Effect of growth interruption on the optical properties of InAs/GaAs quantum dots

The effect of growth interruption (GI) on the optical properties of InAs/GaAs quantum dots was investigated by cw and time-resolved photoluminescence (PL). It is found that this effect depends very much on the growth conditions, in particular, the growth rate. In the case of low growth rate, we have found that the GI may introduce either red-shift or blue-shift in PL with increase of the interruption lime, depending on the InAs thickness. The observed red shift in our 1.7 monolayer (ML) sample is attributed to the evolution of the InAs islands during the growth interruption. While the blue-shift in the 3 ML sample is suggested to be mainly caused by the strain effect. In addition, nearly zero shift was observed for the sample with thickness around 2.5 ML, (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quantitative analysis of excitonic photoluminescence in nitrogen-doped ZnSe epilayers

We have investigated the photoluminescence (PL) properties of nitrogen-doped ZnSe epilayers grown by molecular beam epitaxy using a nitrogen radio frequency-plasma source. The PL data shows that the relative intensity of the donor-bound exciton (I-2) emission to the acceptor-bound exciton (I-1) emission strongly depends on both the excitation power and the temperature. This result is explained by a thermalization model of the bound exciton which involved in the capture and emission between the neutral donor bound exciton, the neutral acceptor bound exciton and the free exciton. Quantitative analysis with the proposed mechanism is in good agreement with the experimental data. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(99)09102-1].

Improvement of the photoluminescence from gallium nitride layers grown by MBE with an additional incident indium flux

The effect of using an indium flux during the MBE growth of GaN layers was investigated. The properties of these layers were studied using electron probe microanalysis, secondary ion mass spectroscopy, photoluminescence and cathodoluminescence. The optical properties of the GaN layers are shown to improve as compared with undoped GaN layers grown under nominally the same conditions but without an additional indium flux.

Optical properties of ZnSxTe1-x mixed crystals

The Raman scattering and the photoluminescence (PL) of ZnSxTe1-x mixed crystals grown by MBE, covering the entire composition range (0 less than or equal to x<1), were investigated. The results of Raman studies show that the phonons in ZnSxTe1-x mixed crystals display two-mode behavior. In addition, photoluminescence spectra obtained in backscattering and edge-emission geometries, reflection spectra and the temperature dependence of the photoluminescence of ZnSxTe1-x from 10 to 300K were employed to find out the origins of PL emissions in ZnSxTe1-x with different x values, The results indicate that the emission bands, for the samples with small x values, can be related to the band gap transitions or a shallow level emission center, while for the samples with large x values, they are designated to strong radiative recombinations of Te isoelectronic centers.

Photoluminescence investigation of GaInP/GaAs multiple quantum wells grown on (001) and (311) B GaAs surfaces by gas source molecular beam epitaxy

Photoluminescence (PL) investigation was carried out on GaInP/GaAs multiple quantum wells structures grown on (001) and (311) B surfaces of GaAs by gas source molecular beam epitaxy. Superlattice structures of GaAs/GaInP grown on (001) GaAs substrate were also studied in comparison. Deep-level luminescence was seen to dominate the PL spectra from the quantum wells and superlattice structures that were grown on (001) GaAs substrate. In contrast, superior optical properties were exhibited in the same structures grown on (311) B GaAs surfaces. The results suggested that GaAs/GaInP quantum well structures on (311) B oriented substrates could efficiently suppress the deep-level emissions, result in narrower PL peaks indicating smooth interfaces. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.

Properties of GaN epilayers with various growth conditions grown by gas source molecular beam epitaxy

GaN epilayers on sapphire (0001) substrates were grown by the gas source molecular beam epitaxy (GSMBE) method using ammonia (NH,) gas as the nitrogen source. Properties of gallium nitride (GaN) epilayers grown under various growth conditions were investigated. The growth rate is up to 0.6 mu m/h in our experiments. Cathodoluminescence, photoluminescence and Hall measurements were used to characterize the films. It was shown that the growth parameters have a significant influence on the GaN properties. The yellow luminescence was enhanced at higher growth temperature. And a blue emission which maybe related to defects or impurity was observed. Although the emission at 3.31 eV can be suppressed by a low-temperature buffer layer, a high-quality GaN epilayer can be obtained without the buffer layer. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Photoluminescence from surface-oxidized Ge nanoclusters

Photoluminescence from gas-evaporated Ge nanoclusters consisting of a crystalline core encased in an oxide shell are presented. An as-grown sample shows room temperature luminescence with separate peaks around 357 and 580 nm. Prolonged air exposure of the clusters reduces the Ge core dimensions, and the emission initially at 580 nm shifts to 420 nm; however, the violet luminescence at 357 nm displays no difference. These results indicate that there are two mechanisms involved with light emission from Ge nanoclusters, visible light emission associated with the quantum confinement effect, and violet light emission correlated to luminescent centers. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.

A study of strong photoluminescence of SiOx : H films

We have examined photoluminescence (PL), IR absorption and Raman spectra of a series of hydrogenated amorphous silicon oxide (a-SiOx:H, (0 < x < 2)) films fabricated by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). Two strong luminescence bands were observed at room temperature, one is a broad envelope comprising a main peak around 670 nm and a shoulder at 835 nm, and the other, peaked around 850 nm; is found only after being annealed up to 1170 degrees C in N-2 environment. In conjunction with IR and Raman spectra, the origins of the two luminescent bands and their annealing behaviors are discussed on the basis of quantum confinement effects.

Optical properties of Ge self-organized quantum dots in Si

Small-size, high-density, and vertical-ordering Ge quantum dots are observed in strained Si/Ge short-period superlattices grown on Si(001) at low growth temperature by molecular-beam epitaxy. The photoluminescence (PL) peak position, the strong PL at room temperature, and the high exciton binding energy suggest an indirect-to-direct conversion of the Ge quantum dots. This conversion is in good agreement with the theoretical prediction. The characteristic of absorption directly indicates this conversion. The tunneling of carriers between these quantum dots is also observed. [S0163-1829(98)03515-2].

Influence of rapid thermal annealing on the optical properties of gallium nitride grown by gas-source molecular-beam epitaxy

Raman scattering, photoluminescence (PL), and nuclear reaction analysis (MA) have been employed to investigate the effects of rapid thermal annealing (RTA) on GaN films grown on sapphire (0001) substrates by gas-source molecular-beam epitaxy, The Raman spectra showed the presence of the E-2 (high) mode of GaN and shift of this mode from 572 to 568 cm(-1) caused by annealing. The results showed that RTA has a significant effect on the strain relaxation caused by the lattice and thermal expansion misfit between the GaN epilayer and the substrate. The PL peak exhibited a blueshift in its energy position and a decrease in the full width at half maximum after annealing, indicating an improvement in the optical quality of the film. Furthermore, a green luminescence appeared after annealing and increased in intensity with increasing annealing time. This effect was attributed to H concentration variation in the GaN film, which was measured by NRA. A high H concentration exists in as-grown GaN, which can neutralize the deep level, and the H-bonded complex dissociates during RTA, This leads to the appearance of a luminescent peak in the PL spectrum. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.

Optical and structural properties of ZnO films grown on Si(100) substrates by MOCVD - art. no. 60290G

High quality ZnO films have been successfully grown on Si(100) substrates by Metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) technique. The optimization of growth conditions (II-VI ratio, growth temperature, etc) and the effects of film thickness and thermal treatment on ZnO films' crystal quality, surface morphology and optical properties were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and photoluminescence (PL) spectrum, respectively. The XRD patterns of the films grown at the optimized temperature (300 degrees C) show only a sharp peak at about 34.4 degrees corresponding to the (0002) peak of hexagonal ZnO, and the FWHM was lower than 0.4 degrees. We find that under the optimized growth conditions, the increase of the ZnO films' thickness cannot improve their structural and optical properties. We suggest that if the film's thickness exceeds an optimum value, the crystal quality will be degraded due to the large differences of lattice constant and thermal expansion coefficient between Si and ZnO. In PL analysis, samples all displayed only ultraviolet emission peaks and no observable deep-level emission, which indicated high-quality ZnO films obtained. Thermal treatments were performed in oxygen and nitrogen atmosphere, respectively. Through the analysis of PL spectra, we found that ZnO films annealing in oxygen have the strongest intensity and the low FWHM of 10.44 nm(106 meV) which is smaller than other reported values on ZnO films grown by MOCVD.

Effect of noncoherent islands on the optical properties of the 1.3 mu m InAs/GaAs quantum dots during rapid thermal annealing

The effect of thermal annealing of InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) with emission wavelength at 1.3 mu m have been investigated by photoluminescence (PL) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM measurements. There is a dramatic change in the A spectra when the annealing temperature is raised up to 800 degrees C: an accelerated blushifit of the main emission peak of QDs together with an inhomogeneous broadening of the linewidth. The TEM images shows that the lateral size of normal QDs decreases as the annealing temperature is increased, while the noncoherent islands increase their size and densit. A small fraction of the relative large QDs contain dislocations when the annealing temperature increases up to 800 degrees C. The latter leads to the strong decrease of the PL intensity.

Nonradiative recombination effect on photoluminescence decay dynamics in GaInNAs/GaAs quantum wells - art. no. 61180Z

The nonradiative recombination effect on the photoluminescence (PL) decay dynamics in GaInNAs/GaAs quantum wells is studied by photoluminescence and time-resolved photoluminescence under various excitation intensities and temperatures. It is found that the PL decay dynamics strongly depends on the excitation intensity. In particular, under the moderate excitation levels the PL decay curves exhibit unusual non-exponential behavior and show a convex shape. By introducing a new concept of the effective concentration of nonradiative recombination centers into a rate equation, the observed results are well simulated. In the cw PL measurement, a rapid PL quenching is observed even at very low temperature and is of the excitation power dependence. These results further demonstrate that the non-radiative recombination process plays a very important role on the optical properties of GaInNAs/GaAs quantum wells.

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.

Effects of Hydrogen Plasma Treatment on the Electrical and Optical Properties of ZnO Films: Identification of Hydrogen Donors in ZnO

Wurtzite ZnO has many potential applications in optoelectronic devices, and the hydrogenated ZnO exhibits excellent photoelectronic properties compared to undoped ZnO; however, the structure of H-related defects is still unclear. In this article, the effects of hydrogen-plasma treatment and subsequent annealing on the electrical and optical properties of ZnO films were investigated by a combination of Hall measurement, Raman scattering, and photoluminescence. It is found that two types of hydrogen-related defects, namely, the interstitial hydrogen located at the bond-centered (H-BC) and the hydrogen trapped at a O vacancy (H-O), are responsible for the n-type background conductivity of ZnO films. Besides introducing two hydrogen-related donor states, the incorporated hydrogen passivates defects at grain boundaries. With increasing annealing temperatures, the unstable H-BC atoms gradually diffuse out of the ZnO films and part of them are converted into H-O, which gives rise to two anomalous Raman peaks at 275 and 510 cm(-1). These results help to clarify the relationship between the hydrogen-related defects in ZnO described in various studies and the free carriers that are produced by the introduction of hydrogen.