Growth and Characterization of Low Temperature InP by Gas Source MBE

Abstract

The introduction of GaAs grown at low MBE growth temperatures has spurred considerable activity in attempts to understand conduction mechanisms and optical properties. In LT GaAs, the formation of microscopic As precipitates dominates the conductivity, producing electronic transport mainly by variable range hopping conduction. The resulting high resistivity and short carrier lifetimes have enabled the use of LT GaAs in FET buffer layers as well as in ultra-fast optical switches. An extension to AlInAs has also been performed and it was seen that variable range hopping is also present in the Asbased ternary.We report the optical and electronic properties of InP grown at low temperatures in a gas source MBE using dimeric phosphorus produced from cracked phosphine. The conductivity is higher than the equivalent GaAs LT material and does not have the same temperature dependence. The conditions under which growth occurs ie, substrate temperatures, V/ill ratios and annealing is explored. The structural properties, temperature dependence of the conductivity, deep level structure and the photoluminescence properties of the material are also investigated.