Post-implant annealing of InP and GaInAs is usually accomplished using thermal cycles of 10-30 minutes duration; this thesis reports the results of a systematic study of an alternative technique, 'rapid thermal annealing' (RTA), in which the implanted material is held at elevated temperatures for less than 180 seconds. Results were obtained using Hall-effect measurements, Rutherford backscattering (RBS), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), and photoluminescence (PL), amongst other methods. Iron-doped InP, implanted with magnesium, zinc or mercury was subjected to RTA and five different methods of protecting the InP surface were compared: the use of an indium-tin pseudobinary leads to tin incorporation and n-type surface layer formation above 700°C; encapsulating layers of phosphosilicate glass, SiO2, Si3N4 or a novel 'dual' layer of Si3N4/AlK may lead to p-type, semi-insulating or n-type behaviour. This is shown to be due to the indiffusion of silicon from these encapsulants into the implanted substrate; this indiffusion is enhanced by implantation damage. RTA in a phosphine ambient gives the best surface protection at elevated temperatures, but leads to substantial outdiffusion and loss of the implanted dopant. Electrically active p-type layers were successfully obtained from both zinc and mercury implants. GaInAs was implanted with beryllium, magnesium, zinc and mercury and electrically active p-type layers obtained following magnesium implantation; electrical results were, however, dominated by the quality of the starting material and not reproducible. 'Proximity' annealing under a GaAsP or GaAs cover piece gave adequate surface protection for GaInAs at annealing temperatures up to 800°C. The presence of an amorphous layer In InP and GalnAs is shown to be detrimental and the maximum amorphous thickness which can be fully regrown is found to be about 250 nm at 750 °C. It is suggested that solid phase epitaxy of thicker amorphous layers is inhibited by the local nucleation of microcrystallites within the remaining amorphous material and a model describing the regrowth of III-V compounds is presented. Substantial redistribution of the implanted dopant occurs during RTA of InP and GalnAs, the shape of dopant profiles is modified by both the residual damage present within the material and the form of surface protection employed. Several models of acceptor diffusion in iron-doped InP are compared and discussed.

Inhalt der Arbeit sind Untersuchungen zu mit der Molekularstrahlepitaxie (MBE) realisierten Materialkonzepten für ultra-schnelle Anwendungen in der Photonik. Nominell undotierte und Be dotierte GaInAs/AlInAs Vielfach-Quantenfilm Strukturen (MQW) wurden auf semi-isolierenden InP Substraten bei Wachstumstemperaturen bis zu 100°C mittels MBE (LT-MBE) abgeschieden. Untersucht wurden die kristallinen, elektrischen und optischen Eigenschaften dieser Schichtstrukturen im unbehandelten und ausgeheilten Zustand. Die elektrischen und optischen Eigenschaften der LT-MQWs sind auf Zustände nahe der Leitungsbandkante von GaInAs zurückzuführen. Die Dynamik der Ladungsträgerrelaxation wurde durch Anrege- und Abtastexperimente bestimmt. Messungen der differentiellen Transmission mit zusätzlicher Dauerstrichanregung, sowie Messungen mit zwei kurz aufeinander folgenden Anregepulsen, belegen das Potential von Be dotierten unbehandelten (ausgeheilten) LT GaInAs/AlInAs MQW Strukturen für die Verwendung in optischen Schaltern mit Schaltfrequenzen in der Größenordnung von 1 Tbit/s (250 Gbit/s). Die spannungsinduzierten Änderung der Interband-Transmission von Quantenkaskadenlaser (QCL) im gepulsten Betrieb wurde anhand von 8 Band k*p Berechnungen analysiert. Die Auswirkungen unterschiedlicher Ladungsträgerverteilungen und Probenerwärmung sind gegenüber dem dominierenden Effekt des elektrischen Feldes auf die Interband Transmission zu vernachlässigen. Der Einfluss von MBE Wachstumsparameter auf die Grenzflächenqualität von AlAsSb/GaInAs Heterostrukturen wurde anhand von Hall Messungen, temperatur- und intensitätsabhängigen PL Messungen, spektralen Messungen der Interband- und Intersubbandabsorption bestimmt. Bandstruktur-Näherungsrechnungen ermöglichten, den Einfluss von In Segregation und Sb Diffusion auf die Intersubbandabsorption zu analysieren. Intersubband Übergänge bei Wellenlängen von ca. 1800 nm (1550 nm) wurden in MQW (gekoppelten QW) Strukturen realisiert. / The present work describes investigation of new material concepts accomplished using molecular-beam-epitaxy (MBE) growth for application in ultra-fast photonic components. Nominally undoped and Be doped GaInAs/AlInAs multiple-quantumwell structures (MQW) were grown by MBE at growth temperatures down to 100 °C (LT-MBE) on semi-insulating InP substrates. Crystalline, electric and optical properties of as-grown and annealed structures were investigated. Energy states near the conduction band of GaInAs determine the electrical and optical properties of LT-MQWs. The dynamics of charge carrier relaxation was studied by means of pump and probe experiments. Measurements of the differential transmission when excited by an additional cw laser and measurements utilizing two closely sequenced pump pulses support the capability of Be doped as-grown (annealed) LT GaInAs/AlInAs MQW structures for use in optical switches at switching frequencies in the 1 Tbit/s (250 Gbit/s) range. The voltage-induced change of interband transmission of InP based quantum-cascade-lasers (QCL) during pulsed mode operation was analyzed by means of 8 band k*p calculations. The impacts of varying charge carrier distributions and of electrically heated samples can be neglected compared to the dominating effect of the electrical field on the interband transmission. The impact of MBE growth parameters on the interface quality of AlAsSb/ GaInAs heterostructures were determined by means of Hall measurements, temperature- and intensity-dependent PL measurements and spectral measurements of the interband- and intersubband-absorption. The impact of In segregation and Sb diffusion on the intersubband absorption was analyzed on the basis of bandstructure calculations. Intersubband transitions at wavelengths of about 1800 nm (1550 nm) were successfully achieved in MQW (coupled QW) structures.

High efficiency photovoltaic solar cells are expected to continue to be important for a variety of terrestrial and space power applications. Solar cells made of optically thick materials often cannot meet the cost, efficiency, or physical requirements for specialized applications and, increasingly, for traditional applications. This dissertation investigates improving the performance of single-junction GaAs solar cells by incorporating InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells and quantum dots to increase their spectral response bandwidth, and by incorporating structures that confine light in the devices to improve their absorption of it. InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots-in-wells extend the response of GaAs homojunction devices to wavelengths >1200 nm. Nanoparticles that are randomly deposited on the top of optically thick devices scatter light into waveguide modes of the device structures, increasing their absorption of electromagnetic energy and improving their short-circuit current by up to 16%. Multiply periodic diffractive structures have been optimized using rigorous software algorithms and fabricated on the back sides of thin film quantum dot-in-well solar cells, improving their spectral response at wavelengths 850 nm to 1200 nm, where only the quantum dot-in-well structures absorb light, by factors of up to 10. The improvement results from coupling of diffracted light to waveguide modes of the thin film device structure, and from Fabry-Perot interference effects. Simulations of absorption in these device structures corroborate the measured results and indicate that quantum well solar cells of ~2 µm in thickness, and which are equipped with optimized backside gratings, can achieve 1 Sun Airmass 0 short-circuit current densities of up to ~5 mA/cm2 (15%) greater than GaAs homojunction devices, and of up to >2 mA/cm2 (7%) greater than quantum well devices, with planar back reflectors. A combination of Fabry-Perot interference and diffraction into waveguide modes of the thin devices is shown to dominate the simulated device response spectra. Simulations also demonstrate the importance of low-loss metals for realizing optimal light trapping structures. Such device geometries are promising for reducing the cost of high efficiency solar cells that may be suitable for a variety of traditional and emerging applications. / text

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L'ESSOR DES TÉLÉCOMMUNICATIONS À L'ÉCHELLE MONDIALE QU'A CONNU LA FIN DU XXÈME SIÈCLE A ÉTÉ RENDU POSSIBLE PAR L'EXISTENCE DE RÉSEAUX À BASE DE FIBRES OPTIQUES, CAPABLES DE TRANSMETTRE DES FLUX DE DONNÉES IMPORTANTS SUR DE LONGUES DISTANCES. LA GESTION DE CES IMPORTANTS FLUX D'INFORMATION EN AMONT ET EN AVAL DE LA FIBRE REQUIERT DES CIRCUITS ÉLECTRONIQUES NUMÉRIQUES ET ANALOGIQUES TRAITANT DES DÉBITS DE DONNÉES SUPÉRIEURS À 40GB/S, CE QUI IMPLIQUE L'UTILISATION DE COMPOSANTS TRÈS RAPIDES, AVEC DES FRÉQUENCES DE TRANSITION AU-DELÀ DE 150GHZ. GRÂCE AUX REMARQUABLES PROPRIÉTÉS DE LA FAMILLE DE MATÉRIAUX III-V EN TERMES DE TRANSPORT ÉLECTRIQUE, LE TRANSISTOR BIPOLAIRE À HÉTÉROJONCTION GAINAS/INP SE CLASSE COMME L'UN DES TRANSISTORS LES PLUS RAPIDES ACTUELLEMENT, ET PERMET LA RÉALISATION DE TELS CIRCUITS OPÉRATIONNELS À TRÈS HAUTE FRÉQUENCE. LA MISE EN PLACE D'UNE FILIÈRE COMPLÈTE DE FABRICATION DE CIRCUITS À BASE DE TBH NÉCESSITE QUE SOIT MAÎTRISÉ UN GRAND NOMBRE D'ÉTAPES. UN CERTAIN NOMBRE D'ENTRE ELLES TOUCHE DIRECTEMENT AU COMPOSANT: CONCEPTION, ÉPITAXIE, FABRICATION TECHNOLOGIQUE, CARACTÉRISATION... A CES ÉTAPES DOIT ÊTRE AJOUTÉE UNE CERTAINE COMPRÉHENSION DES PHÉNOMÈNES PHYSIQUES INTERVENANT DANS LE DISPOSITIF. DANS CE TRAVAIL DE THÈSE, LES PROBLÉMATIQUES LIÉES À L'OPTIMISATION DU TBH GAINAS/INP, AINSI QUE CERTAINES QUESTIONS RELATIVES AUX MÉCANISMES PHYSIQUES MIS EN JEU SONT PRÉSENTÉES.