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

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

III–N–V semiconductors are promising materials for use in next-generation multijunction solar cells because these materials can be lattice matched to substrates such as GaAs, Ge and Si, with a range of bandgaps that are complementary to those of other III–V semiconductors. Several potentially high-efficiency multijunction photovoltaic device designs using III–N–V materials are discussed. The main roadblock to the development of these solar cell devices is poor minority-carrier transport in the III–N–V materials. The present understanding of the material properties of GaInNAs lattice matched to GaAs and GaNPAs lattice matched to Si is reviewed.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0268-1242/17/8/305/pdf

III-N-V semiconductors for solar photovoltaic applications

Vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) are now key optical sources in optical communications. Their main application is currently in local area networks using multimode optical fibers. VCSELs are also being rapidly commercialized for single-mode fiber metropolitan area and wide area network applications. The advantages of VCSEL include simpler fiber coupling, easier packaging and testing, and the ability to be fabricated in arrays. In addition, VCSELs have an inherent single-wavelength structure that is well suited for wavelength engineering. All these advantages promise to lead to cost-effective wavelength-tunable lasers, which are essential for the future intelligent, all-optical networks. The author reviews the advances on wavelength-tunable VCSELs. She summarizes some of the early breakthroughs in wavelength engineering of VCSELs and then concentrates on the designs and properties of micromechanical tunable VCSEL.

Tunable VCSEL

A key to the utilization of nitride-arsenides for long wavelength optoelectronic devices is obtaining low defect materials with long nonradiative lifetimes. Currently, these materials must be annealed to obtain device quality material. The likely defect responsible for the low luminescence efficiency is associated with excess nitrogen. Photoluminescence and capacitance–voltage measurements indicate the presence of a trap associated with excess nitrogen which decreases in concentration upon anneal. Our films are grown by elemental source molecular beam epitaxy and the background impurity concentration is low, thus we have investigated the role of crystalline defects. High resolution x-ray diffraction showed improved crystal quality after anneal. We observed that the lattice parameter does not decrease linearly with nitrogen concentration for levels of nitrogen above 2.9 mol % GaN. The fact that Vegard’s law is not observed, despite theoretical calculations that it should, indicates that nitrogen incorporat...

Incorporation of nitrogen in nitride-arsenides: Origin of improved luminescence efficiency after anneal

Nitrogen incorporation in group III–nitride–arsenide materials grown by elemental source molecular beam epitaxy

Elemental source molecular beam epitaxy has been used to grow vertical cavity laser diodes on GaAs substrates that employ GaInNAs multiquantum well active regions and AlAs-GaAs distributed Bragg reflectors. The laser diodes emitted light at 1200 nm and had threshold current densities of 2.5 kA/cm/sup 2/ and efficiencies of 0.066 W/A under room temperature pulsed operation.

1200 nm GaAs-based vertical cavity lasers employing GaInNAs multiquantum well active regions

Capacitance–voltage measurements on metal-semiconductor contacts are used to examine depth-resolved electrical characteristics of GaAs/Ga(As, N)/GaAs heterostructures. The experimental depth profiles of the carrier concentration are compared with calculations based on self-consistent solutions of the Poisson equation. As-grown Ga(As, N) layers are p type, and hole concentrations of about 3×1016 cm−3 are observed for undoped Ga(As, N) layers with a GaN mole fraction of 3% and thicknesses below 80 nm. This hole concentration is stable during rapid thermal annealing. For a GaN mole fraction of about 3%, the valence band offset between GaAs and Ga(As, N) is found to be +(11±2) meV. The heterointerfaces are of type I. The dominant carrier depletion in as-grown heterostructures is due to donor-like defect levels, which are accumulated at the GaAs-on-Ga(As, N) interface. The amount of these interfacial defects rises remarkably in thicker Ga(As, N) layers, but can be completely removed by rapid thermal annealing ...

Electrical depth profile of p-type GaAs/Ga(As, N)/GaAs heterostructures determined by capacitance–voltage measurements

Deep-level defects in p-type GaAs/Ga(As,N)/GaAs heterostructures grown by molecular beam epitaxy are investigated by deep-level transient Fourier spectroscopy. Depth-resolved distributions of hole traps are measured in as-grown and annealed heterojunctions in order to identify the defects, which lead to the degradation of the Ga(As,N) properties. Four defects are recognized in the heterostructures studied. Two dominant hole traps are found in Ga(As,N) at energies of about 0.35 and 0.45 eV above the valence band edge. These midgap levels originate from copper- and iron-related defects, the formation of which is connected with operation of the nitrogen plasma cell during Ga(As,N) growth. Both traps, which are removed by annealing, are discussed as the possible nonradiative centers that deteriorate the optical properties. Two other hole traps of intrinsic origin are related to the GaAs growth conditions close to the Ga(As,N)-on-GaAs interface, where the GaAs growth is affected by the nitrogen plasma despite ...

S.G. Spruytte

Papers

Incorporation of nitrogen in nitride-arsenides: Origin of improved luminescence efficiency after anneal

Nitrogen incorporation in group III–nitride–arsenide materials grown by elemental source molecular beam epitaxy

1200 nm GaAs-based vertical cavity lasers employing GaInNAs multiquantum well active regions

Electrical depth profile of p-type GaAs/Ga(As, N)/GaAs heterostructures determined by capacitance–voltage measurements

Origin and annealing of deep-level defects in p-type GaAs/Ga(As,N)/GaAs heterostructures grown by molecular beam epitaxy