Photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy for structural and electronic characterisation of resonant tunnelling diodes for THz applications

Cito, M., Kojima, O., Stevens, B.J., Mukai, T. and Hogg, R. A. (2021) Photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy for structural and electronic characterisation of resonant tunnelling diodes for THz applications. AIP Advances, 11(3), 035122. (doi: 10.1063/5.0035394)

Abstract

Photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy (PLE) and high-resolution x-ray diffraction (HR-XRD) are used to characterize the structural and electronic properties of high current density InGaAs/AlAs/InP resonant tunneling diode wafer structures. The non-destructive assessment of these structures is challenging, with several unknowns: well and barrier thickness, the well indium molar fraction, and band-offsets, which are a function of strain, material, growth sequence, etc. The low temperature PL spectra are deconvoluted through simulation and are shown to include contributions from type I (e1–hh1) and type II (conduction band–hh1) transitions that are broadened due to interface fluctuations on a range of length scales. PLE data are obtained by a careful choice of the detection wavelength, allowing the identification of the e2hh2 transition that is critical in determining the band-offsets. An agreement between the HR-XRD data, the PL, and the PLE data is only obtained for a given conduction band offset of 58.8%. This scheme, combining HR-XRD, PL, and PLE, consequently provides crucial electronic and structural information non-destructively.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant, Agreement No. 765426 (TeraApps).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Kojima, Professor Osamu and Hogg, Professor Richard and cito, michele
• Authors: Cito, M., Kojima, O., Stevens, B.J., Mukai, T., and Hogg, R. A.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering; College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering; College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Electronics and Nanoscale Engineering
• Journal Name: AIP Advances
• Publisher: American Institute of Physics
• ISSN: 2158-3226
• ISSN (Online): 2158-3226
• Published Online: 08 March 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 The Authors
• First Published: First published in AIP Advances 11(3):035122
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License