Optical properties and exciton localization in GaNas/GaAs

GaNAs/GaAs single quantum wells (SQWs) and dilute GaNAs bulk grown by molecular beam epitaxy(MBE) were studied by photoluminescence (PL), selectively-excited PL, and time-resolved PL. Exciton localization and delocalization were investigated in detail. Under short pulse laser excitation, the delocalization exciton emission was revealed in GaNAs/GaAs SQWs. It exhibits quite different optical properties from N-related localized states. In dilute GaNAs bulk, a transition of alloy band related recombination was observed by measuring the PL dependence on temperature and excitation intensity and time-resolved PL, as well. This alloy-related transition presents intrinsic optical properties. These results are very important for realizing the abnomal features of III-V-N semiconductors.

Sulfur-induced exciton localization in Te-rich ZnSTe alloy

Exciton localization in Te-rich ZnSTe epilayers has been studied by photoluminescence (PL) and time-resolved PL. The sulfur-related exciton emission is found to dominate the radiative recombination at low temperature and is shifted to the low energy with the increase of S concentration. By measuring the PL dependence on temperature and by analyzing the PL decay process, we have clarified the localization nature of the sulfur-related exciton emission. Furthermore, the difference of the localization effect in Te- and S-rich ZnSTe is also compared and discussed. © 2005 American Institute of Physics.

Exciton localization due to isoelectronic substitution in ZnSTe

We have systematically investigated the optical properties of isoelectronic centers (IECs) of ZnSTe in the whole composition range from ZnS to ZnTe. In the S-rich ZnSTe photoluminescence is dominated by Te-bound excitons, while in Te-rich side, S-related bound exciton emission dominates the radiative recombination. Localization nature of IEC bound exciton emissions in both S-rich and Te-rich side ZnSTe alloys are studied in detail. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Exciton localization in In0.15Ga0.85As/GaAs quantum wire structures grown on (553)B-oriented GaAs substrate

Using time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) measurements, we have studied the exciton localization effect in InGaAs/GaAs quantum wire (QWR) structures formed in corrugated narrow InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells (QWs) grown on (553)B GaAs substrate. The PL decay time in the QWR structure was found to be independent of the temperature for T < 70 K, showing a typical dynamical behavior of the localized excitons. This result is in striking contrast to the corresponding quantum well structures, where a linear increase of the PL decay time was observed. In addition, an increase of the exciton lifetime was observed at low temperature for the QWR structure as compared to a reference InGaAs/GaAs quantum well sample (1200 vs 400 ps). The observed longer decay time was attributed to the reduction in the spatial coherence of excitons in the QWR-like structure. In PL measurements, a significant polarization anisotropy was also found in our narrow InGaAs/GaAs QWs grown on (553)B GaAs. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.

Electron concentration dependence of exciton localization and freeze-out at local potential fluctuations in InN films

InN films with electron concentration ranging from n similar to 10(17) to 10(20) cm(-3) grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) were investigated by variable-temperature photoluminescence and absorption measurements. The energy positions of absorption edge as well as photoluminescence peak of these InN samples with electron concentration above 10(18) cm(-3) show a distinct S-shape temperature dependence. With a model of potential fluctuations caused by electron-impurity interactions, the behavior can be quantitatively explained in terms of exciton freeze-out in local potential minima at sufficiently low temperatures, followed by thermal redistribution of the localized excitons when the band gap shrinks with increasing temperature. The exciton localization energy sigma (loc) is found to follow the n (5/12) power relation, which testifies to the observed strong localization effects in InN with high electron concentrations.

Exciton Localization and Delocalization in GaNAs/GaAs Quantum Wells

We have studied exciton localization and delocalization effect in GaNAs/GaAs quantum wells (QWs) grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) using photoluminescence (PL) and timeresolved PL measurements. Studied results suggest that, at low temperature and under a conventional CW excitation, measured PL spectra were dominated by localized exciton (LE) emission caused by potential fluctuations in GaNAs layer. However, under short pulse laser excitation, it is different. An extra high-energy PL peak comes out from GaNAs/GaAs QWs and dominates the PL spectra under high excitation and/or at high temperature. By investigation, we have attributed the new PL peak to the recombination of delocalized excitons in QWs. This recombination process competes with the localized exciton emission, which, we believe, constitutes the "S-shaped" temperature-dependent emission shift often reported in ternary nitrides of InGaN and AlGaN in the literature.

Localized exciton dynamics in AlInGaN alloy

Carrier recombination dynamics in AlInGaN alloy has been studied by photoluminescence (PL) and time-resolved PL (TRPL) at various temperatures. The fast red-shift of PL peak energy is observed and well fitted by a physical model considering the thermal activation and transfer processes. This result provides evidence for the exciton localization in the quantum dot (QD)-like potentials in our AlInGaN alloy. The TRPL signals are found to be described by a stretched exponential function of exp[(-t/,tau)13], indicating the presence of a significant disorder in the material. The disorder is attributed to a randomly distributed QDs or clusters caused by indium fluctuations. By studying the dependence of the dispersive exponent beta on temperature and emission energy, we suggest that the exciton hopping dominate the diffusion of carriers localized in the disordered QDs. Furthermore, the localized states are found to have 0D density of states up to 250 K, since the radiative lifetime remains almost unchanged with increasing temperature. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Photoluminescence study of InGaN/GaN quantum dots grown on passivated GaN surface

We have measured photoluminescence (PL) and time-resolve photoluminescence (TRPL) from InGaN/GaN quantum dots (QDs) grown on passivated GaN surfaces by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Strong PL emission was observed from the QDs structure even at room temperature. By comparing the PL and TRPL dependence on temperature, a significant difference between the QD and wetting layer emissions was revealed. The QD emission is characterized by a strong exciton localization effect, which leads to a larger thermal activation energy, a nearly constant radiative lifetime independent of temperature and an unusual temperature behavior of the PL peak energy. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Optical properties of highly strained GaInAs/GaAs quantum wells grown by Sb assistance

Optical properties of highly strained GaInAs/GaAs quantum wells (QWs) grown by molecular beam epitaxy with Sb assistance are investigated. The samples grown by Sb incorporation and Sb pre-deposition methods display high room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) intensity at extended long wavelength. This result is explained by the surfactant effects of Sb during the growth of GaInAs/GaAs QW systems. An abnormal S-shaped temperature dependence of the PL peak position is found in the In0.42Ga0.58As/GaAs triple QWs sample grown with Sb pre-deposition. By investigating the transmission electron microscope images and time-resolved PL spectra, it is found that the S-shaped temperature dependence of the PL peak position originates from the exciton localization effect brought by the Sb-rich clusters on the QW interface.

Recombination kinetics of Te isoelectronic centers in ZnSTe

The recombination kinetics of Te isoelectronic centers in ZnS1-xTex (0.0065 less than or equal to x less than or equal to 0.85) alloys is studied by time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) at low temperature. The measured radiative recombination lifetimes of different Te bound exciton states are quite different, varying from a few nanoseconds to tens of nanosecond. As the bound exciton state evolves from a single Te impurity (Te-1) to larger Te clusters (Te-n, n=2,3,4), the recombination lifetime increases. It reaches maximum (similar to40 ns) for the Te-4 bound states at x=0.155. The increase of the exciton lifetime is attributed to the increasing exciton localization effect caused by larger localization potential. In the large Te composition range (x > 0.155), the exciton recombination lifetime decreases monotonically with Te composition. It is mainly due to the hybridization between the Te localized states and the host valence band states. The composition dependences of the exciton binding energy and the photoluminescence (PL) line width show the similar tendency that further support the localization picture obtained from the TRPL measurement. (C) 2005 American Institute of Physics.

Abnormal energy dependence of photoluminescence decay time in InGaN epilayer

We employ photoluminescence (PL) and time-resolved PL to study exciton localization effect in InGaN epilayers. By measuring the exciton decay time as a, function of the monitored emission energy at different temperatures, we have found unusual behaviour of the energy dependence in the PL decay process. At low temperature, the measured PL decay time increases with the emission energy. It decreases with the emission energy at 200K, and remains nearly constant at the intermediate temperature of 120K. We have studied the dot size effect on the radiative recombination time by calculating the temperature dependence of the exciton recombination lifetime in quantum dots, and have found that the observed behaviour can be well correlated to the exciton localization in quantum dots. This suggestion is further supported by steady state PL results.

Selectively excited photoluminescence of GaAs1-xNx single quantum wells

GaAsN bulk and GaAsN/GaAs single quantum wells grown by molecular beam epitaxy are studied by selectively excited photoluminescence (PL) measurements. A significant difference is observed in the PL spectra when the excitation energy is set below or above the band gap of GaAs for the GaAsN/GaAs quantum well samples, while the spectral features of GaAsN bulk are not sensitive to the excitation energy. The observed difference in PL of the GaAsN/GaAs quantum well samples is attributed to the exciton localization effect at the GaAsN/GaAs interfaces, which is directly correlated with the transfer and trap processes of the photogenerated carriers from GaAs into GaAsN through the heterointerfaces. This interface-related exciton localization effect can be greatly reduced by a rapid thermal annealing process, making the PL be dominated by the intrinsic delocalized transition in GaAsN/GaAs. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.

Growth temperature effect on the optical and material properties of AlxInyGa1-x-yN epilayers grown by MOCVD

AlxInyGa1-x-yN epilayers have been grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) at different temperatures from 800 to 870degreesC. The incorporation of indium is found to increase with decreasing growth temperature, while the incorporation of Al remains nearly constant. The optical properties of the samples have been investigated by photoluminescence (PL) and time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) at different temperatures. The results show that the sample grown at 820 C exhibits the best optical quality for its large PL intensity and the absence of the yellow luminescence. Furthermore the temperature-dependent PL and TRPL of the sample reveals its less exciton localization effect caused by alloy fluctuations. In the scanning electron microscopy measurement, much uniform surface morphology is found for the sample grown at 820degreesC, in good agreement with the PL results, The improvement of AlxInyGa1-x-yN quality is well correlated with the incorporation of indium into AlGaN and the possible mechanism is discussed. (C) 2002 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.