An investigation was made of the proton-implantation enhanced intermixing of quantum wells, for H+ doses which ranged from 5 x 1013 to 1016/cm2. The implantation of 20keV H+, followed by high-temperature rapid thermal annealing, led to the enhanced diffusion of Al into the GaAs quantum well. Shifts in the electron heavy-hole recombination energies, due to compositional changes, were observed by using room-temperature cathodoluminescence methods. Diffusion lengths of more than 2nm were deduced from the energy shifts in a 5nm well, and were found to depend upon the implanted dose and the annealing time. It was suggested that this was to be expected if the enhanced interdiffusion was caused by defects which were introduced by implantation.

G.F.Redinbo, H.G.Craighead, J.M.Hong: Journal of Applied Physics, 1993, 74[5], 3099-102