Laser activation annealing using of an Mg-doped GaN four-point probe small mesa device using a 193-nm ArF excimer laser is investigated. Fabricated mesa device has 2-μm-high small mesa structures with In/Au contacts formed using standard semiconductor device process. In our setup, the ArF excimer laser was directed onto the sample using a series of mirrors and was focused through an aspheric lens to the sample, which is mounted on to a movable stage. The mesa device and the laser were aligned while being viewed on the computer monitor screen using a UV CCD camera. This method has several merits: (1) the four-point probe measurement allows accurate resistivity measurement of the GaN layer independently of the contact resistance, (2) utilizing a small area mesa also as the alignment marker during laser annealing ensures that the irradiated area precisely corresponds to the resistivity measurement area, and (3) multiple irradiation-measurement cycles are possible with a single mesa device, which avoids wafer-scale variations. The dependence of the resistivity to the laser fluence and irradiation time were investigated by multiple-irradiation measurement cycles to a single mesa device in combination with atomic force microscopy analysis for surface morphology characterization. Results reveal that laser annealing at 530 mJ/cm2 for 1500 s (at 150 Hz repetition rate) decreases the resistivity from 11.5 (before irradiation) to 5.6 Ω·cm (after irradiation). This value is similar to resistivity achieved by rapid thermal annealing (RTA) at 800°C for 120 s, suggesting successful Mg-doped GaN activation. Results also show stronger dependence on the irradiation time (temporal dependence) than the laser fluence, which may imply that activation mechanism for the laser annealing has a thermal contribution. This is the first report demonstrating ArF laser annealing that achieves a similar degree of activation with conventional RTA using resistivity measurements.
Stacked submonolayer (SML) InAs/GaAs nanostructures, assembled by cyclic, alternating deposition of SML (<1 ML) InAs and few-monolayer GaAs using molecular beam epitaxy, have been attracting interest, owing to their unique optical and electronic properties. Recently, it has been demonstrated that a growth transition during SML deposition can lead to two types of nanostructures: 2D islands and 3D structures. The properties of SML nanostructures also make them strong candidates for spintronic and quantum information applications. However, the spin properties of SML nanostructures have not yet been investigated. In this study, the spin properties of SML nanostructures are investigated using optical spin injection and detection experiments by circularly polarized photoluminescence (CP-PL). Spins are injected into the SML nanostructures using the optical selection rules in GaAs for CP excitation, whereas the spin state in the SML nanostructures is detected by measuring the right (σ+) and left (σ−) CP intensity components of the PL. The degree of CP-PL is estimated by quantity P=[I(σ+)−I(σ−)]/[I(σ+)+I(σ−)], where I(σ±) is the luminescence intensity for the σ± component. The quantity P is a direct measure of the spin state in the SML nanostructures. Using a sample containing both 2D and 3D SML nanostructures, experimental results yield a relatively high P=6% for the 3D SML nanostructures and a relatively low P=2% for the 2D SML nanostructures. The difference may be attributed to the higher carrier confinement for 3D SML resulting in preservation of the spin state. Analytical calculations considering the spin and carrier lifetimes are also carried out to model the experimental results. These results provide insight into the fundamental spin dynamics of 2D and 3D SML nanostructures and pave the way for spintronics and quantum information applications of SML nanostructures.
Recently, InAs/GaAs nanostructures assembled by cyclic, alternating deposition of submonolayer (SML) InAs and monolayer GaAs using Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) has been gaining interest for their novel and highly tunable optoelectronic properties. Furthermore, it has recently been revealed that a growth transition during SML growth leads to two types of nanostructures: 2D islands and 3D structures. Although the highly tunable properties of SML nanostructures make them strong candidates for spintronics applications, investigations on the spin properties of SML nanostructures are lacking. In this study, the spin properties of SML nanostructures are investigated using optical spin injection and detection measurements. Spins are injected into the SML nanostructures using the optical selection rules in GaAs for Circularly Polarized Light (CPL) excitation, whereas spin state in the SML is detected by measuring the right (σ+) and left (σ- ) CPL intensity components of the luminescence. The degree of CPL is estimated by quantity P = [I(σ+ ) - I(σ- )]/[I(σ+ ) + I(σ- )], where I(σ± ) is the luminescence intensity for the σ± component. The quantity P is directly related to the spin state in the SML. Our experiments have yielded a relatively high P = 6% for the 3D SML nanostructures, whereas a relatively low P = 1% for the 2D SML nanostructures. The difference may be attributed to the higher carrier confinement for 3D SML resulting in preservation of spin state and thus resulting to a higher P. These results reveal fundamental differences in the spin dynamics of 2D and 3D SML nanostructures.
In this study, ArF laser activation annealing of an Mg-doped GaN four-point probe small mesa device is investigated. Fabricated mesa device has 2-μm-high small mesa structures with In/Au contacts formed using standard semiconductor device process. In our setup, the ArF excimer laser was directed onto the sample using a series of mirrors and was focused through an aspheric lens to the sample, which is mounted on to a movable stage. The mesa device and the laser were aligned while being viewed on the computer monitor screen using a UV CCD camera. The dependence of the resistivity to the laser fluence and irradiation time were investigated by multiple-irradiation measurement cycles to a single mesa device. Results reveal that laser annealing at 530 mJ/cm2 for 25 min (at 150 Hz repetition rate) decreases the resistivity from 11.5 (before irradiation) to 5.6 Ω·cm (after irradiation). This value is comparable to resistivity achieved by RTA at 800 ◦C for 2 min, suggesting successful Mg-doped GaN activation.
A lateral-type spin-photodiode having a refracting facet on a side edge of the device is proposed and fabricated experimentally. The light impinged on the side of the device is refracted and shed directly on the backside of a spin-detecting Fe contact where spin-polarized carriers are generated in a thin InGaAs active layer and injected in the Fe contact through a crystalline AlOx tunnel barrier. Experiments are carried out at room temperature with photocurrent set up with circular polarization spectrometry, through which light-helicity-dependent photocurrent component, ΔI, is obtained with the spin detection efficiency F ≈ 0.4 %, where F is the ratio between ΔI and total photocurrent. This value is the highest reported so far for lateral-type spin-photodiodes. It is discussed that improving the quality of the p-InGaAs/x-AlOx/Fe interfaces will give rise to higher F values.
In 2014, we were able to report 1-kHz, electrical helicity switching of circular polarization (CP) at low temperatures using dual-electrode spin-LEDs [1] and detection of CP up to RT by operating reversely the spin-LEDs [2]. Those LEDs consisted of n-AlGaAs/undoped-InGaAs/p-AlGaAs double heterojunctions and newly developed crystalline γ-like AlOx (x-AlOx) tunnel barriers [3]. Presented here are progresses made in the period 2014-2015, including 1-MHz helicity switching, a high CP value of PEL = 0.12 at RT, and development of a phenomenological model for spin photodiode (PD), all of which are important towards the realization of spin-photonic devices.
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