The effects of thermally induced compositional disordering, upon luminescence from 2-dimensional and zero-dimensional In0.5Ga0.5As/GaAs structures, were examined. Quantum-mechanical numerical calculations, which modelled changes in the quantum-well confining potential during interdiffusion, were used to obtain values for the diffusivities. These exhibited a transient behavior. The activation energies for interdiffusion (3.5eV) were found to be similar to values reported for low-In GaInAs/GaAs quantum-wells. In quantum-dot structures, larger blue-shifts could be obtained than those in quantum-wells under similar conditions. Interdiffusion decreased the activation energies for radiative recombination. This reflected changes in confining potentials, and affected lifetime ratios in recombination processes. The latter were observed in all of the intermixed heterostructures; regardless of dimensionality.

R.Leon, D.R.M.Williams, J.Krueger, E.R.Weber, M.R.Melloch: Physical Review B, 1997, 56[8], R4336-9