Overcoming limitations in semiconductor alloy design

The phenomenon of giant band gap 'bowing' recently observed in several III-V dilute nitride alloys is promising for increasing the flexibility in choice of semiconductor band gaps available for specified lattice constants. However, the poor electrical transport properties that these materials exhibit seriously limit their usefulness. It is proposed that these materials behave as heavily nitrogen-doped semiconductors rather than dilute nitride alloys and that the abnormal or irregular alloy behavior is associated with impurity band formation that manifests itself in the giant bowing and poor transport properties. The potential for regularizing the alloy behavior using isoelectronic co-doping is discussed. (C) 2001 Academic Press.