Optically detected magnetic resonance studies of point defects in Ga(Al)NAs

Abstract

An optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) study of Ga(Al)NAs alloys grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs substrates is presented. A number of grown-in defects were observed which act as nonradiative recombination centers. A detailed analysis of experimental data using a spin Hamiltonian leads to the identification of two ${\mathrm{Ga}}_{i}$ defects. A comparison with similar defects in other phosphide-based diluted nitride III-V compounds, such as GaAlNP and GaInNP, allows us to obtain additional information about the nearest surrounding of the defects. A discussion of possible models for other defects observed in the experiments is also presented.