The N-doping of molecular beam epitaxial layers was studied by using two N activators which produced output beams having different partial contents of atomic N and metastable electronically excited molecules, N2*. The most electrically stable doping (with net acceptor concentrations of up to 5 x 1017/cm3) was achieved by using a radio-frequency capacitively coupled magnetron activator in regimes which corresponded to the maximum partial concentration of N. A predominance of N, which was typical for a direct-current discharge with a vacuum anode sheath, resulted in electrical instability of the doping parameters. Low-temperature photoluminescence spectra revealed DAP bands which were related to shallow and deep donor levels whose intensities depended strongly upon the partial composition of the activator output beam. The results demonstrated that N2* selective dissociative adsorption at a Zn atom was a favourable p-type doping mechanism. Atomic nitrogen, although it provided a similar net acceptor concentration, also appeared to be responsible for the unstable shallow donor center. A <100> split interstitial complex was considered to be the most likely identity for this donor.

Electrically Stable p-Type Doping of ZnSe Grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy with Different Nitrogen Activators. V.N.Jmerik, S.V.Sorokin, T.V.Shubina, N.M.Shmidt, I.V.Sedova, D.L.Fedorov, S.V.Ivanov, P.S.Kopev: Journal of Crystal Growth, 2000, 214-215, 502-6