Be doped GaAs grown by migration enhanced epitaxy at low substrate temperature

Conductive Be doped GaAs grown by molecular beam epitaxy at low substrate temperatures (300° C) was obtained for the first time by using migration enhanced epitaxy (MEE) without subsequent annealing. The layers were characterized using Hall effect, double crystal x-ray diffraction, and photoluminescence. With low arsenic exposure, the low temperature MEE layers doped with Be had the same carrier density and similar luminescent efficiency as layers grown by conventional MBE at 580° C. Mobility at 77 K was reduced somewhat for layers doped at 2 × 10¹⁷cm⁻³, which also exhibited hopping conductivity below 40 K. Double crystal x-ray diffraction showed that low temperature MEE samples grown at low As exposure had the narrow linewidth associated with conventional MBE material grown at 580° C, unlike layers grown by conventional MBE at low temperatures, which exhibit an expansion in lattice parameter.     

Characterization of GaxIn1−xAs grown with TMIn

High quality Ga_xIn_1−xAs, lattice matched to InP, has been reproducibly grown by organometallic vapor phase epitaxy using trimethylgallium (TMGa), trimethylindium (TMIn), and AsH₃ in an atmospheric pressure reactor with no observable adduct formation. For the first time, using TMIn, room temperature electron mobilities of 10⁴ cm²/Vs and 77 K mobilities greater than 4 × 10⁴ cm²/Vs have beep obtained. Residual donor doping densities in the low 10¹⁵ cm⁻³ range have been routinely obtained. Material with excellent morphology has been grown from 540 to 670 C with the highest quality material being obtained near 650 C. The 4 K photoluminescence (PL) peak due to carbon is not seen in the material grown at higher temperatures; however, it increases dramatically as the growth temperature is lowered. This increased carbon incorporation leads to a sharp drop in the electron mobility, which exhibits a T^−0.5 behavior between 77 and 300 K. With optimum growth conditions, 4 K PL halfwidths of 4–5 meV are commonly observed. This high quality material is characterized by x-ray diffraction, PL, and Hall mobility measurements. Carbon and other impurity incorporation as a function of the growth parameters will be described.     

Growth and characterization of GaSb bulk crystals with low acceptor concentration

GaSb bulk single crystals with low acceptor concentration were grown from a bismuth solution by the traveling heater method. The result is isoelectronic doping by Bi which gives a variation of the opto-electronic properties as a function of grown length as well as a pronounced microscopic segregation. Photoluminescence spectra at 4K show a decrease of the natural acceptor during growth, which is confirmed by Hall measurements. The electrical properties of this isoelectronic doped GaSb are hole concentrations and mobilities of N_A − N_D = 1.7 × 10¹⁶ cm⁻³ and μ = 870 cm²Vs at room temperature and N_A-N_D = 1 × 10¹⁶ cm⁻³ and μ = 4900 cm²/Vs at 77K, respectively. The lowest p-type carrier concentration measured at 300K is N_A − N_D = 3.3 × 10¹⁵ cm⁻³     

The hall mobility and its relationship with persistent photoconductivity of undoped GaN

Temperature-variable Hall effect measurements have been used to investigate the electrical properties of undoped GaN, which have the electron densities on the order of mid-10¹⁶ cm⁻³ and a Hall mobility varying from <50 cm²/sV to >500 cm²/sV. We found that very strong ionized impurity scattering limits the Hall mobility of GaN. Illumination even at 77 K has very little effect on the electron density but can lead to a noticeable persistent increase of the Hall mobility. The induced persistent photoconductivity (PPC) effect is therefore related to the Hall mobility through intrinsic electrically active defects. The properties of those defects were further investigated by monitoring a transient change of resistivity after removal of illumination at different temperatures. It reveals that the recapturing process of excited electrons into illumination-neutralized defects is the mechanism responsible for the PPC effect of undoped GaN.     

Measured In-plane hole drift and hall mobility in heavily-doped strained p-type Si1−xGex

Measured in-plane hole drift and Hall mobilities in heavily boron-doped strained Si_1−xGe_x layers are reported. In the range of boron dopings examined (1.5–2.1 × 10¹⁹ cm⁻³), the drift mobility is seen to increase with increasing germanium fraction. The Hall mobility decreases with increasing germanium fraction. Presented at the 1992 EMC, Boston.     

Electron mobility in two-dimensional electron gas in AIGaN/GaN heterostructures and in bulk GaN

We report on temperature dependencies of the electron mobility in the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in AIGaN/GaN heterostructures and in doped bulk GaN. Calculations and experimental data show that the polar optical scattering and ionized impurity scattering are the two dominant scattering mechanisms in bulk GaN for temperatures between 77 and 500K. In the 2DEG in AIGaN/GaN heterostructures, the piezoelectric scattering also plays an important role. Even for doped GaN, with a significant concentration of ionized impurities, a large volume electron concentration in the 2DEG significantly enhances the electron mobility, and the mobility values close to 1700 cm²/Vs may be obtained in the GaN 2DEG at room temperature. The maximum measured Hall mobility at 80K is nearly 5000 cm²/Vs compared to approximately 1200 cm²/Vs in a bulk GaN layer. With a change in temperature from 300 to 80K, the 2DEG in our samples changes from nondegenerate and weakly degenerate to degenerate. Therefore, in order to interpret the experimental data, we propose a new interpolation formula for low field mobility limited by the ionized impurity scattering. This formula is valid for an arbitrary degree of the electron gas degeneracy. Based on our theory, we show that the mobility enhancement in the 2DEG is related to a much higher volume electron concentration in the 2DEG, and, hence, to a more effective screening.     

OMVPE growth of p-AlGaAs/GaAs heterojunctions using diethylberyllium

We report on the OMVPE growth of modulation doped p-type Al_0.43Ga_0.57As(Be)/GaAs heterojunctions which exhibit a two-dimensional hole gas (2DHG). Hole mobilities de-termined by Hall or cyclotron resonance measurements at 300, 77, and 4 K were 394, 3750, and 21200 cm²/V bs s respectively for a sheet carrier density of about 4.5 × 10¹¹ cm^s−2. Beryllium doping of Al_xGa_1−xAs using diethylberyllium is characterized by Hall measurements, secondary ion mass spectrometry, and photoluminescence. The depen-dence of free carrier concentrationvs AlAs% forp ⁺ layers of Al_xGa_1−xAs_x,x = 0–0.5, is determined. A free carrier concentration greater than 1 × 10¹⁸ cm^s−3 is achieved forx = 0–0.43 with no carrier freeze-out down to 77 K.     

Molecular beam epitaxial growth of HgCdTe on CdZnTe(311)B

A series of n-type, indium-doped Hg_1−xCd_xTe (x∼0.225) layers were grown on Cd_0.96Zn_0.04Te(311)B substrates by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The Cd_0.96Zn_0.04Te(311)B substrates (2 cm × 3 cm) were prepared in this laboratory by the horizontal Bridgman method using double-zone-refined 6N source materials. The Hg_1−xCd_xTe(311)B epitaxial films were examined by optical microscopy, defect etching, and Hall measurements. Preliminary results indicate that the n-type Hg_1−xCd_xTe(311)B and Hg_1−xCd_xTe(211)B films (x ∼ 0.225) grown by MBE have comparable morphological, structural, and electrical quality, with the best 77 K Hall mobility being 112,000 cm²/V·sec at carrier concentration of 1.9×10⁺¹⁵ cm⁻³.     

Compositional dependence of the electron mobility in Inl-x Gax Asy P1-y

Hall mobility measurements for the alloy III–V quaternary material In_1-x}Ga_x}As_y}P_1-y} lattice matched to semi-insulating InP substrates are described. For samples spanning the entire compositional range, the carrier concentration varied from 0.4x10¹⁶} to 10¹⁷}cm⁻³ and the room temperature mobilities varied from 3800cm²}/Vsec up to 11,000cm²}/Vsec. Temperature variation of the mobility in the range from 80K to 300K was investigated for selected samples. The results demonstrate that disorder scattering makes a significant contribution to limiting the mobility for material spanning the midrange (y∼0.5). This work was first presented as a paper at the 21^st} Electronic Materials Conference, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, June 27–29, 1979.     

Growth and characterization of indium arsenide thin films

The growth and characterization of indium arsenide films grown on indium phosphide substrates by the metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) process is reported. Either ethyl dimethyl indium or trimethyl indium were found to be suitable in combination with arsine as source compounds. The highest electron mobilities were observed in films nucleated at reduced growth temperature. Scanning electron microscopy studies show that film nucleation at low temperature prevents thermal etch pits from forming on the InP surface before growth proceeds at an elevated temperature. Electron mobilities as high as 21,000 cm²V⁻¹ sec⁻¹ at 300 K were thus obtained for a film only 3.4 μm thick. This mobility is significantly higher than was previously observed in InAs films grown by MOCVD. From the depth dependence of transport properties, we find that in our films electrons are accumulated near the air interface of the film, presumably by positive ions in the native oxide. The mobility is limited by electrons scattering predominantly from ionized impurities at low temperature and from lattice vibrations and dislocations at high temperature. However, scattering from dislocations is greatly reduced in the surface accumulation layer due to screening by a high density of electrons. These dislocations arise from lattice mismatch and interface disorder at the film-substrate interface, preventing these films from obtaining mobility values of bulk indium arsenide.     

Characterization of very high purity InAs grown using trimethylindium and tertiarybutylarsine

The growth of high purity InAs by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition is reported using tertiarybutylarsine and trimethylindiμm. Specular surfaces were obtained for bulk 5-10 μm thick InAs growth on GaAs substrates over a wide range of growth conditions by using a two-step growth method involving a low temperature nucleation layer of InAs. Structural characterization was performed using atomic force microscopy and x-ray diffractometry. The transport data are complicated by a competition between bulk conduction and conduction due to a surface accumulation layer with roughly 2–4 × 10¹² cm⁻² carriers. This is clearly demonstrated by the temperature dependent Hall data. Average Hall mobilities as high as 1.2 x 10⁵ cm²/Vs at 50K are observed in a 10 μm sample grown at 540°C. Field-dependent Hall measurements indicate that the fitted bulk mobility is much higher for this sample, approximately 1.8 × 10⁵ cm²/Vs. Samples grown on InAs substrates were measured using high resolution Fourier transform photoluminescence spectroscopy and reveal new excitonic and impurity band emissions in InAs including acceptor bound exciton “two hole transitions.” Two distinct shallow acceptor species of unknown chemical identity have been observed.     

Comparison of OMVPE Grown GaAs/AlGaAs and GaAs/InGaP HEMT and PHEMT structures

Symmetric δ-doped InGaP and AlGaAs PHEMT structures have been grown by organometallic vapor phase epitaxy with properties that approach those of MBE grown AlGaAs structures. The 300 and 77K carrier concentrations for the InGaP PHEMT were 2.72 and 2.56 × 10¹² cm^{2 −2} and the mobilities were 5,920 and 22,000 cm^{2 2}/V.s. These excellent values suggest that problems associated with switching the anion at the channel heterojunction have been overcome. The corresponding values for the AlGaAs PHEMT were 2.51 and 2.19 × 10¹² cm^{2 −2} and 6,500 and 20,400 cm²/V.s. The uniformity in the indium concentration in the InGaAs layer as determined by photoluminescence, photoreflection, double crystal x-ray diffraction, and Rutherford backscattering was found to be good, but the percent In in the AlGaAs pseudo-morphic high electron mobility transistor (PHEMT) was less than that in the InGaP PHEMT even though the programmed values were the same. The uniformity in the doping distribution as determined by secondary ion mass spectroscopy and electrochemical capacitance-voltage measurements was found to be good, but it decreased with distance from the center of the susceptor. Also, most of the dopants in the δ-doped InGaP and AlGaAs layers were activated.     

Mobility of modulation doped AlGaAs/low-temperature MBE-grown GaAs heterostructures

A study of the mobility of a novel modulation doped heterostructure in which the channel region is made of low-temperature molecular beam epitaxially grown GaAs (LT-GaAs) and all other layers are grown at normal temperatures is presented for the first time. The resistivity of the as-grown samples(in- situ annealed) is very high, as is that of single layers of bulk LT-GaAs. However, in the presence of light, the resistivity of the LT-GaAs modulation-doped field effect transistor (MODFET) is significantly lower, facilitating reliable Hall measurements. We speculate that the observed decrease in resistivity of the LT-GaAs MODFET is due to the formation of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) at the heterointerface under illumination. A number of samples grown under different growth conditions were investigated. Mobilities for these samples were found to be in the range of 250 to 750 cm²Vs at 300K and ∼3000 to 5500 cm²Vs at 77K. A first-order computer simulation was implemented to calculate the mobility of the 2DEG using the relaxation-time approximation to solve the Boltzmann equation, taking into account different scattering mechanisms. Scattering by the arsenic clusters and by ionized impurities in the LT-GaAs MODFET channel are found to be the two dominant mechanisms limiting the mobility of the LT-GaAs MODFET samples. Experimental values are in good agreement with theoretical results.     

SnSe single crystals: Sublimation growth,deviation from stoichiometry and electrical properties

Large SnSe single crystals of high metallurgical quality have been grown by a closed tube vapor phase technique. Hall measurements on annealed and quenched samples were performed to establish the stability range of the compound. The crystals are p-type with hole concentrations between 3 × 10¹⁵ and 2 × 10¹⁸ cm⁻³ and mobilities up to 7 × 10³ cm /Vs at 77 K.     

Status of the MBE technology at leti LIR for the manufacturing of HgCdTe focal plane arrays

This paper presents recent developments that have been made in Leti Infrared Laboratory in the field of molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth and fabrication of medium wavelength and long wavelength infrared (MWIR and LWIR) HgCdTe devices. The techniques that lead to growth temperature and flux control are presented. Run to run composition reproducibility is investigated on runs of more than 15 consecutively grown layers. Etch pit density in the low 10⁵ cm⁻² and void density lower than 10³ cm⁻² are obtained routinely on CdZnTe substrates. The samples exhibit low n-type carrier concentration in the 10¹⁴ to 10¹⁵ cm⁻³ range and mobility in excess of 10⁵ cm²/Vs at 77 K for epilayers with 9.5 μm cut-off wavelength. LWIR diodes, fabricated with an-on-p homojunction process present dynamic resistance area products which reach values of 8 10³ Ωcm² for a biased voltage of −50 mV and a cutoff wavelength of 9.5 μm at 77 K. A 320 × 240 plane array with a 30 μm pitch operating at 77 K in the MWIR range has been developed using HgCdTe and CdTe layers MBE grown on a Germanium substrate. Mean NEDT value of 8.8 mK together with an operability of 99.94% is obtained. We fabricated MWIR two-color detectors by the superposition of layers of HgCdTe with different compositions and a mixed MESA and planar technology. These detectors are spatially coherent and can be independently addressed. Current voltage curves of 60 × 60 μm² photodiodes have breakdown voltage exceeding 800 mV for each diode. The cutoff wavelength at 77 K is 3.1 μm for the MWIR-1 and 5 μm for the MWIR-2.     

High purity InP grown by chemical beam epitaxy

A Hall mobility as high as 176,200 cm²V⁻¹ s⁻¹ at 77 K withN _d -N _a =1.3×10¹⁴ cm⁻³ has been obtained by adjusting the substrate and the phosphine cracker temperatures. The 2 K photoluminescence spectra show finely resolved excitonic transitions for layers grown above 535° C with linewidths of 0.07 meV. Excitonic transitions have been recorded between 2 and 250 K. The free exciton energy position leads to a highly accurate expression of the band gap energy, which extrapolates toE _g =1.347 eV at 300 K.     

(AlGa)As grown by low pressure metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy using a N2 carrier

We have studied the growth of Al_xGa_1−xAs (0.24<x<0.34) using a N₂ carrier in low pressure metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. Growth temperature, gas velocity, and V/III ratio were varied to achieve optimum growth conditions. Layers with excellent morphology and electrical and optical properties comparable to samples grown using standard conditions (with a H₂ carrier) can be deposited in a nitrogen ambient. Al_0.24Ga_0.76As bulk material grown on an AlAs buffer layer with a background doping of 1.3×10¹⁶ cm⁻³ showed Hall mobilities of 4500 and 2300 cm²/Vs at 77 and 300K. Photoluminescence studies at 2K revealed strong bound exciton transitions with a full width at half maximum of 5.2 meV for Al_0.29Ga_0.71AS.     

Analysis of low doping limitation in molecular beam epitaxially grown HgCdTe(211)B epitaxial layers

We report the results of the transport properties and the recombination mechanisms of indium-doped HgCdTe(211)B (x ≈ 23.0% ± 2.0%) layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy. We have investigated the origin(s) of the background doping limitation in these layers. Molecular beam epitaxially grown layers exhibit excellent Hall characteristics down to indium levels of 2 x 10¹⁵ cm⁻³. Electron mobilities ranging from (2-3) x 10⁵ cm²/v-s at 23K were obtained. Measured lifetime data fits very well with the intrinsic band-to-band recombinations. However, below 2 x 10¹⁵ cm⁻³ doping levels, mobility vs temperature curves starts to reflect nonuniformity in carrier distribution. Also, when we reduced the Hg vacancy concentration down to 10¹² cm⁻³ range, by annealing at 150°C, Hall characteristics shows an increase in the nonuniformity in the epilayers. It was found that after annealed at 150°C, the obtained SR defect level has a different origin than the previously obtain Hg-vacancy related defect level.     

Steady-State Electron Transport and Low-Field Mobility of Wurtzite Bulk ZnO and Zn<Subscript>1−<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Mg<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>O

Steady-state electron transport and low-field electron mobility characteristics of wurtzite ZnO and Zn_1−x Mg _x O are examined using the ensemble Monte Carlo model. The Monte Carlo calculations are carried out using a three-valley model for the systems under consideration. Acoustic and optical phonon scattering, intervalley (equivalent and nonequivalent) scattering, ionized impurity scattering, and alloy disorder scattering are used in the Monte Carlo simulations. Steady-state electron transport is analyzed, and the population of valleys is also obtained as a function of applied electric field and ionized impurity concentrations. The negative differential mobility phenomena is clearly observed and seems compatible with the occupancy and effective nonparabolicity factors of the valleys in bulk ZnO and in Zn_1−x Mg _x O with low Mg content. The low-field mobilities are obtained as a function of temperature and ionized impurity concentrations from the slope of the linear part of each velocity–field curve. It is seen that mobilities begin to be significantly affected for ionized impurity concentrations above 5 × 10¹⁵/cm³. The calculated Monte Carlo simulation results for low-field electron mobilities are found to be consistent with published data.     

Transport properties of undoped Cd0.9Zn0.1Te grown by high pressure bridgman technique

The electron drift mobility of undoped Cd_0.9Zn_0.1Te grown by high-pressure Bridgman method is measured by a time-of-flight technique. The sample shows a room temperature mobility and mobility lifetime product of 950 cm²/Vs and 1.6 × 10⁻⁴cm²/V, respectively. The mobility increases monotonically with decreasing temperature to 3000 cm²/Vs at 100 K. The dominant scattering mechanism for the electron transport is discussed by comparing with the theoretical mobility obtained by iterative solution of the Boltzmann equation.