An analysis was made of the effects of thermal annealing by calculating the optical gain in the InGaN/GaN quantum well. The interdiffusion of Ga and In atoms across the interface of the well and the barrier resulting from thermal treatments was described by Fick’s law. The strong piezoelectric effect due to lattice mismatch in the InGaN/GaN quantum well was also considered in the calculation. The results confirm that the thermal annealing could induce an increase in optical gain. However, an excessive annealing might result in decreasing the optical gain in the InGaN/GaN quantum well. The maximum optical gain could be obtained at a diffusion length of 0.4nm of In and Ga atoms. There was a good agreement between the experimental data in literature and the optimized diffusion length studied here.

Effects of In and Ga Interdiffusion on the Optical Gain of InGaN/GaN Quantum Wells. C.C.Chen, T.H.Hsueh, Y.S.Ting, G.C.Chi, C.A.Chang: Journal of Applied Physics, 2001, 90[10], 5180-2