Facet formation and characterization of III–V structures grown on patterned surfaces

In selective area growth there is a lateral transition from growth to non-growth areas. At this point the growth is determined by the lowest growing crystal planes. This review summarizes the mechanisms during the facet formation in the InP/GaInAsP material system with respect to the growth conditions in metalorganic molecular beam epitaxy. The effect of interfacet diffusion and the anisotropic surface diffusion process as well as the molecular beam flux density at the facets is discussed. Planar selective area epitaxy (SAE), where the facets can evolve freely, is selected as the starting point. Low lateral growth rates at side wall (01 ) planes of the structure are achieved under perpendicular molecular beam geometry. The results are transferred to embedded SAE for the lateral coupling of heterostructures having constant material compositions up to the lateral contact. Applications for SAE-grown waveguides and laser-waveguide integration are presented.     

Surface Facet Dependent Cycling Stability of Layered Cathodes

High chemical and mechanical stability of cathode surface are the prerequisites enabling high-performance rechargeable battery. Surface facet is among the surface properties that dictate surface stability and cycling performance, while its underlying mechanism remains elusive. Herein, it is reported that surface stability is closely related to the surface facet for a variety of layered cathodes. The investigation shows that surface structure of P2 layered cathode undergoes sequential transformation upon cycling, which results in severe surface degradation. This study finds that the surface facets perpendicular to the (002) planes experience severe cracking and corrosion, while other surface facets are much more stable. The surface stability difference mainly comes from a geometric effect on strain release, which determines the mechanical stability of surface. Chemically, transition metal condensation forms a passivation layer to effectively prevent the inward propagation of surface degradation. Therefore, the surface facets oblique to the layered-planes are intrinsically more resistant to mechanical cracking and chemical corrosion, which is further verified as a common effect in several O3-type layered cathodes. This work not only deepens the understanding of the mechanism how surface facet affects surface stability, but also validates surface facet regulation can be a promising strategy for optimizing battery materials.     

MOCVD growth of AlGaAs/GaAs structures on nonplanar {111} substrates: Evidence for lateral gas phase diffusion

We investigate the MOCVD growth characteristics of AlGaAs on nonplanar {111}A and {111}B substrates. Growth over features etched into the {111} substrates is found to be highly anisotropic and asymmetric. The ratio of growth rates on adjacent facets is strongly dependent on the depth of the etched feature during growth, and is strikingly different between AlGaAs and GaAs layers. These observations suggest a large difference in the surface chemistry of Al and Ga species under these growth conditions and indicate that the column III element determines the relative growth rates of different facets during nonplanar growth. The results also provide strong evidence that lateral gas phase diffusion of reactants can be perhaps more significant than surface migration as a mechanism determining the incorporation sites of column III elements. Growth characteristics on nonplanar {111} substrates are markedly different than those observed for nonplanar growth on {100} substrates, creating a new set of design tools for the single step growth of guided wave devices such as lasers, modulators and waveguides.     

Optical spectroscopy of self-organized nanoscale hetero-structures involving high-index surfaces

Similar effects are responsible for self-organization of periodically corrugated surface structures and ordered dot arrays on crystal surfaces. Strain relaxation on facet edges may result in the appearance of periodically corrugated surfaces for lattice-matched growth. Strain relaxation on facet edges and island interaction via the strained substrate act as driving forces for the formation of ordered arrays of uniform, strained lattice-mismatched islands on a crystal surface. A pseudoperiodic square lattice is manifested for the InAs-GaAs(100) system. Less ordered dots are formed on the GaAs(100) surface with a 4 monolayer GaSb deposition. New experimental methods are applied for the characterization of faceted nanoscale structures. For GaAs-AlAs multilayer structures grown on (311)A substrates, interface corrugation results in optical anisotropy of the same sign as expected from the low symmetry growth direction, making the main origin of the anisotropy unclear. Our quantitative optical reflectance and reflectance anisotropy studies show that the interface corrugation plays an important role for thin (less than 4 nm) GaAs layers. Mesa arrays from samples with InAs quantum dots grown on (100) surface are fabricated. The photoluminescence intensity is found to depend only weakly on the mesa size (1000 nm to 250 nm). The estimated electron-hole pair capture time into the InAs dot at room temperature is less than 1 ps. We also found a weak dependence of the threshold current density on the deep mesa stripe width (down to 3 μm) in the case of room temperature operated quantum dot injection lasers.     

Monolithic two-dimensional GaAs/AIGaAs laser arrays fabricated by chlorine lon-beam-assisted micromachining

Chlorine ion-beam-assisted etching (IBAE) has been used to micromachine laser facets and deflecting mirrors for monolithic two-dimensional GaAs/AIGaAs laser arrays. Three laser cavity/deflector designs have been successfully implemented. The first utilizes a parabolic deflecting mirror to directly focus the laser radiation; the second consists of a folded cavity with a vertical facet, a top surface facet, and an internal 45° reflector; and the third has a folded cavity with an internal Al_0.2Ga_0.8As/Al_0.8Ga_0.2As dielectric mirror stack and a top surface facet formed in a single etch step with two internal 45° reflectors. The parabolic deflecting mirrors are currently modeled forf- 0.8 collection efficiency, making the first design attractive in incoherent arrays for high-power applications such as pumping Nd:YAG lasers. The other two structures are of interest for incoherent or coherent arrays used in high- and medium-power applications, since the top surface facets can easily be antireflection coated. The design with a dielectric mirror stack is particularly simple to fabricate.     

The morphology of CdTe deposited by organometallic vapor phase epitaxy: The effect of substrate misorientation

Substrate misorientation and growth temperature influence the morphology of CdTe epilayers grown by organometallic vapor phase homoepitaxy. These effects were investigated by using CdTe{100} and CdTe{100} misoriented by 2, 4, 6, and 8° toward 〈111〉_Te as substrates for growth in the temperature range from 337 to 425°C. Low angle pyramidal facets appeared on films grown on the CdTe(100) surface. The number density of these pyramidal facets decreased to zero as the substrate misorientation angle increased to 4°. At higher misorientation angles, low angle protrusions, resembling fish scales, appeared on the surface. When the temperature was increased, facet size decreased but facet density increased. The film morphology at the high misorientations, however, improved remarkably with increasing temperature. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy provided evidence that both the faceted CdTe films and films with a mirror-like finish were epitaxial single crystals with no planar defects. Schwoebel barriers are suggested as the reason for the faceting of the surface grown on CdTe{100}.     

Sharp Infrared Emission from Single‐Crystalline Indium Nitride Nanobelts Prepared Using Guided‐Stream Thermal Chemical Vapor Deposition

Single‐crystalline InN nanobelts have been synthesized using Au as the catalyst by a guided‐stream thermal chemical vapor deposition technique. The resultant InN nanobelts typically have widths ranging from 20 to 200 nm, a width to thickness ratio of 2–10, and lengths of up to several tens of micrometers. Structural analysis shows that these InN nanobelts have a wurtzite structure and exhibit a rectangular cross section with self‐selective facets, i.e., the nanobelts are enclosed only by ± (001) and ± (11?0) planes with [110] being the exclusive growth direction along their long axis. This facet selectivity can be understood by the differences in the surface energies of the different facets. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra of InN nanobelts show a sharp infrared emission peak at 0.76 eV with a full width at half maximum of 14 meV, narrower than the values reported for InN epilayers. The integrated PL intensity is found to increase linearly with the excitation power, which suggests that the observed PL can be attributed to direct band‐to‐band emission.     

Spatially resolved Raman investigation of Si-doped GaAs layers on patterned GaAs(100) substrates grown by molecular beam epitaxy

Local carrier transport properties of Si-doped GaAs layers on ridge structures exhibiting (111)A and (111)B sidewalls are investigated. The layers were grown by molecular beam epitaxy at different substrate temperatures and As/Ga flux ratios. Using spatially resolved Raman spectroscopy we determine the type and density of free charge carriers (≥ 5 × 10¹⁷ cm⁻³) in the grown layers on the different index facets from an analysis of the coupled plasmon-longitudinal optical-phonon mode which was calibrated against Hall standards. We demonstrate that on the (100) and (111)B facets the regrown layers are n-type and on the (111)A facets p- or n-type depending on the growth conditions. Line scans of the carrier density show that the (100)/(111)A/(100) facet transition forms a graded lateral n-p-n junction. Spatially resolved photoluminescence measurements confirm our findings.     

Facet‐Level Mechanistic Insights into General Homogeneous Carbon Doping for Enhanced Solar‐to‐Hydrogen Conversion

Homogeneous doping can boost solar‐to‐hydrogen conversion and therefore attracts great attention. Although a great deal of effort has been made to explore the doping–photoreactivity relationship, the doping mechanisms, especially from the perspective of crystal facets, are seldom explored. In this study, a general homogeneous carbon doping strategy is established and then serves as the doping model for a mechanistic investigation, as encouraged by its versatility in enabling homogeneous incorporation of carbon and improving solar‐to‐hydrogen conversion for typical oxides including TiO₂, ZnO, and BiOCl. Using well‐defined BiOCl nanosheets of high {001} or {010} facet exposure, we clarify the homogeneous carbon doping mechanism at the level of crystal facets for the first time. This mechanism involves the initial facet‐dependent adsorption of the dopant precursor, regulated by the surface atomic structures, and the subsequent facet‐dependent diffusion of carbon dopants associated with the facet‐related arrangements of bulk atoms. This results in facet‐dependent carbon doping behavior and a dopant‐concentration‐dependent solar‐to‐hydrogen conversion property of BiOCl nanosheets. These mechanistic insights also suggest that the implantation of the dopant precursor in the shallow lattice of host nanocrystal is vital for the effective homogeneous doping. This new doping model is different from the conventional counterpart based on the organic ligands or gas molecules adsorption onto the surface of host nanocrystals, where surface doping usually occurs.     

Comparison of facet temperature and degradation of unpumped and passivated facets of Al-free 940-nm lasers using photoluminescence

Influences of facet degradation of Al-free InGaAsP-GaAs 940-nm laser diodes were studied at power densities well below catastrophic optical mirror damage level using photoluminescence (PL) during normal operation and after a rigorous burn-in procedure. The shift in the PL peak of the cladding layer of the device is used to calculate the temperature of the facet. Devices with different facet treatments: untreated electron beam evaporation, untreated ion beam deposition, unpumped and passivated facets were compared. The results indicate that the degradation of facet is more severe for untreated and unpumped facets as compared to passivated facets. The results were also compared with power measurements, which show that the drop in the power during the first 50 h of operation is nonexistent for passivated facet devices leading to the conclusion that photo-induced oxidation is the major cause of the degradation of the facet and thus oxide removal and surface passivation are crucial to make stable laser diodes.     

Semiconductor lasers fabricated by selective area epitaxy

For the first time, semiconductor lasers grown entirely by selective area epitaxy are reported. The lasers were formed by in situ processing techniques and metal organic molecular beam epitaxy (MOMBE). A 50 AA thick layer of Si deposited on the InP substrate was used as a mask for both the selective growth and etching. Laser stripes, 6 mu m wide, were delineated by a focused Ga ion beam and transferred into the substrate by Cl/sub 2/ etching. These steps were performed in the vacuum chambers attached to the MBE machine. Separate confinement heterostructure GaInAsP-InP lasers were grown selectively in the stripes. The resulting devices emit at 1.3 mu m and show threshold currents of 40 mA.<>     

Amplifying Surface Energy Difference toward Anisotropic Growth of All-Inorganic Perovskite Single-Crystal Wires for Highly Sensitive Photodetector

It is a great challenge to directly grow super long all-inorganic perovskite monocrystalline wires due to the weak surface energy difference among the low index facets. Here, a one-pot solution process to grow the aspect ratio over 10⁵ of monocrystalline CsPbBr₃ perovskite wires (PWs) and yield up to 70% is reported. A chemical potential dependent surface energy difference amplification strategy is proposed to regulate the surface energy of growing and grown surfaces accordingly to the anisotropic growth of CsPbBr₃. The anisotropic growth of wires is derived from the regulation of anti-solvent diffusion kinetic and the mass transfer kinetic control of the metal halide salts. This experiment demonstrates a 50 times amplification of surface energy difference. As-produced PWs present a high photodetection responsivity up to 4923 A W⁻¹, external quantum efficiency exceeding 13 784%, and detectivity over 3.6 × 10¹³ Jones. This work not only reveals the mechanism of surface energy dominated anisotropic growth for CsPbBr₃ PWs, but also elucidates the important role of kinetics regulation during the growth process, which may open a new window for the low-dimensional crystal growth of ionic compounds.     

Longitudinal mode behaviors of 1.5 µm range GaInAsP/InP distributed feedback lasers

Longitudinal mode behaviors of asymmetric structure distributed feedback buried heterostructure (DFB-BH) lasers are examined theoretically and experimentally. A 1.5 μm range GaInAsP/InP DFB-BH laser was fabricated by a three-step LPE growth process. We measured the stopband in the spectrum of the DFB laser. It was found that no resonance mode emission occurred in the gain spectrum and its spectrum was asymmetric with respect to the Bragg wavelength. Most of the lasing power concentrated on the DFB mode adjacent to the stop-band which was determined by the Bragg condition. The measured spectrum was explained by the calculated results of the coupled wave theory with external reflectors. The asymmetric spectrum was caused by the relative position of the cleaved facet on the corrugation grating. It was shown that the asymmetric structure DFB laser, which consisted of two end facets with different reflection coefficients, gives a stable single longitudinal mode. There was no mode jump up to 2.3 times threshold. At a modulation depth of 100 percent, the ratio of the highest nonlasing mode intensity to the lasing DFB mode was estimated to be -16.0 dB.     

Realizing the Intrinsic Anisotropic Growth of 1T′ ReS2 on Selected Au(101) Substrate toward Large-Scale Single Crystal Fabrication

Low-symmetry 2D materials with strong in-plane anisotropy are ideal platforms for building multifunctional optoelectronic devices. However, the random orientations and easy formation of multidomain structures lead to the single-crystal synthesis of these materials remains a big challenge. Herein, for the first time, the orientation-controlled synthesis of ReS₂, a typical low-symmetry 2D material, is explored via interface engineering based on the strong interaction between the material and Au substrates with different symmetries. It is revealed that the lattice orientation and growth behavior of ReS₂ are closely relevant to the lattice symmetry of Au facets. Single crystal ReS₂ domains with two and even one orientations are acquired on the four-fold symmetry Au(001) facet and the two-fold symmetry Au(101) facet, respectively. Combined with density functional theory calculations, it is demonstrated that the synergy of ultra-strong ReS₂-Au interfacial coupling and reduction of symmetry of Au facet is critical to realizing its intrinsic anisotropic growth. Furthermore, great enhancement of electrical and photoelectrical performances are acquired on the well-aligned single crystal ReS₂ device. The progress achieved in this work provides significant guidance for the controllable synthesis of wafer-scale single crystals of low-symmetry 2D materials for their practical device applications.     

Study of the optical and structural properties of multi quantum well structures grown on high-index surfaces

The MOVPE overgrowth of high [0 1¯ 1]-oriented ridges confined at sides by facets related to {n 1 1} crystallographic planes is reported. We studied the influence of the side tilt on the thickness of the AlGaAs and GaAs epitaxial layers grown under the condition of the kinetic growth mode. The multi quantum well (MQW) structures were prepared on the sides of ridges tilted at 54.7°, 45° and 30° to (1 0 0). The sidewall surface morphologies before and after epitaxial growth were evaluated and compared. We observed no tendency towards planarization towards a neighbouring high-index crystallographic plane, such as (2 1 1) and (3 1 1). We also showed that the quantum wells of the MQW structure make a smooth transition over the edge between the top surface and the facet as both AlGaAs and GaAs grew at similar rates on the surfaces.     

Solute Incorporation at Oxide–Oxide Interfaces Explains How Ternary Mixed‐Metal Oxide Nanocrystals Support Element‐Specific Anisotropic Growth

Fundamental understanding of anisotropic growth in oxide nanocrystals is crucial to establish new synthesis strategies and to tailor the nanoscale electronic, magnetic, optical, and electrocatalytic properties of these particles. While several growth investigations of metal alloy nanoparticles have been reported, mechanistic studies on the growth of ternary oxide materials are still missing. This work constitutes the first study on the evolution of anisotropic growth of manganese–cobalt oxide nanoparticles by monitoring the elemental distribution and morphology during the particle evolution via scanning transmission electron microscopy–X‐ray spectroscopy. A new growth mechanism based on a “solution‐solid‐solid” pathway for mixed manganese cobalt oxides is revealed. In this mechanism, the MnO seed formation occurs in the first step, followed by the surface Co enrichment, which catalyzes the growth along the <100> directions in all the subsequent growth stages, creating rod, cross‐, and T‐shaped mixed metal oxides, which preferentially expose {100} facets. It is shown that the interrelation of both Mn and Co ions initializes the anisotropic growth and presents the range of validity of the proposed mechanism as well as the shape‐determining effect based on the metal‐to‐metal ratio.     

CW performance of an InGaAs-GaAs-AlGaAs laterally-coupleddistributed feedback (LC-DFB) ridge laser diode

Single-mode distributed feedback (DFB) laser diodes typically require a two-step epitaxial growth or use of a corrugated substrate. We demonstrate InGaAs-GaAs-AlGaAs DFB lasers fabricated from a single epitaxial growth using lateral evanescent coupling of the optical field to a surface grating etched along the sides of the ridge. A CW threshold current of 25 mA and external quantum efficiency of 0.48 mW/mA per facet were measured for a 1 mm cavity length device with anti-reflection coated facets. Single-mode output powers as high as 11 mW per facet at 935 nm wavelength were attained. A coupling coefficient of at least 5.8 cm^-1 was calculated from the subthreshold spectrum taking into account the 2% residual facet reflectivity     

Formation of uniform GaAs multi-atomic steps with 20–30 nm periodicity and related structures on vicinal (111)B planes by MBE

We studied morphology of GaAs surfaces and the transport properties of two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) on vicinal (111)B planes. Multi-atomic steps (MASs) are found on the vicinal (111)B facet grown by molecular beam epitaxy, which will affect electron transport on the facet. We also studied how the morphology of GaAs epilayers on vicinal (111)B substrates depends on growth conditions, especially on the As₄ flux. The uniformity of MASs on the substrates have been improved and smooth surfaces were obtained when the GaAs was grown with high As₄ flux, providing step periodicity of 20 nm. The channel resistance of the 2DEG perpendicular to the MASs is reduced drastically with this smooth morphology. These findings are valuable not only for fabricating quantum devices on the (111)B facets but also those on the vicinal (111)B substrates.     

The role of ion characteristics in determining the structural and electrical quality of InN grown by metalorganic molecular beam epitaxy

The effects of growth temperature and nitrogen plasma biasing on the electrical and structural properties of InN grown using electron cyclotron resonance metalorganic molecular beam epitaxy (ECR MOMBE) have been investigated. These results are compared to those found from InN grown using a higher energy radio frequency (rf) plasma source (rf MOMBE). By varying the bias of the nitrogen plasma or the growth temperature, it is possible to achieve smooth surface morphologies. However, biasing can also be used to increase the mobility by a factor of two while the growth temperature has only a small effect. By contrast, use of an rf plasma improves mobility by nearly a factor of ten. None of the growth conditions investigated were found to significantly alter the electron concentration, which was measured to be 1−5 × 10²⁰ cm⁻³.     

Cleaved Mirrors for Nitride Semiconductor Lasers

We demonstrate smooth cleaved gallium nitride facet mirrors on Si(111) substrates fabricated by a microcleaving technology. Cantilever features were defined by photolithography, followed by a vertical photo-enhanced electrochemical (PEC) etch until the substrate was exposed. Lateral undercuts underneath the cantilevers were created by a silicon isotropic wet etch, and the nitride cantilevers were isolated from the substrate completely. Mechanical forces were applied to break the cantilevers. The facets made by microcleaving showed improved roughness as confirmed by surface morphology characterization. The fabrication steps for microcleaved facets combined with laser processing on a full-wafer scale are proposed.