Detection of efficient carrier capture in ultrathin InAs/GaAs layers using a degenerate pump-probe technique

By analysing the carrier dynamics based on the rate equations and the change of the refractive index due to the efficient carrier capture, we have calculated the carrier capture process in the InAs/GaAs system detected by a simple degenerate pump-probe technique. The calculated results are found to be in good agreement with the experimental findings. Our results indicate that this simple technique, with the clear advantage of being easy to carry out, can be very useful in studying the carrier dynamics for some specific structures such as InAs ultrathin layers embedded in a GaAs matrix described here.

Influence of growth conditions on self-assembled InAs nanostructures grown on (001)InP substrate by molecular beam epitaxy

Self-assembled InAs nanostructures on (0 0 1) InP substrate have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and evaluated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and photoluminescence (PL). It is found that the morphologies and PL properties of InAs nanostructures depend strongly on the growth condition. For the same buffer layer, elongated InAs quantum wires (QWRs) and no isotropic InAs quantum dots (QDs) can be obtained using different growth conditions. At the same time, for InAs quantum dots, PL spectra also show several emission peaks related to different islands size. Theoretical calculation indicated that there are size quantization effects in InAs islands. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Optical spectra of CdSe nanocrystals under hydrostatic pressure

Optical spectra of CdSe nanocrystals are measured at room temperature under pressure ranging from 0 to 5.2 GPa. The exciton energies shift linearly with pressure below 5.2 GPa. The pressure coefficient is 27 meV GPa(-1) for small CdSe nanocrystals with the radius of 2.4 nm. With the approximation of a rigid-atomic pseudopotential, the pressure coefficients of the energy band are calculated. By using the hole effective-mass Hamiltonian for the semiconductors with wurtzite structure under various pressures, we study the exciton states and optical spectra for CdSe nanocrystals under hydrostatic pressure in detail. The intrinsic asymmetry of the hexagonal lattice structure and the effect of spin-orbit coupling on the hole states are investigated. The Coulomb interaction of the exciton states is also taken into account. It is found that the theoretical results are in good agreement with the experimental values.

Photoluminescence studies of type-II self-assembled InAlAs/AlGaAs QDs grown on (311)A GaAs substrate

The photoluminescence (PL) spectra of self-assembled In0.55Al0.45As/Al0.45Ga0.5As quantum dots (QD) grown on (311)A GaAs substrate were measured. The type- I character of PL related to the X valley was verified by excitation power dependence of peak position and the PL spectra under different pressure , which was attributed to the type- II transition from X valley in Al0.5Ga0.5As to heavy holes in In0.55Al0.45As The high energy Gamma -related transition was also observed above 70K and assigned as the transition between Gamma valley and heavy holes in In-0.55 Al0.45As. The X-valley split was discussed to interpret the observed second X-related peak under pressure.

Hole levels and exciton states in CdS nanocrystals

We have studied the hole levels and exciton states in CdS nanocrystals by using the hole effective-mass Hamiltonian for wurtzite structure. It is found that the optically passive P-x state will become the ground hole state for small CdS quantum dots of radius less than 69 Angstrom. It suggests that the "dark exciton" would be more easily observed in the CdS quantum dots than that in CdSe quantum dots. The size dependence of the resonant Stokes shift is predicted for CdS quantum dots. Including the Coulomb interaction, exciton energies as functions of the dot radius are calculated and compared with experimental data.

Study of rapid carrier capture and relaxation in InAs/GaAs heterostructures

The rapid carrier capture and relaxation processes in InAs/GaAs quantum dots were studied at 77K by using a simple degenerate pump-probe technique. A rising process was observed in the transient reflectivity, following the initial fast relaxation associated with GaAs bulk matrix, and this rising process was assigned to be related to the carrier capture from the GaAs barriers to InAs layers. The assignment was modeled using Kramers-Kronig relation. By analyzing the rising process observed in the transient reflectivity, the carrier capture time constants were obtained. The measured capture times decrease with the increase of carrier concentration.

New progress of studies on semiconductor materials

This paper is a review of research and development on semiconductor materials, which covers main scientific activities in this field. The present status acid future prospects of studies on semiconductor materials, such as silicon crystals, GaAs related III-V compound semiconductor materials and GaAs, InP and silicon based quantum well and superlattice materials, quantum wires and quantum dots materials, microcavity and photonic crystals, materials for quantum computation and wide band gap materials, are briefly discussed.

Characterization of CdSe and CdSe/CdS core/shell nanoclusters synthesized in aqueous solution

CdSe nanoclusters overcoated with CdS shell were prepared with macapoacetic acid as stabilizer. The optical properties of CdSe nanoclusters and the influence of CdS shell on the electronic structures of CdSe cores were studied by optical absorption, photoluminescence (PL) and photoluminescence excitation (PLE) spectroscopies. Based on PL and PLE results and the theoretical calculation on fine structure of bandedge exciton, a model of formation of excimer within the small clusters was proposed to explain the large Stokes shift of luminescence from absorption edge observed in PL results. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

InAs self-assembled nanostructures grown on InP(001)

The 6-period stacked layers of self-assembled InAs quasi-quantum wires(qQWRs) and quantum dots(QDs) embedded into InAlAs on InP(001) substrates have been prepared by solid molecular beam epitaxy. The structures are characterized by atomic force microscopy(AFM) and transmission electron microscopy(TEM). From AFM we have observed for the first time that InAs qQWRs and QDs coexist, and we explained this phenomenon from the view of the energy related to the islands. Cross-sectional TEM shows that InAs qQWRs are vertically aligned every other layer along the growth direction [001], which disagrees with conventional vertical self-alignment of InAs QDs on GaAs substrate.

Arsenic clusters on the surface of vertically aligned InAs islands on GaAs substrate by annealing

The formation of arsenic clusters in a system of vertically aligned InAs quantum islands on GaAs during thermal annealing under As overpressure has been investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Raman scattering. Semicoherent arsenic clusters, identified by TEM examination, have been formed on the surface of the GaAs capping layer. The existence of arsenic precipitates is also confirmed by Raman spectra, showing new peaks from the annealed specimen at 256 and 199 cm(-1). These peaks have been ascribed to A(1g) and E-g Raman active phonons of crystalline arsenic. The phenomenon can be understood by a model of strain-induced selected growth under As overpressure. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(99)02045-8].

Strain-induced morphological evolution and preferential interdiffusion in SiGe epitaxial film on Si(100) during high-temperature annealing

Strain relaxation in initially flat SiGe film on Si(1 0 0) during rapid thermal annealing is studied. The surface roughens after high-temperature annealing, which has been attributed to the intrinsic strain in the epilayers. It is interesting to find that high-temperature annealing also results in roughened interface, indicating the occurrence of preferential interdiffusion. It is suggested that the roughening at the surface makes the intrinsic strain in the epilayer as well as the substrate unequally distributed, causing preferential interdiffusion at the SiGe/Si interface during high-temperature annealing. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Structural and optical characterization of InAs nanostructures grown on high-index InP substrates

The structural and optical properties of InAs layers grown on high-index InP surfaces by molecular beam epitaxy are investigated in order to understand the self-organization of quantum dots and quantum wires on novel index surfaces. Four different InP substrate orientations have been examined, namely, (1 1 1)B, (3 1 1)A, and (3 1 1)B and (1 0 0). A rich variety of InAs nanostructures is formed on the surfaces. Quantum wire-like morphology is observed on the (1 0 0) surface, and evident island formation is found on (1 1 1)A and (3 1 1)B by atomic force microscopy. The photoluminescence spectra of InP (1 1 1)A and (3 1 1)B samples show typical QD features with PL peaks in the wavelength range 1.3-1.55 mu m with comparable efficiency. These results suggest that the high-index substrates are promising candidates for production of high-quality self-organized QD materials for device applications. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Size quantization effects in InAs self-assembled islands on InP(001) at the onset of 2D-to-3D transition

Photoluminescence spectroscopy has been used to investigate self-assembled InAs islands in InAlAs grown on InP(0 0 1) by molecular beam epitaxy, in correlation with transmission electron microscopy. The nominal deposition of 3.6 monolayers of InAs at 470 degrees C achieves the onset stage of coherent island formation. In addition to one strong emission around 0.74 eV, the sample displaces several emission peaks at 0.87, 0.92. 0.98, and 1.04 eV. Fully developed islands that coexist with semi-finished disk islands account for the multipeak emission. These results provide strong evidence of size quantization effects in InAs islands. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Growth mode and strain relaxation of InAs on InP (111)A grown by molecular beam epitaxy

Growth mode and strain relaxation of molecular-beam-epitaxy grown InAs/InAlAs/InP (111)A system have been investigated using reflection high-energy electron diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and photoluminescence measurements. In direct contrast to the well-studied InAs/GaAs system, our experimental results show that the InAs grown on InAlAs/InP (111)A follows the Stranski-Krastanov mode. Both self-organized InAs quantum dots and relaxed InAs islands are formed depending on the InAs coverage. Intense luminescence signals from both the InAs quantum dots and wetting layer are observed. The luminescence efficiency of (111)A samples is comparable to that of (001) samples, suggesting the feasibility of fabricating quantum dot optoelectronic devices on InP (111)A surfaces. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(99)01010-4].

Analysis of atomic force microscopic results of InAs islands formed by molecular beam epitaxy

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements of nanometer-sized islands formed by 2 monolayers of InAs by molecular beam epitaxy have been carried out and the scan line of individual islands was extracted from raw AFM data for investigation. It is found that the base widths of nanometer-sized islands obtained by AFM are not reliable due to the finite size and shape of the contacting probe. A simple model is proposed to analyze the deviation of the measured value From the real value of the base width of InAs islands. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.