Cechavicius, B., Kavaliauskas, J., Krivaite, G. et al. (5 more authors) (2005) Photoreflectance and surface photovoltage spectroscopy of beryllium-doped GaAs/AlAs multiple quantum wells. Journal of Applied Physics, 98 (2). 023508-(8 pages). ISSN 1089-7550
Abstract
We present an optical study of beryllium delta-doped GaAs/AlAs multiple quantum well (QW) structures designed for sensing terahertz (THz) radiation. Photoreflectance (PR), surface photovoltage (SPV), and wavelength-modulated differential surface photovoltage (DSPV) spectra were measured in the structures with QW widths ranging from 3 to 20 nm and doping densities from 2×10(10) to 5×10(12) cm(–2) at room temperature. The PR spectra displayed Franz-Keldysh oscillations which enabled an estimation of the electric-field strength of ~20 kV/cm at the sample surface. By analyzing the SPV spectra we have determined that a buried interface rather than the sample surface mainly governs the SPV effect. The DSPV spectra revealed sharp features associated with excitonic interband transitions which energies were found to be in a good agreement with those calculated including the nonparabolicity of the energy bands. The dependence of the exciton linewidth broadening on the well width and the quantum index has shown that an average half monolayer well width fluctuations is mostly predominant broadening mechanism for QWs thinner than 10 nm. The line broadening in lightly doped QWs, thicker than 10 nm, was found to arise from thermal broadening with the contribution from Stark broadening due to random electric fields of the ionized impurities in the structures. We finally consider the possible influence of strong internal electric fields, QW imperfections, and doping level on the operation of THz sensors fabricated using the studied structures. © 2005 American Institute of Physics
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | Copyright © 2005 American Institute of Physics. Reproduced in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the American Institute of Physics. |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Sheffield, The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Engineering (Sheffield) > Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering (Sheffield) The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Electronic & Electrical Engineering (Leeds) > Pollard Institute (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Repository Officer |
Date Deposited: | 02 Nov 2006 |
Last Modified: | 27 Oct 2016 00:49 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.1978970 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | American Institute of Physics |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1063/1.1978970 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:1694 |