S. V. Gronin

Green lasers based on CdSe/ZnSe nanostructures pumped by electron beams with energies below 10 keV

We have studied the output characteristics of pulsed electron-beam-pumped green lasers based on ZnSe-containing quantum-sized structures with thin (20 nm thick) external ZnMgSSe confinement layers. Room-temperature lasing has been observed for electron beam energies above 3.7 keV. At a beam energy of 8–9 keV, the minimum threshold beam current density was 0.4–0.5 A/cm2. The maximum laser output pulse energy was 2 W at a pumping electron beam energy of ∼5 kW.

Molecular-beam epitaxy of heterostructures of wide-gap II–VI compounds for low-threshold lasers with optical and electron pumping

The paper presents basic approaches in designing and growing by molecular beam epitaxy of (Zn,Mg)(S,Se)-based laser heterostructures with multiple CdSe quantum dot (QD) sheets or ZnCdSe quantum wells (QW). The method of calculation of compensating short-period ZnSSe/ZnSe superlattices (SLs) in both active and waveguide regions of laser heterostructures possessing the different waveguide thickness and different number of active regions is presented. The method allowing reduction of the density of nonequilibrium point defects in the active region of the II–VI laser structures has been proposed. It utilizes the migration enhanced epitaxy mode in growing the ZnSe QW confining the CdSe QD sheet. The threshold power density as low as Pthr ∼ 0.8 kW/cm2 at T = 300 K has been demonstrated for laser heterostructure with single CdSe QD sheet and asymmetric graded-index waveguide with strain-compensating SLs.

Low-threshold green laser heterostructures with Zn(Mg)SSe/ZnSe graded-index superlattice waveguide: Structural and optical properties

We report on structural and optical properties of green (λ∼520 nm) ZnCdSe/ZnMgSSe optically pumped laser heterostructures with a Zn(Mg)SSe/ZnSe graded-index superlattice (SL) waveguide, grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The pseudomorphic 400 nm thick waveguide comprising a set of strained ZnMgSSe/ZnSe and ZnSSe/ZnSe SLs of different periods and barrier-to-well thickness ratios at each side of a ZnCdSe quantum well (QW) active region provides efficient transport of nonequilibrium carriers to the QW. This results in reduction in laser threshold down to the extremely low value of 1.5 kW/cm2 at 300 K and increasing the external quantum efficiency above 44%.

An efficient electron-beam-pumped semiconductor laser for the green spectral range based on II-VI multilayer nanostructures

Emission characteristics of an electron-beam-pumped Cd(Zn)Se/ZnMgSSe semiconductor laser are studied. The laser’s active region consists of a set of ten equidistant ZnSe quantum wells containing fractional-monolayer CdSe quantum-dot inserts and a waveguide formed by a short-period superlattice with the net thickness of ∼0.65 μm. Lasing occurs at room temperature at a wavelength of 542 nm. Pulsed power as high as 12 W per cavity face and an unprecedentedly high efficiency of ∼8.5% are attained for the electron-beam energy of 23 keV.

Statistical analysis of AFM topographic images of self-assembled quantum dots

To obtain statistical data on quantum-dot sizes, AFM topographic images of the substrate on which the dots under study are grown are analyzed. Due to the nonideality of the substrate containing height differences on the order of the size of nanoparticles at distances of 1–10 μm and the insufficient resolution of closely arranged dots due to the finite curvature radius of the AFM probe, automation of the statistical analysis of their large dot array requires special techniques for processing topographic images to eliminate the loss of a particle fraction during conventional processing. As such a technique, convolution of the initial matrix of the AFM image with a specially selected matrix is used. This makes it possible to determine the position of each nanoparticle and, using the initial matrix, to measure their geometrical parameters. The results of statistical analysis by this method of self-assembled InAs quantum dots formed on the surface of an AlGaAs epitaxial layer are presented. It is shown that their concentration, average size, and half-width of height distribution depend strongly on the In flow and total amount of deposited InAs which are varied within insignificant limits.

Heterostructures with CdTe/ZnTe quantum dots for single photon emitters grown by molecular beam epitaxy

We report on the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) of heterostructures with CdTe/ZnTe quantum dots (QDs) with relatively low surface density, which could be used as single-photon emitters. The QDs were formed on the surface of a 3.1- to 4.5-monolayer-thick two-dimensional strained CdTe layer by depositing amorphous Te layer and its fast thermal desorption. Subsequent thermal annealing of the surface with QDs in the absence of external Te flux led to strong broadening and short-wavelength shift of the QD photoluminescence (PL) peak. Measurement of the micro-PL spectra of individual CdTe/ZnTe quantum dots in fabricated mesastructures with a diameter of 200—1000 nm allowed estimation of the QD surface density as ~1010 cm–2.

Molecular beam epitaxy of ZnSSe/CdSe short-period superlattices for III–V/II–VI multijunction solar cells

Results on the molecular-beam epitaxy growth of short-period alternately-strained ZnSxSe1−x/CdSe superlattices which are pseudomorphic to GaAs (001) substrates and possess effective band-gap values within the range of Eg ≈ 2.5–2.7 eV are presented. Oscillations of the specular-spot intensity in reflection high-energy electron diffraction are used for in situ control of the superlattice parameters. A method to determine the SL parameters (compositions and thicknesses of the constituent layers) based on combined analysis of the grown structures by low-temperature photoluminescence and X-ray diffractometry is developed. It is found that the parameters of the grown ZnSxSe1 − x/CdSe superlattices are close to their design values and the density of extended defects in the structures is low even though the structure thickness (∼300 nm) considerably exceeds the critical thickness for bulk II–VI layers with the same lattice-constant mismatch.

Optical studies of carriers’ vertical transport in the alternately-strained ZnS0.4Se0.6/CdSe superlattice

We present the results of theoretical modelling and experimental optical studies of the alternatively-strained CdSe/ZnSySe1 − y (y = 0.4) superlattice (SL) with effective band-gap Egeff ∼ 2.580 eV and a thickness of ∼300 nm, which was grown by molecular-beam epitaxy on a GaAs substrate. The thicknesses and composition of the layers of the superlattice are determined on the basis of the SL minibands parameters calculated implying both full lattice matching of the SL as a whole to a GaAs substrate and high efficiency of photoexcited carriers transport along the growth axis. Photoluminescence studies of the transport properties of the structure (including a superlattice with one enlarged quantum well) show that the characteristic time of the diffusion of charge carriers at 300 K is shorter than the times defined by recombination processes. Such superlattices seem to be promising for the formation of a wide-gap photoactive region in a multijunction solar cell, which includes both III–V and II–VI compounds.

Pulsed heating of active elements of low-threshold electron-beam-pumped green lasers based on nanostructures of II-VI compounds

Pulsed heating of an active element of a low-threshold electron-beam-pumped laser based on nanostructures of II–VI compounds is measured and calculated. It is shown that the observed heating by ∼18°C agrees satisfactorily with the numerical calculation results and is explained by the heat removal during the pump pulse to a highly heat-conducting substrate.

Transport parameters and optical properties of selectively doped Ga(Al)As/Zn(Mn)Se heterovalent structures with a two-dimensional hole channel

The growth of III–V/II–VI:Mn heterostructures with a high hole concentration in the AlGaAs:Be/GaAs/AlGaAs 2D channel situated in the immediate vicinity of the AlGaAs/Zn(Mn)Se heterovalent interface by molecular-beam epitaxy is reported. Despite the decrease in the hole concentration in the GaAs channel upon a decrease in the distance between the channel and the heterovalent interface, the hole concentration reaches a value of 1.5 × 1013 cm−2 at a temperature of 300 K even at the minimum distance of 1.2 nm. Deep profiling by dynamic secondary-ion mass spectrometry confirmed the back diffusion of Mn from ZnMnSe into the III–V part. High hole concentration and the presence of magnetic manganese ions in the GaAs conduction channel determine the interest in the structures as possible objects in which the effect of magnetic ordering in heterogeneous semiconductor systems can be studied.