A comparison of photoluminescence properties of InGaAs GaAs quantum dots with a single quantum well

Variable temperature photoluminescence (PL) measurements for In0.3Ga0.7As(6 nm)/GaAs(34 nm) quantum dot superlattices with a period of 20 and an In0.3Ga0.7As(6 nm)/GaAs(34 nm) reference single quantum well have been conducted. It is found that the temperature dependence is different between the quantum dots and the reference single quantum well. The PL peak energy of the single quantum well decreases faster than that of the quantum dots with increasing temperature. The PL peak energy for the InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots closely follows the InAs band gap in the temperature range from 11 to 170 K, while the PL peak energy for the InGaAs/GaAs quantum well closely follows the GaAs band gap. In comparison with InAs/GaAs quantum dots, the InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots are more typical as a zero-dimensional system since the unusual PL results, which appear in the former, are not obvious for the latter. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(99)08615-6].

The growth of SiC on Si substrates with C2H4 and Si2H6

SiC was grown on Si (100) substrates oriented and off-oriented by 2-5 degrees towards [011] with simultaneous supply of C2H4 and S2H6 at 1050 degrees C. SiC formed during removal of oxide could be removed at 1150 degrees C. Twinned growth occurred on both oriented and off-oriented substrates during carbonization, but fewer twins formed on the off-oriented substrate than that on the oriented substrate. In SiC growth process, twinned growth continued on the off-oriented substrate whereas twinned growth stopped and single crystal SiC with double-domain (2 x 1) superstructure formed on the oriented substrate. SiC single crystal could grow on a carbonized twinned buffer layer. Obvious SiC LO and TO phonon modes were observed with Raman spectroscopy in the epilayer grown on the oriented substrate. The surface of the epilayer grown on the oriented substrate was smooth, while there was a high density of islands on the epilayer grown on the off-oriented substrate. The film grown on the oriented substrate is superior than that grown on the off-oriented substrate. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Self-organization of the InGaAs GaAs quantum dots superlattice

The mechanism of self-organization of quantum dots (QDs) during the growth of InGaAs/GaAs multilayers on GaAs (1 0 0) was investigated with cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM), and double-crystal X-ray diffraction (DCXD). We found that the QDs spacing in the first layer can affect the vertical alignment of QDs. There seems to exist one critical lateral QD spacing, below which merging of QDs with different initial size is found to be the dominant mechanism leading to perfect vertical alignment. Once the critical value of QDs spacing is reached, the InGaAs QDs of the first layer are simply reproduced in the upper layers. The X-ray rocking curve clearly shows two sets of satellite peaks, which correspond to the QDs superlattice, and multi-quantum wells (QW) formed by the wetting layers around QDs. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Scanning electron microscope studies of cubic AlxGa1-xN films grown on GaAs(100) by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE)

Cubic AlGaN films were grown on GaAs(100) substrates by MOVPE. Scanning electron microscope and photoluminescence were used to analyze the surface morphology and the crystalline quality of the epitaxial layers. We found that both NH, and TEGa fluxes have a strong effect on the surface morphology of AlGaN films. A model for the lateral growth mechanism is presented to qualitatively explain this effect. The content of hexagonal AlGaN in the cubic AlGaN films was also related to the NH3 flux. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Structural characterization of InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots superlattice infrared photodetector structures

InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) superlattice grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) at different substrate temperatures for fabricating 8-12 mu m infrared photodetector were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), double-crystal X-ray diffraction (DCXRD) and photoluminescence (PL). High-quality QDs superlattice can be achieved by higher growth temperature. Cross-sectional TEM shows the QDs in the successive layers are vertically aligned along growth direction. Interaction of partial vertically aligned columns leads to a perfect vertical ordering. With increasing number of bilayers, the average QDs size becomes larger in height and rapidly saturates at a certain value, while average lateral length nearly preserves initial size. This change leads to the formation of QDs homogeneous in size and of a particular shape. The observed self-organizations are attributed to the effect of strain distribution at QDs on the kinetic growth process. DCXRD measurement shows two sets of satellite peaks which corresponds to QDs superlattice and multi quantum wells formed by the wetting layers. Kinematical simulations of the wetting layers indicate that the formation of QDs is associated with a decrease of the effective indium content in the wetting layers. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

A study of the interface of CeO2/Si heterostructure grown by ion beam deposition

Epitaxial cerium dioxide films on single-crystal silicon substrates (CeO2/Si) have been grown by a dual mass-analyzed low-energy ion beam deposition (IBD) system. By double-crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD), Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM) are 23' and 33' in the rocking curves for (222) and (111) faces of the CeO2 film, respectively, and the lattice-mismatch Delta a/a with the substrate is about - 0.123%. The results show that the CeO2/Si grown by IBD is of high crystalline quality. In this work, the CeO2/Si heterostructure were investigated by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) measurements. Especially, XPS and AES depth profiling was used to analyze the compositions and structures in the interface regions of the as-grown and post-annealed CeO2/Si. It was found that there was no silicon oxide in the interface region of the as-grown sample but silicon oxide in the post-annealed sample. The reason for obtaining such high quality heterostructure mainly depends on the absence of silicon oxide in the surface at the beginning of the deposition. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

New method for the growth of highly uniform quantum dots

A new method is realized for the growth of self-formed quantum dots. We identify that dislocation-free islands can be formed by the strain from the strained superlattice taken as a whole. Unlike the Stranski-Krastanow (S-K) growth mode, the islands do not form during the growth of the corresponding strained single layers. Highly uniform quantum dots can be self-formed via this mechanism. The low temperature spectra of self-formed InGaAs/GaAs quantum dot superlattices grown on a (001) GaAs substrate have a full width at half maximum of 26-34 meV, indicating a better uniformity of quantum dot size than those grown in the S-K mode. This method can provide great degrees of freedom in designing possible quantum dot devices. 1998 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Structural study of YSi1.7 layers formed by channeled ion beam synthesis

High quality YSi1.7 layers (chi(min) of Y is 3.5%) have been formed by 60 keV Y ion implantation in Si (111) substrates to a dose of 1.0 x 10(17)/cm(2) at 450 degrees C using channeled ion beam synthesis (CIBS). It shows that, compared to the conventional nonchanneled ion beam synthesis, CIBS is beneficial in forming YSi1.7 layers with better quality due to the lower defect density created in the implanted layer. Rutherford backscattering/channeling and x-ray diffraction have been used to study the structure and the strain of the YSi1.7 layers. The perpendicular and parallel elastic strains of the YSi1.7 epilayer are e(perpendicular to) = -0.67% +/- 0.02% and e(parallel to) = +1.04% +/- 0.08%. The phenomenon that a nearly zero mismatch of the YSi1.7/Si (111) system results in a nonpseudomorphic epilayer with a rather large parallel strain relative to the Si substrate (epsilon(parallel to) = +1.09%) is explained, and the model is further used to explain the elastic strain of epitaxial ErSi1.7 and GdSi1.7 rare-earth silicides. (C) 1998 American Vacuum Society.

Growth and transport properties of InAs thin films on GaAs

High-quality InAs epitaxial layers have been grown on (1 0 0) oriented semi-insulating GaAs substrates by MBE. The transport properties of largely lattice mismatched InAs/GaAs heterojunctions have been investigated by Hall effect measurements down to 10 K. In spite of a high dislocation density at the heterointerface, very high electron mobilities are obtained in the InAs thin films. By doping Si into the layer far from the InAs/GaAs interface, we found that the doped samples have higher electron mobility than that of the undoped samples with the same thickness. The mobility demonstrates a pronounced minimum around 300 K for the undoped sample. But for Si-doped samples, no pronounced minimum has been found. Such abnormal behaviours are explained by the parallel conduction from the quasi-bulk carriers and interface carriers. These high-mobility InAs thin films are found to be suitable materials for making Hall elements. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Temperature dependence of the Fermi level in low-temperature-grown GaAs

A variable-temperature reflectance difference spectroscopy study of GaAs grown by molecular beam epitaxy at low-temperature GaAs (LT-GaAs) shows that the Fermi level is mostly determined by the point defects in samples annealed at below 600 degrees C and can be shifted by photoquenching the defects. The Fermi level is otherwise almost temperature independent, leading to an estimated width of the defect band of 150 meV in the as-grown sample, For LT-GaAs annealed at 850 degrees C, the Fermi level is firmly pinned, most Likely by the As precipitates. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.

Growth and characterization of InGaAs/InAlAs/InP high-electron-mobility transistor structures towards high channel conductivity

High-quality InGaAs/InAlAs/InP high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) structures with lattice-matched or pseudomorphic channels have been grown by molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE). The purpose of this work is to enhance the channel conductivity by changing the epitaxial structure and growth process. With the use of pseudomorphic step quantum-well channel, the highest channel conductivity is achieved at x = 0.7, the corresponding electron mobilities are as high as 12300 (300 K) and 61000 cm(2)/V.s (77 K) with two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) density of 3.3 x 10(12) cm(-2). These structures are comprehensively characterized by Hall measurements, photoluminescence, double crystal X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Strong room-temperature luminescence is observed, demonstrating the high optical quality of the samples. We also show that decreasing the In composition in the InyAl1-yAs spacer is very effective to increase the 2DEG density of PHEMT structures. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Rapid thermal annealing processing of GaN epilayer on sapphire(0 0 0 1)

The effect of rapid thermal annealing (RTA) in a Nz ambient up to 900 degrees C has been investigated for GaN films grown on sapphire(0 0 0 1) substrates. Raman spectra, X-ray diffractometry and Hall-effect studies were performed for this purpose. The Raman spectra show the presence of the E-2 (high) mode and a shift in the wave number of this mode with respect to the annealing processing. This result suggests the presence and relaxation of residual stress due to thermal expansion misfit in the films which are confirmed by X-ray measurements and the structure quality of GaN epilayer was improved. Furthermore, the electron mobility increased at room temperature with respect to decrease of background electron concentration after RTA. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Thermal activation and thermal transfer of localized excitons in InAs self-organized quantum dots

We have investigated the temperature dependence of photoluminescence (PL) properties of a number of InAs/GaAs heterostructures with InAs layer thickness ranging from 0.5 monolayer (ML) to 3 ML. The temperature dependence of the InAs exciton energy and linewidth was found to display a significant difference when the InAs layer thickness is smaller or larger than the critical thickness around 1.7 ML, indicating spontaneous formation of quantum dots (QDs). A model, involving exciton recombination and thermal activation and transfer, is proposed to explain the experimental data. In the PL thermal quenching study, the measured thermal activation energies of different samples demonstrate that the InAs wetting layer may act as a barrier for thermionic emission of carriers in high quality InAs multilayers, while in InAs monolayers and submonolayers the carriers are required to overcome the GaAs barrier to thermally escape from the localized states. (C) 1998 Academic Press Limited.

Heteroepitaxy of cubic GaN: influence of interface structure

We report on the epitaxial growth and the microstructure of cubic GaN. The layers are deposited by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs and Si substrates. Despite the extreme lattice mismatch between these materials, GaN grows in the metastable cubic phase with a well-defined orientation-relationship to the GaAs substrate including a sharp heteroboundary. The preference of the metastable phase and its epitaxial orientation originates in the interface structure which is found to be governed by a coincidence site lattice.

Observation of photogalvanic current for interband absorption in InN films at room temperature

The linear and circular photogalvanic effects have been observed in undoped InN films for the interband transition by irradiation of 1060 nm laser at room temperature. The spin polarized photocurrent depends on the degree of polarization, and changes its sip when the radiation helicity changes from left-handed to right-handed. This result indicates the sizeable spin-orbit interaction in the InN epitaxial layer and provides an effective method to generate spin polarized photocurrent and to detect spin-splitting effect in semiconductors with promising applications on spintronics.