Annealing study of carrier concentration in gradient-doped GaAs/GaAlAs epilayers grown by molecular beam epitaxy

We measured the carrier concentration distribution of gradient-doped GaAs/GqAlAs epilayers grown by molecular beam epitaxy before and after annealing at 600 degrees C, using electrochemical capacitance voltage profiling, to investigate the internal variation of transmission-mode GaAs photocathodes arising from the annealing process. The results show that the carrier concentration increased after annealing. As a result, the total band-bending energy in the gradient-doped GaAs emission layer increased by 25.24% after annealing, which improves the pbotoexcited electron movement toward the surface. On the other hand, the annealing process resulted in a worse carrier concentration discrepancy between the GaAs and the GaAlAs, which causes a lower back interface potential barrier, decreasing the amount of high-energy photoelectrons. (C) 2009 Optical Society of America

(Ga,Mn,As) compounds grown on semi-insulating GaAs with mass-analyzed low energy dual ion beam depositionw

The (Ga,Mn,As) compounds were obtained by the implantation of Mn ions into semi-insulating GaAs substrate with mass-analyzed low energy dual ion beam deposition technique. Auger electron spectroscopy depth profile of a typical sample grown at the substrate temperature of 250degreesC showed that the Mn ions were successfully implanted into GaAs substrate with the implantation depth of 160 nm. X-ray diffraction was employed for the structural analyses of all samples. The experimental results were greatly affected by the substrate temperature. Ga5.2Mn was obtained in the sample grown at the substrate temperature of 250degreesC. Ga5.2Mn, Ga5Mn8 and Mn3Ga were obtained in the sample grown at the substrate temperature of 400degreesC. However, there is no new phase in the sample grown at the substrate temperature of 200degreesC. The sample grown at 400degreesC was annealed at 840degreesC. In this annealed sample Mn3Ga disappeared, Ga5Mn8 tended to disappear,Ga5.2Mn crystallized better and a new phase of Mn2As was generated. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B,V. All rights reserved.

Modification of emission wavelength of self-assembled In(Ga)As/GaAs quantum dots covered by InxGa1-xAs(0 <= x <= 0.3) layer

Red shifts of emission wavelength of self-organized In(Cla)As/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) covered by 3 nm thick InxGa1-xAs layer with three different In mole fractions (x = 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3, respectively) have been observed. Transmission electron microscopy images demonstrate that the stress along growth direction in the InAs dots was reduced due to introducing the InxGa1-xAs (x = 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3) covering layer instead of GaAs layer. Atomic force microscopy pictures show a smoother surface of InAs islands covered by an In0.2Ga0.8As layer. It is explained by the calculations that the redshifts of the photoluminescence (PL) spectra from the QDs covered by the InxGa1-xAs (x greater than or equal to 0.1) layers were mainly due to the reducing of the strain other than the InAs/GaAs intermixing in the InAs QDs. The temperature dependent PL spectra further confirm that the InGaAs covering layer can effectively suppress the temperature sensitivity of PL emissions. 1.3 mum emission wavelength with a very narrow linewidth of 19.2 mcV at room temperature has been obtained successfully from In,In0.5Ga0.5As/GaAs self-assembled QDs covered by a 3-nm In0.2Ga0.2As strain reducing layer. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Application of the compatibility relationship(1) in seeking a functional relationship among species' equilibrium quantities in complex systems

A new algorithm, representing an important advance in determination of the functional relationship, is first reported here. The algorithm is very useful and convenient for analyzing the incorporation of impurities. To show how the algorithm works, two early and well-known vapor phase epitaxy (VPE) experiments-Ashen's (Ashen, D. J.; Dean, P. J.; Hurle, D. T. J.; Mullin, J. B.; Royle, A.; White, A. M. Gallium Arsenide and Related Compounds, Institute of Physics Conference Series 24, 1974; Institute of Physics: London, 1975; p 229.), involving the doping of silicon and DiLorenzo's (DiLorenzo, J. V. J. Cryst. Growth 1972, 17, 189.), involving the mole fraction effect-are calculated to find the functional relationship between the Si contamination and the partial pressure of HCl. The calculated curves agree with the experimental results. A conclusion that the calculated values are greater than the true values has been drawn.

Semi-insulating GaAs grown in outer space

A semi-insulating GaAs single crystal ingot was grown in a recoverable satellite, within a specially designed pyrolytic boron nitride crucible, in a power-traveling furnace under microgravity. The characteristics of a compound semiconductor single crystal depends fundamentally on its stoichiometry, i.e. the ration of two types of atoms in the crystal. a practical technique for nondestructive and quantitative measuring stoichiometry in GaAs single crystal was used to analyze the space-grown GaAs single crystal. The distribution of stoichiometry in a GaAs wafer was measured for the first time. The electrical, optical and structural properties of the space-grown GaAs crystal were studied systematically, Device fabricating experiments prove that the quality of field effect transistors fabricated from direct ion-implantation in semi-insulating GaAs wafers has a close correlation with the crystal's stoichiometry. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.

Structural properties of SI-GaAs grown in space

The structural properties of Semi-insulating gallium arsenide (SI-GaAs) crystal grown with power-travelling technique in space have been studied by double-crystal x-ray diffractometry and chemical etching. The quality of the crystal was first evaluated by x-ray rocking-curve method. The full width at half maximum of x-ray rocking curve in space-grown SI-GaAs is 9.4+/-0.08 are seconds. The average density of dislocations revealed by molten KOH is 2.0 X 10(4) cm(-2), and the highest density is 3.1 X 10(4) cm(-2). The stoichiometry in the single crystal grown in space is improved as well. Unfortunately, the rear of the ingot grown in space is polycrystalline owing to being out of control of power. (C) 1999 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

Outer space grown semi-insulating GaAs and its applications

GaAs single crystal has been grown in recoverable satellite. Hall measurements indicate that the GaAs shows semi-insulating behavior. The structural properties of the crystal have been improved obviously, and their uniformity has been improved as well. The stoichiometry and its distribution in space-grown GaAs are improved greatly compared with the GaAs single crystal grown terrestrially. The properties of integrated circuits made by direct ion-implantation on space-grown GaAs are better than those made on ground-grown materials. These results show that the stoichiometry in semi-insulating GaAs seriously affects the properties of related devices.

Characteristic of the ultrawideband electromagnetic radiation generated by PCSS

A novel ultra-wideband electromagnetic pulse generating method based on the photoconductive semiconductor switches (PCSS) is presented. Gallium arsenide is used to develop the PCSS for an ultrashort electromagnetic pulse source. The pulse generated by such PCSS is within picosecond (ps) time scale, and can yield power pulse with an voltage over 10 kV. The experimental results show that the pulses are stable, with the peak-peak amplitude change of 6% and the time jitter within several picoseconds. The radiations of the PCSS triggered by the picosecond laser and fenitosecond laser pulse series illustrate that the electromagnetic pulses would have high repetition of more than 80 MHz and frequency bandwidth of DC-6 GHz. The radiations of "lock-on " mode of the PCSS are also analyzed here. (c) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Molecular beam epitaxy of GaSb on GaAs substrates with AlSb/GaSb compound buffer layers

GaSb films with AlSb/GaSb compound buffer layers were grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs (001) substrates. The crystal quality and optical properties were studied by high resolution transition electron microscopy and low temperature photoluminescence spectra (PL), respectively. It was found that the AlSb/GaSb compound buffer layers can restrict the dislocations into GaSb epilayers. The intensity of PL spectra of GaSb layer becomes large with the increasing the periods of AlSb/GaSb superlattices, indicating that the optical quality of GaSb films is improved.

INVESTIGATION OF NEGATIVE TRANSIENT CURRENT OF ARGON-IMPLANTED GAAS USING PHOTOINDUCED TRANSIENT-CURRENT SPECTROSCOPY

The investigation of deep levels of argon-implanted LEC-grown semi-insulating GaAs with implantation dosages ranging from 1 x 10(11) to 1 x 10(15) cm-2 has been performed. Using a photoinduced transient-current spectroscopy (PITCS) it was demonstrated that, for implantation dosages below 1 X 10(13) cm-2, a negative peak or negative transient current (NTC) was observed in the temperature range from 330 to 350 K. The magnitude of this negative peak increased with dosage up to a level of 1 X 10(12) cm-2, beyond which it decreased with dosage. The dosage dependence of the EL3 peak height and the resistance of the specimen have also been investigated. It was observed that the variation of the EL3 peak height with dosage was similar to the variation of the magnitude of the negative peak, that is the EL3 peak height likewise increased with dosage up to 1 X 10(12) cm-2, and then decreased. The resistance of the original high-resistivity specimen dropped abruptly when the dosage reached 1 X 10(12) cm-2. This critical dosage (1 X 10(12) cm-2) was found to be a threshold for the generation of a highly disordered state.

DEFECT MODEL OF PHOTOCONVERSION BY OXYGEN IN SEMIINSULATING GAAS

The basic idea of a defect model of photoconversion by an oxygen impurity in semi-insulating GaAs, proposed in an earlier paper, is described in a systematic way. All experiments related to this defect, including high-resolution spectroscopic measurements, piezospectroscopic study, and recent measurements on electronic energy levels, are explained on the basis of this defect model. The predictions of the model are in good agreement with the experiments. A special negative-U mechanism in this defect is discussed in detail with an emphasis on the stability of the charge states. The theoretical basis of using a self-consistent bond-orbital model in the calculation is also given.

Properties of cubic GaN grown by MBE

We review our investigation of cubic GaN films on (001) GaAs, focusing on the structural, optical, and electrical properties of these films. Cubic GaN films grown epitaxially on GaAs suffer from the large lattice mismatch between these two materials in that they contain extremely high densities of structural defects. Surprisingly, the optical quality of these films does not seem much affected by the presence of defects, as intense photoluminescence is detected a? room temperature and above. Finally, the rather high background electron concentrations in our films is shown to be a consequence of contamination with O and not to be an intrinsic property of cubic phase GaN. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.

Excess arsenic in GaAs grown at low temperatures by molecular beam epitaxy

The structural properties of GaAs grown at low temperatures by molecular beam epitaxy (LTMBE GaAs) were studied. The excess arsenic atoms in LTMBE GaAs exist in the form of arsenic interstitial couples (i,e, two ns atoms share the one host site), and cause an increase in the lattice parameter of LTMBE GaAs. Annealing at above 300 degrees C, the arsenic interstitial couples decomposed, and As precipitates formed, resulting in a decrease in the lattice parameter.

Band structure parameters of zinc-blende GaN, AlN and their alloys Ga1-xAlxN

The electronic properties of wide energy gap zinc-blende structure GaN, AlN and their alloys Ga1-xAlxN are investigated using the empirical pseudopotential method. Electron and hole Effective mass parameters, hydrostatic and shear deformation potential constants of the valence band at Gamma and those of the conduction band at Gamma and X are obtained. The energies of Gamma, X, L conduction valleys of Ga1-xAlxN alloy versus Al fraction x are also calculated. The information will be useful for the design of lattice mismatched heterostructure optoelectronic devices in the blue light range.

RELATION BETWEEN THE METASTABILITY OF EL2 AND THE PHOTOSENSITIVITY OF LOCAL VIBRATIONAL-MODES IN SEMIINSULATING GAAS

Recent infrared spectroscpic observations of local vibrational mode absorptions have revealed a number of photosensitive centers in semi-insulating GaAs. They include (OVAs) center which has three modes at 730 cm(-1) (A), 715 cm(-1) (B), and 714 cm(-1) (C), respectively, a suggested NH center related to a line at 983 cm(-1) (X(1)), and centers related to hydrogen, such as (H-O) or (H-N) bonds, corresponding to a group of peaks in the region of 2900-3500 cm(-1). The photosensitivity of various local vibration centers was observed to have similar time dependence under near-infrared illumination and was suggested to be due to their charge-state interconversion. Mainly described in this work is the effect of the 1.25-eV illumination. It is confirmed that this photoinduced kinetic process results from both electron capture and hole capture, which are closely related to the photoionization behavior and metastability of the EL2 center.