The influence of nitrogen and antimony on the optical quality of InNAs(Sb) alloys

Abstract

In this work we present detailed studies of the influence of nitrogen and antimony on the optical quality of InNAs(Sb) alloys. We employed photoluminescence, photoreflectance and positron annihilation spectroscopy to reveal the role of antimony and nitrogen on the improvement/degradation of the optical qualities of InNAs(Sb) alloys. A series of 1 μm-thick InNAs(Sb) layers with different nitrogen and antimony concentrations were grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The results of these investigations show that Sb atoms serve as a surfactant which effectively improves the optical quality of InNAsSb alloys. The influence of nitrogen on the optical quality however is not the same as to what has been reported for other dilute nitrides. We observed an improvement of the optical quality for some nitrogen contents. These issues are comprehensively examined and explained.

Analytical solutions for semiconductor luminescence including Coulomb correlations with applications to dilute bismides

“…This is consistent with recent experimental findings in which rapid thermal annealing improves the sample quality and reduces scattering mechanisms that contribute to the broadening, thus reducing the measured s-shape-like features in InAsN(Sb) samples [17]. Furthermore, it has been recently found experimentally that the addition of antimony reduces the broadening of Photo luminescence emission and Photo reflectance resonances [18]. This has been attributed to an improvement of the alloy quality after antimony incorporation due to its reactive surfactant properties [19,20].…”