N. V. Baidus

Segregation of indium in InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells grown by vapor-phase epitaxy

Distribution of indium atoms in structures which contained double InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells and were grown by vapor-phase epitaxy from metal-organic compounds was studied. Experimental indium-concentration profiles were obtained using Auger electron spectroscopy. A model of growth with allowance made for indium segregation and a model for the Auger profiling were used in the calculations of profiles. Fitting calculated profiles to experimental ones made it possible to estimate the activation energies for In-Ga exchange in the context of a kinetic model for segregation. These energies are found to be somewhat higher than those that are well known for molecular-beam epitaxy, which is related to stabilization of the growth surface by hydrogen atoms in a vapor-phase reactor.

Influence of bismuth doping of InAs quantum-dot layer on the morphology and photoelectronic properties of Gas/InAs heterostructures grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition

GaAs/InAs quantum dot (QD) heterostructures prepared by metalloorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) are investigated. It is established that the introduction of isovalent bismuth doping during the growth of InAs QD layer results in the suppression of the nanocluster coalescence and favors the formation of more uniform QDs. Bismuth itself is virtually not incorporated into the dots, its role being mainly in limiting the migration mobility of atoms at the surface of the growing layer. A method for investigating the morphology of buried layers of InAs QDs in GaAs matrix by atomic-force microscopy is developed; it relies on the removal of the cap layer by selective chemical etching. The photoluminescence (PL) and photoelectric sensitivity spectra of the fabricated heterostructures and their relation to the morphology of the QD layer are studied. In doped structures, PL and selective photosensitivity owing to the QDs are observed at a wavelength of 1.41 µm with the linewidth of 43 meV at room temperature. Some of the morphological features and photoelectronic properties of the MOCVD-grown heterostructures are related to the formation of a transitional layer at the GaAs/InAs QD interface due to the diffusion-induced mixing of the components.

Monolithically integrated InGaAs/GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well laser grown by MOCVD on exact Ge/Si(001) substrate

We report on realization of the InGaAs/GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well laser grown by metallorganic chemical vapor deposition on a virtual Ge-on-Si(001) substrate. The Ge buffer layer has been grown on a nominal Si(001) substrate by solid-source molecular beam epitaxy. Such Ge buffer possessed rather good crystalline quality and smooth surface and so provided the subsequent growth of the high-quality A3B5 laser structure. The laser operation has been demonstrated under electrical pumping at 77 K in the continuous wave mode and at room temperature in the pulsed mode. The emission wavelengths of 941 nm and 992 nm have been obtained at 77 K and 300 K, respectively. The corresponding threshold current densities were estimated as 463 A/cm2 at 77 K and 5.5 kA/cm2 at 300 K.

Lateral transport and far-infrared radiation of electrons in InxGa1 − xAs/GaAs heterostructures with the double tunnel-coupled quantum wells in a high electric field

It is shown that the far-infrared radiation of electrons in the selectively doped heterostructures with double tunnel-coupled quantum wells in high lateral electric fields strongly depends on the level of doping of the wells. At a high impurity concentration in a narrow well, higher than (1−2) × 1011 cm−2, the radiation is caused only by indirect intrasubband electron transitions. At a lower concentration, along with the indirect transitions, the direct intersubband transitions also contribute to the radiation. These transitions become possible in high electric fields due to the real-space electron transfer between the quantum wells.

Rashba spin splitting and cyclotron resonance in strained InGaAs/InP heterostructures with a two-dimensional electron gas

Cyclotron resonance and magnetic transport in InP/InGaAs/InP heterostructures with axially symmetric quantum wells are studied experimentally at 4.2 K. An increase in the cyclotron mass at the Fermi level from 0.047m0 to 0.057m0 with an increase in the concentration of two-dimensional electrons from 5.5 × 1011 to 2.1 × 1012 cm−3 is shown. The values of the Rashba spin splitting at the Fermi level are determined from Fourier analysis of the beats of Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations. The obtained experimental data are compared with the theoretical results of self-consistent calculations of the energy spectrum and cyclotron masses of 2D electrons performed using the eight-band k · p Hamiltonian.

GaAs/Ge/Si epitaxial substrates: Development and characteristics

We developed high quality 2-inch GaAs/Ge/Si (100) epitaxial substrates, which may be used instead of GaAs monolithic substrates for fabrication of solar cells, photodetectors, LEDs, lasers, etc. A 200–300 nm Ge buffer layer was grown on Si substrates using the HW-CVD technique at 300°C, a tantalum strip heated to 1400°C was used as the “hotwire”. The MOCVD method was used to grow a 1 μ GaAs layer on a Ge buffer. The TDD in the GaAs layers did not exceed (1–2)∙105 cm-2 and the surface RMS roughness value was under 1 nm.

Exchange enhancement of the electron g factor in strained InGaAs/InP heterostructures

The exchange enhancement of the electron g factor in strained InGaAs/InP heterostructures with a two-dimensional electron gas is studied. Analysis of the temperature dependence of the resistance in the minima of the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in perpendicular magnetic fields up to 12 T in the vicinity of the odd filling factors of the Landau levels yields the values of the effective electron Lande factor g* from −8.6 to −10.1. The experimental values are compared with the results of theoretical calculations of the g factor of quasiparticles. The calculations are performed using an eight-band k · p Hamiltonian and take into account exchange interaction in the two-dimensional electron gas. It is shown that, under the conditions of a large overlap between the spin-split Landau levels, the maximum value of the quasiparticle g factor can be attained in the vicinity of even filling factors. This is caused by the nonparabolicity of the electron dispersion relation.

On the stimulated emission of InGaAs/GaAs/AlGaAs laser structures grown by MOCVD on exact and inclined Ge/Si(001) substrates

GaAs/AlGaAs laser structures with InGaAs quantum wells are grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) on exact Si(001) substrates and substrates inclined by 4° to the [011] axis with a relaxed Ge buffer layer, emitting in the transparency region of bulk silicon (the wavelength is longer than 1100 nm at room temperature). The threshold power densities of stimulated emission, observed for the structures grown on exact and inclined substrates are 45 and 37 kW/cm2, respectively.

Transport properties of InGaAs/GaAs Heterostructures with δ-doped quantum wells

The lateral transport of electrons in single- and double-well pseudomorphic GaAs/n-InGaAs/GaAs heterostructures with quantum wells 50–100 meV deep and impurity δ-layers in the wells, with concentrations in the range 1011 < Ns < 1012 cm−2, has been investigated. Single-well structures with a doped well at the center exhibit a nonmonotonic temperature dependence of the Hall coefficient and an increase in low-temperature electron mobility with an increase in the impurity concentration. The results obtained indicate that the impurity-band electron states play an important role in the conductivity of these structures. Involvement of the impurity band also allows to explain adequately the characteristics of the conductivity of double-well structures; in contrast to single-well structures, band bending caused by asymmetric doping is of great importance. The numerical calculations of conductivity within the model under consideration confirm these suggestions.

Tunnel-coupled InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells: Structure, composition, and energy spectrum

An integrated approach to the analysis of tunnel-coupled InGaAs/GaAs quantum well heterostructures is suggested. In the approach, both experimental and theoretical investigation methods are used. Transmission electron microscopy combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry is used to determine the spatial distribution of the InGaAs alloy’s composition. The photoluminescence and photoconductivity spectra of the structures are recorded experimentally. In order to interpret the results in more detail, computer simulation of the epitaxial growth is performed. By simultaneously solving the Schrödinger equation and the Poisson equation, the energy states are calculated for the quantum-confined hetertostructure with initial and real composition profiles. The results of calculations are correlated with the data obtained for interband optical transitions from the analysis of the photoluminescence and photoconductivity spectra. Good agreement between the experimental and theoretical results is gained. The approach suggested in the study provides a means for refining the real geometrical features of the structure, for correlating the spectral results with the real composition profile of the structure, and for correcting the structural and growth parameters to improve the optical characteristics of the structure.