Characterization of AlxInyGa1−x−yN quaternary alloys grown on sapphire substrates by molecular-beam epitaxy

High-resolution X-ray diffraction (HR-XRD) with rocking curve, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy have been performed on high-quality quaternary Al_xIn_yGa_1−x−yN thin films at room temperature. The Al_xIn_yGa_1−x−yN films were grown on c-plane (0 0 0 1) sapphire substrates with AlN as buffer layers using a molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) technique with aluminum (Al) mole fractions x ranging from 0.0 to 0.2 and constant indium (In) mole fraction y=0.1. HR-XRD measurements confirmed the high crystalline quality of these alloys without any phase separation. The X-ray rocking curve of Al_xIn_yGa_1−x−yN films typically shows full widths at half maximum (FWHM) intensity between 14.4 and 28.8 arcmin. AFM measurements revealed a two-dimensional (2D) growth mode with a smooth surface morphology of quaternary epilayers. PL spectra exhibited both an enhancement of the integrated intensity and an increasing blueshift with increased Al content with reference to the ternary sample In_0.1Ga_0.90N. Both effects arise from Al-enhanced exciton localization. PL was used to determine the behavior of the energy band gap of the quaternary films, which was found to increase with increasing Al composition from 0.05 to 0.2. This trend is expected since the incorporation of Al increases the energy band gap of ternary In_0.1Ga_0.90N (3.004 eV). We have also investigated the bowing parameter for the variation of energy band gaps and found it to be very sensitive on the Al composition. A value of b=10.4 has been obtained for our quaternary Al_xIn_yGa_1−x−yN alloys.     

Study of the long-wavelength optic phonons in AlGaInP and AlGaInAs

The investigation of the lattice dynamics of (Al_xGa_1−x)_yIn_1−yP quaternary semiconductor alloys lattice matched to GaAs has been made by Raman scattering. The Raman spectra exhibit three-mode behavior depending on the composition. A modified random element isodisplacement (MREI) model is generalized to the III-V (A_xB_1−x)_1−yC_yD-type quaternary alloys, describing the behavior of the optical phonons. The calculated result of two quaternary mixed crystals, (Al_xGa_1−x)_yIn_1−yP and (Al_xGa_1−x)_yIn_1−yAs, is in good agreement to the experimental data.     

Spinodal decomposition and clustering in III/V alloys

The criteria for clustering and spinodal decomposition in III/V pseudobinary and quaternary solid alloys are examined. A chemical driving force for clustering and phase separation exists in some ternary and most quaternary alloys. However, single crystalline alloys are shown to be stabilized by the coherency strain energy inherent in any clustering or spinodal decomposition in alloys where lattice parameter is a function of composition. Analytical expressions are derived for T_s, the temperature above which no clustering or phase separation should occur. Most III/V pseudobinary and quaternary alloys are stable at all temperatures. Numerical techniques are used to calculate spinodal isotherms. Results are presented for the systems Ga_xIn_1−x As P_1−y, A1_xGa_1−xAs_ySb_1−y, and Ga_xIn_1−x As P_1−y. This work was supported by the Department of Energy, contract No. DE-AT 03-81 ER 10934.     

Structural and spectral features of MOCVD Al x Ga y In1 ? x ? y As z P1 ? z /GaAs (100) alloys

The study is concerned with MOCVD epitaxial heterostructures grown on the basis of Al _x Ga _y In_{1 ? x ? y} As _z P_{1 ? z} quinary alloys in the region of alloy compositions isoperiodic to GaAs. By the X-ray diffraction technique and atomic force microscopy, it is shown that, on the surface of the heterostructures, there are nanometric objects capable of lining up along a certain direction. From calculations of the crystal lattice parameters with consideration for internal strains, it can be inferred that the new compound is a phase based on the Al _x Ga _y In_{1 ? x ? y} As _z P_{1 ? z} alloy.     

Effects of high doping on the bandgap bowing for AlxGa1−xN

This paper gives the composition dependence of the bandgap energy for highly doped n-type Al_xGa_1−xN. We report results of the bowing parameter obtained using a random simulation. Three groups of Al_xGa_1−xN semiconductors were considered and which are distinguishable by their non degenerate or degenerate character in the doping density (10¹⁷?N_D?10²⁰ cm⁻³). A striking feature is the large discrepancy of the bandgap bowing (−2.02?b?2.94 eV), as was demonstrated from our calculations. This suggests that high doping may be a possible cause able to induce the large range of bowing parameters reported for Al_xGa_1−xN alloys.     

Properties of epitaxial (Al x Ga1 − x As)1 − y C y alloys grown by MOCVD autoepitaxy

The growth of epitaxial Al _x Ga_{1 ? x} As:C alloys by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) at low temperatures results in the formation of quaternary (Al _x Ga_{1 ? x} As)_{1 ? y} C _y alloys, in which carbon atoms can be concentrated at lattice defects in the epitaxial alloy with the formation of impurity nanoclusters.     

Optoelectronic properties of cubic BxInyGa1−x−yN alloys matched to GaN for designing quantum well Lasers: First-principles study within mBJ exchange potential

A Full-Potential Linearized Augmented Plane Wave calculation within density functional theory is performed to investigate the electronic and optical properties of cubic B_xIn_yGa_1−x−yN alloys matched to GaN with low-Boron content (x≤0.187). The exchange-correlation potential is treated by the local density approximation (LDA) to calculate the structural properties. The band structure and density of states of these compounds are well predicted by modified Becke–Johnson (mBJ) exchange potential compared to LDA and generalized gradient approximation (GGA). Also, the optical properties are calculated by the mBJ exchange potential. The computed structural parameters are found to be in good agreement with experimental and theoretical data. The B_xIn_yGa_1−x−yN alloy is expected to be lattice matched to GaN substrate for (x=0.125, y=0.187). The incorporation of B and In into GaN substrate allows the reduction of the band gap energy. The real and imaginary parts of the dielectric function, refractive index, reflectivity and absorption coefficient are discussed on the basis on the energy band structure and the calculated density of states. The optical properties of B_xIn_yGa_1−x−yN depend on the incorporated Boron content (with y=0.187). This means that B_xIn_yGa_1−x−yN could constitute an active layer in single quantum well for the design of high-efficiency solar cells and optoelectronic devices as Laser Diodes operating in the UV spectral region.     

Crystal structure and band gap of AlGaAsN

Quantum dielectric theory is applied to the quaternary alloy Al_xGa_1−xAs_1−yN_y to predict its electronic properties as a function of Al and N mole fractions. Results are presented for the expected crystal structure, minimum electron energy band gap, and direction in k-space of the band gap minimum for all x and y values. The results suggest that, for a proper choice of x and y, Al_xGa_1−xAs_1−yN_y could exhibit certain advantages over Al_xGa_1−xAs when utilized in field-effect transistor structures.     

Thermodynamic stability and redistribution of charges in ternary AlGaN,InGaN, and InAlN alloys

A model of the delta lattice parameter is used to study the thermodynamics of AlGaN, InGaN, and InAlN alloys. The phase diagrams obtained indicate that AlxGa_1?xN is stable in the entire range of x, whereas the miscibility gap corresponds to 0.2 < x < 0.69 for InxGa_1?xN and to 0.16 < x < 0.7 for In_xAl_1?xN at 1000 K. Biaxial stresses lower the critical temperature and narrow the miscibility gap. The charge-density distribution is analyzed using the pseudopotential method to obtain an approximation of 32-atom supercells. The results of the analysis show that the stability of these alloys is controlled by the competition between the destabilizing contribution of strains related to the mismatch between the lattice constants and a stabilizing charge exchange between various chemical bonds. Biaxial stress reduces the charge redistribution caused by strains and thus increases the stability of an alloy.     

Engineering phase formation thermo-chemistry for crystal growth of homogeneous ternary and quaternary III–V compound semiconductors from melts

Based on intrinsic alloy phase formation chemistry and thermodynamics, a novel and unique way of producing compositionally homogeneous multi-component (binary, ternary, quaternary) semiconductor materials is presented. A free energy minimization computer program licensed from AEA Technology Engineering Software, Inc., has been employed to study the composition of the solidifying phases from Ga-In-As-Sb melts at different temperatures and with various liquid compositions. The solid phases have been identified (theoretically and experimentally) to be either ternary compounds of Ga_1−xIn_xAs_ySb_1−y depending on the melt temperature and composition. By engineering the thermochemistry of preferential phase formation in the Ga-In-As-Sb melt, compositionally uniform, single phase, crack free, large polycrystalline Ga_1−xIn_xSb and Ga_1−xIn_xAs have been grown.     

Incorporation of group V elements in Gaxin1−xAsyP1−y grown by gas source molecular beam epitaxy

A simple growth model has been successfully developed for the determination of the As to P incorporation ratio, i.e., mole fraction y, in growing Ga_xIn_1−xAs_yP_1−y quaternary alloys by gas source molecular beam epitaxy. The model covers the whole composition range with only two fitting parameters, k_In and k_Ga, whose physical meanings are the product of As to P desorption time constant ratio and incorporation rate constant ratio for InAs_yP_1−y and GaAs_yP_1−y, respectively. The best fitting values of k_In and k_Ga from our experimental results are 28 and 3, respectively, at a growth temperature of 480°C. The temperature dependency of the parameters were also studied. The activation energies of k_In and k_Ga are +30 and −330 meV, respectively. The significant differences between the parameters may be due to the different bond energies of binary alloys.     

Electrical behavior of modulation-and delta-doped Al x Ga1 − x As/In y Ga1 − y As/GaAs PHEMT structures

Modulation-and delta-doped Al_xGa_{1 ? x} As/In_yGa_{1 ? y} As/GaAs PHEMT structures are grown by MBE. The effect is examined of changes in the technique and level of doping on the electrical behavior of the structures. Photoluminescence spectroscopy combined with Hall-effect measurements is shown to be an effective strategy for the purpose. The experimental results are interpreted on the basis of calculated conductionband diagrams.     

Interaction of electrons with optical phonons localized in a quantum well

The scattering rate of electrons in a quantum well by localized polar optical and interface phonons is considered. The dependence of the force of the electron-phonon interaction on the frequency of optical phonons in materials of the heterostructure forming the electron and phonon quantum wells is determined. It is shown that, by varying the composition of semiconductors forming the quantum well and its barriers, it is possible to vary the scattering rates of electrons by a factor of several times. The scattering rates of electrons by polar optical phonons are calculated depending on the fractions In _x and In _y in the composition of semiconductors forming the In _x Al_{1 ? x} As/In _y Ga_{1 ? y} As quantum wells. Dependences of the mobility and saturated drift velocity of electrons in high electric fields and quantum wells In _y Ga_{1 ? y} As on the composition of the In _x Al_{1 ? x} As barriers introduced into quantum wells are determined experimentally. The electron mobility increases, while the saturated drift velocity decreases as the fraction of In _x in the composition of barriers is increased.     

First-principles calculations of the structural,electronic and optical properties of In1−xBxAsyP1−y quaternary alloys lattice matched to InP and BeS

The structural, electronic, and optical properties of the cubic In_1−xB_xAs_yP_1−y quaternary alloys lattice matched to InP and BeS have been investigated by using the full-potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method within the density functional theory (DFT). The generalized gradient approximation (GGA) of Wu and Cohen was used as the exchange correlation potential to calculate the structural and electronic properties. In addition, the alternative GGA proposed by Engel and Vosko and the modified Becke–Johnson potential are utilized to calculate the electronic properties. The computed structural and electronic properties of the binary compounds are in good agreement with the available experimental and theoretical data. For the alloys, non-linear variations of composition x and y with the lattice constant, bulk modulus, direct, indirect band gap, dielectric constant and refractive index are found. All the compounds are direct band gap excluding BP and BAs. The energy band gap of In_1−xB_xAs_yP_1−y quaternary alloys lattice matched to InP and BeS substrates is computed. Finally, the band gap of our materials is less than 3.1 eV. Thus the In_1−xB_xAs_yP_1−y quaternary alloys may possibly be used in visible light devices.     

InxGa1−xN refractive index calculations

The growth of In_xGa_1−xN Wurtzite structure is a well established fact. It permits to design optoelectronic devices such as laser diodes or LEDs, from the near ultraviolet to the infrared light spectrum. This sweeps indeed, the whole of the visible spectrum and, hence, appears to be very useful to the recent development of liquid crystal display screens, or designing photodiodes and perhaps solar cells (after studying their energetical efficiencies). Nevertheless, refractive indices of In_xGa_1−xN structure have not been studied.The refractive index of such structures is increasing from the GaN refractive index to the InN one, with therefore, a bowing of the curve due to the lattice mismatch between these two constituting binary alloys.The index is, in a certain range of the “n(x)” characteristic, less than the GaN one. This seems to be particularly interesting in the integrated optics domain or optical waveguides realization, because the growth of GaN is easier than the growth of In_xGa_1−xN.     

First principles study of structural,electronic and optical properties of indium gallium nitride arsenide lattice matched to gallium arsenide

First principles calculations in the framework of the full-potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) scheme have been carried out. The dilute-nitride zinc blende (In_xGa_1−xN_yAs_1−y) was modeled at selected nitrogen compositions of y=3.125%, 6.25% and 9.375% lattice matched to gallium arsenide (GaAs). We pay attention to the In_xGa_1−xN_yAs_1−y alloy which can be perfectly lattice matched to the GaAs over its entire compositional range. In our study, this is achieved when a condition y~2.7x is maintained. The band structure calculations were performed with and without relaxation by using the generalized gradient approximation of Engel and Vosko (EV-GGA) as well as by the modified Becke–Johnson potential exchange (TB-mBJ). The action of the localized potential of subsisted nitrogen atoms was attributed to effect of relaxation. Increasing both indium and nitrogen compositions leads to decreasing energy band gap. In addition a band anti-crossing model (BAC) was also adopted to study the composition dependence of the direct band gap of quaternary alloys, building a bridge between their electronic and linear optical properties.     

Differential optical gain in a GaInN/AlGaN quantum dot

Electronic and optical properties are obtained with the increase in indium alloy content (x) in a Ga_1-xIn_xN/Al_0.2Ga_0.8N quantum dot. The barrier height with the different In alloy contents is applied to acquire the confinement potentials. The results are obtained taking into consideration geometrical confinement effect. The optical absorption coefficient with the photon energy is observed in a Ga_1-xIn_xN/Al_0.2Ga_0.8N quantum dot. The optical output with the injection current density and the threshold optical pump intensity for various In alloy contents are studied. The differential gain as functions of indium alloy content, charge density and the dot radii in the Ga_1-xIn_xN/Al_0.2Ga_0.8N quantum dot are investigated. The exciton binding energy is calculated in order to obtain the exciton density, the optical gain and the threshold current density in the Ga_1-xIn_xN/Al_0.2In_0.8N quantum dot. The results show that the red shift energy with an increase in In alloy content is found and the differential gain increases with the charge carrier density.     

Composition dependence of the band offsets in wurtzite nitride-based heterojunctions

We theoretically calculate the composition dependence of the valence- and conduction- band discontinuities at the interfaces between selected III-nitride ternary materials with wurtzite structure, e.g. Al_xGa_1−xN/Al_xGa_1−xN, In_xGa_1−xN/In_xGa_1−xN and In_xA_1−xN/In_xA_1−xN. Calculations are performed using a theoretical model, initially proposed by Chuang et al. 1997 [1]. Depending on a particular set of input parameters, simulation results show that band offsets change more or less with strain. The valence band offsets, together with the resulting conduction band offsets, indicate that a type-I, type-II band line-up forms at In_xGa_1−xN/GaN, Al_xGa_1−xN/GaN heterojunctions with varying In, Al contents respectively. Also, based upon the same model, we propose a type I Indium-dependent band alignment in In_xAl_1−xN/AlN interfaces. The failure of the transitivity rule, which is often used to determine the band offsets in heterojunctions, was demonstrated and its cause was explained. The obtained results are well compared with experiment and theory in various reliable test cases and therefore provide a basis for optimization and design of novel interface structures.     

Structure and optical properties of heterostructures based on MOCVD (Al x Ga1 − x As1 − y P y )1 − z Si z alloys

Epitaxial heterostructures produced by MOCVD on the basis of Al _x Ga_{1 ? x} As ternary alloys with the composition parameter x ≈ 0.20–0.50 and doped to a high Si and P atomic content are studied. Using the high-resolution X-ray diffraction technique, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray microanalysis, Raman spectroscopy, and photoluminescence spectroscopy, it is shown that the epitaxial films grown by MOCVD are formed of five-component (Al _x Ga_{1 ? x} As_{1 ? y} P _y )_{1 ? z} Si _z alloys.     

Investigation of graded InxGa1−xP buffer by Raman scattering method

The compositional changes of In_xGa_1−xP graded buffer inserted between GaP substrate and subsequently grown In_0.36Ga_0.64P homojunction LED structure were investigated by Raman spectroscopy. The indium content of In_xGa_1−xP interlayers was increased in eight steps with thickness of 300 nm and constant compositional change Δx_In between the steps. The properties of In_xGa_1−xP graded buffer along the structure cross-section have been studied by Raman back scattering method and the changes in GaP LO and TO phonons were investigated. Raman shift of 13 cm⁻¹ in GaP-like LO₁ phonon was measured on beveled [100]surface for compositional change of In_xGa_1−xP layer in the range of 0<x_In<0.32. The measurements on the cleaved edge of the sample in [011] direction revealed a strong TO phonon at 366 cm⁻¹ and weak LO phonon peak at 405 cm⁻¹ in GaP substrate. By reaching the graded In_xGa_1−xP region the intensity of TO phonon decreases and appearance of considerable TO₁ phonon shift up to 350 cm⁻¹ for In content x_In=0.16 was observed. For upper graded layers with x_In from 0.16 to 0.24 the position of GaP-like TO₁ was constant and can be ascribed to relaxation of lattice mismatched thin In_xGa_1−xP graded upper layers in the structure.