Study on in-plane optical anisotropy of Si0.75Ge0.25/Si/Si0.5Ge0.5 asymmetric superlattice by reflectance difference spectroscopy - art. no. 071908

Si0.75Ge0.25/Si/Si0.5Ge0.5 trilayer asymmetric superlattices were prepared on Si (001) substrate by ultrahigh vacuum chemical vapor deposition at 500 degrees C. The nonlinear optical response caused by inherent asymmetric interfaces in this structure predicted by theories was verified by in-plane optical anisotropy in (001) plane measured via reflectance difference spectroscopy. The results show Si0.75Ge0.25/Si/Si0.5Ge0.5 asymmetric superlattice is optically biaxial and the two optical eigen axes in (001) plane are along the directions [110] and [-110], respectively. Reflectance difference response between the above two eigen axes can be influenced by the width of the trilayers and reaches as large as similar to 10(-4)-10(-3) in 15-period 2.7 nm-Si0.75Ge0.25/8 nm-Si/1.3 nm-Si0.5Ge0.5 superlattice when the normal incident light wavelength is in the range of 500-1100 nm, which is quite remarkable because the optical anisotropy does not exist in bulk Si.

Microstructure of GaN films grown on Si(111) substrates by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

We report the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) study of the microstructure of wurtzitic GaN films grown on Si(I I I) substrates with AlN buffer layers by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) method. An amorphous layer was formed at the interface between Si and AlN when thick GaN film was grown. We propose the amorphous layer was induced by the large stress at the interface when thick GaN was grown. The In0.1Ga0.9N/GaN multiple quantum well (MQW) reduced the dislocation density by obstructing the mixed and screw dislocations from passing through the MQW. But no evident reduction of the edge dislocations by the MQW was observed. It was found that dislocations located at the boundaries of grains slightly in-plane misoriented have screw component. Inversion domain is also observed. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Thickness measurement of GaN epilayer using high resolution X-ray diffraction technique

In this paper we propose a new method for measuring the thickness of the GaN epilayer, by using the ratio of the integrated intensity of the GaN epilayer X-ray diffraction peaks to that of the sapphire substrate ones. This ratio shows a linear dependence on the GaN epilayer thickness up to 2 mum. The new method is more accurate and convenient than those of using the relationship between the integrated intensity of GaN epilayer diffraction peaks and the GaN thickness. Besides, it can eliminate the absorption effect of the GaN epilayer.

Stress and its effect on optical properties of GaN epilayers grown on Si(111), 6H-SiC(0001), and c-plane sapphire

The stress states in unintentionally doped GaN epilayers grown on Si(111), 6H-SiC(0001), and c-plane sapphire, and their effects on optical properties of GaN films were investigated by means of room-temperature confocal micro-Raman scattering and photoluminescence techniques. Relatively large tensile stress exists in GaN epilayers grown on Si and 6H-SiC while a small compressive stress appears in the film grown on sapphire. The latter indicates effective strain relaxation in the GaN buffer layer inserted in the GaN/sapphire sample, while the 50-nm-thick AlN buffer adopted in the GaN/Si sample remains highly strained. The analysis shows that the thermal mismatch between the epilayers and the substrates plays a major role in determining the residual strain in the films. Finally, a linear coefficient of 21.1+/-3.2 meV/GPa characterizing the relationship between the luminescent bandgap and the biaxial stress of the GaN films is obtained. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.

Effects of reactor pressure on GaN nucleation layers and subsequent GaN epilayers grown on sapphire substrate

The influence of reactor pressure on GaN nucleation layer (NL) and the quality of subsequent GaN on sapphire is studied. The layers were grown by low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) on c-plane sapphire substrates and investigated by in situ laser reflectometry, atomic force microscope, scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence. With the increase of reactor pressure prior to high-temperature GaN growth, the size of GaN nuclei formed after annealing decreases, the spacing between nucleation sites increases and the coalescence of GaN nuclei is deferred. The optical and crystalline qualities of GaN epilayer were improved when NLs were deposited at high pressure. The elongated lateral overgrowth of GaN islands is responsible for the quality improvement. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

X-ray diffraction analysis of MOCVD grown GaN buffer layers on GaAs(001) substrates

In order to understand the growth feature of GaN on GaAs (0 0 1) substrates grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), the crystallinity of GaN buffer layers with different thicknesses was investigated by using double crystal X-ray diffraction (DCXRD) measurements. The XRD results showed that the buffer layers consist of predominantly hexagonal GaN (h-GaN) and its content increases with buffer layer thickness. The nominal GaN (111) reflections with chi at 54.74degrees can be detected easily, while (0 0 2) reflections are rather weak. The integrated intensity of reflections from (111) planes is 4-6 times that of (0 0 2) reflections. Possible explanations are presented. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Method for measurement of lattice parameter of cubic GaN layers on GaAs (001)

An extended technique derived from triple-axis diffraction setup was proposed to measure lattice parameters of cubic GaN(c-GaN) films. The fully relaxed lattice parameters of c-GaN are determined to be 4.5036+0.0004 Angstrom, which is closer to the values of a hypothetical perfect crystal. The speculated zero setting correction (Deltatheta) is very slight and within the range of the accuracy of measurement. Additionally, we applied this method to analyze strain of four different kinds of c-GaN samples. It is found that in-plane strain caused by large lattice mismatch and thermal expansion coefficients mismatch directly influence the epilayer growth at high temperatures, indicating that the relaxation of tensile strain after thermal annealing helps to improve the crystalline quality of c-GaN films and optical properties. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

High-resolution X-ray diffraction analysis of the Bragg peak integrated intensity in highly mismatched III-N epilayers

A new method of measuring the thickness of GaN epilayers on sapphire (0 0 0 1) substrates by using double crystal X-ray diffraction was proposed. The ratio of the integrated intensity between the GaN epilayer and the sapphire substrate showed a linear relationship with the GaN epilayer thickness up to 2.12 mum. It is practical and convenient to measure the GaN epilayer thickness using this ratio, and can mostly eliminate the effect of the reabsorption, the extinction and other scattering factors of the GaN epilayers. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Interface-related in-plane optical anisotropy in GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs single-quantum-well structures studied by reflectance difference spectroscopy

The in-plane optical anisotropies of a series of GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs single-quantum-well structures have been observed at room temperature by reflectance difference spectroscopy. The measured degree of polarization of the excitonic transitions is inversely proportional to the well width. Numerical calculations based on the envelope function approximation incorporating the effect of C-2v-interface symmetry have been performed to analyze the origin of the optical anisotropy. Good agreement with the experimental data is obtained when the optical anisotropy is attributed to anisotropic-interface structures. The fitted interface potential parameters are consistent with predicted values.

Polarity determination for GaN thin films by electron energy-loss spectroscopy

The intensity of the N K edge in electron energy-loss spectra from a GaN thin film shows a pronounced difference when the orientation of the film approaches the (0002) and (000-2) Bragg reflections, along the polar direction. This experimental result can be interpreted by the effect associated with interference between the Bloch waves of the incident electron in the GaN crystal. The theoretical calculations indicate that, at the Bragg condition of g=0002 along the Ga-N bond direction, the thickness-averaged electron current density on the N atom plane is much higher than that at g=000 (2) over bar, with a maximum as the specimen thickness is about 0.4xi(0002) (the two-beam extinction distance). The delocalization effect on the experimental spectra is also discussed. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.

In-plane propagation of cavity polaritons in a quantum semiconductor microcavity

Considering that the coupling among the heavy-hole exciton, light-hole exciton and the cavity photon can form bipolaritons in a quantum semiconductor microcavity, we calculate the group velocities of the cavity polaritons at different incident angles using the coupling model of three harmonic oscillators. The result indicates that the group velocities of the low and middle branches of the cavity polaritons have extrema, but the group velocities of the high branch increase with the increasing incident angle.

Electronic structure of diluted magnetic semiconductor superlattices: In-plane magnetic field effect

The electronic structure of diluted magnetic semiconductor (DMS) superlattices under an in-plane magnetic field is studied within the framework of the effective-mass theory; the strain effect is also included in the calculation. The numerical results show that an increase of the in-plane magnetic field renders the DMS superlattice from the direct band-gap system to the indirect band-gap system, and spatially separates the electron and the hole by changing the type-I band alignment to a type-II band alignment. The optical transition probability changes from type I to type II and back to type I like at large magnetic field. This phenomenon arises from the interplay among the superlattice potential profile, the external magnetic field, and the sp-d exchange interaction between the carriers and the magnetic ions. The shear strain induces a strong coupling of the light- and heavy-hole states and a transition of the hole ground states from "light"-hole to "heavy"-hole-like states.

Depth dependence of the tetragonal distortion of a GaN layer on Si(111) studied by Rutherford backscattering/channeling

Rutherford backscattering and channeling have been used to characterize the structure of a GaN layer grown on a Si(111) substrate. The results show that a 1.26 mum GaN epitaxial layer with a rather abrupt interface and a good crystalline quality (chi(min)=3.4%) can be grown on a Si(111) substrate. Using the channeling angular scan around an off-normal <1 (2) over bar 13> axis in the {10 (1) over bar0} plane of the GaN layer, the tetragonal distortion e(T), which is caused by the elastic strain in the epilayer, can be determined. Moreover, the depth dependence of the e(T) can be obtained using this technique. A fully relaxed (e(T)=0) GaN layer for a thickness <2.8 mum is expected. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.

Content analyses in GaMnAs by double-crystal X-ray diffraction

A model for analyzing point defects in compound crystals was improved. Based on this modified model, a method for measuring Mn content in GaMnAs was established. A technique for eliminating the zero-drift-error was also established in the experiments of X-ray diffraction. With these methods, the Mn content in GaMnAs single crystals fabricated by the ion-beam epitaxy system was analyzed.

In-plane optical anisotropy of symmetric and asymmetric (001) GaAs/Al(Ga)As superlattices and quantum wells

Two sensitive polarized spectroscopies, reflectance difference spectroscopy and photocurrent difference spectroscopy, are used to study the characteristic of the in-plane optical anisotropy in the symmetric and the asymmetric (001) GaAs/Al(Ga)As superlattices (SLs). The anisotropy spectra of the symmetric and the asymmetric SLs show significant difference: for symmetric ones, the anisotropies of the 1HH-->1E transition (1H1E) and 1L1E are dominant, and they are always approximately equal and opposite; while for asymmetric ones, the anisotropy of 1H1E is much less than that of 1L1E and 2H1E, and the anisotropy of 3H2E is very strong. The calculated anisotropy spectra within the envelope function model agree with the experimental results, and a perturbation approach is used to understand the role of the electric field and the interface potential in the anisotropy. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.