The effect of room-temperature electron irradiation upon interdiffusion at quantum-well interfaces was investigated by using low-temperature cathodoluminescence spectroscopy. It was found that interdiffusion was enhanced by the presence of defects which were generated by irradiation with a 400keV electron beam. After irradiation at room temperature to doses of between about 1.5 x 1017 and 2.5 x 1017/cm2, followed by rapid thermal annealing (900C, 60s), an interdiffusion length of 0.3 to 0.5nm was found. The resultant damage tended to saturate with increasing irradiation dose. The formation of defect clusters at high doses limited the degree of defect introduction, and therefore the extent of interdiffusion at the interface.

Y.J.Li, M.Tsuchiya, P.M.Petroff: Applied Physics Letters, 1990, 57[5], 472-4