GaAs(1-x)Bi(x) (x = 0 to 17%) optical properties were investigated by spectroscopic ellipsometry (in energy ranges of 0.37–9.0 eV). Optical features in the dielectric function, known as the critical points, were distinguished and modeled using standard analytic line shapes. The energy dependence of the critical points energies was thoroughly investigated as a function of Bi content and thin film strain. Critical points analysis in the Brillion zone showed that the top of the valence band is most strongly dependent on Bi content compared to other parts of the band structure. In addition, an interesting new critical point was observed that is attributed to alternative allowed optical transitions made possible by changes to the top of the valence band caused by resonant interactions with Bi orbitals. Several of the critical points were extrapolated to 100% Bi and showed reasonable agreement with the calculated band structure of GaBi.
GaAs(1-x)Bi(x) (x= 03, 0.7 and 1.1%) based p+/n and n+/p heterostructure photovoltaic performance was characterized through IV and CV measurement. By introduction of Bi into GaAs, a non-zero EQE below the GaAs band edge energy was observed while the highest efficiency was obtained by ~ 0.7% Bi incorporation. EQE spectrum was modeled to find the minority carrier diffusion lengths of ~ Ln = 1600 and Lp = 140 nm for p-doped and n-doped GaAs92Bi08 in the doping profile of 10^15 - 10^16 cm^-3. Analysis of the CV measurement confirmed the background n-doping effect of Bi atom and the essential role of the cap layer to reduce multi-level recombination mechanisms at the cell edge to improve ideality factor.
Low temperature grown GaAs was optimized to be used as photoconductive antenna in THz time-domain spectroscopy setup. The As content was investigated to optimize photo-carrier generation using 1550 nm laser excitation while maintaining high mobility and resistivity required for optical switching. A barrier layer of AlAs was added below the LT-GaAs to limit carrier diffusion into the GaAs substrate. Moreover, LT-GaAs layer thickness and post-growth annealing condition was optimized. The optimized structure (2-µm LT-GaAs on 60-nm AlAs, under As2:Ga BEP of ~7, annealed at 550°C for 1 minute) outperformed a commercial InGaAs antenna by a factor of 15 with 4.5 THz bandwidth and 75 dB signal-to-noise ratio at 1550 nm wavelength. / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uvic.ca/oai:dspace.library.uvic.ca:1828/12494 |
| Date | 22 December 2020 |
| Creators | Mahtab, Mahsa |
| Contributors | Tiedje, J. Thomas |
| Source Sets | University of Victoria |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | Available to the World Wide Web |
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