J.F.W. Mosselmans

Structural analysis of InGaN epilayers

The structural properties of InGaN have attracted interest on account of the recent widespread use of the material in visible light-emitting devices. A key topic has been the indirect determination of the composition by x-ray diffraction (XRD). We examine critically the several levels of approximation involved in this procedure. It is shown by extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) measurements that the local structure of InGaN is independent of the composition, in the range of InN fraction, from about 15 to 40%, that corresponds to blue to infrared light emission from this material. EXAFS-determined ratios of the numbers of indium and gallium atoms in the first metal co-ordination shell, M1, show very good agreement with the composition measured by established techniques, both structural and chemical, on similar samples. On the other hand, the atomic separations deviate markedly from values calculated using Vegards law. In particular, the average radial separations, In-N1=2.11(2) A and In-M1=3.28(3) A, do not vary significantly with In/Ga ratio in the examined composition range. We conclude with some brief comments on the uncertain but challenging topic of InGaN nanostructure.

Local structure of luminescent InGaN alloys

Comparative Ga and In K-edge extended x-ray absorption fine structure studies provide the first direct evidence of an inequality of mean In–Ga and Ga–In next-nearest neighbor separations in InGaN alloys. The degree of inequality increases with decreasing InN fraction x in the range accessible to extended x-ray absorption fine structure analysis of alloys (0.9<x<0.1). Its concurrence with an increase of luminescence efficiency in this composition range suggests that the breakdown of In∕Ga randomness in InGaN is correlated with efficient radiative recombination in blue-green light emitting devices.

SITE MULTIPLICITY OF RARE EARTH IONS IN III-NITRIDES

This presentation reviews recent lattice location studies of RE ions in GaN by electron emission channelling (EC) and X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) techniques. These studies agree that RE ions at low concentrations (whether they are incorporated during growth or introduced later by ion implantation) predominantly occupy Ga substitutional sites, as expected from considerations of charge equivalence. We combine this result with some examples of the welldocumented richness of optical spectra of GaN:RE3+ to suggest that the luminescence of these materials may be ascribed to a family of rather similar sites, all of which feature the REGa defect.

Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure Studies of GaN Epilayers Doped in situ with Er and Eu During Molecular Beam Epitaxy

The local structure around Er and Eu atoms introduced into GaN epilayers was studied by means of Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure above the appropriate rare-earth X-ray absorption edge. The samples were doped in situ during growth by Molecular Beam Epitaxy. The formation of ErN clusters was found in samples with high average Er concentrations of 32±6% and 12.4±0.8%, estimated by Wavelength Dispersive X-ray analysis. When the average Er concentration is decreased to 6.0±0.2%, 1.6±0.2% and 0.17±0.02%, Er is found in localised clusters of ErGaN phase with high local Er content. Similar behaviour is observed for Eu-doped samples. For an average Eu concentration of 30.5±0.5% clusters of pure EuN occur. Decreasing the Eu concentration to 10.4±0.5% leads to EuGaN clusters with high local Eu content. However, for a sample with an Eu concentration of 14.2±0.5% clustering of Eu was not observed.

Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure Studies of InGaN Epilayers

The local structure around In atoms in InGaN epilayers grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) and by Metal-Organic Chemical Vapour Deposition (MOCVD) was studied by means of Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS). The averaged In fraction of MOCVD grown samples ranged from 10% to 40% as estimated by Electron Probe Microanalysis (EPMA). The In fraction of MBE grown samples spanned the range from 13% to 96%. The In-N bond length was found to vary slightly with composition, both for MBE and MOCVD grown samples. Moreover, for the same In content, the In-N bond lengths in MOCVD samples were longer than those in MBE grown samples. In contrast, the In-In radial separations in MOCVD and MBE samples were found to be indistinguishable for the same In molar fraction. The In-Ga bond length was observed to deviate from average cation-cation distance predicted by Vegards law for MBE grown samples which indicates alloy compositional fluctuations.

X-ray Excited Optical Luminescence Studies of InGaN and Rare-Earth Doped GaN Epilayers

A successful attempt to use X-ray Excited Optical Luminescence (XEOL) for the detection of Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) in III-nitrides is reported. The samples studied were InGaN and rare-earth (RE) doped GaN epilayers. For the first time Ga K-edge EXAFS oscillations were measured by monitoring the well-known “yellow” emission of GaN at 560 nm. The analysis of Optically Detected (OD) EXAFS data confirmed the expected local structure for Ga in GaN. The intensity oscillation of the “yellow” band when X-ray energy was scanned across the Ga K-edge indicates that core excitation of Ga atom has a high probability of transfer to defects responsible for “yellow” emission.

Luminescence and structural properties of InGaN epilayer, quantum well and quantum dot samples using synchrotron radiation

The Daresbury synchrotron radiation source (SRS) provides bright, tunable x-rays for scattering and absorption probes of local structure. Scanning confocal microscopy and luminescence decay measurements employ the SRS in alternative ways, as a tunable luminescence excitation engine and as a source of weak, 160 ps pulses with a large pulse-topulse separation, respectively. This report first describes local atomic structure studies of InGaN epilayers by extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS). In addition, we report photoluminescence (PL) imaging, PL microspectroscopy and photoluminescence decay studies of various nitride samples, including tailored InGaN quantum wells and discs.