High-power broad-area InGaNAs/GaAs quantum-well lasers in the 1200 nm range

High-power broad-area InGaNAs/GaAs quantum-well (QW) edge-emitting lasers on GaAs substrates in the 1200 nm range are reported. The epitaxial layers of the InGaNAs/GaAs QW laser wafers were grown on n⁺-GaAs substrates by using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The thickness of the InGaNAs/GaAs QW layers is 70 Å/1200 Å. The indium content (x) of the In_xGa_1−xN_yAs_1−y QW layers is estimated to be 0.35-0.36, while the nitrogen content (y) is estimated to be 0.006-0.009. More indium content (In) and nitrogen content (N) in the InGaNAs QW layer enables the laser emission up to 1300 nm range. The epitaxial layer quality, however, is limited by the strain in the grown layer. The devices were made with different ridge widths from 5 to 50 μm. A very low threshold current density (J_th) of 80 A/cm² has been obtained for the 50 μm × 500 μm LD. A number of InGaNAs/GaAs epi-wafers were made into broad-area LDs. A maximum output power of 95 mW was measured for the broad-area InGaNAs/GaAs QW LDs. The variations in the output powers of the broad-area LDs are mainly due to strain-induced defects the InGaNAs QW layers.     

LP-MOCVD growth of ternary BxGa1−xAs epilayers on (0 0 1)GaAs substrates using TEB, TMGa and AsH3

Zinc-blende B_xGa_1−xAs alloys have been successfully grown on exactly oriented (0 0 1)GaAs substrates using triethylboron, trimethylgallium and arsine sources. The growth has been accomplished in a vertical low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (LP-MOCVD) reactor. Boron incorporation behaviors have been extensively studied as a function of growth temperature and gas-phase boron mole fraction. The evolution of surface morphology was also observed.The maximum boron composition of 5.8% is obtained at the optimum growth temperature of 580 °C. RMS roughness over the surface area of 1×1 μm² is only 0.17 nm at such growth conditions. Based on the experimental results, it has been clearly shown that boron incorporation will decrease significantly at higher temperature (>610 °C) or at much lower temperature (?550 °C).     

GaAs substrate orientation dependence of resonant quasi-level lifetime in 2D-2D InGaAs/GaAs resonant tunneling devices

Resonant quasi-level lifetime of the lowest quasi-bound state localized within the quantum well region of a InGaAs/GaAs double barrier resonant tunneling structure have been analytically calculated for three different GaAs substrate orientations such as (0 0 1), (3 1 1)A and (1 1 1)A. The calculation is based on the solution of the time-independent Schrödinger equation and takes into account the effective mass changes between the well and barrier materials. A significant dependence of the ground state energy and its associated lifetime on the effective masses of the well and barrier layers, indium concentration in the well In_xGa_1−xAs material, which is associated to the barrier height, and GaAs substrate orientation has been observed. We believe that the structure grown on GaAs (1 1 1)A substrate is more useful for developing new resonant tunneling two-dimensional (2D) devices. Finally, the coupling effect between transverse and longitudinal wave vector has also been investigated. With increasing the transverse wave vector the lowest energy and its associated lifetime decrease and this for the different GaAs substrate orientations.     

Chemical beam epitaxy and laser-modified chemical beam epitaxy of InGaAs using tris-dimethylaminoarsenic

The growth of In_xGaj_1−xAs (x = 0.13–0.25) on GaAs by chemical beam epitaxy (CBE) and laser-modified CBE using trimethylindium (TMIn), triethylgallium (TEGa), and tris-dimethylaminoarsenic (TDMAAs) has been studied. Reflection high-energy electron diffraction measurements were used to investigate the growth behavior of InGaAs at different conditions. X-ray rocking curve and lowtemperature photoluminescence (PL) measurements were used to characterize the InGaAs/GaAs pseudomorphic strained quantum well structures. Good InGaAs/GaAs interface and optical property were obtained by optimizing the growth condition. As determined by the x-ray simulation, laser irradiation during the InGaAs quantum well growth was found to enhance the InGaAs growth rate and reduce the indium composition in the substrate temperature range studied, 440–500°C, where good interfaces can be achieved. These changes, which are believed to be caused by laser-enhanced decomposition of TEGa and laser-enhanced desorption of TDMAAs, were found to depend on the laser power density as well. With laser irradiation, lateral variation of PL exciton peaks was observed, and the PL peaks became narrower.     

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.     

Photomodulated transmittance of GaBiAs layers grown on (0 0 1) and (3 1 1)B GaAs substrates

In this work, photomodulated transmittance (PT) has been applied to investigate the energy gap of GaBiAs layers grown on (0 0 1) and (3 1 1)B GaAs substrates. In PT spectra, a clear resonance has been observed below the GaAs edge. This resonance has been attributed to the energy gap-related absorption in GaBiAs. The energy and broadening of PT resonances have been determined using a standard approach in electromodulation spectroscopy. It has been found that the crystallographic orientation of GaAs substrate influences on the incorporation of Bi atoms into GaAs and quality of GaBiAs layers. The Bi-related energy gap reduction has been determined to be ∼90 meV per percent of Bi. In addition to PT spectra, common transmittance spectra have been measured and the energy gap of GaBiAs has been determined from the square of the absorption coefficient α² around the band-gap edge. It has been found that the tail of density of states is significant for GaBiAs and influences the accuracy of energy gap determination from the α² plot. In the case of PT spectra, the energy gap is determined unambiguously since this technique is directly sensitive to singularities in the density of states.     

Epitaxial growth of Dy2O3 thin films on epitaxial Dy-germanide films on Ge(0 0 1) substrates

Ultra-thin films of Dy are grown on Ge(0 0 1) substrates by molecular beam deposition near room temperature and immediately annealed for solid phase epitaxy at higher temperatures, leading to the formation of DyGe_x films. Thin films of Dy₂O₃ are grown on the DyGe_x film on Ge(0 0 1) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. Streaky reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) patterns reveal that epitaxial DyGe_x films grow on Ge(0 0 1) substrates with flat surfaces. X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectrum suggests the growth of an orthorhombic phase of DyGe_x films with (0 0 1) orientations. After the growth of Dy₂O₃ films, there is a change in RHEED patterns to spotty features, revealing the growth of 3D crystalline islands. XRD spectrum shows the presence of a cubic phase with (1 0 0) and (1 1 1) orientations. Atomic force microscopy image shows that the surface morphology of Dy₂O₃ films is smooth with a root mean square roughness of 10 Å.     

Band offsets at the (1 0 0)GaSb/Al2O3 interface from internal electron photoemission study

From electron internal photoemission and photoconductivity measurements at the (1 0 0)GaSb/Al₂O₃ interface, the top of the GaSb valence band is found to be 3.05 ± 0.10 eV below the bottom of the Al₂O₃ conduction band. This interface band alignment corresponds to conduction and valence band offsets of 2.3 ± 0.10 eV and 3.05 ± 0.15 eV, respectively, indicating that the valence band in GaSb lies energetically well above the valence band of In_xGa_1−xAs (0 ? x ? 0.53) or InP.     

Yttrium silicide formation and its contact properties on Si(1 0 0)

Yttrium silicide formation and its contact properties on Si(1 0 0) have been studied in this paper. By evaporating a yttrium metal layer onto Si(1 0 0) wafer in conventional vacuum condition and rapid thermal annealing, we found that YSi_2-x begins to form at 350 °C, and is stable to 950 °C. Atomic force microscopy characterization shows the pinholes formation in the formed YSi_2-x film. By current-voltage measurement, the Schottky barrier height (SBH) of YSi_2-x diode on p-type Si(1 0 0) was shown to be between 0.63 and 0.69 eV for annealing temperature from 500 to 900 °C. By low temperature current-voltage measurement, the SBH of YSi_2-x diode on n-type Si(1 0 0) was directly measured and shown to be 0.46, 0.37, 0.32 eV for annealing temperature of 500, 600, and 900 °C, respectively, and possibly even lower for annealing at 700 or 800 °C.     

Preparation and characterization of Fe-doped Ni0.9Co0.8Mn1.3−xFexO4 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.7) negative temperature coefficient ceramic materials

Based on spinel-type semiconducting electroceramics, negative temperature coefficient (NTC) thermistor materials, Ni_0.9Co_0.8Mn_1.3−xFe_xO₄ (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.7), with different compositions were synthesized by a co-precipitation method. The optimal pH value and the influence of Fe³⁺ doping during the synthesis processing were discussed. As-prepared Ni_0.9Co_0.8Mn_1.3−xFe_xO₄ materials were characterized by DT/TGA, XRD, FTIR, SEM, electrical measurement and impendance analysis. It was found that, as the Fe doping content in the Ni_0.9Co_0.8Mn_1.3−xFe_xO₄ samples increased, both the grain size and the density decreased. The as-sintered Ni_0.9Co_0.8Mn_1.3−xFe_xO₄ samples presented a single-phase cubic spinel structure. The impendance diagram indicated that the grain boundary resistance was dominant in the overall impendance of Ni_0.9Co_0.8Mn_1.3−xFe_xO₄ NTC ceramic materials. The value of ρ₂₅, B_25/50, slope and activation energy for the samples Ni_0.9Co_0.8Mn_1.3−xFe_xO₄ sintered at 1200 °C were in the range of 453.1-2411 Ω cm, 3103-3355 K, 3.27325-3.43149 and 0.28207-0.29325 eV, respectively. This suggests that the electrical properties can be adjusted to desired values by controlling the Fe³⁺ ion doping content.     

Growth of III-V semiconductor nanowires by molecular beam epitaxy

We present here the growth of GaAs, InAs and InGaAs nanowires by molecular beam epitaxy. The nanowires have been grown on different substrates [GaAs(0 0 1), GaAs(1 1 1), SiO₂ and Si(1 1 1)] using gold as the growth catalyst. We show how the different substrates affect the results in terms of nanowire density and morphology. We also show that the growth temperature for the InGaAs nanowires has to be carefully chosen to obtain homogeneous alloys.     

Observation of the pyroelectric effect in strained piezoelectric InGaAs/GaAs quantum-wells grown on (111) GaAs substrates

We investigated the temperature dependence of the piezoelectric constant e₁₄, i.e. the pyroelectric effect, of various strained InGaAs/GaAs single- and multi-quantum wells embedded in p-i-n structures grown on (111)B GaAs substrates and diodes made from these structures. Both photoreflectance spectroscopy and differential photocurrent spectroscopy were applied to obtain e₁₄ over the temperature range 11-300 K. The values of e₁₄ for In_xGa_1−xAs quantum well layers with x=0.12-0.21 were observed to increase with temperature, which is contrary to the expected dependence, and the strain-induced components of the pyroelectric coefficients were quantitatively determined. The dependence of the pyroelectric coefficient on In fraction is discussed.     

Optical properties of hybrid quantum-well–dots nanostructures grown by MOCVD

The deposition of In _x Ga_1–x As with an indium content of 0.3–0.5 and an average thickness of 3–27 single layers on a GaAs wafer by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) at low temperatures results in the appearance of thickness and composition modulations in the layers being formed. Such structures can be considered to be intermediate nanostructures between ideal quantum wells and quantum dots. Depending on the average thickness and composition of the layers, the wavelength of the photoluminescence peak for the hybrid InGaAs quantum well–dots nanostructures varies from 950 to 1100 nm. The optimal average In _x Ga_1–x As thicknesses and compositions at which the emission wavelength is the longest with a high quantum efficiency retained are determined.     

Determination of the thickness and spectral dependence of the refractive index of Al x In1 − x Sb epitaxial layers from reflectance spectra

A nondestructive method for measuring the thicknesses of epitaxial layers of Al _x In_{1 ? x} Sb alloys based on interference effects in reflectance spectra measured in a wide wavelength range (1–28 μm) is implemented. The studied 0.9–3.3 μm thick Al _x In_{1 ? x} Sb layers are grown on highly lattice-mismatched GaAs substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. The found thicknesses are in good agreement with the independent data of scanning electron microscopy. The spectral dependence of the refractive index n(E) of Al _x In_{1 ? x} Sb layers is measured both for the regions of transparency and fundamental absorption. The refractive index for the case of E < E ₀ was calculated by a double-oscillator model using a refined experimental dependence of the band gap on the composition E ₀(x). The experimental data on the n(E) of Al _x In_{1 ? x} Sb for energies E > E ₀ are found based on the interference pattern.     

Solid phase epitaxial growth of Dy-germanide films on Ge(0 0 1) substrates

Dy thin films are grown on Ge(0 0 1) substrates by molecular beam deposition at room temperature. Subsequently, the Dy film is annealed at different temperatures for the growth of a Dy-germanide film. Structural, morphological and electrical properties of the Dy-germanide film are investigated by in situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction, and ex situ X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy and resistivity measurements. Reflection high-energy electron diffraction patterns and X-ray diffraction spectra show that the room temperature growth of the Dy film is disordered and there is a transition at a temperature of 300-330 °C from a disordered to an epitaxial growth of a Dy-germanide film by solid phase epitaxy. The high quality Dy₃Ge₅ film crystalline structure is formed and identified as an orthorhombic phase with smooth surface in the annealing temperature range of 330-550 °C. But at a temperature of 600 °C, the smooth surface of the Dy₃Ge₅ film changes to a rough surface with a lot of pits due to the reactions further.     

Direct measurement of interfacial structure in epitaxial Gd2O3 on GaAs (0 0 1) using scanning tunneling microscopy

The epitaxial growth of Gd₂O₃ on GaAs (0 0 1) has given a low interfacial density of states, resulting in the demonstration of the first inversion-channel GaAs metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor. Motivated by the significance of this discovery, in this work, cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy is employed herein to obtain precise structural and electronic information on these epitaxial films and interfaces. At the interface, the interfacial stacking of Gd₂O₃ films is directly correlated with the stacking sequence of the substrate GaAs. Additionally, from the local electronic states across the gate oxides, the spatial extent of the GaAs wavefunctions into the oxide dielectric may suggest a minimum Gd₂O₃ thickness to be of bulk properties.     

In situ atomic layer deposition and synchrotron-radiation photoemission study of Al2O3 on pristine n-GaAs(0 0 1)-4 × 6 surface

This work presents the in situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and synchrotron-radiation photoemission studies for the morphological and interfacial chemical characterization of in situ atomic layer deposited (ALD) Al₂O₃ on pristine molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) grown Ga-rich n-GaAs (1 0 0)-4 × 6 surface. Both the RHEED pattern and STM image demonstrated that the first cycle of ALD-Al₂O₃ process reacted immediately with the GaAs surface. As revealed by in situ synchrotron-radiation photoemission studies, two types of surface As atoms that have excess in charge in the clean surface served as reaction sites with TMA. Two oxidized states were then induced in the As 3d core-level spectra with chemical shifts of +660 meV and +1.03 eV, respectively.     

Long-wavelength emission from single InAs quantum dots layer grown on porous GaAs substrate

In this paper, we present the growth and photoluminescence (PL) results of InAs quantum dots (QDs) on a p-type porous GaAs (001) substrate. It has been shown that critical layer thickness of InAs overgrowth on porous GaAs has been enhanced compared to that deposited on nominal GaAs. Using porous GaAs substrate, growth interruption and depositing 10 atomic monolayer (ML) In_0.4Ga_0.6As on InAs QDs, photoluminescence measured at 10 K exhibits an emission at 0.739 eV (∼1.67 μm) with an ultranarrow full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 16 meV. This emission represents the longer wavelength obtained up to date to our knowledge and has been attributed to the radiative transition in the InAs QDs.     

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.     

Highly (1 0 0)-oriented Pb(Zr0.20Ti0.80)O3/(Pb1−xLax)Ti1−x/4O3 multilayered thin films prepared by RF magnetron sputtering

The Pb(Zr_0.20Ti_0.80)O₃/(Pb_1−xLa_x)Ti_1−x/4O₃ (x = 0, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20) (PZT/PLT_x) multilayered thin films were in situ deposited on the Pt(1 1 1)/Ti/SiO₂/Si(1 0 0) substrates by RF magnetron sputtering technique with a PbO_x buffer layer. With this method, all PZT/PLT_x multilayered thin films possess highly (1 0 0) orientation. The PbO_x buffer layer leads to the (1 0 0) orientation of the multilayered thin films. The effect of the La content in PLT_x layers on the dielectric and ferroelectric properties of the PZT multilayered thin films was systematically investigated. The enhanced dielectric and ferroelectric properties are observed in the PZT/PLT_x (x = 0.15) multilayered thin films. The dielectric constant reaches maximum value of 365 at 1 KHz for x = 0.15 with a low loss tangent of 0.0301. Along with enhanced dielectric properties, the multilayered thin films also exhibit large remnant polarization value of 2P_r = 76.5 μC/cm², and low coercive field of 2E_c = 238 KV/cm.