We present a comprehensive, up-to-date compilation of band parameters for the technologically important III–V zinc blende and wurtzite compound semiconductors: GaAs, GaSb, GaP, GaN, AlAs, AlSb, AlP, AlN, InAs, InSb, InP, and InN, along with their ternary and quaternary alloys. Based on a review of the existing literature, complete and consistent parameter sets are given for all materials. Emphasizing the quantities required for band structure calculations, we tabulate the direct and indirect energy gaps, spin-orbit, and crystal-field splittings, alloy bowing parameters, effective masses for electrons, heavy, light, and split-off holes, Luttinger parameters, interband momentum matrix elements, and deformation potentials, including temperature and alloy-composition dependences where available. Heterostructure band offsets are also given, on an absolute scale that allows any material to be aligned relative to any other.

Band parameters for III–V compound semiconductors and their alloys

First-principles calculations have evolved from mere aids in explaining and supporting experiments to powerful tools for predicting new materials and their properties. In the first part of this review we describe the state-of-the-art computational methodology for calculating the structure and energetics of point defects and impurities in semiconductors. We will pay particular attention to computational aspects which are unique to defects or impurities, such as how to deal with charge states and how to describe and interpret transition levels. In the second part of the review we will illustrate these capabilities with examples for defects and impurities in nitride semiconductors. Point defects have traditionally been considered to play a major role in wide-band-gap semiconductors, and first-principles calculations have been particularly helpful in elucidating the issues. Specifically, calculations have shown that the unintentional n-type conductivity that has often been observed in as-grown GaN cannot be a...

First-principles calculations for defects and impurities: Applications to III-nitrides

We present a comprehensive and up-to-date compilation of band parameters for all of the nitrogen-containing III–V semiconductors that have been investigated to date. The two main classes are: (1) “conventional” nitrides (wurtzite and zinc-blende GaN, InN, and AlN, along with their alloys) and (2) “dilute” nitrides (zinc-blende ternaries and quaternaries in which a relatively small fraction of N is added to a host III–V material, e.g., GaAsN and GaInAsN). As in our more general review of III–V semiconductor band parameters [I. Vurgaftman et al., J. Appl. Phys. 89, 5815 (2001)], complete and consistent parameter sets are recommended on the basis of a thorough and critical review of the existing literature. We tabulate the direct and indirect energy gaps, spin-orbit and crystal-field splittings, alloy bowing parameters, electron and hole effective masses, deformation potentials, elastic constants, piezoelectric and spontaneous polarization coefficients, as well as heterostructure band offsets. Temperature an...

Band parameters for nitrogen-containing semiconductors

Gallium nitride (GaN) and its allied binaries InN and AIN as well as their ternary compounds have gained an unprecedented attention due to their wide-ranging applications encompassing green, blue, violet, and ultraviolet (UV) emitters and detectors (in photon ranges inaccessible by other semiconductors) and high-power amplifiers. However, even the best of the three binaries, GaN, contains many structural and point defects caused to a large extent by lattice and stacking mismatch with substrates. These defects notably affect the electrical and optical properties of the host material and can seriously degrade the performance and reliability of devices made based on these nitride semiconductors. Even though GaN broke the long-standing paradigm that high density of dislocations precludes acceptable device performance, point defects have taken the center stage as they exacerbate efforts to increase the efficiency of emitters, increase laser operation lifetime, and lead to anomalies in electronic devices. The p...

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Luminescence properties of defects in GaN

The role of extended and point defects, and key impurities such as C, O, and H, on the electrical and optical properties of GaN is reviewed. Recent progress in the development of high reliability contacts, thermal processing, dry and wet etching techniques, implantation doping and isolation, and gate insulator technology is detailed. Finally, the performance of GaN-based electronic and photonic devices such as field effect transistors, UV detectors, laser diodes, and light-emitting diodes is covered, along with the influence of process-induced or grown-in defects and impurities on the device physics.

Gan : processing, defects, and devices

Structural and optical quality of InGaAsN quantum wells grown on misoriented GaAs (111)b substrates by molecular beam epitaxy

Metal-semiconductor-metal photodetectors have been fabricated on AlGaN grown on Si(111) by molecular beam epitaxy for solar-blind applications. A cutoff wavelength of 290 nm and an ultraviolet/visible contrast of more than three orders of magnitude are achieved. Time response measurements show fast exponential decays, with a minimum decay time of 150 ns. The photodetectors present responsivities that increase with bias, reaching 15 mA/W at 4 V bias.

Fast AlGaN metal-semiconductor-metal photodetectors grown on Si(111)

AlxGa1—xN/GaN heterostructure field effect transistors with different Al concentrations (0.15 < x < 0.25) and barrier widths (150 A < WB < 350 A) have been fabricated and characterized. The experimental results were analyzed by using a self-consistent solution of the Schrodinger and Poisson equations with the proper boundary conditions. The total (piezoelectric and spontaneous) polarization has been included as a fitting parameter in the self-consistent calculations. Comparing simulation results with experimental data, a linear increase of the polarization field with the Al concentration has been found. Our results indicate that the slope of such dependence and the magnitude of the total polarization field are lower than the predicted ones using the usually accepted values of the piezoelectric and spontaneous polarization coefficients.

Polarization Field Determination in AlGaN/GaN HFETs

Optical thresholds, that correspond to a level located at 1 eV above the valence band, are observed by photocapacitance techniques in n-type Mg-doped GaN. In undoped GaN, this level has been previously related to the yellow emission detected by photoluminescence. In Mg-doped GaN, this yellow luminescence is only observed for excitation energies below the Mg-related band (2.9 - 3 eV). This result evidences that Mg-doping may reduce but not avoid the formation of the yellow band related defects in n-type and semiinsulating Mg-doped samples. The fact that the yellow luminescence is not observed for excitation energies above the bandgap may be justified by a higher efficiency of the Mg-related recombination path.

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Yellow luminescence in Mg-doped GaN

A detailed analysis of the near-infrared luminescence has been performed in undoped and n-doped (Si, Te, Sn) AlGaAs samples grown by MBE and MOVPE techniques. A wide range of Al compositions (26-74%) and donor concentrations (1016-1018 cm-3) was examined. In the spectral region from 0.9 to 2.0 mu m in all samples there is a photoluminescence (PL) peak at 1.1 mu m (IR1). MOVPE samples show an additional PL peak at 1.5 mu m (IR2), which is independent of the Al mole fraction, the doping concentration and the donor species IR2 is not present in MBE-grown samples, where a third peak IR3 appears. None of the IR peaks is related to DX deep donor centres, since the amplitudes of all IR peaks are independent of the donor doping level. By optically detected ESR of Si-doped samples it was shown that the IR2 band is due to arsenic antisite defects and not to DX centres as previously assumed. Also, deep level transient spectroscopy measurements were performed on Si-doped samples.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0268-1242/6/10/010/pdf

E. Muñoz

Papers

Structural and optical quality of InGaAsN quantum wells grown on misoriented GaAs (111)b substrates by molecular beam epitaxy

Fast AlGaN metal-semiconductor-metal photodetectors grown on Si(111)

Polarization Field Determination in AlGaN/GaN HFETs

Yellow luminescence in Mg-doped GaN

Origin of the near infrared luminescence in n-type AlxGa1-xAs alloys