Pseudomorphic GaAs/InGaAs single quantum wells by atmospheric pressure organometallic chemical vapor deposition

Abstract

High-quality pseudomorphic GaAs/In0.12Ga0.88As single quantum wells (QW’s) were prepared by atmospheric-pressure organometallic chemical vapor deposition. Photoluminesence spectra measured at 2.5 and 78 K exhibit intense, sharp peaks [full width at half-maximum (FWHM)=2.6 meV for a 17-Å well at 78 K] from the quantized energy transitions of the QW’s. Peak positions agree well with a square well calculation that includes the strain-induced band-gap shift in the In0.12Ga0.88As. Quite unlike previous work with QW’s in which the FWHM was found to exponentially increase with decreasing well width, we observed a narrowing of the QW signals as the well width went below ∼30 Å. In larger well samples (300 Å), the onset of surface crosshatch patterns was observed, which is expected from critical thickness theory.