Structural aspects of silicon diffusion in quaternary III-V thin-film semiconductors

The InGaAlP quaternary system allows the production of semiconductor lasers emitting light in the visible range of the spectrum. Recent advances in the visible semiconductor diode laser art have established the viability of diode structures with emission wavelengths comparable to the He-Ne gas laser. There has been much interest in the growth of wide bandgap quaternary thin films on GaAs, a substrate most commonly used in optoelectronic applications. There is particular interest in compositions which are lattice matched to GaAs, thus avoiding misfit dislocations which can be detrimental to the lifetime of these materials. As observed in Figure 1, the (AlxGa1-x)0.5In0.5P system has a very close lattice match to GaAs and is favored for these applications.In this work, we have studied the effect of silicon diffusion in GaAs/InGaAlP structures. Silicon diffusion in III-V semiconductor alloys has been found to have an disordering effect which is associated with removal of fine structures introduced during growth. Due to the variety of species available for interdiffusion, the disordering effect of silicon can have severe consequences on the lattice match at GaAs/InGaAlP interfaces.