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Attempts to grow optically coupled Fibonacci-spaced InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells result in surface gratings
B C Richards1, J Hendrickson, J Sweet
1College of Optical Sciences, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA. brichards@optics.arizona.edu
Optics Express
|December 24, 2008
Summary
An instability during InGaAs/GaAs quantum well growth created a self-organized surface grating. This unexpected finding in optical quasicrystals impacts material properties and light interaction.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Semiconductor Physics
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- High-quality InGaAs/GaAs multiple quantum wells are typically grown with equal periods.
- Nonperiodic structures, like optical quasicrystals, present unique growth challenges.
- Previous research focused on periodic quantum well structures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the growth instability in nonperiodic InGaAs/GaAs multiple quantum wells.
- To characterize the resulting self-organized surface grating.
- To understand the impact of this instability on optical properties.
Main Methods:
- Growth of InGaAs/GaAs multiple quantum wells with Fibonacci sequences.
- Optical characterization using laser diffraction.
- Surface morphology analysis via Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM).
- Microstructural analysis using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM).
Main Results:
- Discovery of a microscopic, self-organized surface grating due to growth instability.
- Formation of a propeller-shaped diffraction pattern when a laser beam is incident on the sample.
- Anisotropic surface appearance: cloudy along one axis, mirror-like when rotated 90 degrees.
- A five-fold increase in the absorption linewidth of the heavy-hole exciton transition.
Conclusions:
- Growth instabilities in nonperiodic quantum wells can lead to novel self-organized structures.
- The observed grating significantly alters the optical and surface properties of the material.
- This phenomenon offers new avenues for controlling surface morphology and optical behavior in quantum well systems.
