The effect of Be-doping structure in negative electron affinity GaAs photocathodes on integrated photosensitivity

A new structure of GaAs photocathode was introduced. The Be-doping concentration is variable in the new structure compared with the constant concentration of Be in the normal photocathode. Negative electron affinity GaAs photocathodes were fabricated by alternate input of Cs and O. The spectral response results measured by the on-line spectral response measurement system show that the integrated photosensitivity of the photocathodes with the new structure is enhanced by at least 50% as compared to those with the monolayer structure. Accordingly, two main factors leading to the enhanced photosensitivity of the photocathodes were discussed. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dependence of bimodal size distribution on temperature and optical properties of InAs quantum dots grown on vicinal GaAs (1-00) substrates by using MOCVD

Self-assembled InAs quantum dots (QDs) are grown on vicinal GaAs (100) substrates by using metal-organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD). An abnormal temperature dependence of bimodal size distribution of InAs quantum dots is found. As the temperature increases, the density of the small dots grows larger while the density of the large dots turns smaller, which is contrary to the evolution of QDs on exact GaAs (100) substrates. This trend is explained by taking into account the presence of multiatomic steps on the substrates. The optical properties of InAs QDs on vicinal GaAs(100) substrates are also studied by photoluminescence (PL). It is found that dots on a vicinal substrate have a longer emission wavelength, a narrower PL line width and a much larger PL intensity.

Passively Q-switched and mode-locked diode-pumped Nd : YVO4 laser with LT-GaAs output coupler

We have demonstrated an efficient and compact passively Q-switched and mode-locked (QML) 1064 nm Nd:YVO4 laser by using a low temperature grown GaAs (LT-GaAs) saturable absorber as well as an output coupler. Stable QML with envelope duration as short as 10 ns and Q-switched repetition rate of 36 kHz was obtained. It is the shortest envelope duration as far as we know, and it is so short that it can be used as Q-switching pulses directly. At 6.9 W of the incident pump power, average output power of 1.24 W was achieved and the corresponding peak power and energy of a single Q-switched pulse were 3.44 kW and 34.4 mu J, respectively. The mode-locked pulses inside the Q-switched pulse envelope had a repetition rate of 780 MHz. (C) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The role of Sb in the molecular beam epitaxy growth of 1.30-1.55 mu m wavelength GaInNAs/GaAs quantum well with high indium content

Sb-assisted GaInNAs/GaAs quantum wells (QWs) with high (42.5%) indium content were investigated systematically. Transmission electron microscopy, reflection high-energy electron diffraction and photoluminescence (PL) measurements reveal that Sb acts as a surfactant to suppress three-dimensional growth. The improvement in the 1.55 mu m range is much more apparent than that in the 1.3 mu m range.. which can be attributed to the difference in N composition. The PL intensity and the full-width at half maximum of the 1.55 mu m single-QW were comparable with that of the 1.3 Am QWs. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Temperature and power-density-dependent inter-shell energy states in InAs/GaAs quantum dots

We have investigated the evolution of exciton state filling in InAs/GaAs quantum dot (QD) structures as a function of the excitation power density by using rnicro-photoluminescence spectroscopy at different temperatures. In addition to the emission bands of exciton recombination corresponding to the atom-like S, P and D, etc. shells of QDs, it was observed that some extra states V between the S and P shells, and D' between the P and D shells appear in the spectra with increasing number of excitons occupying the QDs at a certain temperature. The emergence of these inter-shell excitonic levels is power density and temperature dependent, which is an experimental demonstration of strong exciton-exciton exchange interaction, state hybridization, and coupling of a multi-exciton system in QDs. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Influence of growth parameters of frequency-radio plasma nitrogen source on extending emission wavelengths from 1.31 mu m to 1.55 mu m GaInNAs/GaAs quantum wells grown by molecular-beam epitaxy

High (42.5%) indium content GaInNAs/GaAs quantum wells with room temperature emission wavelength from 1.3 mu m to 1.5 mu m range were successfully grown by Radio Frequency Plasma Nitrogen source assisted Molecular Beam Epitaxy. The growth parameters of plasma power and N-2 How rate were optimized systematically to improve the material quality. Photoluminescence and transmission electron microscopy measurements showed that the optical and crystal quality of the 1.54 mu m GaInNAs/GaAs QWs was kept as comparable as that in 1.31 mu m.

Q-switched and mode-locked diode-pumped Nd : YAG laser with an LT-GaAs

Simultaneous Q-switching and mode-locking (QML) is accomplished in a diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser using low-temperature GaAs (LT-GaAs) as the saturable absorber, which also acts as an output coupler at the same time. The repetition rate of the Q-switched envelope increased from 25 to 40 kHz as the pump power increased from 2.2 to 6.9 W. The mode-locked pulses inside the Q-switched pulse envelope had a repetition rate of 714 MHz. A maximum average output power of 770 mW was obtained. (c) 2005 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Optical anisotropy and strain evolution of GaAs surfaces at the onset of the formation of InAs quantum dots

By using reflectance difference spectroscopy we have studied the in-plane optical anisotropy of GaAs surfaces covered by ultrathin InAs layers. The strain evolution of the GaAs surface with the InAs deposition thickness can be obtained. It is found that the optical anisotropy and the surface tensile strain attain maximum values at the onset of the formation of InAs quantum dots (QDs) and then decrease rapidly as more InAs QDs are formed with the increase of InAs deposition. The origin of the optical anisotropy has been discussed.

Magnetophotoluminescence of Zn0.88Mn0.12Se grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition on GaAs substrates

Magnetophotoluminescence properties of Zn0.88Mn0.12Se thin films grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition on GaAs substrates are investigated in fields up to 10 T. The linewidth of the excitonic luminescence peaks decreases with the increasing magnetic field (< 1 T), but the peak energy is almost unchanged. There is a crossover of the photoluminescence intensities between interband and bound excitonic transitions as the magnetic field is increased to about 1 T. These behaviors are interpreted by the strong tuning of the local alloy disorder potential by the applied magnetic field. In addition, the magnetic field-induced suppression of the energy transfers from excitons to Mn2+ ions is also observed.

Growth of InAs quantum dots on vicinal GaAs (100) substrates by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition and their optical properties

The growth of InAs quantum dots on vicinal GaAs (100) Substrates was systematically studied using low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The dots showed a clear bimodal size distribution on vicinal substrates. The way of evolution of this bimodal size distribution was studied as a function of growth temperature, InAs layer thickness and InAs deposition rate. The optical properties of dots grown on vicinal substrates were also studied by photoluminescence (PL). It was found that, compared with dots on exact substrates, dots on vicinal substrates had better optical properties such as a narrower PL line width, a longer emission wavelength, and a larger PL intensity. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Corrugated surfaces formed on GaAs(331)A substrates: the template for laterally ordered InGaAs nanowires

Morphology evolution of high-index GaAs(331)A surfaces during molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth has been investigated in order to achieve regularly distributed step-array templates and fabricate spatially ordered low-dimensional nano-structures. Atomic force microscope (AFM) measurements have shown that the step height and terrace width of GaAs layers increase monotonically with increasing substrate temperature. By using the step arrays formed on GaAs(331)A surfaces as the templates, we have fabricated highly ordered InGaAs nanowires. The improved homogeneity and the increased density of the InGaAs nanowires are attributed to the modulated strain field caused by vertical multi-stacking, as well as the effect of corrugated surface of the template. Photoluminescence (PL) tests confirmed remarkable polarization anisotropy.

Study of persistent photoconductivity and subband electronic properties of the two-dimensional electron gas in modulation doped GaAs/AlGaAs structure

We obtained the high mobility Of mu(2K) = 1.78 x 10(6) cm(2)/V . s in Si-doped GaAs/AlGaAs two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) structures. After the sample was illuminated by a light-emitting diode in magnetic fields up to 6 T at T = 2K, we did observe the persistent photoconductivity effect and the electron density increased obviously. The electronic properties of 2DEG have been studied by Quantum-Hall-effect and Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillation measurements. We found that the electron concentrations of two subbands increase simultaneity with the increasing total electron concentration, and the electron mobility also increases obviously after being illuminated. At the same time, we also found that the electronic quantum lifetime becomes shorter, and a theoretical explunation is given through the widths of integral quantum Hall plateaus.

Optical properties of inGaAs/GaAs quantum wells grown by Sb-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

It is found that both methods using either continuous Sb supply or pre-deposition of a very thin Sb layer are efficient for the Sb-assisted molecular beam epitaxy growth of highly strained InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells (QWs). The emission of QWs is extended to long wavelength close to 1.25 mu m with high luminescence efficiency at room temperature. The influence of rapid thermal annealing (RTA) on the photoluminescence intensity critically depends on the annealing temperature and duration for highly strained QWs. A relatively low RTA temperature of 700 degrees C with a short duration of 10 s is suggested for optimizing the annealing effect. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Characteristic of rapid thermal annealing on GaIn(N)(Sb)As/GaAs quantum well grown by molecular-beam epitaxy

Effect of rapid thermal annealing on photoluminescence (PL) properties of InGaAs, InGaNAs, InGaAsSb, and InGaNAsSb quantum wells (QWs) grown by molecular-beam epitaxy was systematically investigated. Variations of PL intensity and full width at half maximum were recorded from the samples annealed at different conditions. The PL peak intensities of InGaAs and InGaNAs QWs initially increase and then decrease when the annealing temperature increased from 600 to 900 degrees C, but the drawing lines of InGaAsSb and InGaNAsSb take on an "M" shape. The enhancement of the PL intensity and the decrease of the full width at half maximum in our samples are likely due to the removal of defects and dislocations as well as the composition's homogenization. In the 800-900 degrees C high-temperature region, interdiffusion is likely the main factor influencing the PL intensity. In-N is easily formed during annealing which will prevent In out diffusion, so the largest blueshift was observed in InGaAsSb in the high-temperature region. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.

Evolution of wetting layer of InAs/GaAs quantum dots studied by reflectance difference spectroscopy

For the InAs/GaAs quantum-dot system, the evolution of the wetting layer (WL) with the InAs deposition thickness has been studied by reflectance difference spectroscopy (RDS) in combination with atomic force microscopy and photoluminescence. One transition related to the light hole in the WL has been observed clearly in RDS, from which its transition energy and in-plane optical anisotropy (OA) are determined. The evolution of WL with the InAs dot formation and ripening has been discussed. In addition, the remarkable changes in OA at the onsets of the dot formation and ripening have been observed, implying the mode transitions of atom transport between the WL and the dots.