Liquid Phase Epitaxial Growth of Dilute Nitrides for the Mid-infrared - Visiting Fellowship for S. Dhar
Lead Research Organisation:
Lancaster University
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
We are interested in the incorporation of nitrogen into semiconductors such as GaAs, InAs and GaSb. This is important because the band gap of the parent III/V semiconductor is substantially reduced by the incorporation of very small amounts of nitrogen. These so-called dilute nitrides show promise for use in tailoring the wavelength and efficiency of novel semiconductor lasers and other optoelectronic devices. Although GaAsN and InGaAsN are currently being studied mainly for their applications in photodetectors and lasers in the 1.3 to 1.55 um telecomms wavelength range there is far less research into dilute nitride compounds for the mid-infrared (2-5 um) spectral range which is rich in applications. However, there are problems associated with incorporation of N and degradation of the crystalline quality and especially as nitrogen content in the material is increased beyond 1%. This project seeks to investigate the growth of dilute nitrides for the mid-infrared spectral range using growth from the liquid phase rather than from the gas phase.One key advantage of this approach is that we do not need any N plasma to introduce the nitrogen atoms and so we can avoid all the damage from the energetic N ion species generated as a by-product from the plasma source normally used in vapour phase growth. Liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) is well known to produce material of excellent crystalline perfection. The proposed project seeks to build on our existing expertise in LPE growth and mid-infrared optoelectronics at Lancaster and study the resulting material properties of GaAsN, InAsN, GaSbN with a view towards evaluating their potential for use in mid-infrared optoelectronic devices. We aim to investigate both bulk materials and also corresponding dilute N nanostructures. The preparation of dilute N III-V alloys with high quantum efficiency would be a real breakthrough, particularly for use within mid-infrared light sources and detectors for which there are many practical applications. Moreover, if the approach proves successful it can be readily extended to other technologically important alloys such as InGaAsN and GaAsPN.
People |
ORCID iD |
Anthony Krier (Principal Investigator) | |
Qian Zhuang (Co-Investigator) |
Publications
Carrington P
(2011)
Midinfrared InAsSbN/InAs Multiquantum Well Light-Emitting Diodes
in Advances in OptoElectronics
Cheetham K
(2011)
Direct evidence for suppression of Auger recombination in GaInAsSbP/InAs mid-infrared light-emitting diodes
in Applied Physics Letters
Das S
(2012)
Near infrared photoluminescence observed in dilute GaSbBi alloys grown by liquid phase epitaxy
in Infrared Physics & Technology
De La Mare M
(2009)
Growth and characterization of InAsN/GaAs dilute nitride semiconductor alloys for the midinfrared spectral range
in Applied Physics Letters
De La Mare M
(2012)
Mid-infrared photoluminescence of InAsN dilute nitride alloys grown by LPE and MBE
in Infrared Physics & Technology
Dhar S
(2008)
Properties of dilute InAsN layers grown by liquid phase epitaxy
in Applied Physics Letters
Drachenko O
(2011)
Cyclotron resonance mass and Fermi energy pinning in the In(AsN) alloy
in Applied Physics Letters
Kudrawiec R
(2009)
Photoreflectance study of the energy gap and spin-orbit splitting in InNAs alloys
in Applied Physics Letters
Kudrawiec R
(2011)
Photoreflectance study of N- and Sb-related modifications of the energy gap and spin-orbit splitting in InNAsSb alloys
in Applied Physics Letters
Makarovsky O
(2010)
Hot electron transport and impact ionization in the narrow energy gap InAs1-xNx alloy
in Applied Physics Letters
Mare De La
(2009)
5. Liquid Phase Epitaxial Growth of Dilute InAsN Layers from Bi Solvent
Patanè A
(2009)
Effect of low nitrogen concentrations on the electronic properties of InAs 1 - x N x
in Physical Review B
Description | We systematically investigated the incorporation of nitrogen from the liquid phase into both InAs and GaSb using a variety of solid sources. We found that the maximum amount of N which we could successfully introduce into InAs from the liquid phase was 0.5% using GaN which was the most effective source. Similar results were obtained for LPE of GaSbN. Photoluminescence emission was observed from these materials in the mid-infrared spectral range, confirming that LPE can be used to prepare dilute nitrides with low N content. We also observed bandgap narrowing due to the incorporation of Bi in GaSb. We obtained a band gap reduction upto 78 meV with 1.5 wt% Bi added to a Ga+GaSb growth melt. We successfully demonstrated the MBE growth of InAsN and InAsNSb dilute nitrides and obtained photoluminescence across the mid-infrared spectral range. The addition of small amounts of Sb was found to enhance the N incorporation and also significantly improved the optical quality of these materials. In collaboration with researchers at Nottingham, Wroclaw and Taiwan we successfully obtained new fundamental information about carrier transport and band structure including information about residual carrier concentration, effective mass and spin orbit splitting and their dependence on N content. This visiting fellowship was very successful and resulted in 7 publications in refereed journals, including 3 in APL as well as 12 conference presentations, and contributed to the training of 1 PhD student. |
Exploitation Route | We demonstrated InAsSbN/InAs quantum wells which exhibited mid-infrared emission consistent with a type I band alignment and which is an important result for subsequent device fabrication. |
Sectors | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) Electronics |
Description | The outcomes of the research arising from this visiting fellowship were used to help secure follow on funding and helped pave the way for further research on dilute nitride materials and devices. |
First Year Of Impact | 2012 |
Sector | Education |
Description | Responsive mode grant - InAsNSb Dilute Nitride Materials for Mid-infrared Devices & Applications |
Amount | £370,325 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/J015849/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 07/2012 |
End | 03/2016 |
Description | Responsive mode grant - dilute nitride type II QD solar cells |
Amount | £401,100 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/G070334/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 11/2009 |
End | 10/2012 |
Description | H M Government Communications |
Organisation | Her Majesty's Government Communications |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | samples for evaluation |
Collaborator Contribution | validation of samples and input to specifications |
Impact | knowledge exchange |
Start Year | 2008 |
Description | Kidde PLC |
Organisation | Kidde PLC |
Country | United States |
Sector | Private |
Start Year | 2008 |
Description | National Taiwan University |
Organisation | National Taiwan University |
Country | Taiwan, Province of China |
Sector | Academic/University |
Start Year | 2008 |
Description | Open days |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Our research was showcased to sixth form students and also members of the general public on visit days and open lab days by our postdocs and research students throughout the year. Activities involved short explanatory talks and lab tours including question and answers. UCAS applications to Lancaster Physics have increased partly as a result of our outreach programme. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | Pre-2006,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014 |