Diffusion and Quantum Well Intermixing

Abstract

Diffusion or intermixing is the movement of particles through space. It primarily occurs in every form of matter because of thermal motion. Atom diffusion and intermixing can also happen in crystalline semiconductors whereby the atoms that are diffusing and intermixing move from one side of the lattice to the adjacent one in the crystal semiconductor. Atom diffusion, which may also involve defects (including native and dopant), is at the core of processing of semiconductors. The stages involved in semiconductor processing are growth, followed by post-growth, and then the construction stage comes last. The control of every aspect of diffusion is necessary to accomplish the required goals, therefore creating a need for knowing what diffuses at any point in time. This chapter will briefly summarize the techniques that are in existence and are used to create diffused quantum wells (QWs). Also, it will outline the examples of QW semiconductor lasers and light-emitting diode (LED) by the utilization of inter-diffusion techniques and give recent examples.