Study of GaAsBi MOVPE growth on (1 0 0) GaAs substrate under high Bi flow rate by high resolution X-ray diffraction

GaAsBi alloy was grown on (1 0 0) GaAs substrate by metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy. GaAsBi film was elaborated with V/III ratio of 9.5, trimethyl bismuth molar flow rate of about 3 μmol/min and a growth temperature of 420 °C. The surface morphology of GaAsBi alloy was investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Results show surface Bi droplets formation. High-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) curves present more diffraction peaks other than that of GaAs substrate. Detailed HRXRD characterization shows that diffraction peaks splitting do not represent a crystallographic tilting with respect to GaAs substrate. Diffraction patterns also show a remarkable stability of the alloy against thermal annealing.     

Bismuth alloying in GaAs: a first-principles study

We present a theoretical study mainly devoted to the investigation of the bowing parameter in the GaAs_1–xBi_x alloy. Results reveal that the fundamental band gap for GaAs is close to 0.08 eV and it corresponds to −2.01 eV for GaBi. The addition of Bi to GaAs serves to make the lattice constant of the crystal larger than GaAs and distorts the valence band. This causes an intrinsic asymmetry between the carrier mobility. The band gap of GaAsBi alloy decreases with increasing Bi content. Moreover, the non-linear variation of the lattice parameter is clearly visible with upward bowing parameter, equal to −0.378 ± 0.16 Å. Compared with preceding works on the matter, the band gap versus composition is well fitted with a downward bowing parameter of 1.74 ± 0.51 eV. This shows that the direct band gap of this alloy covers a spectral region ranging from near infrared to infrared.     

Low-temperature photoluminescence study of exciton recombination in bulk GaAsBi

The exciton recombination processes in a series of elastically strained GaAsBi epilayers are investigated by means of time-integrated and time-resolved photoluminescence at T = 10 K. The bismuth content in the samples was adjusted from 1.16% to 3.83%, as confirmed by high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HR-XRD). The results are well interpreted by carrier trapping and recombination mechanisms involving the Bi-related localized levels. Clear distinction between the localized and delocalized regime was observed in the spectral and temporal photoluminescence emission.     

光斑尺寸对GaAS1-xBix光致发光谱线型的影响

针对低激发功率密度光致发光(photoluminescence,PL)谱信噪比(signal-to-noise ratio,SNR)对GaAs_(1-x)Bi_x带尾能级探究的限制问题,基于傅里叶变换红外PL光谱实验系统对两个GaAs_(1-x)Bi_x外延膜开展变激发光斑尺寸PL光谱测试分析.结果表明,激发功率恒定时光斑直径增大导致PL峰位红移和线宽先降低后增大.这一现象是由于等效激发功率密度的降低而导致的.在保持激发功率密度为5. 1 W/mm2时,光斑增大不影响光谱线型但显著提升SNR.由此,低激发功率密度PL光谱的弱信号探测能力得以提高,有助光谱定量拟合分析.本工作表明,适当增大激发光斑尺寸有助于低激发功率密度PL光谱的SNR和弱信号分辨能力的提升.     

Bismuth-induced effects on optical,lattice vibrational,and structural properties of bulk GaAsBi alloys

Bulk GaAs_{1 - x}Bi_x/GaAs alloys with various bismuth compositions are studied using power- and temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL), Raman scattering, and atomic force microscopy (AFM). PL measurements exhibit that the bandgap of the alloy decreases with increasing bismuth composition. Moreover, PL peak energy and PL characteristic are found to be excitation intensity dependent. The PL signal is detectable below 150 K at low excitation intensities, but quenches at higher temperatures. As excitation intensity is increased, PL can be observable at room temperature and PL peak energy blueshifts. The quenching temperature of the PL signal tends to shift to higher temperatures with increasing bismuth composition, giving rise to an increase in Bi-related localization energy of disorders. The composition dependence of the PL is also found to be power dependent, changing from about 63 to 87 meV/Bi% as excitation intensity is increased. In addition, S-shaped temperature dependence at low excitation intensities is observed, a well-known signature of localized levels above valence band. Applying Varshni’s law to the temperature dependence of the PL peak energy, the concentration dependence of Debye temperature (β) and thermal expansion coefficient (α) are determined. AFM observations show that bismuth islands are randomly distributed on the surface and the diameter of the islands tends to increase with increasing bismuth composition. Raman scattering spectra show that incorporation of Bi into GaAs causes a new feature at around 185 cm^-1 with slightly increasing Raman intensity as the Bi concentration increases. A broad feature located between 210 and 250 cm^-1 is also observed and its intensity increases with increasing Bi content. Furthermore, the forbidden transverse optical (TO) mode becomes more pronounced for the samples with higher bismuth composition, which can be attributed to the effect of Bi-induced disorders on crystal symmetry.

PACS

78.55Cr 78.55-m 78.20-e 78.30-j     

Bismuth incorporation and the role of ordering in GaAsBi/GaAs structures

The structure and composition of single GaAsBi/GaAs epilayers grown by molecular beam epitaxy were investigated by optical and transmission electron microscopy techniques. Firstly, the GaAsBi layers exhibit two distinct regions and a varying Bi composition profile in the growth direction. In the lower (25 nm) region, the Bi content decays exponentially from an initial maximum value, while the upper region comprises an almost constant Bi content until the end of the layer. Secondly, despite the relatively low Bi content, CuPt_B-type ordering was observed both in electron diffraction patterns and in fast Fourier transform reconstructions from high-resolution transmission electron microscopy images. The estimation of the long-range ordering parameter and the development of ordering maps by using geometrical phase algorithms indicate a direct connection between the solubility of Bi and the amount of ordering. The occurrence of both phase separation and atomic ordering has a significant effect on the optical properties of these layers.

PACS

78.55.Cr III-V semiconductors; 68.55.Nq composition and phase identification; 68.55.Ln defects and impurities: doping, implantation, distribution, concentration, etc; 64.75.St phase separation and segregation in     

探究GSMBE制备GaAsBi薄膜中生长条件对Bi浓度的影响

为了探究GaAsBi薄膜生长中生长条件与Bi浓度的关系,我们利用气态源分子束外延(GSMBE)技术,通过改变每个GaAsBi单层的生长温度、AsH_3压和Bi源温度,在半绝缘GaAs(100)衬底上生长GaAsBi的多层结构。通过二次离子质谱(SIMS)及透射电镜X光谱(EDX)测试得出:GaAsBi中Bi的浓度随着生长温度的升高而降低,且生长速率越慢表面偏析和再蒸发严重,可导致Bi浓度下降趋势更明显;Bi浓度随着AsH_3压的升高而减小,在As_2和Ga束流比在0.5~0.8之间几乎成线性变化,远不如固态源MBE敏感;此外,Bi源温度升高,Bi掺入的浓度也会增大,但是当生长温度大于420℃时,Bi就很难凝入。