Growth-Parameter Spaces and Optical Properties of Cubic Boron Nitride Films on Si(001)

Cubic boron nitride (c-BN) films were deposited on Si(001) substrates in an ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) system under various conditions, and the growth parameter spaces and optical properties of c-BN films have been investigated systematically. The results indicate that suitable ion bombardment is necessary for the growth of c-BN films, and a well defined parameter space can be established by using the P/a-parameter. The refractive index of BN films keeps a constant of 1.8 for the c-BN content lower than 50%, while for c-BN films with higher cubic phase the refractive index increases with the c-BN content from 1.8 at chi(c) = 50% to 2.1 at chi(c) = 90%. Furthermore, the relationship between n and rho for BN films can be described by the Anderson-Schreiber equation, and the overlap field parameter gamma is determined to be 2.05.

Growth of c-oriented ZnO films on (001) SMO3 substrates by MOCVD

The growth direction of ZnO thin films grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) is modulated by pretreatment of (001) SMO3 (STO) substrates. ZnO films show a-oriented smooth surface with epitaxial relationship of < 001 > ZnO//< 110 > STO on as-received SfO, and c-axis columnar growth with < 010 > ZnO//< 110 > STO on etched STO, respectively. The orientation alteration of ZnO films is supposed to be caused by the change of STO surface polarity. In addition, the c-ZnO films exhibit an enhanced photoluminescence (PL) intensity due to the improved crystal quality, while the blueshift of PL peak is attributed to the smaller tensile strain. These results show that high quality c-ZnO, which is essential for electronic and optoelectronic device applications, can be grown on (001) SfO by MOCVD. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Shape stability of InAs self-assembled islands on vicinal GaAs(001) substrates

We have grown InAs self-assembled islands on vicinal GaAs( 001) substrates. Atomic force microscopy and photoluminescence studies show that the islands have a clear bimodal size distribution. While most of the small islands whose growth is limited by the width of one multi-atomic step have compact symmetric shapes, a large fraction of the large islands limited by the width of one step plus one terrace have asymmetric shapes which are elongated along the multi-atomic step lines. These results can be attributed to the shape-related energy of the islands at different states of their growth. (C) 2008 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.

Nature of interfacial defects and their roles in strain relaxation at highly lattice mismatched 3C-SiC/Si (001) interface

Misfit defects in a 3C-SiC/Si (001) interface were investigated using a 200 kV high-resolution electron microscope with a point resolution of 0.194 nm. The [110] high-resolution electron microscopic images that do not directly reflect the crystal structure were transformed into the structure map through image deconvolution. Based on this analysis, four types of misfit dislocations at the 3C-SiC/Si (001) interface were determined. In turn, the strain relaxation mechanism was clarified through the generation of grow-in perfect misfit dislocations (including 90 degrees Lomer dislocations and 60 degrees shuffle dislocations) and 90 partial dislocations associated with stacking faults. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3234380]

InP Based PD/EAM Integrated Photonic Switch

A new compact three-port InP based PD/EAM (photo-detector/electro-absorption modulator) integrated photonic switch is reported. The device demonstrates bi-directional wavelength conversion over 20 nm at 2.5 Gbit/s with a low input optical power of about 20 mW.

Annealing ambient controlled deep defect formation in InP

Deep defects in annealed InP have been investigated by deep level transient capacitance spectroscopy (DLTS), photo induced current transient spectroscopy (PICTS) and thermally stimulated current spectroscopy (TSC). Both DLTS results of annealed semiconducting InP and PICTS and TSC results of annealed semi-insulating InP indicate that InP annealed in phosphorus ambient has five defects, while lid? annealed in iron phospbide ambient has two defects. Such a defect formation phenomenon is explained in terms of defect suppression by the iron atom diffusion process. The correlation of the defects and the nature of the defects in annealed InP are discussed based on the results.

Characterization of InAs quantum dots on lattice-matched InAlGaAs/InP superlattice structures

Self-assembled InAs quantum dots (QDs) in an InAlGaAs matrix, lattice-matched to InP substrate, have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), double-crystal X-ray diffraction (DCXRD) and photoluminescence (PL) are used to study their structural and optical properties. In InAs/InAlGaAs/ InP system, we propose that when the thickness of InAs layer deposited is small, the random strain distribution of the matrix layer results in the formation of tadpole-shaped QDs with tails towards random directions, while the QDs begin to turn into dome-shaped and then coalesce to form islands with larger size and lower density to release the increasing misfit strain with the continuous deposition of InAs. XRD rocking curves showing the reduced strain with increasing thickness of InAs layer may also support our notion. The results of PL measurements are in well agreement with that of TEM images. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Deep level defects in high temperature annealed InP

Deep level defects in high temperature annealed semi-conducting InP have been studied by deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS). There is obvious difference in the deep defects between as-grown InP, InP annealed in phosphorus ambient and iron phosphide ambient, as far as their quantity and concentration are concerned. Only two defects at 0.24 and 0.64 eV can be detected in InP annealed in iron phosphide ambient, while defects at 0.24, 0.42, 0.54 and 0.64 eV have been detected in InP annealed in phosphorus ambient, in contrast to two defects at 0.49 and 0.64 eV or one defect at 0.13 eV in as-grown InP. A defect suppression phenomenon related to iron diffusion process has been observed. The formation mechanism and the nature of the defects have been discussed.

Study on the perfection of in situ P-injection synthesis LEC-InP single crystals

Undoped, S-doped and Fe-doped InP crystals with diameter up to 4-inch have been pulled in drop 10 0 drop -direction under P-rich condition by a rapid P-injection in situ synthesis liquid encapsulated Czochralski (LEC) method. High speed photoluminescence mapping, etch-pit density (EPD) mapping and scanning electron microscopy have been used to characterize the samples of the single crystal ingots. Dislocations and electrical homogeneity of these samples are investigated and compared. By controlling the thermal field and the solid-liquid interface shape, 4-inch low-EPD InP single crystals have been successfully grown by the rapid P-injection synthesis LEC method. The EPD across the wafer of the ingots is less than 5 x 10(4) cm(-2). Cluster defects with a pore center are observed in the P-rich LEC grown InP ingots. These defects are distributed irregularly on a wafer and are surrounded by a high concentration of dislocations. The uniformity of the PL intensity across the wafer is influenced by these defects. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of V/III ratio on InGaAs and InP grown at low temperature by LP-MOCVD

Effects of V/III ratio on heavily Si doped InGaAs and InP were studied using low pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (LP-MOCVD) at a growth temperature of 550degreesC. In InGaAs, as the V/III ratio decreases from 256 to 64, the carrier concentration increases from 3.0 x 10(18) to 5.8 x 10(18) cm(-3), and the lattice mismatch of InGaAs to InP was observed to vary from -5.70 x10(-4) to 1.49 x 10(-3). In InP, when the V/III ratio decreases from 230 to 92, the same trend as that in Si doped InGaAs was observed that the carrier concentration increases from 9.2 x 10(18) to 1.3 x 10(19) cm(-3). The change of AsH3 was found to have stronger effect on Si incorporation in InGaAs at lower growth temperature than at higher growth temperature. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

MOVPE growth of grade-strained bulk InGaAs/InP for broad-band optoelectronic device applications

In this paper we present a novel growth of grade-strained bulk InGaAs/InP by linearly changing group-III TMGa source flow during low-pressure metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy (LP-MOVPE). The high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) measurements showed that much different strain was simultaneously introduced into the fabricated bulk InGaAs/InP by utilizing this novel growth method. We experimentally demonstrated the utility and simplicity of the growth method by fabricating common laser diodes. As a first step, under the injection current of 100 mA, a more flat gain curve which has a spectral full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of about 120 nm was achieved by using the presented growth technique. Our experimental results show that the simple and new growth method is very suitable for fabricating broad-band semiconductor optoelectronic devices. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Influence of rapid thermal annealing on InAs/InAlAs/InP quantum wires with different InAs deposited thickness

We have studied the effect of the post-growth rapid thermal annealing on optical and electrical properties of InAs/InAlAs/InP quantum wires with various InAs deposited thickness. Quite different annealing behaviors in photoluminescence and dark resistance are observed, which can be attributed to dislocations in samples. After annealing at 800 degrees C, quantum wires still exist in the sample with two monolayer InAs deposited thickness, but the temperature-dependent PL properties are changed greatly due to the intermixing of In/Al atoms. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Growth of a periodic InP-based heteroepitaxial structure for a quantum cascade laser

The route to grow InP-based heteroepitaxial structure for quantum cascade laser by molecular beam epitaxy is reported. Optimized growth conditions including substrate temperature, V/III ratio, growth rates, doping levels and interface control are summarized. Double crystal Xray diffraction and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy disclose that our grown InP-based heteroepitaxial structure for quantum cascade laser has excellent periodicity and sharp interfaces. (C) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Monolithic integration of an InGaAsP-InP strained DFB laser and an electroabsorption modulator by ultra-low-pressure selective-area-growth MOCVD

The design and basic characteristics of a strained InGaAsP-InP multiple-quantum-well (MQW) DFB laser monolithically integrated with an electroabsorption modulator (EAM) by ultra-low-pressure (22 mbar) selective-area-growth (SAG) MOCVD are presented. A fundamental study of the controllability and the applicability of band-gap energy by using the SAG, method is performed. A large band-gap photoluminescence wavelength shift of 88 mn. was obtained with a small mask width variation (0-30 mu m). The technique is then applied to fabricate a high performance strained MQW EAM integrated with a DFB laser. The threshold current of 26 mA at CW operation of the device with DFB laser length of 300 mu m and EAM length of 150 mu m has been realized at a modulator bias of 0 V. The devices also exhibit 15 dB on/off ratio at an applied bias voltage of 5 V.

Photoluminescence characteristics of InP annealed in phosphorus and iron phosphide ambiences

Photo luminescence (PL) spectroscopy has been used to study InP annealed in phosphorus and iron phosphide ambiences. Noticeable PL emissions related with thermally induced defects have been detected in undoped InP annealed in iron phosphide ambience. Origins of the PL emissions have been discussed. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.