Asymmetric Hybrid Al(Ga)SbAs/InAs/Cd(Mg)Se Heterostructures for Mid-IR LEDS and Lasers

Abstract

AbstractA hybrid double heterostructure with large asymmetric band offsets, combining AlAsSb/InAs (as a III–V part) and CdMgSe/CdSe (as a II–VI part), has been proposed as a basic element of a mid-infrared laser structure design. The p-i-n diode structure has been successfully grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and exhibited an intense long-wavelength electroluminescence at 3.12 μm (300K). A II–VI MBE growth initiation with a thin ZnTe buffer layer prior to the CdMgSe deposition results in a dramatic reduction of defect density originating at the II–VI/III–V interface, as demonstrated by transmission electron microscopy. A less than 10 times reduction of electroluminescence intensity from 77 to 300K indicates an efficient carrier confinement in the InAs active layer due to high potential barriers in conduction and valence bands, estimated as ΔEC = 1.28 eV and ΔEV ∼ 1.6 eV. An increase in the pumping current results in a super-linear raising the EL intensity. The type of band line up at the coherent InAs/Cd1−xMgxSe interface is discussed for 0≤x≤0.2, using experimental data and theoretical estimations within a model-solid theory.