C. H. Chiang

Relaxation-induced lattice misfits and their effects on the emission properties of InAs quantum dots

Strain relaxation in InAs/InGaAs quantum dots (QDs) is shown to introduce misfits in the QD and neighboring GaAs bottom layer. A capacitance?voltage profiling shows an electron accumulation peak at the QD with a long emission time, followed by additional carrier depletion caused by the misfits in the GaAs bottom layer. The emission-time increase is explained by the suppression of tunneling for the QD excited states due to the additional carrier depletion. As a result, electrons are thermally activated from the QD states to the GaAs conduction band, consistent with observed emission energies of 0.160 and 0.068?eV which are comparable to the confinement energies of the QD electron ground and first-excited states, respectively, relative to the GaAs conduction band. This is in contrast to non-relaxed samples in which emission energy of 60?meV is observed, corresponding to the emission from the QD ground state to the first-excited state.

Analysis of strain relaxation in GaAs∕InGaAs∕GaAs structures by spectroscopy of relaxation-induced states

Strain relaxation in GaAs∕In0.2Ga0.8As∕GaAs structures is investigated by analyzing relaxation-induced traps. Strain relaxation is shown to cause carrier depletion by the induction of a 0.53eV trap in the top GaAs layer, a 0.13eV trap in the InGaAs layer, and a 0.33eV trap in the neighboring lower GaAs layer. The 0.53eV trap which exhibits a logarithmic function of transient capacitance is attributed to threading dislocations. The 0.33eV trap exhibits an exponential transient capacitance, suggesting a GaAs point defect as its origin. Given its activation energy, it is assigned to the EL6 in GaAs, commonly considered to be Asi-VGa complexes. This trap and the 0.13eV trap are regarded as the same, since their energy difference is comparable to the optically determined conduction-band offset. The spatial location of this trap correlates with that of misfit dislocations. Accordingly, the production of this trap is determined from the mechanism of strain relaxation. A likely mode of strain relaxation is deduce...

Bimodel onset strain relaxation in InAs quantum dots with an InGaAs capping layer

Capping InAs quantum dots (QDs) with an InGaAs layer allows strain relaxation to induce a low-energy electron state below a set of fine dot family states, which is consistent with photoluminescence (PL) spectra. The evolution of InAs thickness suggests a bimodal onset relaxation, i.e., a fine dot family that is strain-relieved by indium outdiffusion from the QDs, as suggested by transmission electron microscopy, and a low-energy dot family that is strain relaxed by the generation of lattice misfits. The indium outdiffusion can explain an abnormal PL blueshift in 70 meV in the fine dot family at onset of strain relaxation.

Deep-level emissions in GaAsN/GaAs structures grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition

This work presents the deep-level photoluminescence of coherently strained GaAsN∕GaAs quantum-well (QW) structures with various GaAsN thicknesses and N contents. A broad deep-level emission at ∼1.1eV is observed, whose wavelength is redshifted as the GaAsN thickness increases. Based on its energy separation from the QW emission, this emission is attributed to a transition between the QW electron ground state and a deep level at ∼0.2eV above the GaAsN valence-band (VB) edge. This level is shown to be tied to the GaAs band edge. A transition between this level and the GaAs conduction band allows the GaAsN–GaAs band alignment to be evaluated. A type II band lineup is obtained with VB offsets of 0.03 and 0.002eV for N=0.6% and 1.8%, respectively. The decreased VB offset suggests a transition from type II to type I with increasing N content. Thermal annealing effectively removes this level and improves the QW emission. The concentration of this level is not clearly correlated with N content, suggesting that th...

Effect of antimony incorporation on the density, shape, and luminescence of InAs quantum dots

This work investigates the surfactant effect on exposed and buried InAs quantum dots (QDs) by incorporating Sb into the QD layers with various Sb beam equivalent pressures (BEPs). Secondary ion mass spectroscopy shows the presence of Sb in the exposed and buried QD layers with the Sb intensity in the exposed layer substantially exceeding that in the buried layer. Incorporating Sb can reduce the density of the exposed QDs by more than two orders of magnitude. However, a high Sb BEP yields a surface morphology with a regular periodic structure of ellipsoid terraces. A good room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) at ∼1600 nm from the exposed QDs is observed, suggesting that the Sb incorporation probably improves the emission efficiency by reducing the surface recombination velocity at the surface of the exposed QDs. Increasing Sb BEP causes a blueshift of the emission from the exposed QDs due to a reduction in the dot height as suggested by atomic force microscopy. Increasing Sb BEP can also blueshift the ∼1...

How do InAs quantum dots relax when the InAs growth thickness exceeds the dislocation-induced critical thickness?

A simple critical thickness for generating lattice misfits is insufficient to describe the onset strain relaxation in InAs quantum dots (QDs). A predominant dot family is shown to relieve its strain by In/Ga interdiffusion, rather than by lattice misfits, at the onset of strain relaxation. This argument is based on photoluminescence spectra, which show the emergence of a fine blueshifted transition at the onset of strain relaxation, along with a low-energy transition from a dot family degraded by lattice misfits. From the analysis of the temperature-dependent blueshift and energy separation between the ground and excited-state transitions, the blueshift is attributed to In/Ga interdiffusion. Transmission electron microscopy suggests a relaxation-induced indium migration from the interdiffused dot family to the dislocated dot family. Post-growth thermal annealing can further relieve strain by inducing more In/Ga interdiffusion in the interdiffused dot family and more dislocations in the dislocated dot fami...

Role of the N-related localized states in the electron emission properties of a GaAsN quantum well

This study elucidates the influence of the N-related localized states on electron emission properties of a GaAsN quantum well (QW) that is grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The N-related localized states in a GaAsN QW are identified as both optical and electrical electron trap states. Furthermore, exactly how N-related localized states influence the electron emission properties of a GaAsN quantum well is examined. The presence of N-related localized states effectively suppresses the tunneling emission of GaAsN QW electron states, leading to a long electron emission time for the GaAsN QW electron states. Thermal annealing can reduce the number of N-related localized states, resulting in a recovery of the tunneling emission for GaAsN QW electron states. Increasing the annealing temperature can restore the electron emission behavior of GaAsN QW to the typical electron tunneling emission for a high-quality QW.

Compensation effect and differential capacitance analysis of electronic energy band structure in relaxed InAs quantum dots

The use of a differential capacitance technique for analyzing the effect of strain relaxation on the electronic energy band structure in relaxed InAs self-assembled quantum dots (QDs) is presented. Strain relaxation is shown to induce a deep defect state and compensate the ionized impurity in the bottom GaAs layer, leading to a double depletion width and a long emission time. An expression of capacitance at different frequency and voltage is derived for analyzing the experimental data. It has been shown that the relationship between the low-frequency and high-frequency capacitances can be well explained by a Schottky depletion model with a compensated concentration in the bottom GaAs layer. A simple expression is presented to account for the modulation of the free electrons in the top GaAs layer. This capacitance analysis shows a long low-energy tail for the electron ground state, suggesting not very uniform strain relaxation. The results of this study illustrate a carrier compensation effect of the defec...

Electron Emission Properties of GaAsN/GaAs Quantum Well Containing N-Related Localized States: The Influence of Illuminance

This study elucidates the electron emission properties of GaAsN/GaAs quantum well containing N-related localized states under illumination. The N-related localized states in a GaAsN quantum well (QW) are identified as both optical and electrical electron trap states. The mechanisms for the responses of current–voltage (I–V) measurement under illumination and photocapacitance are investigated. N-related localized states in GaAsN QW can extend response range and response sensitivity on photocapacitance, and produce an additional current path for photo-generated electron–hole pairs. Furthermore, exactly how illumination influences the electron emission rate of GaAsN QW electron state is examined. The electron emission rate of GaAsN QW electron state can be modulated by different incident photon energy, which is due to the modulation of depletion width of the bottom GaAs. # 2012 The Japan Society of Applied Physics

Photoluminescence Study of Interdot Carrier Transfer on Strain‐relaxed InAs Quantum Dots

Photoluminescence (PL) properties of the strain relaxed InAs quantum dots (QDs) are studied as a function of temperature from 10 to 300 K. Two groups of QDs induced by strain relaxation are observed in the PL spectra. The PL peak position of the relaxed (non‐relaxed) QDs locates at a higher (lower) energy. TEM image prove QDs are distributed into two groups and indicate the QDs relax the strain by diffusing indium to GaAs. In the 120–200 K temperature range, there are abnormal temperature behaviors attributed to the carrier transfer from the relaxed to non‐relaxed QDs.