Paper eintragenQuantum well structures were grown on InP(Fe) substrates by using metalorganic vapor phase epitaxial techniques. Each sample contained 3 InGaAs wells, which were 2.6, 5.9, or 17.6nm in thickness and were separated by 24nm-thick InAlAs barrier layers. The samples were implanted with Si ions to uniform densities which ranged from 1.8 x 1017 to 3.9 x 1019/cm3 over the quantum wells, and were then annealed under various conditions. A photoluminescence peak energy for each well was monitored in order to study intermixing at the interface. Blue shifts in the photoluminescence peak energy were found to occur within the first 15s of thermal annealing when the Si dose exceeded a critical value of 2 x 1018 to 3 x 1018/cm3. The saturation value of the energy shift was governed mainly by the Si density, but hardly depended upon the annealing temperature and time. It was concluded that the defects which were formed by Si ion implantation enhanced the thermal interdiffusion of Ga and Al atoms at the InGaAs/InAlAs interface. This ended when the implantation-induced defects annealed out.

S.Yamamura, R.Saito, S.Yugo, T.Kimura, M.Murata, T.Kamiya: Journal of Applied Physics, 1994, 75[5], 2410-4