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Two Ga -interstitial (Gai) defects are identified by optically detected magnetic resonance as common grown-in defects in molecular beam epitaxial GaNyP1−y and AlxGa1−xNyP1−y. Characteristic hyperfine structure arising from spin interaction between an unpaired electron and a Ga nucleus is clearly resolved. The observed strong and nearly isotropic hyperfine interaction reveals an electron wave function of A1 symmetry that is highly localized at the Gai and thus a deep-level defect. Our analysis based on first-principles calculations suggests that these defects are complexes containing one Gai2+ .

Formation of complex defects involving a Ga interstitial (Gai) in (Al,In)yGa1-yNxP1-x alloys and their effects on optical quality are studied by photoluminescence (PL) and optically detected magnetic resonance spectroscopies. Introduction of these defects is shown to be largely promoted by incorporation of N. In quaternary alloys, concentrations of the defects are found to critically depend on the group III atoms that replace Ga, i.e., it is largely enhanced by the presence of Al in alloys, but is only marginally affected by In incorporation. The effect is attributed to differences in surface adatom mobilities of the group III atoms involved and their bonding strength with N. The revealed Gai complexes are shown to act as efficient nonradiative recombination centers degrading the PL efficiency. The defects exhibit high thermal stability and can only be partially removed by postgrowth rapid thermal annealing.

The optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) technique has been employed to examine the nature and formation mechanism of non-radiative defects in GaNAs and InGaAsN. In both alloys, two defects were observed and were shown to he deep-level, non-radiative recombination centers. One of the defects has been identified as a complex involving an As(sub Ga) antisite. These two defects gain more importance with increasing N composition up to 3%, presumably due to an increase in their concentration. With a further higher N composition, the defects start to lose importance in carrier recombination that is attributed to an increasingly important role of other new non-radiative channels introduced with a high N composition. On the other hand, effect of In composition up to 3% seems to be only marginal. Both defects were shown to be preferably introduced in the alloys during low-temperature growth by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), but can be rather efficiently removed by post-growth rapid thermal annealing., Pub in: Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings, Volume 692. This article is from ADA405047 Progress in Semiconductor Materials for Optoelectronic Applications Symposium held in Boston, Massachusetts on November 26-29, 2001.

The optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) technique has been employed to examine the nature and formation mechanism of non-radiative defects in GaNAs and InGaAsN. In both alloys, two defects were observed and were shown to be deep-level, non-radiative recombination centers. One of the defects has been identified as a complex involving an AsGa antisite. These two defects gain more importance with increasing N composition up to 3%, presumably due to an increase in their concentration. With a further higher N composition, the defects start to lose importance in carrier recombination that is attributed to an increasingly important role of other new non-radiative channels introduced with a high N composition. On the other hand, effect of In composition up to 3% seems to be only marginal. Both defects were shown to be preferably introduced in the alloys during low-temperature growth by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), but can be rather efficiently removed by post-growth rapid thermal annealing.

The formation of two nonradiative defects (i.e., an AsGa-related complex and an unknown deep-level defect with g = 2.03) in GaNxAs1-x epilayers and GaAs/GaNxAs1-x multiple-quantum-well structures, grown by molecular beam epitaxy, is studied by the optically detected magnetic resonance technique. It is shown that contributions by these defects in competing carrier recombination strongly vary with the nitrogen composition. An increase in the growth temperature or postgrowth rapid thermal annealing significantly reduces the influence of the nonradiative defects studied, and is accompanied by a remarkable improvement in the optical properties of the structures.

The first experimental signature of an intrinsic defect in GaNAs is provided from an optically detected magnetic resonance study. The resolved central hyperfine structure identifies the defect with a nuclear spin I = 3/2, containing either an AsGa antisite or a Ga interstitial. From the strength of the hyperfine interaction and the growth conditions, a complex involving the AsGa antisite seems to be a more likely candidate.

Properties of a grown-in intrinsic defect in GaNAs alloys and GaNAs/GaAs quantum well structures with low N composition have been investigated by optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR). The characteristic hyperfine (HF) structure, arising from S=1/2 and I=3/2, suggests a complex involving the As_Ga antisite as being the most likely candidate for the responsible defect. The strong HF interaction evidences a high localization of the wavefunction of the unpaired electron near the As_Ga antisite, which is found to be rather insensitive to either N composition or quantum confinement. The formation mechanism for the defect has been studied by varying growth temperature or by performing post-growth rapid thermal annealing. It is shown that the defect can be preferably introduced during molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth at low temperature under non-equilibrium conditions, similar to the case of its parental compound GaAs grown under similar conditions.

A systematic investigation of the effect of rapid thermal annealing (RTA) on optical properties of undoped GaNAs/GaAs structures is reported. Two effects are suggested to account for the observed dramatic improvement in the quality of the GaNxAs1-x/GaAs quantum structures after RTA: (i) improved composition uniformity of the GaNxAs1-x alloy, deduced from the photoluminescence (PL), PL excitation and time-resolved measurements; and (ii) significant reduction in the concentration of competing nonradiative defects, revealed by the optically detected magnetic resonance studies.

Properties of the 0.88-eV photoluminescence (PL) in electron-irradiated wurtzite GaN have been investigated in detail by a combination of various magneto-optical techniques, including Zeeman measurements of PL, optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR), and level anticrossing (LAC). ODMR observed by monitoring the PL emission is demonstrated to originate from a spin triplet. The symmetry of the corresponding defect is shown to be rhombic with its principal axes pointing into the high-symmetry directions Z=[0001], Y=[11¯00], and X=[112¯0]. From the Zeeman measurements the emission is shown to arise from an optical transition between a singlet excited state and the singlet ground state, providing convincing evidence for indirect detection of the spin triplet ODMR. LAC investigations of the same PL emission reveal two LAC lines, among which one is related to the spin triplet detected in ODMR.

We review our recent results from studies of electronic properties of GaNAs/GaAs structures with low nitrogen content, by photoluminescence (PL), PL excitation, time-resolved PL spectroscopies as well as optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) and cyclotron resonance (ODCR) studies. The issues to be addressed include key material-related properties and fundamental electronic parameters of the GaNAs alloy, relevant to device applications, such as identification of the dominant recombination processes in the alloy, compositional dependence of the electron effective mass and band alignment in the GaNAs/GaAs heterostructures., PLENARY INVITED TALK