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.

Quantum dissipation and broadening mechanisms due to electron-phonon interactions in self-formed InGaN quantum dots

Quantum dissipation and broadening mechanisms in Si-doped InGaN quantum dots are studied via the photoluminescence technique. It is found that the dissipative thermal bath that embeds the quantum dots plays an important role in the photon emission processes. Observed spontaneous emission spectra are modeled with the multimode Brownian oscillator model achieving an excellent agreement between experiment and theory for a wide temperature range. The dimensionless Huang-Rhys factor characterizing the strength of electron-LO-phonon coupling and damping constant accounting for the LO-phonon-bath interaction strength are found to be similar to 0.2 and 200 cm(-1), respectively, for the InGaN QDs. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.

A model for scattering due to interface roughness in finite quantum wells

A model for scattering due to interface roughness in finite quantum wells (QWs) is developed within the framework of the Boltzmann transport equation and a simple and explicit expression between mobility limited by interface roughness scattering and barrier height is obtained. The main advantage of our model is that it does not involve complicated wavefunction calculations, and thus it is convenient for predicting the mobility in thin finite QWs. It is found that the mobility limited by interface roughness is one order of amplitude higher than the results derived by assuming an infinite barrier, for finite barrier height QWs where x = 0.3. The mobility first decreases and then flattens out as the barrier confinement increases. The experimental results may be explained with monolayers of asperity height 1-2, and a correlation length of about 33 angstrom. The calculation results are in excellent agreement with the experimental data from AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs QWs.

A method to obtain ground state electroluminescence from 1.3 mu m emitting InAs/GaAs quantum dots grown by molecular beam epitaxy

1.3 mum emitting InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy and QD light emitting diodes (LEDs) have been fabricated. In the electroluminescence spectra of QD LEDs, two clear peaks corresponding to the ground state emission and the excited state emission are observed. It was found that the ground state emission could be achieved by increasing the number of QDs contained in the active region because of the state filling effect. This work demonstrates a way to control and tune the emitting wavelength of QD LEDs and lasers.

A novel application to quantum dot materials to the active region of superluminescent diodes

We have proposed a new superluminescent diodes (SLD) aimed at wide spectrum-quantum dot superluminescent diodes (QD-SLD), which is characterized by the introduction of a self-assembled asymmetric quantum dot pairs active region into conventional SLID structure. We investigated the structure and optical properties of a bilayer sample with different InAs deposition amounts in the first and second layer. We find that the structure of a self-assembled asymmetric quantum dot pairs can operate up to a 150 nm spectral width. In addition, as the first QDs' density can modulate the density of the QDs on the second layer, due to relatively high QDs density of the first layer, we can get the strong PL intensity from a broad range. We think that for the broad spectral width and the strong PL intensity, this structure can be a promising candidate for QW-SLD. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

New way to enhance the uniformity of self-organized InAs quantum dots

Growth interruption was introduced after the deposition of GaAs cap layer, which is thinner than the mean height of Quantum dots. Uniformity of quantum dots has been enhanced because the full width of half maximum of photoluminescence decrease from 80meV to 27meV in these samples as the interruption time increasing from 0 to 120 second. Meanwhile, we have observed that the peak position of photoluminescence is a function of interruption time. This effect can be used to control the energy level of quantum dots. The phenomena mentioned above can be attributed to the diffusion of In atoms from the top of InAs islands to the top of GaAs cap layer caused by the difference of surface energies between InAs and GaAs.

A new method to fabricate InGaN quantum dots by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

A new method to form nanoscale InGaN quantum dots using MOCVD is reported, This method is much different from a method. which uses surfactant or the Stranski-Krastannow growth mode. The dots were formed by increasing the energy barrier for adatoms, which are hopping by surface passivation, and by decreasing the growth temperature. Thus, the new method can be called as a passivation-low-temperature method. Regular high-temperature GaN films were grown first and were passivated. A low-temperature thin layer of GaN dot was then deposited on the surface that acted as the adjusting layer. At last the high-density InGaN dots could be fabricated on the adjusting layer. Atomic force microscopy measurement revealed that InGaN dots were small enough to expect zero-dimensional quantum effects: The islands were typically 80 nm wide and 5 nm high. Their density was about 6 x 10(10) cm(-2). Strong photoluminescence emission from the dots is observed at room temperature, which is much stronger than that of the homogeneous InGaN film with the same growth time. Furthermore, the PL emission of the GaN adjusting layer shows 21 meV blueshift compared with the band edge emission of the GaN due to quantum confine effect. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Strong three-level resonant magnetopolaron effect due to the intersubband coupling in heavily modulation-doped GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs single quantum wells at high magnetic-fields

Electron cyclotron resonance CR) measurements have been carried out in magnetic fields up to 32 T to study electron-phonon interaction in two heavily modulation-delta -doped GaAs/Al0.3Ga0.7As single-quantum-well samples. No measurable resonant magnetopolaron effects were observed in either sample in the region of the GaAs longitudinal optical (LO) phonons. However, when the CR frequency is above LO phonon frequency, omega (LO)=E-LO/(h) over bar, at high magnetic fields (B>27 T), electron CR exhibits a strong avoided-level-crossing splitting for both samples at frequencies close to (omega (LO)+ (E-2-E-1)1 (h) over bar, where E-2, and E-1 are the energies of the bottoms of the second and the first subbands, respectively. The energy separation between the two branches is large with the minimum separation of 40 cm(-1) occurring at around 30.5 T. A detailed theoretical analysis, which includes a self-consistent calculation of the band structure and the effects of electron-phonon interaction on the CR, shows that this type of splitting is due to a three-level resonance between the second Landau level of the first electron subband and the lowest Landau level of the second subband plus one GaAs LO phonon. The absence of occupation effects in the final states and weak screening or this three-level process yields large energy separation even in the presence of high electron densities. Excellent agreement between the theory and the experimental results is obtained.

Capacitance-voltage characteristic as a trace of the exciton evolvement from spatially direct to indirect in quantum wells

We have investigated the photo-excited capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics as well as the photoluminescence spectra under different biases of a wide quantum well (QW) embedded in an n(+)-i-n(+) double-barrier structure. The pronounced peak feature at zero bias in the C-V spectrum observed upon illumination is regarded as a kind of quantum capacitance related to the quantum confined Stark effect, originating from the spatial separation of the photo-generated electron and hole gas in the QW. This fact is further demonstrated through the comparison between the C-V curve with the PL intensity versus applied voltage relationship under the same excitation. The results may provide us with a more direct and sensitive means in the detection of the separation and accumulation of both types of free carriers-electrons and holes-in low-dimensional semiconductor structures, especially in a new type of optical memory cell.

Evolution from point defects to arsenic clusters in low-temperature grown GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum wells

Optical transient current spectroscopy (OTCS), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and excitonic electroabsorption spectroscopy have been used to investigate the evolution of defects in the low-temperature grown GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum well structures during the postgrowth rapid thermal annealing. The sample was grown at 350 degrees C by molecular beam epitaxy on miscut (3.4 degrees off (001) towards (111)A) (001) GaAs substrate. After growth, the sample was subjected to 30s rapid thermal annealing in the range of 500-800 degrees C. It is found that the integrated PL intensity first decreases with the annealing temperature, then gets a minimum at 600 degrees C and finally recovers at higher temperatures. OTCS measurement shows that besides As,, antisites and arsenic clusters, there are several relatively shallower deep levels with excitation energies less than 0.3 eV in the as-grown and 500 degrees C-annealed samples. Above 600 degrees C, OTCS signals from As,, antisites and shallower deep levels become weaker, indicating the decrease of these defects. It is argued that the excess arsenic atoms group together to form arsenic clusters during annealing. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Methods to tune the electronic states of self-organized InAs/GaAs quantum dots

After capping InAs islands with a thin enough GaAs layer, growth interruption has been introduced. Ejected energy of self-organized InAs/GaAs quantum dots has been successfully tuned in a controlled manner by changing the thickness of GaAs capping layer and the time of growth interruption and InAs layer thickness. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra showing the shift of the peak position reveals the tuning of the electronic states of the QD system. Enhanced uniformity of Quantum dots is observed judging from the decrease of full width at half maximum of FL. Injection InAs/GaAs quantum dot lasers have been fabricated and performed on various frequencies. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Linewidth of the infrared absorption spectra due to bound-to-continuum transition in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs multiple quantum well structures

We have observed an extremely narrow absorption spectrum due to bound-to-continuum transition in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs multiple quantum wells (MQWs). Its linewidth is only about one tenth of the values reported previously. Our calculation indicates that the broadening of the excited state in the continuum has little contribution to the absorption linewidth. We have grown a sample whose MQW region contains two kinds of wells with a minor thickness inhomogeneity. Its resultant absorption linewidth is six times as large as that of homogeneous well sample, which is in good agreement with our theoretical analysis. Thus we can suggest that the wider absorption spectra reported by many authors may be due to the well width inhomogeneity. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(98)03430-5]

Si based quantum cascade structure: from energy band structures design to materials growth

In this paper, we propose an n-type vertical transition bound-to-continuum Ge/SiGe quantum cascade structure utilizing electronic quantum wells in the L and Gamma valleys of the Ge layers. The optical transition levels are located in the quantum wells in the L valley. The Gamma-L intervalley scattering is used to depopulate the lower level and inject the electrons into the upper level. We also show that high quality Si1-yGey pseudosubstrate is obtained by thermal annealing of Si1-xGex/Ge/Si structure. (C) 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

Monte Carlo simulation of the modulated effect induced by the dislocation to the quantum dot growth

Performing an event-based continuous kinetic Monte Carlo simulation, we investigate the modulated effect induced by the dislocation on the substrate to the growth of semiconductor quantum dots (QDs). The relative positions between the QDs and the dislocations are studied. The stress effects to the growth of the QDs are considered in simulation. The simulation results are compared with the experiment and the agreement between them indicates that this simulation is useful to study the growth mode and the atomic kinetics during the growth of the semiconductor QDs. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

GIANT CAPACITANCE OSCILLATIONS RELATED TO THE QUANTUM CAPACITANCE IN GAAS ALAS SUPERLATTICES

We have observed periodic current and capacitance oscillations with increasing bias on doped GaAs/AlAs superlattices at a temperature of 77 K. The maximum of the observed capacitance is larger than usual geometric capacitances in superlattices, being comparable to the quantum capacitance of the two-dimensional (2D) electron system proposed by Luryi. A model based on well-to-well sequential resonant tunneling due to the movement of the boundary between the electric field domains in superlattice was proposed to explain the origin of the giant capacitance oscillations. It was demonstrated that the capacitance at the peaks of capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics reflects the quantum capacitance of the space-charge region at the boundary between the domains (a novel 2D electron system).