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Photoconductive Properties of GaAs1−xNx Double Heterostructures as a Function of Excitation Wavelength

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

R. K. Ahrenkiel ,
A. Mascarenhas ,
S. W. Johnston ,
Y Zhang ,
D. J. Friedman  and
S. M. Vernon
R. K. Ahrenkiel
Affiliation:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
A. Mascarenhas
Affiliation:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
S. W. Johnston
Affiliation:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Y Zhang
Affiliation:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
D. J. Friedman
Affiliation:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
S. M. Vernon
Affiliation:
Spire Corporation
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Abstract

The ternary semiconductor GaAs1−xNx with 0 < x < 0.3 can be grown epitaxially on GaAs and has a very large bowing coefficient. The alloy bandgap can be reduced to about 1.0 eV with about a 3% nitrogen addition. In this work, we measlired the internal spectral response and recombination lifetime of a number of alloys using the ultra-high frequency photoconductive decay (UHFPCD) method. The data shows that the photoconductive excitation spectra of the GaAs0.97N0.03 alloy shows a gradual increase in response through the absorption edge near Eg. This contrasts with most direct bandgap semiconductors that show a steep onset of photoresponse at Eg. The recombination lifetimes frequently are much longer than expected from radiative recombination and often exceeded 1.0 µs. The data was analyzed in terms of a band model that includes large potential fluctuations in the conduction band due to the random distribution of nitrogen atoms in the alloy.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 607: Symposium OO – Infrared Applications of Semiconductors III , 1999 , 265
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2000

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