Quantitative Strain and Compositional Studies of InxGa1-xAs Epilayer in a GaAs-based pHEMT Device Structure by TEM Techniques

In GaAs-based pseudomorphic high-electron mobility transistor device structures, strain and composition of the InxGa1 (-) As-x channel layer are very important as they influence the electronic properties of these devices. In this context, transmission electron microscopy techniques such as (002) dark-field imaging, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) imaging, scanning transmission electron microscopy-high angle annular dark field (STEM-HAADF) imaging and selected area diffraction, are useful. A quantitative comparative study using these techniques is relevant for assessing the merits and limitations of the respective techniques. In this article, we have investigated strain and composition of the InxGa1 (-) As-x layer with the mentioned techniques and compared the results. The HRTEM images were investigated with strain state analysis. The indium content in this layer was quantified by HAADF imaging and correlated with STEM simulations. The studies showed that the InxGa1 (-) As-x channel layer was pseudomorphically grown leading to tetragonal strain along the 001] growth direction and that the average indium content (x) in the epilayer is similar to 0.12. We found consistency in the results obtained using various methods of analysis.

GaAs基应变自组装InxGa1-xAs量子点的生长、结构和光学性质的研究

Submitted by zhangdi (zhangdi@red.semi.ac.cn) on 2009-04-13T11:45:31Z

InxGa1-xAs低维结构的分子束外延生长、表面形貌演化及有序化控制

Submitted by zhangdi (zhangdi@red.semi.ac.cn) on 2009-04-13T11:45:31Z

High-indium-content InxGa1-xAs/GaAs quantum wells with emission wavelengths above 1.25 mu m at room temperature

High-indium-content InxGa1-xAs/GaAs single/multi-quantum well (SQW/MQW) structures have been systematically investigated. By optimizing the molecular-beam epitaxy growth conditions, the critical thickness of the strained In0.475Ga0.525As/GaAs QWs is raised to 7 nm, which is much higher than the value given by the Matthews and Blakeslee model. The good crystalline quality of the strained InGaAs/GaAs MQWs is proved by x-ray rocking curves. Photoluminescence measurements show that an emission wavelength of 1.25 mum at room temperatures with narrower full width at half maximum less than 30 meV can be obtained. The strain relaxation mechanism is discussed using the Matthews-Blakeslee model. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.

The effect of In content on high-density InxGa1-xAs quantum dots

We have successfully grown self-assembled InxGa1-xAs (x = 0.44, 0.47, 0.50) quantum dots (QDs) with high density (> 10(11)/cm(2)) by MBE. The effect of In content on the high-density QD is investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and photoluminescence (PL) spectra. It is found that sample with In-mole-fraction of 0.5 shows small size fluctuation and high PL intensity. The influence of growth temperature on high-density QD is also investigated in our experiment. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Room temperature 1.25 mu m emission from high indium content InxGa1-xAs/GaAs quantum wells grown by molecular beam epitaxy

Long-wavelength high indium content InxGa1-xAs/GaAs single/multi quantum wells (QWs) structures have been successfully grown by molecular beam epitaxy. It is evidenced by X-ray measurements that the critical thickness of the well width of InxGa1-xAs/GaAs QWs with an indium content x of 47.5% can be raised up to 7nm without strain relation. 1.25μ m photoluminescence (PL) emission is obtained from the QWs with narrower full-width at half maximum (FWHM) less than 30meV. Our results are important basements which are useful for further fabricating GaAs-based long-wavelength devices. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Correlation between optical and electrical properties in In0.52Al0.48As/InxGa1-xAs metamorphic high-electron-mobility-transistor structures on GaAs substrates

4.2 K photoluminescence (PL) and 77 K standard Hall-effect measurements were performed for In0.52Al0.48As/InxGa1-xAs metamorphic high-electron-mobility-transistor (HEMT) structures grown on GaAs substrates with different indium contents in the InxGa1-xAs well or different Si delta-doping concentrations. It was found that electron concentrations increased with increasing PL intensity ratio of the "forbidden" transition (the second electron subband to the first heavy-hole subband) to the sum of the "allowed" transition (the first electron subband to the first heavy-hole subband) and the forbidden transition. And electron mobilities decreased with increasing product of the average full width at half maximum of allowed and forbidden transitions and the electron effective mass in the InxGa1-xAs quantum well. These results show that PL measurements are a good supplemental tool to Hall-effect measurements in optimization of the HEMT layer structure. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.

Zero-field spin splitting in In0.52Al0.48As/InxGa1-xAs metamorphic high-electron-mobility-transistor structures on GaAs substrates using Shubnikov-de Haas measurements

Shubnikov-de Haas measurements were carried out for In0.52Al0.48As/InxGa1-xAs metamorphic high-electron-mobility-transistor structures grown on GaAs substrates with different indium contents and/or different Si delta-doping concentrations. Zero-field (B-->0) spin splitting was found in samples with stronger conduction band bending in the InGaAs well. It was shown that the dominant spin splitting mechanism is attributed to the contribution by the Rashba term. We found that zero-field spin splitting not only occurs in the ground electron subband, but also in the first excited electron subband for a sample with Si delta-doping concentration of 6x10(12) cm(-2). We propose that this In0.52Al0.48As/InxGa1-xAs metamorphic high-electron-mobility-transistor structure grown on GaAs may be a promising candidate spin-polarized field-effect transistors. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.

InxGa1-xAs/AlyGa1-yAs/AlzGa1-zAs asymmetric step quantum-well middle wavelength infrared detectors

InxGa1-xAs/AlyGa1-yAs/AlzGa1-zAs asymmetric step quantum-well middle wavelength (3-5 mum) infrared detectors are fabricated. The components display photovoltaic-type photocurrent response as well as the bias-controlled modulation of the peak wavelength of the main response, which is ascribed to the Stark shifts of the intersubband transitions from the local ground states to the extended first excited states in the quantum wells, at the 3-5.3 mum infrared atmospheric transmission window. The blackbody detectivity (D-bb*) of the detectors reaches to about 1.0x10(10) cm Hz(1/2)/W at 77 K under bias of +/-7 V. By expanding the electron wave function in terms of normalized plane wave basis within the framework of the effective-mass envelope-function theory, the linear Stark effects of the intersubband transitions between the ground and first excited states in the asymmetric step well are calculated. The obtained results agree well with the corresponding experimental measurements. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.

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.

Properties and turning of intraband optical absorption in InxGa1-xAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dot superlattice

We investigated properties of intraband absorption in In-x Ga1-xAs quantum dots (QDs) superlattice. Energy levels in conduction band in QDs were calculated for a cone-shaped quantum dot associated with coupling between QDs in the framework of the effective-mass envelope-function theory. Theoretical results demonstrated that energy levels in conduction band were greatly affected by the vertical coupling between quantum dots, which can be used to modify transition wavelength by adjusting the space layer thickness. Intraband transition is really sensitive to normal incidence and the absorption peak intensity is dependent on the polarization. A satisfying agreement is found between theoretical and experimental values. This result opens up prospects for the fabrication of QDs infrared detectors, which work at atmospheric windows.

Effect of InxGa1-xAs (0 <= x <= 0.4) capping layer on self-assembled 1.3 mu m wavelength InAs/GaAs quantum islands

We report the effect of InchiGa1-chiAs (0 less than or equal to chi less than or equal to0.4) capping layer on photoluminescence (PL) properties of 1.3 mum wavelength self-assembled InAs quantum islands, which are formed via depositing 3.5 monolayers (ML) InAs on GaAs (1 0 0) substrate by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Compared with the InchiGa1-chiAs capping layer containing a larger In mole fraction chi greater than or equal to0.2 and the GaAs capping layer (chi = 0), the InAs islands covered by the In0.1Ga0.9As layer show PL with lower emission energy, narrower full-width at half-maximum (FWHM), and quite stronger intensity. The PL peak energy and FWHM become more temperature dependent with the increase of In content in the InchiGa1-chiAs capping layer (chi greater than or equal to0.2), while the InAs islands covered by the In0.1Ga0.9As layer is much less temperature sensitive. In addition, the InAs islands covered by the In0.1Ga0.9As capping layer show room temperature PL wavelength at about 1.3 mum. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.

Structural anisotropy and optical properties of InxGa1-xAs quantum dots on GaAs(001)

InAs and InxGa1-xAs (x = 0.2 and 0.5) self-organized quantum dots (QDs) were fabricated on GaAs(0 0 1) by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), acid photoluminescence polarization spectrum (PLP). Both structural and optical properties of InxGa1-xAs QD layer are apparently different from those of InAs QD layer. AFM shows that InxGa1-xAs QDs tend to be aligned along the [1 (1) over bar 0] direction, while InAs QDs are distributed randomly. TEM demonstrates that there is strain modulation along [1 1 0] in the InxGa1-xAs QD layers. PLP shows that In0.5Ga0.5As islands present optical anisotropy along [1 1 0] and [1 (1) over bar 0] due to structural and strain field anisotropy for the islands. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Study of self-assembled InAs quantum dot structure covered by InxGa1-xAs(0 <= x <= 0.3) capping layer

InAs self-assembled quantum dots(QDs) covered by 3-nm-thick InxGa1-xAs(0 less than or equal tox less than or equal to0.3) capping layer have been grown on GaAs(100) substrate. Transmission electron microscopy shows that InGaAs layer reduces the strain in the InAs islands,and atomic force microscopy evidences the deposition of InGaAs on the top of InAs islands when x = 0.3.The significant redshift of the photoluminescence (PL) peak energy and the reduction of PL linewidth of InAs quantum dots covered by InGaAs are observed. In addition,InGaAs overgrowth layer suppresses the temperature sensitivity of PL peak energy. Based on our analysis, the strain-reduction and the size distribution of the InAs QDs are the main cause of the redshift and temperature insensitivity of the PL respectively.

Influence of InxGa1-xAs (0 <= x <= 0.3) cap layer on structural and optical properties of self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots

Optical and structural properties of self-organized InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) with InxGa1-xAs or GaAs cover layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) have been characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and photoluminescence (PL) measurements. The TEM and AFM images show that the surface stress of the InAs QDs was suppressed by overgrowth of a InxGa1-xAs covering layer on the top of the QDs and the uniformity of the QDs preserved. PL measurements reveal that red shifts of the PL emission due to the reduction of the surface strain of the InAs islands was observed and the temperature sensitivity of the PL emission energy was suppressed by overgrowth of InxGa1-xAs layers compared to that by overgrowth of GaAs layers.