Photoluminescence of AlGaAs/InGaAs/GaAs pseudomorphic HEMTs with different thickness of spacer layer

The photoluminescence spectra of the single delta -doped AlGaAs/InGaAs/GaAs pseudomorphic HEMTs with different thickness of spacer layer were studied. There are two peaks in the PL spectra of the structure corresponding to two sub-energy levels of the InGaAs quantum well. It was found that the photoluminescence intensity ratio of the two peaks changes with the spacer thickness of the pseudomorphic HEMTs. The reasons were discussed. The possible use of this phenomenon in optimization of pseudomorphic HEMTs was also proposed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Using photoluminescence as optimization criterion to achieve high-quality InGaAs/AlGaAs pHEMT structure

The single delta -doped InGaAs/AlGaAs pseudomorphic HEMT structure materials were grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The photoluminescence spectra of the materials were studied. There are two peaks in the photoluminescence spectra of the materials, corresponding to two sub energy levels of InGaAs quantum well. The ratio of the two peak's intensity was used as criterion to optimize the layer structures of the materials. The material with optimized layer ;tructures exhibits the 77 It mobility and two-dimensional electron gas density of 16 500 cm(2)/Vs and 2.58 x 10(12) cm(-2) respectively, and the 300 K mobility and two-dimensional electron gas density of 6800 cm(2)/Vs and 2.55 x 10(12) cm(-2) respectively. The pseudomorphic HEMT devices with gate length of 0.2 mum were fabricated using this material. The maximum transconductance of 650 mS/mm and the cut-off frequency of 81 GHz were achieved. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Electronic states of InAs/GaAs quantum ring

In the framework of effective mass envelope function theory, the electronic states of the InAs/GaAs quantum ring are studied. Our model can be used to calculate the electronic states of quantum wells, quantum wires, and quantum dots. In calculations, the effects due to the different effective masses of electrons in rings and out rings are included. The energy levels of the electron are calculated in the different shapes of rings. The results indicate that the inner radius of rings sensitively changes the electronic states. The energy levels of the electron are not sensitively dependent on the outer radius for large rings. If decreasing the inner and outer radii simultaneously, one may increase the energy spacing between energy levels and keep the ground state energy level unchanged. If changing one of two radii (inner or outer radius), the ground state energy level and the energy spacing will change simultaneously. These results are useful for designing and fabricating the double colors detector by intraband and interband translations. The single electron states are useful for studying the electron correlations and the effects of magnetic fields in quantum rings. Our calculated results are consistent with the recent experimental data of nanoscopic semiconductor rings. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.

Quantum-confined Stark effects of InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dot

Quantum-confined Stark effects in InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots are investigated theoretically in the framework of effective-mass envelope function theory. The electron and hole energy levels and optical transition energies are calculated in the presence of perpendicular and parallel electric field. In our calculation, the effect of finite offset, valence band mixing, and strain are all taken into account. The results show that the perpendicular electric field weakly affects the electron ground state and hole energy levels. The energy levels are affected strongly by the parallel electric field. For the electron, the energy difference between the ground state and the first excited state decreases as electric field increases. The optical transition energies have clear redshifts in electric field. The theoretical results agree well with the available experimental data. Our calculated results are useful for the application of quantum dots to photoelectric devices. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(00)11001-7].

Studies of high DC current induced degradation in III-V nitride based heterojunctions

We report experiments on high de current stressing in commercial III-V nitride based heterojunction light-emitting diodes. Stressing currents ranging from 100 mA to 200 mA were used. Degradations in the device properties were investigated through detailed studies of the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics, electroluminescence, deep-level transient Fourier spectroscopy and flicker noise. Our experimental data demonstrated significant distortions in the I-V characteristics subsequent to electrical stressing. The room temperature electro-luminescence of the devices exhibited a 25% decrement in the peak emission intensity. Concentration of the deep-levels was examined by deep-level transient Fourier spectroscopy, which indicated an increase in the density of deep-traps from 2.7 x 10(13) cm(-3) to 4.2 x 10(13) cm(-3) at E-1 = E-C - 1.1 eV. The result is consistent with our study of 1/f noise, which exhibited up to three orders of magnitude increase in the voltage noise power spectra. These traps are typically located at energy levels beyond the range that can be characterized by conventional techniques including DLTS. The two experiments, therefore, provide a more complete picture of trap generation due to high dc current stressing.

Electronic characteristics of InAs self-assembled quantum dots

Deep-level transient spectroscopy and photoluminescence studies have been carried out on structures containing self-assembled InAs quantum dots formed in GaAs matrices. The use of n- and p-type GaAs matrices allows us to study separately electron and hole levels in the quantum dots by the deep-level transient spectroscopy technique. From analysis of deep-level transient spectroscopy measurements it follows that the quantum dots have electron levels 130 meV below the bottom of the GaAs conduction band and heavy-hole levels at 90 meV above the top of the GaAs valence band. Combining with the photoluminescence results, the band structures of InAs and GaAs have been determined. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Experimental determination of local Strain effect on InAs/GaAs self-organized quantum dots

The energy barrier at InAs/GaAs interface due to the built-in strain in self-organized system has been determined experimentally. Such a barrier has been predicted by previous theories. From the deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) measurements, we have obtained the electron and hole energy levels of quantum dots E-e(QD-->GaAs) = 0.13 eV and E-h(QD-->GaAs) = 0.09 eV relative to the bulk unstrained GaAs band edges E-c and E-v. DLTS measurements have also provided evidence to the existence of the capture barriers of quantum dots for electron E-eB = 0.30 eV and hole E-hB = 0.26 eV. The barriers can be explained by the apexes appearing in the interface between InAs and GaAs caused by strain. Combining the photoluminescence results, the band structures of InAs and GaAs have been determined.

Electronic characteristics of InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots by deep level transient spectroscopy

A deep level transient spectroscopy technique has been used to determine the emission activation energies and capture barriers for electrons and holes in InAs self-assembled quantum dots embedded in GaAs. The ground electron and hole energies relative to their respective energy band edges of GaAs are 0.13 and 0.09 eV. Measurements show that the capture cross section of quantum dots is thermally activated. The capture barrier of quantum dots for electrons and holes are 0.30 and 0.26 eV, respectively. The results fit well with the results of photoluminescence spectroscopy measurements. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Hole capture barrier of self-organized InAs quantum dots

Deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) technique was successfully applied to characterize the electric properties of p type self-organized InAs quantum dots. The ground state energy and capture barrier energy of hole of quantum dots were measured for the first time. The energy of ground state of 2.5ML InAs quantum dots with respect to the valence band of bulk GaAs was obtained being about 0.09eV, and there was a barrier associated to the change of charge state of quantum dots. The capture barrier energy of such dots for hole was about 0.26eV. The work is very meaningful for further understanding the intrinsic properties of quantum dots.

Asymmetric stark shifts of exciton in InAs/GaAs pyramidal quantum dots

Within the framework of the single-band effective-mass envelope-function theory, the effect of electric field on the electronic structures of pyramidal quantum dot is investigated. Taking the Coulomb interaction between the heavy holes and electron into account, the quantum confined Stark shift of the exciton as functions of the strength and direction of applied electric field and the size of the quantum dot are obtained. An interesting asymmetry of Stark shifts around the zero field is found. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.

Suppression of ballistic electron transmission through a semiconductor II-structure by an external transverse electric field

We have conducted numerical studies of ballistic electron transport in a semiconductor II-structure when an external transverse electric field is applied. The device conductance as a function of electron energy and the strength of the transverse electric field is calculated on the basis of tight-binding Green's function formalism. The calculations show that a relatively weak electric field can induce very large decrease in the electron transmission across the structure. When the transverse electric field is sufficiently strong, electrons can hardly be transported through the device. Thus the performance of the device can be greatly improved for it is much easier to control electron transport through the device with an external transverse electric field.

Role of the evanescent states in the electron transport in quantum waveguides

Recognizing the computational difficulty due to the exponential behavior of the evanescent states in the calculations of the electron transmission in waveguide structures, the authors propose two transfer matrix methods and apply them to investigate the influence of the evanescent states on the electron wave propagation. The study shows that the effect of the evanescent states on the electron transport is obvious when the electron energy is close to the subband minima. The results show that the calculated transmissions are much enhanced if the evanescent states are omitted in the calculations. For the multiple-stub structures, it is found that the connecting channel length has a critical effect on the electron transmission depending on it larger or smaller than the attenuation lengths of evanescent states. Based on the study of the evanescent states, a new kind of waveguide structures which exhibit quantum modulated transistor action is proposed. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.

Effective-mass theory for InAs/GaAs strained coupled quantum dots

In the framework of effective-mass envelope-function theory, the optical transitions of InAs/GaAs strained coupled quantum dots grown on GaAs (100) oriented substrates are studied. At the Gamma point, the electron and hole energy levels, the distribution of electron and hole wave functions along the growth and parallel directions, the optical transition-matrix elements, the exciton states, and absorption spectra are calculated. In calculations, the effects due to the different effective masses of electrons and holes in different materials are included. Our theoretical results are in good agreement with the available experimental data.

Influence of the lateral confining potential on the ballistic electron transport in a quantum wire

A theoretical investigation of ballistic electron transport in a quantum wire with soft wall confinement is presented. A general method of the electron transmission calculation is proposed for structures with complicated geometries. The effects of the lateral guiding potential on ballistic transport are investigated using three soft wall confinement models and the results are compared with those obtained from the hard wall confinement approximation. It is shown that the calculated transmission coefficients are notably dependent on the lateral confining potential especially when the incident electron energy is larger than the energy of the second transverse mode. It is found that the transmission profile obtained from soft wall confinement models exhibits simpler resonance structures than that obtained from the hard wall confinement approximation. Our results suggest that only in the single-channel regime the hard wall confinement approximation can give reasonable results.

DETERMINATION OF THE X-CONDUCTION-SUBBAND ENERGIES IN TYPE-II GAAS/ALAS/GAAS QUANTUM-WELL BY DEEP-LEVEL TRANSIENT SPECTROSCOPY

Using deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) the X conduction-subband energy levels in an AlAs well sandwiched by double GaAs layers were determined. Calculation gives eight subbands in the well with well width of 50 Angstrom. Among them, five levels and the other three remainders are determined by using the large longitudinal electron effective mass m(1)(1.1m(0)) and transverse electron effective mass m(t)(0.19m(0)) at X valley, respectively. Two subbands with the height energies were hardly detectable and the other six ones with lower energies are active in the present DLTS study. Because these six subbands are close to each other, we divided them into three groups. Experimentally, we observed three signals induced from the three groups. A good agreement between the calculation and experiment was obtained. (C) 1995 American Institute of Physics.