D. Gerthsen

Electrical spin injection from ZnMnSe into InGaAs quantum wells and quantum dots

We report on efficient injection of electron spins into InGaAs-based nanostructures. The spin light-emitting diodes incorporate an InGaAs quantum well or quantum dots, respectively, as well as a semimagnetic ZnMnSe spin-aligner layer. We show a circular polarization degree of up to 35% for the electroluminescence from InGaAs quantum wells and up to 21% for InGaAs quantum dots. We can clearly attribute the polarization of the emitted photons to the spin alignment in the semimagnetic layer by comparison to results from reference devices (where the ZnMnSe is replaced by ZnSe) and from all-optical measurements.

Influence of InGaAs cap layers with different In concentration on the properties of InGaAs quantum dots

InAs quantum dot (QD) layers grown by molecular-beam epitaxy were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. To achieve the highest possible In concentration in the QDs, InGaAs (instead of GaAs) cap layers with different In concentrations were deposited after the growth of the InAs QD layer. We combine different TEM techniques to determine the shape, size, and composition of the QDs. By applying a post-processing procedure, we are able to reconstruct the In concentration in the QDs which is measured too low in TEM due to the embedding of the QDs in material with lower In concentration and averaging along the finite TEM sample thickness. The determination of the composition of the layers on an atomic scale shows that the In concentration in the QDs increases in growth direction and reaches values up to 90%. Redistribution of indium during the InGaAs cap layer growth leads to a decrease of the In concentration in the cap layer with respect to the nominal ...

Submonolayer Quantum Dots for High Speed Surface Emitting Lasers

We report on progress in growth and applications of submonolayer (SML) quantum dots (QDs) in high-speed vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs). SML deposition enables controlled formation of high density QD arrays with good size and shape uniformity. Further increase in excitonic absorption and gain is possible with vertical stacking of SML QDs using ultrathin spacer layers. Vertically correlated, tilted or anticorrelated arrangements of the SML islands are realized and allow QD strain and wavefunction engineering. Respectively, both TE and TM polarizations of the luminescence can be achieved in the edge-emission using the same constituting materials. SML QDs provide ultrahigh modal gain, reduced temperature depletion and gain saturation effects when used in active media in laser diodes. Temperature robustness up to 100 °C for 0.98 μm range vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) is realized in the continuous wave regime. An open eye 20 Gb/s operation with bit error rates better than 10−12has been achieved in a temperature range 25–85 °Cwithout current adjustment. Relaxation oscillations up to ∼30 GHz have been realized indicating feasibility of 40 Gb/s signal transmission.

Investigation of pre-structured GaAs surfaces for subsequent site-selective InAs quantum dot growth

In this study, we investigated pre-structured (100) GaAs sample surfaces with respect to subsequent site-selective quantum dot growth. Defects occurring in the GaAs buffer layer grown after pre-structuring are attributed to insufficient cleaning of the samples prior to regrowth. Successive cleaning steps were analyzed and optimized. A UV-ozone cleaning is performed at the end of sample preparation in order to get rid of remaining organic contamination.

Hexagonal structures in GaAs nanowhiskers

We have studied the crystal structure of GaAs nanowhiskers grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on gold-activated GaAs(111)B substrates. The results of reflection high-energy electron diffraction and transmission electron microscopy showed that the MBE-grown GaAs nanowhiskers can form a crystal structure of sphalerite, wurtzite, or an intermediate phase close to 4H polytype, depending on the deposition conditions and the size of catalyst droplets. The results are interpreted within the framework of a thermodynamic model.

Electrical Spin Injection into Single InGaAs Quantum Dots

In the context of a potential future quantum information processing we investigate the concurrent initialization of electronic spin states in InGaAs quantum dots (QDs) via electrical injection∈dex{spin!injection} from ZnMn(S)Se spin aligners. Single dots can be read out optically through metallic apertures on top of our spin-injection light-emitting diodes (spin-LEDs). A reproducible spin polarization degree close to 100% is observed for a subset of the QD ensemble. However, the average polarization degree is lower and drops with increasing QD emission wavelength. Our measurements suggest that ∈dex{spin!relaxation}spin relaxation processes outside the QDs, related to the energetic position of the electron quasi-Fermi level, as well as defect-related spin scattering at the III–V/II–VI interface should be responsible for this effect, leading us to an improved device design. Finally, we present first time-resolved ∈dex{electroluminescence measurement}electroluminescence measurements of the polarization dynamics using ns-pulsed electrical excitation. The latter should not only enable us to gain a more detailed understanding of the spin and carrier relaxation processes in our devices. They are also the first step towards future time-resolved optical and electrical spin manipulation experiments.

The Role of Segregation in InGaAs Heteroepitaxy

We investigated InGaAs layers grown by molecular-beam epitaxy on GaAs (001) with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and photoluminescence spectroscopy. InGaAs layers with In-concentrations of 16, 25 and 28 % and respective thicknesses of 20, 22 and 23 monolayers were deposited at 535 °C. Island formation is observed for the layer with the highest In-concentration. Inconcentration profiles were obtained from high-resolution TEM images by composition evaluation by lattice fringe analysis. The measured profiles can well be fitted applying the segregation model of Muraki et al. [Appl. Phys. Lett. 61 (1992) 557] and are in excellent quantitative agreement with the photoluminescence peak positions. From our data we conclude that island formation occurs when the amount of Indium in the In-floating layer reaches 1.1±0.2 monolayers indium.

Special features of structural interaction in (AlGaIn)N/GaN heterostructures used as dislocation filters

The behavior of threading dislocations in AlGaN and InGaN layers incorporated into GaN-based heterostructures is studied. It is shown that InGaN layers with an intermediate composition can be used as the most effective dislocation filters. Estimations of the stresses generated by dislocations and nanodomains show good agreement between the theory and experiment.

In distribution in InGaAs quantum wells and quantum islands

The In distribution in epitaxial InGaAs layers grown by molecular-beam epitaxy on GaAs (001) was investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). InGaAs layers with In concentrations between 16 % and 28 % were deposited at temperatures between 500 °C and 548 °C. In concentration profiles were obtained from high-resolution TEM images by composition evaluation by lattice fringe analysis. The quantum wells and quantum islands are characterized by an asymmetric In distribution demonstrating the strong influence of In segregation. A significant increase of the In segregation efficiency is observed with increasing growth temperature.