Radiative transitions induced in gallium arsenide by modest heat treatment

Abstract

Photoluminescence spectra from three species of n-GaAs, lightly Si doped, heavily Si doped, and lightly Te doped, show the onset of additional radiative transitions upon modest annealing in the 550–700 °C range. Etch-back procedures reveal that the new structure is all surface related. It is attributed to the creation of arsenic vacancies at the surface which allow electrical activation of silicon donors, enhance the probability of silicon site exchange, and lead to complex formation involving both donor and acceptor levels.