Photoluminescence of AlGaAs alloy grown by LP-MOVPE at different temperatures using TBA in N2 ambient

High quality of Al_xGa_1−xAs alloys have been grown by the LP-MOVPE using tertiary-butyl arsine as group V precursor in 100% nitrogen ambient. The photoluminescence (PL) properties of Al_0.25Ga_0.75As alloy grown at different temperature have been studied. The PL peak emission intensity of the samples increases with the substrate growth temperature initially and saturated at the growth temperature 760°C. The emission intensity decreases when further increase the temperature. This is attributed to the oxygen content in the samples.     

Evolution of Threading Dislocation Density and Stress in GaN Films Grown on (111) Si Substrates by Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition

We have studied the evolution of threading dislocations (TDs), stress, and cracking of GaN films grown on (111) Si substrates using a variety of buffer layers including thin AlN, compositionally graded Al _x Ga_1-x N (0 ≤ x ≤ 1), and AlN/Al _y Ga_1-y N/Al _x Ga_1-x N (0 ≤ x ≤ 1, y = 0 and 0.25) multilayer buffers. We find a reduction in TD density in GaN films grown on graded Al _x Ga_1-x N buffer layers, in comparison with those grown directly on a thin AlN buffer layer. Threading dislocation bending and annihilation occurs in the region in the graded Al _x Ga_1-x N grown under a compressive stress, which leads to a decrease of TD density in the overgrown GaN films. In addition, growing a thin AlN/Al _y Ga_1-y N bilayer prior to growing the compositionally graded Al _x Ga_1-x N buffer layer significantly reduces the initial TD density in the Al _x Ga_1-x N buffer layer, which subsequently further reduces the TD density in the overgrown GaN film. In-situ stress measurements reveal a delayed compressive-to-tensile stress transition for GaN films grown on graded Al _x Ga_1-x N buffer layers or multilayer buffers, in comparison to the film grown on a thin AlN buffer layer, which subsequently reduces the crack densities in the films.     

Use of tertiarybutylphosphine for the growth of InP and GaAs1-xPx

A newly-developed phosphorus source, tertiarybutylphosphine (TBP), which is much less toxic than PH₃, has been used to grow InP and GaAs_1-xP_x by atmospheric pressure organometallic vapor phase epitaxy (OMVPE). Excellent morphologies are obtained for the growth of InP between 560 and 630° C for TBP partial pressures larger than 0.5 x 10^-3. For the first time, V/III ratios as low as 3 have been used to grow InP epilayers with featureless morphologies at 600° C. To obtain good morphologies at both lower and higher temperatures, higher TBP partial pressures are necessary. The electron mobility increases and the electron density decreases as the temperature is increased. The highest room temperature mobilities and lowest electron densities, obtained at 630° C, are 3800 cm²/V-sec and 3 x 10¹⁵ cm^-3, respectively. The 10 K photoluminescence spectra of the InP epilayers at higher growth temperatures show no carbon contamination. Bound excition half widths as low as 3.0 meV have been measured. The use of TBP to replace PH₃ in the growth of GaAs_1-xP_x results in a nearly linear relationship between vapor and solid composition at 610° C,i.e., the P distribution coefficient is nearly unity. This contrasts sharply with the very low P distribution coefficient obtained using PH₃ at such low growth temperatures.     

Carbon tetrachloride doped Al x Ga1−x As grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

A dilute mixture of CCl₄ in H₂ has recently been shown to be a suitable carbon doping source for obtainingp-type GaAs grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) with carbon acceptor concentrations in excess of 1 × 10¹⁹cm⁻³. To understand the effect of growth parameters on carbon incorporation in CCl₄ doped Al _x Ga_1−x As, carbon acceptor concentration was studied as a function of Al composition, growth temperature, growth rate, and CCl₄ flow rate using electrochemical capacitance-voltage profiling. The carbon incorporation as a function of Al composition, growth temperature and CCl₄ flow rate was also measured by secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS). All layers were grown by low pressure MOCVD using TMGa and TMAl as column III precursors, and 100% AsH₃ as the column V source. Increased Al composition reduced the dependence of carbon concentration on the growth temperature. Reduced growth rate, which resulted in substantially decreased carbon acceptor concentrations in GaAs, had an insignificant effect on the carrier concentration of Al_0.4Ga_0.6As. A linear relationship between hole concentration and CC1₄ flow rate in Al_xGa_1−x As for 0.0 ≤x ≤ 0.8 was observed. These results are interpreted to indicate that adsorption and desorption of CCl _y (y ≤ 3) on the Al _x Ga_1-x As surface during crystal growth plays an important role in the carbon incorporation mechanism.     

Characterizations of InxAlyGa1−x−yN alloy systems grown on GaN substrates by molecular-beam epitaxy

In_0.05Al_0.10Ga_0.85N epilayers and Al_0.10Ga_0.90N epilayers have been grown on bulk GaN single crystals and GaN templates by radio-frequency (RF) molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE). Photoluminescence (PL) spectra at different temperatures ranged from 8 to 300 K were measured for these epilayers. The decreasing rates of PL peak intensity of the In_0.05Al_0.10Ga_0.85N epilayers were smaller than those of the Al_0.10Ga_0.90N epilayers. The fluctuations of emission intensities were not observed in the In_0.05Al_0.10Ga_0.85N epilayers by cathodoluminescence observations at 77 K. Our results indicate that In-related effects exist in InAlGaN quaternary alloys on substrates with low-dislocation densities, however, expect that the localization effect related to In-segregation is weak.     

The compositional grading of MOCVD-grown GaAs1−xPx via substrate temperature changes

The first application of MOCVD compositional grading by means of substrate temperature changes is reported for the case of GaAs−P_x (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.30). The method is based upon the higher pyrolysis efficiency ratio of AsH₃ relative to PH₃ at lower growth temperatures. The growth upon GaAs substrates commences at a temperature at which this PH₃/ASH₃ thermal cracking efficiency ratio is extremely high; raising the growth temperature decreases this ratio, and hence the As/P ratio in the solid. GaAs_1−xP_x epilayers grown on GaAs by this method display excellent materials properties and are virtually optically and electrically indistinguishable from conventionally-graded epilayers in which the gas phase mole fractions of transport agents are varied at constant temperature. The method is applicable to systems where temperature-dependent cracking efficiency differentials exist.     

Degradation study of III–V solar cells for concentrator applications

AlGaAs/GaAs heteroface solar cells with a high aluminium content tend to degrade. The degradation mechanism has been examined and appropriate accelerated ageing procedures have been established. They effectively test the ruggedness of the device against oxidation. Changing the window layer material to (Al_xGa_1−x)_0.51In_0.49P with x = 0, 0.5 or 1 leads to stable devices. In addition, III–V tandem solar cells for concentrator applications were subjected to accelerated ageing tests. They proved to be robust against oxidation. The potential degradation due to the high current density involved in concentrator solar cells was assessed in preliminary experiments. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Photoluminescence studies on InGaAlP layers grown by low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

The optical properties for In_0.5(Ga_1-x Al _x )_0.5P (0 <x < 0.4) layers, grown by low-pressure Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition, have been studied with photolominescence (PL) measurement. The PL intensity decreases with the increase of the Al composition (0 <x < 0.4). This dependence could not be accounted for only by the electron overflow from theΓ band to the X band. And the PL intensity is directly proportional to the excitation power at low temperature, below 50 K. On the other hand, the PL intensity is proportional to the second power of the excitation power at a high temperature range (>200 K). These results indicate that non-radiative recombination centers bound to theΓ band in In_0.5(Ga_1-x Al _x )_0.5P play a very important role in the radiation mechanism. PL dependence also shows these non-radiative recombination centers are thought to have strong relation to the aluminum substitution for In_0.5(Ga_1-x Al _x )_0.5P.     

Quantitative oxygen measurements in OMVPE Al x Ga1−x As grown by methyl precursors

Oxygen has always been considered to be a major contaminant in the organo-metallic vapor phase epitaxy (OMVPE) of Al _x Ga_1−x As. Oxygen incorporation has been invoked as a contributor to low luminescence efficiency, dopant compensation and degradation of surface morphology among other deleterious effects. This study presents quantitative measurements of oxygen concentration in nominally high purity Al _x Ga_1−x As. The oxygen concentration was measured as a function of alloy composition, growth temperature, andV/III ratio. Quantitative secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) measurements were used to determine the oxygen content as well as the carbon concentration in the film. The oxygen concentration increases with decreased growth temperature and V/III ratio while increasing superlinearly with Al content in the epitaxial layer.     

Molecular beam epitaxy and characterization of Al x Ga1-x As y Sb1-y (0.0 ≤x ≤ 1.0) lattice matched to InAs substrates

We report the molecular beam epitaxial growth of Al _x Ga_1-x As _y Sb_1-y (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 1.0) on undoped, liquid-encapsulated Czochralski, (100) oriented InAs substrates. The degree of lattice mismatch was determined by x-ray diffraction. The lattice matched materials (y ≈ 0.08 + 0.08x) were characterized by low temperature photoluminescence, electro-reflectance, and capacitance-voltage measurements. The experimental bandgap energies agree with earlier experimental results for Al _x Ga_1-x Sb, and also with a self-consistent first principles pseudopotential model. The capacitance-voltage measurements indicate background acceptor concentrations for the unintentionally-doped epitaxial layers of about 2 × 10¹⁵ cm^-3 atx = 1.0 to 5 × 10¹⁶ cm^-3 atx ≈ 0.0.     

Growth and properties of digitally-alloyed AlGaInP by solid source molecular beam epitaxy

Digital alloying using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) was investigated to produce AlGaInP quaternary alloys for bandgap engineering useful in 600-nm band optoelectronic device applications. Alternating Ga_0.51In_0.49P/Al_0.51In_0.49P periodic layers ranging from 4.4 monolayers (ML) to 22.4 ML were used to generate 4,000-Å-thick (Al_0.5Ga_0.5)_0.51In_0.49P quaternary materials to understand material properties as a function of constituent superlattice layer thickness. High-resolution x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis exhibited fine satellite peaks for all the samples confirming that digitally-alloyed (Al_0.5Ga_0.5)_0.51In_0.49P preserved high structural quality consistent with cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (X-TEM) images. Low-temperature photoluminescence (PL) measurements showing a wide span of luminescence energies ～ 170 meV can be obtained from a set of identical composition digitally-alloyed (Al_0.5Ga_0.5)_0.51In_0.49P with different superlattice periods, indicating the bandgap tunability of this approach and its viability for III-P optoelectronic devices grown by MBE.     

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.     

Characterization of AlxInyGa1−x−yN quaternary alloys grown on sapphire substrates by molecular-beam epitaxy

High-resolution X-ray diffraction (HR-XRD) with rocking curve, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy have been performed on high-quality quaternary Al_xIn_yGa_1−x−yN thin films at room temperature. The Al_xIn_yGa_1−x−yN films were grown on c-plane (0 0 0 1) sapphire substrates with AlN as buffer layers using a molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) technique with aluminum (Al) mole fractions x ranging from 0.0 to 0.2 and constant indium (In) mole fraction y=0.1. HR-XRD measurements confirmed the high crystalline quality of these alloys without any phase separation. The X-ray rocking curve of Al_xIn_yGa_1−x−yN films typically shows full widths at half maximum (FWHM) intensity between 14.4 and 28.8 arcmin. AFM measurements revealed a two-dimensional (2D) growth mode with a smooth surface morphology of quaternary epilayers. PL spectra exhibited both an enhancement of the integrated intensity and an increasing blueshift with increased Al content with reference to the ternary sample In_0.1Ga_0.90N. Both effects arise from Al-enhanced exciton localization. PL was used to determine the behavior of the energy band gap of the quaternary films, which was found to increase with increasing Al composition from 0.05 to 0.2. This trend is expected since the incorporation of Al increases the energy band gap of ternary In_0.1Ga_0.90N (3.004 eV). We have also investigated the bowing parameter for the variation of energy band gaps and found it to be very sensitive on the Al composition. A value of b=10.4 has been obtained for our quaternary Al_xIn_yGa_1−x−yN alloys.     

Improved quality of AlxGa1−x as grown on se-Doped AlxGa1−x as substrate-Layers by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

Al_xGa_1−xAs epilayers were grown directly on different Al_xGa_1−xAs substrate-layers by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The quality of Al_xGa_1−-xAs layers was significantly improved when Se-doped Al_xGa_1−xAs substrate-layers were used. Al_0.13Ga_0.87As epilayers with excellent morphology, optical, and crystal quality were grown on Se-doped Al_0.26Ga_0.74As. The full width at half maximum of the bound exciton peak as low as 4.51 meV was measured by low-temperature (14.9K) photoluminescence. The improvement is attributed to a Se passivation effect at the surface of Se-doped Al_xGa_1−xAs substrate-layers. Results suggest that Se will reduce and delay the formation of native oxides.     

Study of optical and electrical properties of AlxGa1−xSb grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

Al_xGa_1−xSb films in the regime 0×0.25 have been grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition on GaAs and GaSb substrates using TMAl, TMGa, and TMSb precursors. We report growth conditions and film properties, including the effect of V/III ratio and growth temperature on electrical and optical properties. Growth temperatures in the range of 520°C and 680°C and V/III ratios from 1 to 5 have been investigated. All epilayers grown exhibit p-type behavior. The mobility decreases and the carrier concentration increases sharply when a small amount of Al is incorporated into GaSb. The sharp cutoff and Fabry-Perot oscillations of the transmission spectra of the AlGaSb layers confirm the high quality of the films. The principle photoluminescence features observed are attributed to bound exciton and donor-acceptor transitions with FWHM comparable to the best values reported elsewhere.     

Growth of quaternary InP-based materials by LP-MOVPE using TBA and TBP in N2 ambient

We have investigated the growth of quaternary In_1−xGa_xAs_yP_1−y/InP materials using TBA and TBP in a N₂ ambient. This process improves significantly the uniformity of In_1−xGa_xAs/InP QWs whereas it does not improve the quaternary Q(1.3)/InP uniformity compared to the conventional process utilizing AsH₃ and PH₃ in H₂. The effect on the x and y uniformity for different combinations of the group-V precursors TBA, TBP, PH₃, and AsH₃ with the carrier gases H₂ and N₂ is evaluated. Advantages with the TBA/TBP/N₂ process are discussed.     

Effect of surface encapsulation and As4 overpressure on Si diffusion and impurity-induced layer disordering in GaAs,AlxGa1-xAs,and AlxGa1-xAs-GaAs quantum well heterostructures

Data are presented demonstrating that the surface encapsulant and the As₄ overpressure strongly affect Si diffusion in GaAs and Al_xGa_1-xAs, and thus are important parameters in impurity-induced layer disordering. Increasing As₄ overpressure results in anincrease in diffusion depth in the case of GaAs, and adecrease in diffusion depth for Al_xGa_1-xAs. In addition, the band-edge exciton is observed in absorption on an Al_xGa_1-xAs-GaAs superlattice that is diffused with Si and is converted to bulk crystal Al_yGa_1-yAs via impurity-induced layer disordering. In contrast, the exciton is not observed in absorption on GaAs diffused with Si in spite of the high degree of compensation. These data indicate that the Si diffusion process, and the properties of the diffused material, are different for GaAs and for Al_xGa_1-xAs-GaAs superlattices converted into uniform Al_yGa_1-yAs (0 ≤y ≤x ≤ 1) via impurity-induced layer disordering with the amphoteric dopant Si.     

Novel In0.52Al0.48As/In0.53Ga0.47As metamorphic high electron mobility transistors on GaAs substrate with InxGa1−xP graded buffer layers

Compositionally graded In_xGa_1−xP (x=0.48→x=1) metamorphic layers have been grown on GaAs substrate by solid source molecular beam epitaxy using a valved phosphorus cracker cell. Three series of samples were grown to optimize the growth temperature, V/III ratio and grading rate of the buffer layer. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and photoluminescence (PL) were used to characterize the samples. The following results have been obtained: (1) XRD measurement shows that all the samples are nearly fully strain relaxed and the strain relaxation ratio is about 96%; (2) the full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the XRD peak shows that the sample grown at 480°C offers better material quality; (3) the grading rate does not influence the FWHM of XRD and PL results; (4) adjustment of the V/III ratio from 10 to 20 improves the FWHM of XRD peak, and the linewidth of PL peak is close to the data obtained for the lattice-matched sample on InP substrate. The optimization of growth conditions will benefit the metamorphic HEMTs grown on GaAs using graded InGaP as buffer layers.     

Growth of high-quality 1.93-eV AIGaAs using metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

High-quality Al_xGa_1-xAs with a bandgap of 1.93 eV has been grown using metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Levels exceeding 10₁₈ cm_-3 can be obtained for Se, Si and Zn dopants. In particular, incorporation of the re-type dopants at this bandgap is not appreciably less efficient than in lower-bandgap Al_xGa_1-xAs. The best material, as measured by photoluminescence intensity, is obtained using high V/III ratios (40 forp-type material and as high as 60 forn- type and low growth rates (300 Å/min). Purification of the arsine in situ with an Al/Ga/In eutectic bubbler to remove trace water and oxygen impurities is found to be essential for the growth of high-quality material, as indicated by photoluminescence intensity measurements. Solar cells fabricated from such material exhibit efficiencies as high as 12.1% under one-sun, airmass zero (AMO) conditions, with an open-circuit voltage of 1.38 V, short-circuit current density of 14.1 mA/cm², and fill factor of 0.84.     

Growth of AlxGa1−x as by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition using trimethylgallium and trimethylamine alane

High-quality Al_xGa_1−xAs layers with aluminum arsenide contentx up to 0.34 have been grown in a low pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) system using trimethylgallium (TMG), trimethylamine alane (TMAA) and arsine. The carbon content in these films depended on growth conditions but was in general lower than in those obtained with trimethylaluminum (TMA) instead of TMAA in the same reactor under similar conditions. Unlike TMA grown layers, the TMAA grown Al_xGa_1−xAs layers, (grown at much lower temperature—down to 650° C), exhibited room temperature photolu-minescence (PL). Low temperature (25 K) PL from these films showed sharp bound exciton peaks with a line width of 5.1 meV for Al_0.25Ga_0.75As. A 39 period Al_0.28Ga_0.72As (5.5 nm)/GaAs (8.0 nm) superlattice grown at 650° C showed a strong PL peak at 25 K with a line width of 5.5 meV attesting to the high quality of these layers.