AMBIPOLAR DIFFUSION AND CARRIER LIFETIME MEASUREMENTS IN ALL-BINARY (INAS)2(GAAS)5 STRAINED QUANTUM-WELLS GROWN ON GAAS

The in-well ambipolar diffusion coefficients and carrier lifetimes in ordered all-binary quantum wells, composed of (InAs)2(GaAs)5 short-period strained-layer superlattices (SPSLSs) grown on [001]-oriented GaAs substrates, are measured using picosecond optically induced transient grating and pump-probe techniques. Quantum wells containing SPSLSs may be expected to exhibit higher in-plane hole mobilities compared to InGaAs ternary alloy quantum wells because of a larger average indium content and reduced disorder scattering in the SPSLS structures. The results obtained in the SPSLSs are compared to those obtained in InGaAs alloy quantum wells of comparable well width and confinement energies. This indicates that, for a given SPSLS and its equivalent alloy, the ambipolar diffusion coefficients are comparable while the carrier lifetimes in the SPSLSs are longer. The longer carrier lifetimes in the SPSLSs suggest that these binary structures possess fewer nonradiative recombination centers than the alloys. The absence of a dramatic improvement in the transport properties, however, may indicate that imperfect interfaces in the SPSLSs may be offsetting their possible advantages, in spite of the fact that optical measurements in the SPSLSs indicate high quality and x-ray and transmission electron microscopic measurements demonstrate the binary nature of these structures.