ᐊ O7-5
Open Readings 2021 • O7-6
O8-1 ᐅ

GROWTH AND INVESTIGATION OF Bi-CONTAINING COMPOUND PIN STRUCTURES

Nerijus Jurkūnas1, 2, Algirdas Jasinskas1, Simona Pūkienė1, Arnas Pukinskas1, 2, Andrius Bičiūnas1, Bronislovas Čechavičius1, Virginijus Bukauskas1, Renata Butkutė1, 2

1 Optoelectronics Dept., Center for Physical Sciences and Technology, Saulėtekio av. 3, LT-10257 Vilnius, Lithuania

2 Faculty of Physics, Vilnius University, Saulėtekio av. 9, III building, LT-10222 Vilnius, Lithuania

[email protected]

The last decade huge interest in devices, operating in telecommunication wavelengths window (from 1 µm to 1.5 µm) was observed. Traditionally the active area of such components is fabricated using heterostructures of A3-B5 semiconductor compounds, such as InGaAsP or InGaAlAs. These devises are sensitive to temperature, and stabilization of parameters require external coolers [1]. To obviate disadvantages and fulfill the main requirements for semiconductors technologies - high efficiency and low costs, the performances of components must be improved. This could be achieved replacing usual heterostructures by new more attractive material.

GaAsBi, namely bismide alloy, exhibit unique physical properties, including a large energy bowing effect, less temperature sensitive bandgap, large SO split energy and negligible influence on electron and hole mobility. The partial substitution of As by larger Bi atoms into the lattice of GaAs allows to reduce the band gap from 60 meV to 88 meV for Bi% [2, 3]. Theoretic outlook of bismide compounds attracts attention of scientists working in both material engineering as well research and commercial device application directions. Several attempts to fabricate bismide-based near infrared (NIR) sources, light emitting diodes (LEDs) and laser diodes (LDs), were demonstrated in Ref. [4-6].

This study aims to growth technology and complex investigation of multiple quantum well (MQW) structures for LEDs exhibiting luminescent properties in spectral range from 1 µm to 1.5 µm. A new concept of LED design was proofed. Combining two earlier demonstrated by our group ideas [7, 8], pin structures with insulating layer cotaining Bi quantum dots in the wells sandwiched by parabolic quantum barriers were fabricated. The optimization of MQWs was performed by MBE, varying Bi content, QW and barrier thickness, in-situ annealing temperature and time. Photoluminescence and voltage-current measurements of MQW structures and LEDs have been carried out to evaluate the optical and electrical properties and served as a feed-back for epitaxy optimum conditions mapping. The complex characterization of samples (see Fig. 1) permitted to reveal the dominating recombination mechanisms in bismides MQWs, and define key parameters influencing to LEDs performances.

Figure 1
Fig. 1. Room temperature electroluminescence spectra measured for GaAsBi based pin structure using different injection currents.

[1] Hiroyuki Ichikawa, et al., Analysis of GaInAsP Laser Diodes Degraded by Light Absorption at an Active Layer of the Facet Electronics and Communications in Japan, 93, No. 2, p.32 (2010).

[2] Kunishige Oe, et al., New Semiconductor Alloy GaAs1-xBix Grown by Metal Organic Vapor Phase Epitaxy, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., 37, L1283 (1998).

[3] K. Bertulis, et al., GaBiAs: A material for optoelectronic terahertz devices, Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, p. 201112 (2006).

[4] Robert Douglas Richards, et al., Telecommunication wavelength GaAsBi light emitting diodes, IET Optoelectron., 10, Iss. 2, p. 34 (2016).

[5] Ludewig, P., et al., Electrical injection Ga(AsBi)/(AlGa) as single quantum well laser, Appl. Phys. Lett., 102, (24), p. 242115 (2013).

[6] R. Butkutė et al., Multi quantum well Ga(AsBi)/GaAs laser diodes with more than 6% of bismuth, ELECTRONICS LETTERS, 50, No. 16 p. 1155-1157 (2014).

[7] R. Butkutė et al., AlAs as a Bi blocking barrier in GaAsBi multi-quantum wells: structural analysis, Lithuanian Journal of Physics 57 (1), 2 (2017); R. Butkutė et al., Bismuth quantum dots in annealed GaAsBi/AlAs quantum wells, Nanoscale research letters, 12, 436, 3 (2017).

[8] S Pūkienė et al., Enhancement of photoluminescence of GaAsBi quantum wells by parabolic design of AlGaAs barriers, Nanotechnology, Vol. 30, p. 455001 (2019).