Heavily doped <i>p</i>-ZnSe:N grown by molecular beam epitaxy

Abstract

The growth of p-ZnSe:N films by molecular-beam epitaxy, employing a free radical nitrogen source, has been investigated. Using this technique we have obtained p-type ZnSe with net acceptor concentrations up to 1.0×1018 cm−3, as measured by capacitance–voltage(C–V) profiling−this is the highest ever reported for p-type ZnSe. By adjusting the flux of active nitrogen and the substrate temperature, films with net acceptor concentrations from 1.0×1016 to 1.0×1018 cm−3 were grown. Evidence of compensation was found in the low temperature photoluminescence and C–V measurements; the degree of compensation depends on the amount of nitrogen incorporated into the film. The dependencies of nitrogen density, net acceptor concentration, and degree of compensation upon the flux of active nitrogen and the substrate temperature are discussed.