embedded in GaAs is studied. The QW acts as accumulator of injected carriers, and the QD array is the emitting system located in tunneling proximity to the QW. A theory for the calculation of electron and hole energy levels in the QD is developed. Occupation of the QDs due to the resonance tunneling of electrons and holes from the QW to the QD is considered; the conclusions are compared with the results obtained in studying an experimental laser with a combined active region.     

A new I-V model for light-emitting devices with a quantum well

This letter reports a new current versus voltage model for light-emitting devices with a quantum well where electrons and holes are injected and recombine. The current is entirely caused by the recombination of electrons and holes. Historically, the equation used for light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and laser diodes (LDs) has been the renowned Sah-Noyce-Shockley (SNS) diode equation. In this equation at typical forward bias condition, most of the current is caused by the diffusion of carriers over the depletion region. It is clear that this condition is different from what actually happen in LEDs and LDs. We thus looked into the fundamental of carrier transport and developed a new model for devices with a quantum well. Based on the new model, calculated I-V curves agree well with measurement results of GaN/sapphire LEDs with GaInN quantum wells. In calculation, junction temperature T_j rather than case temperature T_c is used to achieve better agreement.     

Theoretical study of auger recombination processes in deep quantum wells

The basic processes and mechanisms of Auger recombination of nonequilibrium carriers in a semiconductor heterostructure with deep InAs_0.84Sb_0.16/AlSb quantum wells (QWs) are analyzed. It is shown that a zero-threshold Auger recombination process involving two heavy holes predominates in sufficiently narrow QWs, and a resonant process involving two electrons is dominant in wide QWs. The range of QW widths at which the Auger recombination is suppressed in a given structure to the greatest extent (suppression region) is determined. In this case, the threshold process involving two electrons remains the basic nonradiative recombination process, with its probability being several orders of magnitude lower than those for the zero-threshold and resonant mechanisms. In turn, the zero-threshold mechanism involving two electrons is totally impossible in the heterostructure under study because of the large conduction-band offset (which markedly exceeds the energy gap). Also, the range of emission wavelengths that corresponds to the suppression region is estimated. It is shown that the interval calculated belongs to the mid-IR range.     

Threshold characteristics of an IR laser based on deep InAsSb/AlSb quantum well

The basic threshold characteristics of a semiconductor IR laser based on a heterostructure with deep InAs_0.84Sb_0.16/AlSb quantum wells (QWs) have been studied. The threshold carrier densities and threshold current densities of radiative and Auger recombination (AR) were found. It is shown that at certain QW parameters the AR rate is strongly (by several orders of magnitude) suppressed. In this case, the emission wavelength falls within the interval 2–3.5 μm, which corresponds to the mid-IR spectral range. The internal quantum efficiency of emission at the lasing threshold was calculated and its dependence on the QW width within the AR suppression range was demonstrated. The laser structure was optimized with respect to the number of QWs.     

Luminescence of stepped quantum wells in GaAs/GaAlAs and InGaAs/GaAs/GaAlAs structures

Luminescence spectra of doped and undoped GaAs/GaAlAs and InGaAs/GaAs/GaAlAs structures containing several tens of stepped quantum wells (QW) are investigated. The emission bands related to free and bound excitons and impurity states are observed in QW spectra. The luminescence excitation spectra indicate that the relaxation of free excitons to the e1hh1 state proceeds via the exciton mechanism, whereas an independent relaxation of electrons and holes is specific to bound excitons and impurity states. The energy levels for electrons and holes in stepped QWs, calculated in terms of Kane’s model, are compared with the data obtained from the luminescence excitation spectra. The analysis of the relative intensities of emission bands related to e1hh1 excitons and exciton states of higher energy shows that, as the optical excitation intensity increases, the e1hh1 transition is more readily saturated at higher temperature, because the lifetime of excitons increases. Under stronger excitation, the emission band of electron-hole plasma arises and increases in intensity superlinearly. At an excitation level of ～10⁵ W/cm², excitons are screened and the plasma emission band dominates in the QW emission. Nonequilibrium luminescence spectra obtained in a picosecond excitation and recording mode show that the e1hh1 and e2hh2 radiative transitions are 100% polarized in the plane of QWs.     

Optimal quantum well width and the effect of quantum well position on the performance of transistor lasers

Transistor laser (TL) model based on InGaP/GaAs/InGaAs/GaAs is analyzed and presented. It is realized that quantum well (QW) with width of 10 nm may be formed for low base threshold current density J th . The emission wavelength is found to be 1.05 μm, and the indium (In) composition is 0.25 for optimal QW width. It is identified that J th decreases with the movement of QW towards the base-emitter (B-E) interface. Small signal optical response is calculated, and the effect of QW position is studied. The bandwidth is enhanced due to the movement of the QW towards the emitter base junction.     

Analysis of threshold current density and optical gain in InGaAsP quantum well lasers

Single-mode and multimode quantum well (QW) laser diodes with emission wavelengths λ=1.0 and 1.58 μm, based on MOCVD-grown separate-confinement heterostructures, have been studied. An analysis of the threshold current density and optical gain is made on the basis of experimental dependences of the threshold current and differential quantum efficiency on the cavity length. The threshold current is decomposed into principal components in terms of model approximations taking into account the Auger recombination, ejection of electrons from QWs into waveguide layers, and lateral current spreading to passive regions of a mesa-stripe laser. __________ Translated from Fizika i Tekhnika Poluprovodnikov, Vol. 36, No. 3, 2002, pp. 364–374. Original Russian Text Copyright ? 2002 by Pikhtin, Sliptchenko, Sokolova, Tarasov.     

Effect of the electric field on the intensity and spectrum of emission from InGaN/GaN quantum wells

Comparative study of the photoluminescence (PL) from quantum wells (QWs) in forward-biased p-GaN/InGaN/n-GaN structures and electroluminescence from these structures has been carried out. It is shown that, upon application of a forward bias, a characteristic red shift of the spectral peak is observed, together with a broadening of the PL line and simultaneous burning-up of the PL. This results from a decrease in the field strength in the space charge region of the p-n junction and suppression of the tunneling leakage of the carrier from band-tail states in the active InGaN layer. An analysis of the results obtained demonstrated that the tunneling strongly affects the quantum efficiency and enabled evaluation of the internal quantum efficiency of the structures. It is shown that nonequilibrium population of band-tail states in InGaN/GaN QWs depends on the injection type and is controlled by the capture of carriers injected into a QW, in the case of optical injection, and by carrier tunneling “below” the QW under electrical injection.     

Vertical transport in type-II heterojunctions with InAs/GaSb/AlSb composite quantum wells in a high magnetic field

Vertical transport in type-II heterojunctions with a two-barrier AlSb/InAs/GaSb/AlSb quantum well (QW) grown by MOVPE on an n-InAs (100) substrate is investigated in quantizing magnetic fields up to B = 14 T at low temperatures T = 1.5 and 4.2 K. The width of the QWs is selected from the formation condition of the inverted band structure. Shubnikov–de Haas oscillations are measured at two orientations of the magnetic field (perpendicular and parallel) relative to the structure plane. It is established that conduction in the structure under study is occurs via both three-dimensional (3D) substrate electrons and two-dimensional 2D QW electrons under quantum limit conditions for bulk electrons (B > 5 T). The electron concentrations in the substrate and InAs QW are determined. The g-factor for 3D carriers is determined by spin splitting of the zero Landau level. It is shown that the conductance maxima in a magnetic field perpendicular to the structure plane and parallel to the current across the structure in fields B > 9 T correspond to the resonant tunneling of 3D electrons from the emitter substrate into the InAs QW through the 2D electron states of the Landau levels.     

Dependence of the photoluminescence energy and carrier lifetime of the carrier density in nitride quantum well

We investigated the high-carrier screening of macroscopic polarization fields in GaN quantum wells (QWs) using a variational wave function for electrons and holes. In particular, we studied of the influence of free-carrier screening on the photoluminescence (PL) energy emission and carrier lifetime in the QW. We show that the energy transition between electrons and holes are explained well by the free-carrier screening effect that compensates for the built-in electric field in the QW.     

Study of dual-blue light-emitting diodes with asymmetric AlGaN graded barriers

A dual-blue light-emitting diode （LED） with asymmetric A1GaN composition-graded barriers but without an AlGaN electron blocking layer （EBL） is analyzed numerically. Its spectral stability and efficiency droop are improved compared with those of the conventional InGaN/GaN quantum well （QW） dual-blue LEDs based on stacking structure of two In0.18Ga0.szN/GaN QWs and two In0.12Ga0.88N/GaN QWs on the same sapphire substrate. The improvement can be attributed to the markedly enhanced injection of holes into the dual-blue active regions and effective reduction of leakage current.     

Well-width dependence of the phase coherent photorefractive effect in ZnSe quantum wells

We report on the well-width dependence of the phase coherent photorefractive (PCP) effect in ZnSe/ZnMgSe single quantum wells (QWs) using 90 fs light pulses. The experiments are performed in a four-wave-mixing configuration at temperatures between 25 and 65 K. The ZnMgSe/ZnSe QWs with 10, 5 and 3 nm well width were grown on GaAs substrate using molecular beam epitaxy. With decreasing QW thickness we observe a reduction of the PCP diffraction efficiency. This is attributed to the higher electron energy in small QWs due to the quantum size effect, which leads to a reduced equilibrium density of captured electrons in the QW. With increasing temperature the PCP signal further decreases which is attributed to thermal activation of the QW electrons back to the GaAs substrate.     

Low-temperature photoluminescence and X-ray diffractometry study of InxGa1−x As quantum wells

The structures grown by molecular-beam epitaxy with In_xGa_1?x As quantum wells (QWs) in GaAs were studied by X-ray diffractometry and low-temperature photoluminescence techniques. The inhomogeneity of the QW composition along the growth direction was established. Energy positions of the exciton recombination lines in the QWs with step-graded In distribution were calculated, and good agreement with the experimental data was obtained.     

MBE growth and photoluminescent properties of InAsSb/AlSbAs quantum wells

Heterostructures with a single InAs_1−x Sb_x/AlSb_1−y As_y quantum well (QW) on (001) GaSb substrates have been grown by MBE and studied using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. High-intensity PL was observed at a temperature of 80 K, with a peak half-width of 30–50 meV and a peak wavelength in the range from 2 to 4.5 μm, depending on the QW width, which varied between 4 and 20 nm, respectively. The fundamental absorption edge of such QWs was calculated for a wide range of alloy compositions, x and y. Good correlation between the experimental and calculated dependences of the band gap on the InAsSb/AlSbAs QW thickness was obtained. __________ Translated from Fizika i Tekhnika Poluprovodnikov, Vol. 36, No. 12, 2002, pp. 1470–1474. Original Russian Text Copyright ? 2002 by Solov’ev, Terent’ev, Toropov, Meltser, Semenov, Sitnikova, Ivanov, Meyer, Kop’ev.     

Efficiency droop in GaN LEDs at high current densities: Tunneling leakage currents and incomplete lateral carrier localization in InGaN/GaN quantum wells

The phenomenon of the emission efficiency droop of InGaN/GaN quantum wells (QWs) in light-emitting diode p-n structures is studied. The influence exerted by two basic processes on the emission efficiency is considered: tunnel injection into a QW and incomplete lateral carrier localization in compositional fluctuations of the band-gap width in InGaN. The sharp efficiency peak at low currents and the rapid efficiency droop with increasing current are due to tunneling leakage currents along extended defects, which appear as a result of a local increase in the electron hopping conductivity via the depletion n region and a corresponding local decrease in the height of the injection p barrier. A less sharp efficiency peak and a weak, nearly linear, decrease in efficiency with increasing current are caused by incomplete lateral carrier localization in the QW due to slowing-down of the carrier energy-relaxation rate and to the nonradiative recombination of mobile carriers.     

Radiative recombination in Zn1-x MnxTe/Zn0.59Mg0.41Te quantum well structures: Exciton emission and intracenter luminescence

The luminescence spectra controlled by excitons and intracenter 3d emission of Mn²⁺ ions are studied for a series of Zn_1-x Mn_xTe/Zn_0.59Mg_0.41 Te quantum well (QW) structures that differ in manganese content and QW width. It is shown that the relative intensities of exciton emission of the QWs and barriers and the dependences of the intensities on the optical excitation level are controlled mainly by the manganese content in the QWs that affect the efficiency of excitons transfer of to the 3d shell of the Mn²⁺ ions. The effects of QW width and manganese content on the decay kinetics of the intracenter luminescence of the Mn²⁺ ions are studied.     

Charge-carrier concentration and temperature in quantum wells of laser heterostructures under spontaneous-and stimulated-emission conditions

The charge-carrier concentration and the temperature of hot electrons and holes in quantum-well laser nanostructures in the regimes of spontaneous and stimulated emission are determined as functions of the current density j, with InGaAs/GaAs structures as an example. Under spontaneous-emission conditions, the carrier concentration in the active region of a laser structure grows as the current increases, while carrier heating is insignificant. The spontaneous-emission spectra calculated taking into account forbidden optical transitions agree well with the experimental ones. Under stimulated-emission conditions, the behavior is quite different. When the pump current density is comparatively low (several times above the threshold), the concentration of injected charge carriers levels off and does not grow as the current increases, while the carrier temperature rises considerably. When the current density exceeds the threshold value by orders of magnitude, stabilization of the charge-carrier concentration does not take place; the carrier concentration exhibits a severalfold increase and the carrier temperature rises to about 450 K at j = 80 kA/cm². The number of the charge carriers escaping from the quantum wells into the barriers, which determines the laser efficiency, also increases under these conditions because of the carrier heating. This undesirable effect can be weakened by increasing the depth of the quantum wells.     

Polarization-resolved photoluminescence piezospectroscopy of GaAs/Al0.35Ga0.65As:Be quantum wells

The photoluminescence (PL) of GaAs/Al_0.35Ga_0.65As:Be quantum wells is studied at temperatures of 77 and 300 K under conditions of uniaxial compression along the [110] direction. There are two main lines in the PL spectra; at zero pressure and T = 77 K, the peaks appear at 1.517 and 1.532 eV. Comparison of the pressure dependences of the peak positions and the polarization of the PL measured experimentally with those calculated theoretically gives evidence that, at T ≥ 77 K, these bands originate from the recombination of free electrons with heavy and light holes in the GaAs valence band.     

Electron mobility and electron scattering by polar optical phonons in heterostructure quantum wells

Basic features of confined electron scattering in quantum wells (QWs) by confined polar optical (PO) phonons are analyzed. The dependence of electron mobility in Al_0.25Ga_0.75As/GaAs/Al_0.25Ga_0.75As QWs on the well width is calculated. It is demonstrated that increases and decreases in electron mobility (relative to the bulk value) as a function of the QW width occur due to resonance intersubband scattering. The dependence of electron mobility limited by PO phonon scattering on the electron density n _s in the QW is calculated. It is shown that anomalous behavior of electrical conductivity, which in certain cases decreases with increasing electron density, can take place in Al_0.25Ga_0.75As/GaAs/Al_0.25Ga_0.75As QWs for n _s >10¹⁶ m^?2.     

Tuning the energy spectrum of InAs/GaAs quantum dots by varying the thickness and composition of the thin double GaAs/InGaAs cladding layer

It is shown that the ground state transition energy in quantum dots in heterostructures grown by atmospheric-pressure MOCVD can be tuned in the range covering both transparence windows of the optical fiber at wavelengths of 1.3 and 1.55 μm by varying the thickness and composition of the thin GaAs/In_xGa_1−x As double cladding layer. These structures also exhibit a red shift of the ground state transition energy of the In_xGa_1−x As quantum well (QW) as a result of the formation of a hybrid QW In_xGa_1−x As/InAs (wetting layer) between the quantum dots (QDs). The Schottky diodes based on these structures are characterized by an increased reverse current, which is attributed to thermally activated tunneling of electrons from the metal contact to QD levels. __________ Translated from Fizika i Tekhnika Poluprovodnikov, Vol. 38, No. 4, 2004, pp. 448–454. Original Russian Text Copyright ? 2004 by Karpovich, Zvonkov, Levichev, Baidus, Tikhov, Filatov, Gorshkov, Ermakov.