Microstructural Aspects of Nucleation and Growth of (In,Ga)As-GaAs(001) Islands with Low Indium Content

Molecular beam epitaxy growth of multilayer In _x Ga_1-x As/GaAs(001) structures with low indium content (x = 0.20–0.35) was studied by X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence in order to understand the initial stage of strain-driven island formation. The structural properties of these superlattices were investigated using reciprocal space maps, which were obtained around the symmetric 004 and asymmetric 113 and 224 Bragg diffraction, and ω/2θ scans with a high-resolution diffractometer in the triple axis configuration. Using the information obtained from the reciprocal space maps, the 004 ω/2θ scans were simulated by dynamical diffraction theory and the in-plane strain in the dot lattice was determined. We determined the degree of vertical correlation for the dot position (“stacking”) and lateral composition modulation period (LCM) (lateral ordering of the dots). It is shown that initial stage formation of nanoislands is accompanied by LCM only for [110] direction in the plane with␣a period of about 50 to 60 nm, which is responsible for the formation of a quantum wire like structure. The role of In _x Ga_1-x As thickness and lateral composition modulation in the formation of quantum dots in strained In _x Ga_1-x As/GaAs structures is discussed.     

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.     

Influence of strain on hydrogenic impurity states in a GaN/AlxGa1?xN quantum dot

Within the effective-mass approximation, we calculated the influence of strain on the binding energy of a hydrogenic donor impurity by a variational approach in a cylindrical wurtzite GaN/Al _x Ga_1−x N strained quantum dot, including the strong builtin electric field effect due to the spontaneous and piezoelectric polarization. The results show that the binding energy of impurity decreases when the strain is considered. Then the built-in electric field becomes bigger with the Al content increasing and the binding energy of hydrogenic donor impurity decreases when the Al content is increasing. For dot height L < 2 nm, the change of the binding energy is very small with the Al content variety. This work has been supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 10564003) and the Key Project of the Science and Technology Research of the Educational Ministry of China (No. 208025)     

Growth and characterization of OMVPE grown (In,Mn)As diluted magnetic semiconductor

In_1−xMn_xAs diluted magnetic semiconductor (DMS) thin films with x 0.14 have been grown using organometallic vapor phase epitaxy. Tricarbonyl-(methylcyclopentadienyl)manganese was successfully used as the Mn source. Single phase, epitaxial films were achieved for compositions as high as x=0.14 using growth temperatures ≥475°C. For lower growth temperatures or x>0.14, nanometer scale MnAs precipitates were observed within the In_1−xMn_xAs matrix. Transport properties were investigated using the Hall effect. All Mn doped films were p-type with single phase films exhibiting hole concentrations 2≤×10¹⁹ cm⁻³. Magnetization was measured as a function of temperature and applied field for a single phase film with x=0.1. Ferromagnetic ordering was observed at 5 K with a saturation magnetization of M_s=68 emu/cm³, a remnant magnetization, M_r=10 emu/cm³, and a coercive field H_c=400 Oe.     

Effects of hydrostatic pressure and external electric field on the impurity binding energy in strained GaN/AlxGa1?xN spherical quantum dots

The binding energy and Stark effect energy shifts of a shallow donor impurity state in a strained GaN/AlxGa1-xN spherical finite-potential quantum dot (QD) are calculated using a variational method based on the effective mass approximation. The binding energy is computed as a function of dot size and hydrostatic pressure. The numerical results show that the binding energy of the impurity state increases, attains a maximum value, and then decreases as the QD radius increases for any electric field. Moreover, the binding energy increases with the pressure for any size of dot. The Stark shift of the impurity energy for large dot size is much larger than that for the small dot size, and it is enhanced by the increase of electric field. We compare the binding energy of impurity state with and without strain effects, and the results show that the strain effects enhance the impurity binding energy considerably, especially for the small QD size. We also take the dielectric mismatch into account in our work.     

Electron mobility and drift velocity in selectively doped InAlAs/InGaAs/InAlAs heterostructures

An increase in the electron mobility and drift velocity in high electric fields in quantum wells of selectively doped InAlAs/InGaAs/InAsAs heterostructures is obtained experimentally via controlling the composition of semiconductors forming the interface. The electron mobility at the interface in the In_0.8Ga_0.2As/In_0.7Al_0.3As metamorphic structure with a high molar fraction of In (0.7–0.8) is as high as 12.3 × 10³ cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ at room temperature. An increase in the electron mobility by a factor of 1.1–1.4 is attained upon the introduction of thin (1–3 nm) InAs layers into a quantum well of selectively doped In_0.53Ga_0.47As/In_0.52Al_0.48As heterostructures. A maximal drift velocity attains 2.5 × 10⁷ cm/s in electric fields of 2–5 kV/cm. The threshold field F _th for the intervalley Γ-L electron transfer (the Gunn effect) in the InGaAs quantum well is higher than in the bulk material by a factor of 2.5–3. The effect of two- to threefold decrease in the threshold field F _th in the InGaAs quantum well is established upon increasing the molar fraction of In in the InAlAs barrier, as well as upon the introduction of thin InAs inserts into the InGaAs quantum well.     

Gas-Source molecular beam epitaxy and characterization of inGaAs/lnGaAsP quantum well structures on InP

In this paper, we report the effect of using a group-V residual source evacuation (RSE) time on the interfaces of InGaAs/lnGaAsP quantum wells (QWs) grown by gas-source molecular beam epitaxy. High-resolution x-ray rocking curve and low-temperature photoluminescence (PL) were used to characterize the material quality. By optimizing the RSE time, a PL line width at 15K as narrow as 6.6 meV is observed from a 2 nm wide single QW, which is as good as or better than what has been reported for this material system. Very sharp and distinct satellite peaks as well as Pendellosung fringes are observed in the x-ray rocking curves of In_xGa_1−xAs/InxGa_1−xAS_yP_1−y multiple QWs, indicating good crystalline quality, lateral uniformity, and vertical periodicity. Theoretical considerations of the PL linewidths of In_xGa_1−xAs/InxGa_1−xAS_yP_1−y single QWs show that for QW structures grown with the optimized RSE time, the PL linewidth is mainly due to alloy scattering, whereas the contribution from interface roughness is small, indicating a good interface control.     

Contactless electroreflectance study of a GaAIAs/lnGaAs/ GaAs/GaAIAs step quantum well structure

Using contactless electroreflectance at 300 and 77K, we have studied the inter-subband transitions from a GaAlAs/InGaAs/GaAs/GaALAs step quantum well structure (small well inside a large well) consisting of two layers A (In_xGa_1−xAs) and B (GaAs) with widths L_A and L_B, respectively, bounded by two thick barrier regions of Ga_x Al_yAs. By comparison of the observed spectral features with an envelope function calculation, including the effects of strain, we have been able to characterize the potential profile of the structure, i.e., L_A, L_B, x, and y. There is very good agreement between experiment and the intended materials param-eters. Such configurations are of considerable importance since (a) they form the basis for pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistors, and (b) also have applications in optoelectronics due to their large Stark shifts.     

Capacitance-voltage study of heterostructures with InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells in the temperature range from 10 to 320 K

Heterostructures with single strained InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells have been studied by measuring the capacitance-voltage characteristics in a wide range of temperatures and test signal frequencies. Based on the analysis of experimental capacitance-voltage characteristics, a temperature shift of the peak in the apparent profile of a majority carrier’s concentration is revealed and a quantitative model of this phenomenon is proposed. The effect of incomplete impurity ionization on the experimentally found quantum well’s charge is determined. It is established by numerical simulation and fitting of capacitance-voltage characteristics that the conduction band’s discontinuity for heterostructures with strained In _x Ga_{1 − x} As/GaAs quantum wells (x = 0.225) remains constant and equal to 172 ± 10 meV at temperatures from 320 to 100 K.     

Photo-and electroluminescence in the 1.3-µm wavelength range from quantum-dot structures grown on GaAs substrates

A method is proposed to increase the emission wavelength from structures grown on GaAs substrates by inserting a strained InAs quantum dot array into an external InGaAs quantum well. The dependence of the luminescence peak position on the active region design was investigated for structures grown by this method. Room-temperature photo-and electroluminescence spectra in the 1.3-μm wavelength range are compared. Fiz. Tekh. Poluprovodn. 33, 180–183 (February 1999)     

Magnetic Properties of Fe<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Mn<Subscript>1−<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>In<Subscript>2</Subscript>S<Subscript>4</Subscript> Alloy Single Crystals

This study concerns the magnetic properties of single crystals of Fe _x Mn_{1 − x} In₂S₄ alloys. The basically antiferromagnetic character of indirect exchange interactions between Fe²⁺ and Mn²⁺ cations is established. As the concentration of Fe²⁺ cations is increased, the magnetic ordering temperature increases from ∼12 K (x = 0) to ∼22 K (x = 1). Short-range-order ferromagnetic correlations are observed. The basic magnetic phase state of the alloys is the spin glass state, with the freezing temperature increasing from ∼5 K (x = 0) to ∼12 K (x = 1). As the external magnetic field is increased, the magnetic ordering temperature slightly decreases. The most probable causes and mechanisms of formation of the magnetic state of the alloys are discussed.     

Valence band offsets in strained GaAs1−xPx/GaAs heterojunctions

Valence band offsets at [100]-oriented heterojunctions between tensile-strained GaASj_1−xP_x and unstrained GaAs are studied experimentally and theoretically. Light-hole (LH) and heavy-hole (HH) offsets are first extracted from the well-width dependence of valence subband splittings observed in luminescence spectra of tensile-strained GaAs_1−xP_x/GaAs quantum wells of various compositions (x = 0.06,0.09, and 0.19). This data is then combined with results from two other laboratories, yielding a set of 30 independent experimental offset values for junctions with compositions throughout the range 0.06≤x ≤0.32. The data are found to be highly consistent, with linear fits δE_LH = −140x (meV) and δE_HH= −401x (meV) describing the measured offsets to within less than 5 meV on average. Experimental results are then compared with theoretical predictions for the GaAs_1−x P_x/GaAs system obtained from a tight-binding model for strained heterojunctions. Predictions from the tight-binding calculations are found to lie within experimental scatter for the LH offsets, which define the valence band edge in these heterostructures, while magnitudes of the tight-binding HH offsets exceed measured values by ~20% on average.     

Drift velocity of electrons in quantum wells of selectively doped In0.5Ga0.5As/AlxIn1 ? xAs and In0.2Ga0.8As/AlxGa1 ? xAs heterostructures in high electric fields

The field dependence of drift velocity of electrons in quantum wells of selectively doped In_0.5Ga_0.5As/Al _x In_{1 − x} As and In_0.2Ga_0.8As/Al _x Ga_{1 − x} As heterostructures is calculated by the Monte Carlo method. The influence of varying the molar fraction of Al in the composition of the Al _x Ga_{1 − x} As and Al _x In_{1 − x} As barriers of the quantum well on the mobility and drift velocity of electrons in high electric fields is studied. It is shown that the electron mobility rises as the fraction x of Al in the barrier composition is decreased. The maximum mobility in the In_0.5Ga_0.5As/In_0.8Al_0.2As quantum wells exceeds the mobility in a bulk material by a factor of 3. An increase in fraction x of Al in the barrier leads to an increase in the threshold field E _th of intervalley transfer (the Gunn effect). The threshold field is E _th = 16 kV/cm in the In_0.5Ga_0.5As/Al_0.5In_0.5As heterostructures and E _th = 10 kV/cm in the In_0.2Ga_0.8As/Al_0.3Ga_0.7As heterostructures. In the heterostructures with the lowest electron mobility, E _th = 2–3 kV/cm, which is lower than E _th = 4 kV/cm in bulk InGaAs.     

Magnetic resonance studies of InGaN-based quantum well diodes

Photoluminescence (PL) based optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) studies as well as electroluminescence detected and electrically detected magnetic resonance (ELDMR and EDMR, respectively) measurements of In_xGa_1−xN quantum wells were performed. In the ODMR, two PL-enhancing resonances were observed: an electron resonance and a hole resonance. The electron resonance is consistent with expectations for the g value in bulk In_xGa_1−xN for x ≈ 0.4 but deviates significantly in an x≈0.3 sample. Possible reasons for this include the effects of strain and confinement. The hole resonance is qualitatively similar to observations in Mg-doped GaN, but more isotropic in the x ≈ 0.3 diode than in the x ≈ 0.4 sample. We measure relatively long radiative lifetimes (as long as ∼0.2 ms) in the ODMR which facilitate the observation of the resonances and indicate that the electron and hole are spatially separated either by potential fluctuations within the quantum well or by the trapping of the hole at an acceptor in the player of AlGaN whch serves as one of the confining barriers. In the EDMR and ELDMR experiments, the signal is primarily due to a reduction in the nonradiative recombination at resonance. While the ODMR is alwyas emission-enhancing, the ELDMR is luminescence-quenching, supporting the notion that techniques are probing different centers.     

Three-State Quantum Dot Gate FETs Using ZnS-ZnMgS Lattice-Matched Gate Insulator on Silicon

This paper presents the three-state behavior of quantum dot gate field-effect transistors (FETs). GeO _x -cladded Ge quantum dots (QDs) are site-specifically self-assembled over lattice-matched ZnS-ZnMgS high-κ gate insulator layers grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) on silicon substrates. A model of three-state behavior manifested in the transfer characteristics due to the quantum dot gate is also presented. The model is based on the transfer of carriers from the inversion channel to two layers of cladded GeO _x -Ge quantum dots.     

Electron microscope studies of InxGav1−xAs/GaAs/Si grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

The microstructure of In_xGa_1−xAs/GaAs (5 nm/5 nm, x < 0 to 1.0), as grown by a metalorganic chemical vapor deposition two-step growth technique on Si(100) at 450‡C, and subsequently annealed at 750‡C, is investigated using plan-view and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. The variations in resultant island morphology and strain as a function of the In content were examined through the comparison of the misfit dislocation arrays and moirés observed. The results are discussed in relation to the ways in which the island relaxation process changes for high In content.     

Diffuse diffracted features and ordered domain structures in GalnP layers grown by organometallic vapor phase epitaxy

Transmission electron diffraction (TED) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) studies have been made of organometallic vapor phase epitaxial Ga_xIn_1−xP layers (x ≈ 0.5) grown at temperatures in the range 570–690°C to investigate ordering and ordered domain structures. TED and TEM examination shows that the size and morphology of ordered domains depend on the growth temperature. The ordered domains change from a fine rod-like shape to a plate-like shape as the growth temperature increases. The domains are of width 0.6∼2 nm and of length 1∼10 nm. Characteristic diffuse features observed in TED patterns are found to depend on the growth temperature. Extensive computer simulations show a direct correlation between the ordered domain structures and such diffuse features. A possible model is suggested to describe the temperature dependence of the ordered domain structure.     

Characterization of MOVPE-grown (Al, In, Ga) N heterostructures by quantitative analytical electron microscopy

The low pressure metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy growth of wurzite (Al, In, Ga)N heterostructures on sapphire substrates is investigated by quantitative analytical scanning transmission electron microscopy techniques like atomic number (Z-) contrast imaging and convergent beam electron diffraction (CBED). Especially (In, Ga)N quantum wells of different thicknesses as well as superlattices were analyzed with respect to defects, chemical composition variations, interface abruptness and strain (relaxation) effects. The interfaces in In_0.12Ga_0.88N/GaN quantum wells appear to be asymmetric. Additionally, we found composition variations of Δx_In≥0.03 within the InGaN quantum wells. The application of electron diffraction techniques (CBED) yields quantitative information on strain and relaxation effects. For the case of 17 nm thick InGaN quantum wells, we observed relaxation effects which are not present in the investigated thin quantum wells of 2 nm thickness. The experimentally obtained diffraction patterns were compared to simulations in order to get values for strain within the quantum wells. Additionally, the influence of dislocations on the digression of superlattices is investigated.     

The effects of quantum dot coverage in InAs/(In)GaAs nanostructures for long wavelength emission

We present a study on the effects of quantum dot coverage on the properties of InAs dots embedded in GaAs and in metamorphic In_0.15Ga_0.85As confining layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs substrates. We show that redshifted emission wavelengths exceeding 1.3 μm at room temperature were obtained by the combined use of InGaAs confining layers and high quantum dot coverage. The use of high InAs coverage, however, leads to detrimental effects on the optical and electrical properties of the structures. We relate such behaviour to the formation of extended structural defects originating from relaxed large-sized quantum dots that nucleate in accordance to thermodynamic equilibrium theories predicting the quantum dot ripening. The effect of the reduced lattice-mismatch of InGaAs metamorphic layers on quantum dot ripening is discussed in comparison with the InAs/GaAs system.     

Quantum Confinement and Carrier Localization Effects in ZnO/Mg<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Zn<Subscript>1−<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>O Wells Synthesized by Pulsed Laser Deposition

The optical properties of ZnO/Mg _x Zn_1−x O (x = 0.17) quantum wells (QWs) grown on c-plane sapphire substrates by pulsed laser deposition are presented. A blueshift in the low-temperature photoluminescence (PL) of the QWs illustrates quantum confinement effects as a function of ZnO well widths in the range from 3 nm to 10 nm. Enhanced luminescence properties are observed with increasing quantum confinement. PL data indicate weak polarization effects associated with the heterojunctions. Temperature-dependent PL measurements indicate carrier/exciton localization with activation energy of approximately 4−5 meV, which are attributed to potential fluctuations at the well-barrier interface.