The growth and characterization of AlGaAs double heterostructures for the evaluation of reactor and source quality

AlGaAs double heterostructures are grown by low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition to evaluate the level of oxygen contamination in different trimethylaluminum sources. Effects of arsine purifiers, misoriented substrates, atmospheric exposure of the growth chamber, and possible phosphorus contamination are also studied. Extensive characterization is performed on these films by a variety of methods, including high-resolution x-ray diffraction, photoluminescence (PL), time-resolved photoluminescence, and secondary-ion mass spectrometry. The PL intensities for structures grown with the low-alkoxide grade are reproducibly much greater than those grown with the regular-grade TMA1. The use of AsH₃ purification improves the PL intensity.