Influence of growth conditions on Al-Ga interdiffusion in low-temperature grown AlGaAs/GaAs multiple quantum wells

Abstract

Low-temperature growth and subsequent rapid thermal anneal were used to intermix Al and Ga atoms in AlGaAs/GaAs multiple quantum wells (QWs). The intermixed samples were characterized by photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, and the observed blue shifts in PL energies are interpreted as the result of modification of the QW shape due to the enhanced Al-Ga interdiffusion in the samples. The enhancement of interdiffusion was found to be strongly dependent on the growth and annealing conditions. In addition, the saturation behavior of Al-Ga interdiffusion was also observed.