Structural and optical properties of heavily doped Al x Ga1 − x As1 − y P y :Mg alloys produced by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition

The high-resolution X-ray diffraction technique, Raman spectroscopy, and photoluminescence spectroscopy are used to study the structural, optical, and electron energy properties of epitaxial Al _x Ga_{1 ? x} As_{1 ? y} P _y :Mg alloy films grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). It is shown that the introduction of a Mg impurity into the quaternary alloy provides high charge-carrier concentrations. A decrease in the growth temperature yields a decrease in the charge-carrier concentration in films doped with magnesium at a small gas-carrier flux of the acceptor impurity, whereas an increase in the flux results in an increase in the acceptor-impurity concentration, which is reflected in the character of the photoluminescence spectra.     

Modeling of Ga1−xInxAs1−y−zNySbz/GaAs quantum well properties for near-infrared lasers

The aim of this work is to model the properties of GaInAsNSb/GaAs compressively strained structures. Indeed, Ga_1?xIn_xAs_1?y?zN_ySb_z has been found to be a potentially superior material to GaInAsN for long wavelength laser dedicated to optical fiber communications. Furthermore, this material can be grown on GaAs substrate while having a bandgap smaller than that of GaInNAs. The influence of nitrogen and antimony on the bandgap and the transition energy is explored. Also, the effect of these two elements on the optical gain and threshold current density is investigated. For example, a structure composed of one 7.5 nm thick quantum well of material with In=30%, N=3.5%, Sb=1% composition exhibits a threshold current density of 339.8 A/cm² and an emission wavelength of 1.5365 μm (at T=300 K). It can be shown that increasing the concentration of indium to 35% with a concentration of nitrogen and antimony, of 2.5% and 1%, respectively, results in a decrease of the threshold current density down to 253.7 A/cm² for a two well structure. Same structure incorporating five wells shows a threshold current density as low as 221.4 A/cm² for T=300 K, which agrees well with the reported experimental results.     

Metamorphic GayIn1−yP/Ga1−xInxAs tandem solar cells for space and for terrestrial concentrator applications at C > 1000 suns

The use of Ga_1−xIn_xAs instead of GaAs as a bottom solar cell in a Ga_yIn_1−yP/Ga_1−xIn_xAs tandem structure increases the flexibility of choosing the optimum bandgap combination of materials for a multijunction solar cell. Higher theoretical efficiencies are calculated and different cell concepts are suggested for space and terrestrial concentrator applications. Various Ga_yIn_1−yP/Ga_1−xIn_xAs material combinations have been investigated for the first time and efficiencies up to 24·1% (AM0) and 27·0% (AM1·5 direct) have been reached under one-sun conditions. An efficiency of 30·0–31·3% was measured for a Ga_0·35In_0·65P/Ga_0·83In_0·17As tandem concentrator cell with prismatic cover at 300 suns. The top and bottom cell layers of this structure are grown lattice-matched to each other, but a large mismatch is introduced at the interface to the GaAs substrate. This cell structure is well suited for the use in next-generation terrestrial concentrators working at high concentration ratios. For the first time a cell efficiency up to 29–30% has been measured at concentration levels up to 1300 suns. A small prototype concentrator with Fresnel lenses and four tandem solar cells working at C = 120 has been constructed, with an outdoor efficiency of 23%. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis of mechanisms for electron scattering in GaAs/AlxGa1−x As superlattices with doped quantum wells for longitudinal resonant current flow in high electric fields and at low temperatures

Formulas are derived for, and a numerical analysis made of, the dependence of the transverse phase relaxation time on electron energy for resonant current flow through GaAs/Al_xGa_1−x As superlattices with doped quantum wells. The parameters are chosen to be close to those of superlattices used for creating photodiodes for operation at λ⋍10 μm. The analysis is limited to the interactions of electrons with neutral atoms and impurity ions at low temperatures. Resonant current flow is ensured by an electric field that brings the ground state and the first excited state of the “Stark ladder” into resonance with neighboring, weakly interacting quantum wells. Fiz. Tekh. Poluprovodn. 33, 438–444 (April 1999)     

Grain boundary related electrical transport in Al-rich Al<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Ga<Subscript>1 − <Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>N layers grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition

Electrical transport data for Al-rich AlGaN layers grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) are presented and analyzed in the temperature range 135–300 K. The temperature dependence of electrical conductivity indicated that conductivity in the films was controlled by potential barriers caused by carrier depletion at grain boundaries in the material. The Seto’s grain boundary model provided a complete framework for understanding of the conductivity behavior. Various electrical parameters of the present samples such as grain boundary potential, donor concentration, surface trap density, and Debye screening length were extracted.