Atomic structure and energy spectrum of Ga(As,P)/GaP heterostructures

Abstract

The atomic structure and energy spectrum of Ga(As,P)/GaP heterostructures were studied. It was shown that the deposition of GaAs of the same nominal thickness leads to the formation of pseudomorphic GaAs/GaP quantum wells (QW), fully relaxed GaAs/GaP self-assembled quantum dots (SAQDs), or pseudomorphic GaAsP/GaP SAQDs depending on the growth temperature. We demonstrate that the atomic structure of Ga(As,P)/GaP heterostructures is ruled by the temperature dependence of adatom diffusion rate and GaAs-GaP intermixing. The band alignment of pseudomorphic GaAs/GaP QW and GaAsP/GaP SAQDs is shown to be of type II, in contrast to that of fully relaxed GaAs/GaP SAQDs, which have the band alignment of type I with the lowest electronic states at the indirect L valley of the GaAs conduction band.