During the last few years the developments in the field of III–nitrides have been spectacular. High quality epitaxial layers can now be grown by MOVPE. Recently good quality epilayers have also been grown by MBE. Considerable work has been done on dislocations, strain, and critical thickness of GaN grown on different substrates. Splitting of valence band by crystal field and by spin-orbit interaction has been calculated and measured. The measured values agree with the calculated values. Effects of strain on the splitting of the valence band and on the optical properties have been studied in detail. Values of band offsets at the heterointerface between several pairs of different nitrides have been determined. Extensive work has been done on the optical and electrical properties. Near band-edge spectra have been measured over a wide range of temperatures. Free and bound exciton peaks have been resolved. Valence band structure has been determined using the PL spectra and compared with the theoretically calcu...

III–nitrides: Growth, characterization, and properties

Nano-photodiodes with a subwavelength active area using the optical near-field enhanced by surface plasmon resonance are proposed. We fabricated a Si Schottky photodiode that consists of an active area of 300 nm in diameter and a surface plasmon antenna to generate the carrier within the active area efficiently. The fabricated photodiode shows an increase of the photocurrent by several tenfold compared to that without a surface plasmon antenna. This result suggests an enhanced photogeneration of carriers in a semiconductor via surface plasmon resonance. Such a Si nano-photodiode is a potential high-speed optical signal detector because the opto-electronic conversion process occurs within a subwavelength scale.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1143/JJAP.44.L364/pdf

Si Nano-Photodiode with a Surface Plasmon Antenna

In this study, we investigated phase separation and long-range atomic ordering phenomena in InGaN alloys produced by molecular beam epitaxy. Films grown at substrate temperatures of 700–750 °C with indium concentration higher than 35% showed phase separation, in good agreement with thermodynamic predictions for spinodal decomposition. Films grown at lower substrate temperatures (650–675 °C) revealed compositional inhomogeneity when the indium content was larger than 25%. These films, upon annealing to 725 °C, underwent phase separation, similar to those grown at the same temperature. The InGaN films also exhibited long-range atomic ordering. The ordering parameter was found to increase with the growth rate of the films, consistent with the notion that ordering is induced at the growth surface. The ordered phase was found to be stable up to annealing temperatures of 725 °C. A competition between ordering and phase separation has been observed, suggesting that the driving force for both phenomena is lattice...

Phase separation and ordering in InGaN alloys grown by molecular beam epitaxy

We present a high-spatial-resolution subsurface microscopy technique that significantly increases the numerical aperture of a microscope without introducing an additional spherical aberration. Consequently, the diffraction-limited spatial resolution is improved beyond the limit of standard subsurface microscopy. By realizing a numerical aperture of 3.4, we experimentally demonstrate a lateral spatial resolution of better than 0.23 μm in subsurface inspection of Si integrated circuits at near infrared wavelengths.

High spatial resolution subsurface microscopy

Time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy was used to study the radiative recombination of free and donor-bound excitons in unintentionally doped GaN grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy. Low temperature (4 K), time-integrated PL spectra identified the free exciton (A), the donor-bound exciton peak ∼6 meV below, and the acceptor-bound exciton ∼20 meV below the free exciton peak. A radiative recombination lifetime of 295 ps for the free exciton and 530 ps for donor-bound exciton were found at 4 K. The decay of the free exciton remained single exponential to room temperature, with an increase in lifetime to 530 ps, consistent with the thermal excitation of exciton states.

Time-resolved photoluminescence studies of free and donor-bound exciton in GaN grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy

We demonstrate the use of near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) for the measurement of the beam properties of single quantum well, graded index separate confinement heterojunction ridge laser diodes. Using NSOM, we measure the field intensity in the transverse plane at near field and as a function of distance from the facet. The divergence of the laser beam and the beam waists in vertical and lateral dimensions are directly measured and the astigmatism of the mode is determined. In the near field, we observe a nearly ideal Gaussian shape in the vertical dimension which is consistent with the beam divergence as measured in the far field. In the lateral dimension, the beam shape deviates from the ideal Gaussian since the mesa structure of the laser diode provides an effective step-index waveguide. The non-Gaussian structure of the mode is also observed in the beam divergence properties.

Beam divergence and waist measurements of laser diodes by near-field scanning optical microscopy

We report near‐field optical beam induced current (NOBIC) measurements on semiconductor quantum well (QW) structures. A subwavelength fiber tip is coupled with a tunable laser source and scanned over a sample surface. The induced photocurrent reveals the compositional profile of quantum structures. Semiconductor QW structures were designed and fabricated by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) to study the wavelength dependence and resolution capability of NOBIC. We demonstrated that the resolution of this technique strongly depends on the aperture size. For aperture sizes that allow for coupling of evanescent fields from the tip into the semiconductor as propagating fields, the resolution strongly depends on the excitation wavelength due to the variation of the optical penetration depth. For smaller apertures, the optical field remains evanescent in the semiconductor and resolution is essentially independent of the wavelength.

Near-field optical beam induced current measurements on heterostructures

Near-field optical microscopy and spectroscopy is emerging as a powerful tool for the investigation of semiconductor structures. Tunable excitation combined with sub-wavelength resolution is providing an unprecedented level of detail on the local optical properties of semiconductor structures. Recent near-field optical studies have addressed issues of laser diode mode profiling, minority carrier transport, near-field photocurrent response of quantum-well structures and laser diodes, imaging of local waveguide properties, and location and studies of dislocations in semiconductor thin films. We present results on the intrinsic resolution limitations of near-field photoconductivity in quantum-well heterostructures and demonstrate that the resolution depends strongly on the amount of evanescent and propagating field components in the semiconductor. Spectroscopic mode-profiling of high-power laser diode emission details the spatial dependence of multiple spectral modes. This paper presents an overview of NSOM techniques for semiconductor systems, its limitations, and present status.

Near-field optical studies of semiconductor heterostructures and laser diodes

We used near-field scanning optical microscopy to measure the optical beam characteristics of weakly-guided narrow-stripe high-power laser diodes. For both facets of the device, we correlate changes in the near-field optical characteristics with beam steering and the kink in the light output versus operating current curve. Our measurements demonstrate that: 1) frequency-locking of lateral modes exists for operating currents below the kink in the L-I curve; 2) beam steering is a result of a shift of in the beat-length pattern inside the laser cavity of the frequency-locked lateral modes; and 3) the kink in the L-I curve results from a sudden increase in the beam waist of the guided-modes.

W.D. Herzog

Papers

Time-resolved photoluminescence studies of free and donor-bound exciton in GaN grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy

Beam divergence and waist measurements of laser diodes by near-field scanning optical microscopy

Near-field optical beam induced current measurements on heterostructures

Near-field optical studies of semiconductor heterostructures and laser diodes

Beam steering in narrow-stripe high-power 980-nm laser diodes