(Raymond Dingle) Semiconductors and Semimetals Vo PDF

SEMICONDUCTORS
AND SEMIMETALS
VOLUME 24
Applications of Multiquantum Wells, Selective
Doping, and Superlattices
Semiconductors and Semimetals
A Treatise
Edited by R . K. WILLARDSON ALBERT C. BEER

WILLARDSON CONSULTING BATTLE COLUMBUS LABORATORIES
spomm,WASHINGTON COLUMBUS, OHIO
SEMICONDUCTORS
A N D SEMIMETALS
VOLUME 24
Applications of Multiquantum Wells, Selective
Doping, and Superlattices
Volume Editor
RA YMOND DINGLE
G A W ELECTROMCS CORPORATION
SOMERVILLE, NEW JERSEY
PUBLISHED BY ARRANGEMENT
WITH AT&T
ACADEMIC PRESS, INC.

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Contents
PREFACE................................................................ ix
Chapter 1 Fundamental Properties of I11. V Semiconductor Two-

Dimensional Quantized Structures: The Basis for Optical
and Electronic Device Applications
C. Weisbuch
I. Introduction ......................................................... i
.
I1 The Electronic Properties of Thin Semiconductor Heterostructures ........... 9
.
111 Optical Properties of Thin Heterostructures ............................... 46
IV. Electrical Properties of Thin Heterostructures ............................. 78
V. Conclusion.......................................................... 115
Selected Bibliography ................................................. 116
References .......................................................... 117
Chapter 2 Factors Affecting the Performance of (Al. Ga)As/GaAs

and (A). Ga)As/InGaAs Modulation-Doped Field-Effect
Transistors: Microwave and Digital Applications
H . Morkoc and H . Unlu
I. Introduction ......................................................... 135
I1. How Modulation Doping Works ........................................ 136
111. FETFabrication ..................................................... 138
IV. Principles of Heterojunction FET Operation .............................. 140
V. Optimization ........................................................ 149
VI . Performance in Logic Circuits .......................................... 155
VII. Microwave Performance............................................... 160
VIII . Anomalies in the Current -Voltage Characteristics ......................... 168
IX . Advanced Technology Requirements .................................... 175
X. Pseudo-morphic MODFET-(In, Ga)As/(Al, Ga)As ........................ 180
XI . Remaining Problems and Projections .................................... 191
XI1. Summary and Conclusions............................................. 196
References .......................................................... 198
V
vi CONTENTS
Chapter 3 Two-Dimensional Electron Gas FETs: Microwave

Applications
Nuyen T. Linh
I . Introduction ......................................................... 203
I1. TEGFET Structures .................................................. 206
111. Transport Properties in TEGFETs ...................................... 210
IV . Device Modeling ..................................................... 216
V . TEGFET Microwave Performance ...................................... 229
VI . Conclusion.......................................................... 243
References .......................................................... 245
Chapter 4 Ultra-High-speed HEMT Integrated Circuits

M . Abe. T. Mimura. K . Nishiuchi. A . Shibatorni. M. Kobayashi.
and T. Misugi
I. Introduction ......................................................... 249
I1. Technological Advantages of HEMTs .................................... 250
I11. HEMT Technology for VLSI ........................................... 255
IV. HEMT Integrated Circuits ............................................. 264
V. Future HEMT VLSI Prospects.......................................... 274
VI . Summary ........................................................... 216
References .......................................................... 277
Chapter 5 Nonlinear Optical Properties of Multiple Quantum Well

Structures for Optical Signal Processing
D . S. Chemla. D . A. B. Miller. and P . W. Smith
I. Introduction ....................................................... 279
11. Linear Absorption in Multiple Quantum Well Structures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
111. Excitonic Nonlinear Optical Effects in Multiple Quantum Well Structures.... 291
IV. Variation of Optical Properties Induced by a Static Field .................. 304
V . Conclusion........................................................ 314
References ........................................................ 316
Chapter 6 Graded-Gap and Superlattice Devices by Bandgap

Engineering
Federico Capasso
I . Introduction: Bandgap Engineering...................................... 319
I1. Real-Space Transfer Structures ......................................... 320
111. Channeling Diodes ................................................... 331
IV. Low-Noise Multilayer Avalanche Photodiodes and Solid-state Photomultipliers . 338
CONTENTS vii
V. Other Device Applications of Staircase Band Diagrams and Variable-Gap

Superlattices......................................................... 352
VI . New Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors.................................. 361
VII. Sequential Resonant Tunneling and Effective Mass Filtering in Superlattices.... 384
VIII. Doping Interface Dipoles: Tunable Heterojunction Barrier Heights and
Band-Edge Discontinuities ............................................. 387
References .......................................................... 392
Chapter 7 Quantum Confinement Heterostructure

Semiconductor Lasers
W. T. Tsang
I. Introduction ......................................................... 397
I1. Theory of Quantum Confinement Heterostructure Lasers:Quantum Well.
Quantum Wire. and Quantum Bubble Lasers ............................. 397
I11. Short-Wavelength (-0.68-0.85 pm)Quantum Well Heterostructure Lasers .... 409
IV. Long-Wavelength (A - 1.3- 1.6 pm) Quantum Well Heterostructure Lasers..... 434
-
V . Very-Long-Wavelength (A 2.5 -30 pm) Quantum Well Heterostructure Lasers 439
VI . Summary ........................................................... 443
Appendix ........................................................... 443
References .......................................................... 455
Chapter 8 Principles and Applications of Semiconductor

Strained-Layer Superlattices
G. C. Osbourn. P . L. Gourley. I . J . Fritz, R . A4. Biefeld.
L. R . Dawson. and T. E . Zipperian
I. Introduction ......................................................... 459
I1. Background ......................................................... 459
111. Electronic Properties.................................................. 467
IV. Applications of Strained-LayerSuperlattices .............................. 490
V. Summary ........................................................... 499
References .......................................................... 500
INDEX................................................................... 505
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
Preface
This volume is devoted to the properties and applications of ultrathin

layers of I11 - V semiconductor heterostructures grown by modem epitax-
ial techniques. Much of the pioneering work in the area was performed at
AT&T Bell Laboratoriesand at the IBM Thomas Watson Research Center.
While the early work is of a very fundamental nature, interest has quickly
moved to applications, devices, and early products. As is often the case, the
original interests of the pioneering researchers were very different and led
to different schools of investigation. It is indeed fortunate that several of
those early workers have agreed to contribute to this collection. Although
not encyclopedic, the chosen topics give a good coverage of the field in a
number of areas. The work described here began in the early 1970sand was
spurred on by the development of molecular beam epitaxy and the contin-
uing interest in heterostructures and thin films.
So rapidly is the field developing that two of the authors have already
formed commercial companies whose products are based on this technol-
ogy. In addition, major industrial laboratories have committed to the
development of the technology, and commercial products are now avail-
able from several independent sources.
Against this background, it is very appropriate that a volume devoted to
the applications of ultrathin 111-V heterostructures, written by those who
developed the field, is now available.
This book is divided into three parts. The first, consisting of a single
chapter, describes the basic phenomena, materials, and optical and electri-
cal properties of various structures and establishes the foundation for the
subsequent sections of the book. Written by Claude Weisbuch (Thomson
-CSF, Central Research Laboratories),who pioneered many of the devel-
opments in the optical properties of superlattices and quantum well mate-
rials, this chapter is the most comprehensive work ever written on the
fundamental properties of these materials. It should become the standard
reference work in this area for many years to come.
The second part comprises Chapters 2-4 and focuses on electronic
devices and circuits based on quantum well, superlattice, and single, selec-
tively doped heterostructure interface structures. Beginning with the chap-
ter by MorkoG and Unlu (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign),
which discusses basic parameters and device performance for both micro-
ix
X PREFACE
wave and digital applications, the next two chapters describe in detail
microwave (N. T. Linh of Picogiga) and digital integrated-circuit (M. Abe
et al. of Fujitsu Laboratories) applications. In the latter chapter, reference
is made to a 4-kbit SRAM, which consists of 26,864 transistors and has a
minimum access time of 2.0 nsec. It is expected that fully functional
16-kbit SRAMs, with over 100,000 transistors and an access time of less
than 5.0 nsec, will be announced during 1987. This rate of increase in
complexity is far in excess of the well-known Moore’s law, which predicts a
factor of two growth in complexity per year for silicon-based integrated
circuits. The phenomenal growth in chip complexity is paralleled by an
equal growth in commercial interest in early development products. Mil-
lions of dollars have been committed by major and start-up organizations
in the belief that these devices have a major commercial future.
The following three chapters focus on the generation and detection of
light using single or multiquantum well structures. Chapter 5 by Chemla,
Miller, and Smith (AT&T Bell Laboratories and Bell Communications
Research) focuses on multiquantum well structures (MQWSs) and their
nonlinear optical properties as prototypes for optical signal processing
applications. Of major importance here is the existence of a well-defined
excitonic state at room temperature and the electric field dependence of
the MQWS optical absorption characteristics. These effects are direct con-
sequences of the ultrathin nature of the layers in the MQWS and can be
understood in terms of confined particle electronic properties as originally
described in 1974. As the authors point out in their closing statements,
developments are so rapid that the future of systems based on optical
bistability in MQWSs is very difficult to assess in any quantitative manner.
Their expectations are that these advances will have ramifications far
beyond the field of semiconductor physics.
In Chapter 6, Federico Capasso (AT&T Bell Laboratories) explores a
range of devices based on multilayer structures which contain both sharp
and graded interfaces. “Bandgap engineering” is stressed, and the applica-
tion of graded and sharp heterointerfaces to device development is clearly
established. The flexibility of design, with the attendant control over opti-
cal and electronic properties that these man-made materials provide, ex-
pands dramatically the range of device types that may be fabricated. Re-
search activities in this area abound, and novel structures are constantly
proposed -already going beyond the advances reported in the present
volume.
In Chapter 7, W. T. Tsang (AT&T Bell Laboratories) continues the
exploration of the bandgap engineering concept in MQW lasers. Based
upon the two-dimensional nature of electron motion in quantum well
heterostructures, Tsang characterizes quantum wire lasers and quantum
PREFACE xi
bubble lasers in which the particle motion is fully quantized and the
density of states consists of discrete energy functions.
The discussion covering short-, long-, and very-long-wavelength quan-
tum well heterostructure lasers pinpoints new material combinations that
are becoming important in this field and focuses attention on the emerging
new epitaxial technique of chemical beam epitaxy.
The final chapter of this volume describes the extension of the MQW/
superlattice structures from closely lattice-matched materials (e.g., GAS/
AIGaAs) to combinations in which the individual materials have lattice
constants that differ by 1% or more. This concept of the semiconductor
strained-layer superlattice has been pioneered by the Sandia Laboratories
group led by G. C . Osbourn. The key observation, that the lattice mis-
match can be accommodated by uniform elastic strain in ultrathin layers
of less than some critical thickness rather than by the formation of misfit
dislocation networks, has been known for some years; however, the appli-
cation of this knowledge to real materials for fundamental and device
studies is very recent.
This book has been written for the expert as well as for the novice who
wishes to become familiar with the potential of this rapidly developing
field. The individual authors have admirably fulfilled their charter and the
success of this volume, as with the success of the field itself, will be largely
due to their outstanding contributions.
RAYMOND
DINGLE
SEMICONDUCTORS AND SEMIMETAU, VOL. 24
CHAPTER 1
Fundamental Properties of I11 - V

Semiconductor Two-DimensionalQuantized
Structures: The Basis for Optical and
Electronic Device Applications
C.Weisbuch
LABORATOIRECENTRALDERECHERCHES
-
THOMSON CSF
DOMAINE DE CORBEVILLE, 9 140 1 ORSAY, FRANCE
I. Introduction
1. THEADVENTOF ULTRATHIN, WELLCONTROLLED
SEMICONDUCTOR
HETEROSTRUCTURES
Although the search for ultrathin materials can be traced quite far
back,lS2 the motivation for their production went up sharply when new
types of devices3v4were predicted, such as the Bloch oscillator. At the same
time, the advent of a new growth technique, molecular beam epitaxy
(MBE),5-12opened the way to the growth of semiconductors atomic layer
upon atomic layer. In 1974 two basic experiments were carried out: Esaki
and Chang reported the oscillatory behavior of the perpendicular differen-
tial conductance due to resonant electron tunneling across potential bar-
r i e r ~ and
, ~ ~ the optical measurements of DingleI4 showed directly the
quantization of energy levels in quantum wells, the well-known elementary
example of quantization in quantum mechanics textbooks.'" Studies of
ultrathin semiconductor layers have since then proliferated at an explosive
rate.
Owing to progress in crystal availabilityand control, basic understanding
of low-dimensional systems, and applicability of heterostructure concepts,
the recent years have also seen the emergence of a wide family of structures
and devices, which can be classified into four main (overlapping) families,
as shown in Table I. At this point it seems worthwhile to emphasize the
various structures that will be described or mentioned in this review, as
their abundance can sometimes be confusing. They are depicted in Fig. 1
by means of their band diagrams. In many of these structures, we will be
1
Copyright 0 1987 Bell Telephone IaLmmtorie%Incorporated.
AU rights of reproduction in any form reserved.
2 C. WEISBUCH
TABLE I
THEFOURMAINFAMILIES
OF DEVICES
ORIGINATING
FROM ULTRATHIN, SEMICONDUCTOR
WELL-CONTROLLED
HOMO-AND HETEROSTRUCTURES
JTWO-DIMENSIONAL SYSTEMS]
I I
SDHT-TEGFET-HEMT-MODFET
NPI
Quantum Wells
Quantum Hall Devices
CHARGE TRANSFER SYSTEMS I IONE-DIMENSIONAL SYSTEMS
SDHT-TEGFET-HEMT-h4ODFET
MPI
Real SDaCeTrTranSfer Devkes NPI
3
Tunneling Structures
Superlattices h perpendicular
transport
Quantum-Well Wires
1 BAWGAP ENGINEERU, STRUCTURES]

all of the above plus non-quantized-motion
structures:
DarbleHeterostruciure Lasers
GradedGap APD
Heterostructure Bipolar Transistors
(gaded base or not )
Separate Absorption- Multiplication APD
Staircase Solid State Photomultiplier
Note that the same structures can belong to several of

the families and that, using the term bmdgap engineeringin
its most general description of engineered structures with
desired properties obtained by a tailoring of the band struc-
ture, all of the structures can be considered “bandgapengi-
neered.”
interested in quasi-two-dimensional properties; the free motion of the

carriers occurs in only two directions perpendicular to the growth direc-
tion, the motion in the third direction z being restricted to a well-defined
portion of space by momentum, energy, and wave-function quantizations.
Compared to “classical” heterostructures like double-heterostructure
(DH) 1asers,15J6the “quasi-2D’ term means that the z motion is defined
by one or a few quantum numbers, which is only the case in ultrathin
structures and/or at low enough temperatures. We use here the word quasi
to mark the difference with exact 2D systems in which the wave function is
exactly confined in a plane, with no extension outside of that plane. In the
1. 111-v SEMICONDUCTOR QUANTIZED STRUCTURES 3
@SINGLE TYPE i @SINGLE TYPE II @SINGLE QUANTUM @MULTIPLE QUANTUM

INTERFACE INTERFACE WELL WELL
@SINGLE BARRIER @DOUBLE BARRIER @ INCOHERENT MULTILAYER

TUNNELING STRUCTURE TUNNELING STRUCTURE TUNNELING STRUCTURE
@TYPE I SUPERLATTICE @TYPE I1 SUPERLATTICE
FIG.1. The various types of heterostructures discussed or mentioned in this chapter. The
widely used type-I heterostructure is shown in (a), with the band discontinuities such that both
band edges of the smaller gap material are below those of the wide-bandgap material. In the
type-I1 interface (b), the band structure is such that the top of the valence band of one of the
compounds lies above the bottom of the conduction band of the other compound. Charge
transfer occurs,leading to a conducting heterostructure. The type-I quantum well is shown in
(c). The multiplequantum-well structure [MQW, (d)] is such that &, is large enough to
prevent tunneling. Conversely, in the single barrier (e), double barrier (f), type-I incoher-
ent tunneling (g) and superlattice (h) structures is small enough to allow carrier tunneling
across the barrier material. The difference between these two latter structures, (9) and (h), is
that in the superlattice structure disorder and scattering are low enough to allow the coherent
superlattice band states to build up, whereas in the incoherent tunneling structure scattering
by disorder (here disordered interface fluctuations) destroys the phase coherence between the
tunneling states. As charge transfer occurs in type-I1 multiplequantum-well structures (i),
these are considered as semimetallic superlattices, with the exception of ultrathin structures
where energy quantization is so large that energy levels are raised enough in the respective
bands to prevent any charge transfer.
rest of this chapter we shall refer to our quasi-2D systems merely as 2D

systems.
The most widely known devices exploiting 2D motion are the quantum-
well lasers”J8and the SDHT-TEGFET - HEMT - MODFET heterostruc-
ture transistor^.'^-^* The parallel transport properties of n - i - p - i struc-
turesZ2 might prove useful in some devices like the heterojunction
modulation superlattice. Due to the extraordinary properties of the quan-
tum Hall effect,23some applications might be found in high-performance
4 C. WEISBUCH
gyromagnetic devices. Quantum Hall structures are already being widely

used as standard resistors in numerous national standards laboratories.
In some cases, we will be interested in the one-dimensional phenomena
occurring along the z direction, either due to our search for perpendicular
properties (i.e., perpendicular transport) or due to the unconfined exten-
sion of the wave functions in the z direction (superlattices or type-I1
multiple wells). Devices using these one-dimensional properties rely on
tunneling or superlattice transport. Whereas tunneling devices such as the
tunneling transistorsu or negative differential resistance (NDR) tunneling
diodes25have been demonstrated, clear superlattice effects have so far
remained elusive. Great efforts are being devoted to the fabrication and
understanding of true quantum one-dimensional systems best viewed as
quantum well
The third family of devices shown in Table I relies on charge transfer,
either static or dynamic. In the static case the charge transfer occurs
between heterodoping and/or heterocomposition structures, leading to the
appearance of electrostatic confining potentials due to depleted charges.
Some of the 2D systems discussed above rely on this charge-transfer effect.
Dynamic charge transfer occurs when electric-field-heated carriers can
overcome potential bamers in heterostructures, leading to diminishing
conductance and thus to NDR.2S-30
Bandgap engineerin?' consists of the tailoring of an association of
materials in order to custom design the structure for some desired proper-
ties unattainable in homostructures. A very good prototype of such struc-
tures is the double-heterostructure l a ~ e r , ' ~where
, ' ~ one increases both the
carrier confinement and optical wave confinement by using a heterostruc-
ture. It is clear that all the devices described above can be viewed as being
due to bandgapengineered structures. A number of other structures have
been recently developed that do not involve space quantization in ultra-
small structures. These are shown in the lower part of Table I.
As can be seen in Table I, the variety of devices which have now been
demonstrated is quite overwhelming, although the first devices (quantum-
well lasers and modulationdoped structures) only appeared in the late
1970s.
The present review aims at presenting the basic physical phenomena
encountered in these devices. The field is already so large, however, that we
have concentrated on the basic phenomena encountered in the simplest
and most widely used semiconductor pairs, the so-called type-I quantum
wells and interfaces, where the small-bandgapmaterial has both its electron
and hole levels confined by the wider-bandgap materials. The other config-
urations (type-I1 quantum wells) have been thoroughly r e v i e ~ e d . ~ ~ - ~ ~
More details on strained-layer superlattices and their applications can be
1. II1-v SEMICONDUCTOR QUANTIZED STRUCTURES 5
found in reviews of this young but rapidly developing field,36-38including

that by Osbourn et in this volume. The new field of amorphous
s e m i c o n d u ~ t o r s ~is- ~too
~ far afield and will not be considered here,
although many of the tools developed here can be applied to that subject.
Bandgap-engineered structures are reviewed in this volume by cap ass^.^ *
We do not cover the basic phenomena (nonlinear absorption and disper-
sion, electrooptic effects, etc.) to be used in optical signal processing de-
vices, since they are described in a definitive manner along with applica-
tions in the chapter by Chemla et aLU
2. A PREREQUISITE:
THEMASTERING
OF SEMICONDUCTOR
PURITYAND INTERFACES
The mastery of layer growth is a prerequisite to all the structures which
will be discussed in this chapter. We therefore wish to give an overview of
the achievements in that field, referring the reader to more specialized texts
for details. Quite different techniques have been used to grow quantized
structures such as MBE,5-'2 metal- organic chemical vapor deposition
(MOCVD),4s,46 hydride vapor transp~rt,~'~~* hot-wall epitaxf9 (HWE), or
even liquid- phase epitaxySO(LPE). One can even trace through time how
progress brought about by such a near-perfect growth technique as MBE
has induced parallel spectacular progress in other growth techniques by
demonstrating new and attainable goals.
The highly detailed control of crystal growth in MBE has been crucial to
its progress and is due to the UHV environment, which allows for the
implementation of powerful in situ analytical techniques. The growth
sequence in an MBE chamber uses specificcharacterizations to ensure that
each growth step is correctly carried out: before growth has started, mass
analysis of residual molecules in the chamber detects any unwanted molec-
ular species. Molecular beam intensities are precisely controlled by ion
gauges. Substrate cleaning is checked by Auger electron spectrometry,
which analyzes the chemical nature of the outer atomic layer. Reflection
high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) patterns monitor surface recon-
struction after ion cleaning, annealing, and also during atomic layer
growth. Studies of atomic layer growth through desorption measurements
and RHEED analysis have provided a detailed understanding of MBE
growth rne~hanisms.~'-~~ RHEED oscillations due to recurrent atomic
patterns in the layer-after-layer growth mode provide a very useful means
of measuring layer thickness and are being more and more widely
TEM measurements of grown films have evidenced the smoothing effect of
MBE growth on the starting substrate's roughnesss7(Fig. 2).
Although the growth kinetics of the MOCVD process is not as well
monitored as that of MBE, recent progress leads to believe that MOCVD
6 C. WEISBUCH
FIG.2. Smoothing action of MBE quantum-well growth on interface roughness as ob-

served in a dark-field transmission electron micrograph. The roughness of the starting GaAs
surface is smoothed out by the growth of 3 to 5 quantum wells (courtesy of P.M. Petroff,
AT&T Bell Laboratories).
growth leads to similar control of impurity content and interface

a b r u p t n e ~ s (Fig.
~ ~ - ~3).
~~
A vast amount of effort has also been devoted to characterization of
interfaces, using various ex siiu techniques such as chemical etching,62
beveling,62SIMS,63Auger,MTEM,65and x ray^.^^,^' The latter two tech-
AL,,Ga,,As
AlAs
-GaAs
-Al As
AlAs
AleGa ,AS
Al , F a
Al ,Go
Al 65Ga3 5 A ~
Al ,Ga ,As
-GaAs
GaAs substrate
FIG. 3. (a) TEM characterization of a test sample grown by MOCVD. The growth se-
quence and the structure are shown in (b). The remarkable features are the sharpness of the
very narrow GaAs layers (minimum -25 A) appearing at the lower right-hand side comer,
the interface roughness showing up at the uppermost interface of the A l A s layer, and the
subsequent smoothing of this roughness by the multilayer growth (upper left-hand side
corner) (after Leys el aL6').
niques have been shown to yield extremely precise information on a

microscopic scale (Fig. 4). It has been thus shown that the preferred growth
techniques, MBE and MOCVD, which are far from equilibrium growth
processes, allow very low growth rates and thus good control for desired
abrupt changes. Hot-wall epitaxy, an evaporation method, also leads to
good interface control but has been used much less, due to the required
high-purity bulk material. VPE and LPE are near-equilibrium methods
with large growth rates and instabilities in the regime where redissolution
(LPE) or etching (chlorine VPE) could diminish the total deposition rate.
Stringfellow68 also involved C1 absorption in the C1-VPE method as a
limitation to atomic in-plane motion and hindered coalescence of islands
during atomic layer formation. Frijlink et pointed out the strong
reactivity of aluminum chloride with reactor material, forbidding growth
of Al-containing structures with the Cl method.
8 C. WEISBUCH
FIG. 4. High-resolution electron micrograph of a Gas-GaAlAs interface. The arrows

point to the interface plane, which appears very smooth on the atomic scale (courtesy P. M.
Petroff, AT&T Bell Laboratories).
In terms of purity, the two techniques have now emerged as those

yielding the best bulk material ever grown by any technique; high mob&
ties and sharp luminescence intrinsic peaks attest the high quality of
MOCVD69,70and MBE-grown GaAs7'Recently, MOCVD-grown InP72
has given mobilities of 195,000 cm2 V-' s-' at 77 K. The steady progress
in recent years can be traced to the availability of purer source materials
and to a better control of the growth environment. The latter point is
especially well documented for MBE, where introduction of better pump-
ing systems, liquid-nitrogen shrouding of the growth space, and vacuum
interlock transfer of substrates each brought significantly improved mate-
rial properties. The amount of effort still being made in the basic under-
standing of growth methods, the better quality of starting substrates, and
the availability of ever-purer starting materials should lead to still increas-
ing material quality.
The range of materials now grown in ultrathin layers is extremely wide,
and we shall not attempt to list them, as the rate of appearance of new
ultrathin materials is still high. It has been widely believed that high-quality
material could only be grown with layers perfectly lattice matched to the
substrate, although it was remarked very early73.74 that no misfit dislocation
generated by the mismatch would occur if the epitaxial layers were suffi-
ciently thin, allowing the mismatch to be fully accomodated by elastic
strain. The realization of this effect led to the consideration of ultrathin
1. 111- v SEMICONDUCTOR QUANTIZED STRUCTURES 9
multilayer structures with a much wider set of materials than with lattice-
matched ~ombinations.7~ Within the allowed range, the choice of layer
thickness allows one to select a strain value which offers an additional
parameter for the tailoring of electronic properties. The most promising
recent systems are at present HgTe/CdTe,75%bwhere the superlattice
growth should allow an easier control of bandgap than in LPE-grown
alloys7$ InAsSb/InAsSb, where the lattice strain should permit one to
decrease the bandgap in the 10 p m range77;CdMnTe/CdTe,78*79,79a which
has fascinating magnetic properties; and Ge,Si ,-x/Si,80*80a
where the strain
could allow one to reach the 1.77 pm range for photodetectors and might
also lead to direct-gap material on a Si substrate.
This chapter is organized as follows: the electronic properties of thin
heterostructures (quantum wells, selectively doped interfaces, etc) are first
described. We then analyze the current understanding of their optical and
transport properties.
11. The Electronic Properties of Thin Semiconductor

Heterostructures
3. QUANTUM
WELLENERGY
LEVELS
a. Conduction Electron Energy Levels
The simplest quantum situation to be dealt with consists of a single layer
of material A embedded between two thick (thickness much greater than
the penetration length of the confined wave function) layers of material B,
where B has a bandgap larger than A and where the band discontinuities"
are such that both types of carriers are confined in the A material (Fig. lc).
This is the situation exemplified by the pairs of materials GaAs/GaAIAs,
GaInAsP/InP, GaInAs/AlInAs, GaSb/ AlSb, etc. The energy levels in the
conduction band can be calculated quite easily in the approximation ofthe
envelope wave function,82-82dusing a Kane models3 for describing the
electron and hole states of the parent A and B materials.84The approxima-
tion assumes (1) an interface potential strongly localized at the A-B
interface, which means that on the scale of variation of the envelope wave
function the interface potential is well localized at the geometrical inter-
face, and (2) an interface potential which does not mix the band-edge wave
functions but only shifts them, which is plausible due to the very different
symmetries of the conduction and valence bands. It can then be shown82
that the electron wave function takes approximately the form
10 C. WElSBUCH
where z is the growth direction, kl is the transverse electron wave vector,

u&(r) is the Bloch wave function in the A or B material, and x,(z) is the
envelope wavefunction, determined to a good approximation by the
Schrodinger-likeequatioP
where m*(z) is the electron effective mass of the A or B material, Vc(z)

represents the energy level of the bottom of the conduction bands, and E, is
the so-called confinement energy of the carriers. Therefore, the early de-
scription of the energy level scheme by simple confinment in a quantum
well due to energy-band discontinuities in Dingle's work1,14can be well
justified.
The continuity conditions at the interfaces are that x,(z) and
[ l/m*(z)][dx,(z)/az] should be continuous. In the earlier works, the usual
continuity condition of the derivative of the wave function was used. That
condition is derived in elementary quantum mechanics textbooks148by
assuming a constant free-electron mass throughout space. It was showns2
that in the semiconductor QW case the particle current is not conserved
and one rather has to assume continuity of ( I / m * ) ( d X / a ~ ) . ~ ~ 9 ~ ~
In the injinitely deep well approximation, the solution to Eq. ( 1 ) is very
simple, as the wave function must be zero in the confining layer B, and
therefore also at the interface because of the continuity equations. Taking
the z abscissa origin at one interface (Fig. 5), the solution of Eq. ( I ) can
evidently only be - sin(naz/l), n being an odd or even integer. The
confining energy E , is then simply n2(a2h2/2m*L2)from Eq. (1).
PARTICLE IN A BOX
ONE DIMENSIONAL CASE : VO= CO

n=3
- (g) d2*/dZ2 = EJI
En=%
tl2
(F) 2
n=1,2,3--- n=2
n m
I#,= Asin - n=l
LZ
FIG.5. Infinitelydeep quantum-well energy levels and wave functions (after Dingle').
The Schrodinger-like equation (1) in the finite-well case with the afore-
mentioned boundary conditions can be exactly solved to yield the wave
functions and energies.
Noting that the problem has an inversion symmetry around the center of
the well now taken as the center of coordinates (Fig. 6), the solution wave
functions of (Eq. I ) can only be even or odd. Therefore, they can be written
as (writing for simplicity kl = k)
xn(z)= A cos kz, for Iz(< L/2
= B exp[-K(z - L/2)], for z > L/2 (2)
= B exp[+ ~ +
( zL/2)], for z < -L/2
or
x,(z) =A sin kz, for lzl< L/2,
= B exp[- K(Z- L/2)], for z > LJ2 (3)
+
= B exp[+ ~ ( zL/2)], for z < -L/2
where
A 2k2 A2K2
En=-- vo, En=-- -Vo<&<O (4)
2m,* 2mz ’
For the solution of Eq. (2), the continuity conditions at z = +.L/2 yield
A cos(kL/2) = B
(kA/m2)sin(kL/2) = IcB/m;
TE ,-sin kz
.e-
KZ
-COS kz
I -L/2 0 + Ll2 2
FIG.6 . First two bound energy levels and wave functions in a finite quantum well.
12 C. WEISBUCH
Therefore
(kA/rn2)tan(kL/2) = Ic/ms (5)
Similarly, Eq. (3) yields
k/rn,* cotan(kL/2) = - Ic/ms (6)
The equations can be solved numerically or graphically. A very simple
graphical type of solution can be developed if rnz = rnz. Then, using Eq.
(4), Eqs. ( 5 ) and (6) can be transformed into implicit equations in k alone:
cos(kLf2)= k/ko, for tan kL/2 > 0 (7)
sin(kLf2)= k/ko, for tan kL/2 < 0 (8)
where
ko = 2rn* Vo/fi2 (9)
These equations can be visualized graphically (Fig. 7). There is always
one bound state. The number of bound states is
1 + Int [( 25zL2)”2]
where Int[x] indicates the integer part of x.
The important limiting case of the infinitely high barriers (Fig. 5 ) can be
found again by putting ko = 00 in Fig. 7. There is then an infinity of bound
-
states with k = m/L. Even solutions arex, cos kz, with kL = (2n 1)n; +
odd solutions are x,,- sin kz, with kL = 2nn. X, even and X, odd are the
FIG.7. Graphical solution for a s . (7) and (8). Solutions are located at the intersections of
the straight line with slope with curves y = c~~kL/2 (with tan kL/2 > 0; -; even wave
functions) or y = sin kL/2 (with tan kL/2 < 0 ---; odd solutions).
usual solution of the infinitely deep well xn = sin(naz/L), n integer even or

odd, in the natural choice of coordinate origin z = 0 at one interface.
b. Hole Energy Levels
Turning to the hole quantization problem, the situation is much more
complicated in usual semiconductor materials. The bulk hole bands are
described in the Kane model by basis functions with angular momentum
J = 3 symmetry, i.e., 4-fold degeneracy at k = 0 (neglecting the spin-orbit
split-off valence band).
The dispersion near k = 0 can be described by the Luttinger Hamilton-
ian?
fi2
H=- KY 1 + 3r2)k2- 2YZ(k$E + k$G + k:J3
2m0
- 4Y3({k, * kyHJx - Jy + * * - 11 ( 1 1)
where yI , y z , y3 are the Luttinger parameters of the valence band and the
symbol { * > represents the anticommutation
In the bulk, propagation in a given direction can be described in terms of

heavy- and light-hole propagation. Taking as a quantization axis z for the
angular momentum the direction of propagation of the hole, the levels
J, = f4 and J = -t 4 give a simple dispersion relation from Eq. ( 1 1). Tak-
ing for example k, in a [ 1001 direction, the kinetic energy of holes is
for J, = k $
for J, = &+
One obtains the usual [ 1001 heavy-hole mass mo/(y,- 27,) and light-
+
hole mass mo/(yl 27,).
For hole levels in a quantum well, in a successive perturbation approach,
one first treats the quantum-well potential as a perturbation to the k = 0
unpertur,bedstates, then adds the Luttinger interaction as a new perturba-
tion to the quantum-well levels.85As a first perturbation, the quantum-well
potential lifts the degeneracy between the J, = kj and &+ bands as they
correspond to different masses. According to the Luttinger equation, Eq.
(1 l), inserting the values k, = k l , k, = k, = 0, the k dispersion in a [ 1001
14 C. WEISBUCH
direction perpendicular to z is then given by
The transverse dispersion equation corresponding to J, = k$(heavy-

hole band along the z direction), now has a light mass (m&, yz), +
whereas the J, = ++
level now has a heavy muss (Fig. 8). This situation is
quite similar to that developed under a uniaxial compressive stress in the
[ 1001direction.86The difference here is that the $ band is the higher-lying
one. Due to the lighter mass of the $ band, one initially expects a crossing
of the two bands. However, higher-order k p perturbation terms lead to
an anticrossing behavior, which increases the “heavy-hole” band mass and
decreases the “light-hole” band mass.
Actually, the above procedure, which describes qualitatively the compli-
cated valence-band effects, is not correct. One has to treat on equal footing
the k p perturbation, which yields the dispersion, and the dimensional
E E
lE
l Kv
0
FIG.8. Hole dispersion curve in a simple-mindedsuccessive perturbative calculation.The
quantum-well potential lifts the 4-fold degeneracy of holes [in 3D, (a)] at k = 0. (b). The k -p
interaction term as described by the Luttinger Hamiltonianthen yields the dispersion in the y
direction (for example) (c); finally, higher-order terms lead to an anticrossing behavior, (d).
perturbation introduced by the quantum well. In the degenerate set of

valenceband levels at k = 0, one has to diagonalize a perturbative Hamil-
tonian:
H = HL.) + Hqw (13)
As is well known, the first-order solutions are linear combinations of the
k = 0 valence-band wave functions [when HQw = 0, they are the J, = k +
and 314 functions with the dispersion given by Eq. (12)l. Complications
arise here because of the boundary conditions which have to be simulta-
neously satisfied for the quantum well. The set of functions which diago-
nalize: is not a basis set for H,,, and strong mixing of the J, = kt and
23 bands is required to satis@the boundary conditions, as was recognized
as early as 1970 for the infinitely deep well.87More recent works have dealt
with various band situations,88finite wells,89and the additional influence
of magnetic field^.^^.^ One should note in addition that this effect strongly
influences the value of the exciton Rydberg. Also, the strong nonparaboli-
city of the valence bands should influence dramatically the valence-band
density of states from an exact steplike shape to more complicated shapes,
which require a detailed knowledge of the valence-band levels.
The case of an infinitely deep well has been treated a n a l y t i ~ a l l y . ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Neglecting band warping in the spherical approximation (equality of the
Luttinger parameters y2 = y3 = F), the energy levels at k = 0 are given by
the usual uncoupled levels series:
The dispersion for kL = k,, # 0 is given by the dispersion equation

+
4[k&kL k;(Pb + k;) + 4k;] sin k& sin k,J
+6kj%&dI - cos k& cos k&) = 0
where
It is then possible to derive effective masses in the layer by
One finds then that for GaAs some of the heavy-hole subbands have
positive (i.e., electronlike) masses, independently of the width of the well.
16 C. WEISBUCH
Only numerical results were obtained in the finite-well calc~lations,8~

but the features obtained in the infinitely deep well approximation (non-
parabolicity, positive hole masses) are retained or even emphasized. Such
effects have been considered to explain magnetic field measurements of
absorption spectra,g0l u r n i n e ~ c e n c e , ~
and
- ~ ~cyclotron resonance of holes
in modulation-doped heterojun~tions?~-~~ Tight-binding calculations have
also led to nonparabolicities of hole dispersion C U I - V ~ S , ~in ~ ~close
~’ agree-
ment with the envelope wave-function approximation calculations (Fig. 9).
The effect of the symmetry of the confining potential on hole levels has
been shown by Eisenstein et aL9*by comparing modulation-doped single
or double (quantum-well) heterostructures. The asymmetric single hetero-
structure reveals in magnetotransport a lifting of the spin degeneracy of
hole bands.
\ J
u -0.02
.
-0.03-
I I
0.04 0.03 0.02 0.01 0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04
-[I101 F+Ef) [loo]--
Transverse Electron Wave Vector
FIG.9. Calculated transverse dispersion curves in a GaAs/GaAlAs MQW in an LCAO
model. The QW and bamer thicknesses are, respectively, 68 and 71 atomic layers. The
double curves correspond to spin-orbit-split bands as the Kramers degeneracy is lifted at
k f 0. Note the negative masses of some heavy-hole bands and the strong nonparabolicity
(from Chang and S ch ~ I ma n ~~ ) .
A number of properties of quantum wells show different behavior than

in 3D structures, thanks to their bidimensionalityWJw;we shall discuss
them in the following paragraphs.
4. TWO-DIMENSIONAL
DENSITY
OF STATES
Besides the energy quantization along the z axis, the main property of
thin quantizing films is the bidimensionality in the density of states
(D0S).'OoAs the motion along the z direction is quantized (k, = nn/L in
the limit of an infinitely deep well), an electron possesses only two degrees
of freedom along the x and y directions.
The spin-independent k-space density of states per unit area transforms
into an! E-space density of states through the usual calculation of k states
allowed between the energies E and E dE +
In the parabolic approximation E = fi2k$/2m*,Eq. ( 18) yields

p2D = m*/di2 (19)
The density of states of a given quantum state En is therefore indepen-
dent of E and of the layer thickness. The total density of states at a given
energy is then equal to Eq. (19) times the number n of different k, states at
that energy (Fig. 10). The 2D DOS shows discontinuities for each En.It is
v)
W
I-
<
I-
v)
ti
>
k
v)
2
W
n 3rn'lnh2
P
N
I
El €2 €3 E4
ENERGY
FIG. 10. 2D density of states (DOS) and comparison with the 3D DOS calculated for a
layer with a thickness equal to that of the quantum well (after Dingle').
18 C. WEISBUCH
interesting to compare the 2D density of states with the 3D areal DOS,

calculated for a thickness equal to that of the layer. From
p3D= 21/2m*3/2n-2fi-3E1/2 (20)
one finds that, in the infinitely deep well approximation, using the expres-
sion of Enand (19), = P2D; as shown in Fig. lo, the 3D and 2D
densities of states are equal for energy En. Two remarks can be made:
(1) One should not conclude that there is little difference between 2D
and 3D systems, even though one can always find an energy in a 3D system
for which the DOS is equal to that of a 2D system. The important point
here is that the DOS isfinite even at the bottom of the 2D level, whereas it
tends towards zero in the 3D system. This has fundamental consequences
on the properties of 2D systems as it means that all dynamic phenomena
remain finite at low kinetic energies and low temperatures, such as scatter-
ing, optical absorption, and gain.
(2) On the other hand, when numerous levels are populated or when
one looks at transitions involving large values of n, such as in thick layers,
nothing can distinguish between 2D and 3D behaviors, analogous to the
correspondence principle between quantum and classical mechanics.
AND SHALLOW IMPURITIES'o2 IN QUANTUM
5 , EXCITONS~O~
WELLS'O3
From the expression of the Bohr radius in semiconductors
where eRis the dielectric constant, p is either the effective mass (impurities)
or the reduced mass (excitons), one infers that the wave function and
energy levels of excitons and impurities are quite modified in a quantum
well where the thickness is usually of the order of or smaller than the Bohr
diameter 2a,.
In the limiting exact 2D case where L << aB, one should obtain the
usual 2D Rydberg value RzD= 4R3Dfor the infinitely deep The
energy levels are then given bylWJo5
For finite thickness, exciton binding energies have been calculated

through a variational method. The perturbative exciton Hamiltonian is,
REDUCED WELL THICKNESS ( L / a B )

FIG. 1 1 . Exciton binding energy and Bohr radius in the infinite-well approximation.
Curves ( 1 ) and (2) display calculationsfor, respectively, separated or nonseparated [Eqs. (23)
and (23a)l exponential factors in the wave function. The nonseparated wave functions of Eq.
(23a) give back the usual 3D exciton quantities at large L. (a) Exciton binding energy; (b)
-
( d )'I2, (c) ( z, z, ) (after BastardlOg).
20 C. WEISBUCH
assuming nondegenerate, isotropic bands,
where m:, m;,z,, z h are the masses and z position of the electron and hole,
respectively,P, and P,,projections on the x and y axes of the center-of-mass
exciton momentum, p x and p,, the relative-momentum projections, and p
the reduced mass. Bastard et ~ 1 . used
’ ~ variational wave functions totally
confined in the well such as
) N(L, 2) cos(nze/l) cos(azh/L) ex~[-(p/A)l
W A ( ~= (23)
or
ty{(r) = N(L, A’) cos(nz,/l) cos(nzh/L)exp{- [p2 + (2, - Z ~ ) ~ ] ~ / ~ / A ’ )
(234
where A and A’ are variational parameters, p = (x2+ y2)1/2y and N(L, A),
N(L, A’) are the normalizing coefficients. The nonseparated exponential
factor in the spatial coordinates’06of Eq. (23a) ensures some amount of
Coulombic binding even when the quantum well is wide as compared to a
variable-separated factor. Binding energies and reduced Bohr radii are
shown in Fig. 1 1 as a function of the reduced well thickness. At vanishing
L, RZDextrapolates to 4R3D and p to a,J378. More accurate exciton
energies taking into account the well finiteness have recently been calcu-
lated, however using simple parabolic hole bands’,’ (Fig. 12).
The increase in exciton binding energy (Fig. 13) has a profound influ-
ence on quantum-well properties. It allows GaAs-based quantum wells to
have their optical properties dominated by exciton effects even at room
temperature. This is a rather unique instance in standard semiconduc-
tors? Usually large exciton binding energies are associated with large
reduced masses,Io1i.e., large gaps (according to Kane’s model), then to
large ionicity (Phillips’ theory of ionicitylo8)and therefore to strong LO-
phonon coupling which ionizes excitons at room temperature. The room-
temperature excitons in quantum wells allow very promising features such
as optical bistability, four-wave mixing, and large electrooptic coefficients
which are developed in the article by Chemla et u1.-
Shallow impurity effects have been widely calculated using a number of
approximations.Im-‘l 1 It should be noted that the problem is somewhat
complicated by the degree of freedom brought about by the position of the
impurity relative to the well interfaces. First, variational calculationslW
13 I I I
I I I I
\
\
\
\
11
\ \
\\\
\
I
5 I I I I I I I
0 100 200 300 400
WELL THICKNESS (A)
FIG. 12. Exciton binding energy for finite quantum wells as a hnction of well thickness.
- to x
Three barrier potentials are shown corresponding -
0.15 and 0.30 and the infinite-bar-
rier case. Heavy-holeexcitons (-) and light-hole excitons (---) are displayed (from Greene
et aI.'O').
considered an infinite potential at the interface. In this approximation, the

wave function of bound particles must vanish in the barrier. The wave
function for impurity atoms at the bamer must therefore be a truncated
plike state, whereas for impurity atoms located at the center of the well
s-like wave functions are allowed. One expects that the ground-state bind-
ing energies for these two states in the large-well limit to be Rhp/4 and
Rhp (Rhp being the 3D impurity binding energy).
22 C . WEISBUCH
N-2 N-3
3 D Sornrnerfeld F a c t o r
fl
/*
--*----
-
0
/’ without exciton effect

#
v P 4
t
a (b)
2D EXCITON
N- 1 N-2 N-3
r / 2D Sornrnerfeld F a c t o r
-----------
2 without exciton effect
E
FIG. 13. Comparison of the absorption coefficientsdue to (a) 3D or (b) 2D excitons. The
characteristic energy is = 4 times larger for 2D excitons. Oscillator strengths are increased
(- a i 3 in 3D, G~in 2D). For continuum states, the absorption coefficient is increased over
the excitonless value (-) by the Sommerfeld factor, determined by the continuum wave
functions of the hydrogen atom, which represents the effect of electron-hole correlation in
unbound states.
The calculation starts from the perturbation Hamiltonian:

H = - -P-2
2m*
e2
[x2 JJ’
4 7 1 ~ ~ ~ ~
+ +
(Z - ~ i ) ~ ] - ” ’ + Vm,X~) (24)
zi being the impurity atom position and Vmdz)the quantum-well confin-

ing potential (defined by energy-band discontinuities).
In the infinite-well approximation, trial wave functions are taken as

+
yA(r)= N(L, A,, zi) cos(nz/l) exp{ - [x2 y 2 -I-(z - Z ~ ) ~ ] ~ / * / (25)
A)
if JzJ< L/2, and yA= 0 otherwise.
The binding energy measured from the confined quantum state is given
bY
E(L, zi) = n2A2/2m*L2- min,( yAIHlwA)
where minAmeans the minimum value of (w,lHlw,) with respect to the
variational parameter 1.
-
Exact solutions are found when L - 0 or 03. For L - w , one finds
E(L, 0) = Rimpand E(L, 2L/2) = Rimp/4. When L 0, one finds the
usual 2D result:
E(L, zi) -+ 4Rkp; yA(r)-+ -

1 -
aB
(n
8)'12 exp -2[x2 ( aB
+ y']'/2)
More detailed calculations' lo-'' ' have taken the finite bamers into ac-
count. Mailhot et al."' have also considered ion image charges due to the
different dielectric constants of GaAs and GaAlAs. In the limit of vanish-
ing well thicknesses, one expects to recover the 3D GaAlAs donor energy,
since in that case the confinment effect of the wave function due to the
GaAs well becomes vanishingly small for finite barriers. Measurements of
the donor energy levels by electronic Raman scattering112and infrared
absorption' l 3 are in good agreement with the theoretical evaluations.
As in 3D, the calculation of the energy levels of the acceptor impurities is
much more complicated than for donors due to the degeneracy of the
valence band. Masselink et al. has recently provided a detailed calcula-
tion. l4
Various other situations have been studied Cha~dhuri"~ considered the
influence on the binding energy of the spreading of the impurity wave
function in superlattices. The influence of high camer densities on the
impurity binding energies in modulation-doped QWs' l6 and superlat-
t i c e ~ "was
~ also calculated. Finally, the impurity bound states associated
with excited quantum-well subbandswere analyzed by Priester et a/."*and
'
observed by Perry et al. l9 in Raman scattering studies.
6. TUNNELING COUPLED
STRUCTURES, QUANTUM
WELLS,
AND SUPERLATTICES
Tunneling phenomena across bamers open the way to many fascinating

effects, the most eagerly expected one being the Bloch oscillator (to be
described in Section 19). The renewed interest in transmission across
simple systems such as single barriers, double bamers, etc. also lies in the
24 C. WEISBUCH
recent availability of the high-performance growth techniques developed

for the multiple heterojunction superlattice. The advances in growth tech-
niques are evidenced by the symmetric I- V characteristics now observed.
Whereas transport properties and related structures will be discussed with
experimental results in Section 19, we develop here the energy-level
schemes of these communicating multiheterointerface devices. Several cal-
culation techniques can be used, such as the Kronig-Penney
successive multiple tunneling model, I2O perturbative tight-binding
model,121or the LCAO model.122We will use here the simplest descriptions
by a tight-binding model and also give the results of Kronig-Penney
calculations.
a. The Double- Well Structure
Beyond the double-bamer single-well structure (Fig. If) which leads to
zero-bias electronic properties very similar to the single QW previously
described, the simplest structure is the double-well configuration (Fig. 14),
which can be easily analyzed by the usual tight-binding perturbation
model. As the barrier thickness is decreased, the exponentially decaying
wave function in the barrier can have some finite value in the next well.
Treating this wave-function overlap as a perturbation, one finds the per-
turbation matrix element to be, in a two-well configuration,
v
12 = (WIIHlY2/2>= (YIIv21w2> (26)
where H is the electronic Hamiltonian, y, and y2 the unperturbed wave-
functions of single wells 1 and 2, and V2the confining potential of well 2.
Due to this interaction between the wells, the two degenerate well levels
are split into a symmetric and antisymmetric compound wave function
+
with energies E l - V,, and E l VI2, re~pectively.'~~
It should be noted that the double-we11 Schrodinger equation has an
exact solution given by124
2 cos kL + (<- I/<) sin kL f (g + 1/0sin kL e-& = 0 ( 2 7 )
where b is the barrier thickness, < = K / k , K = [ - 2 r n ~ / f i ~ ] and
'/~ k =
+
[2m(e Vb)/fi2]'/'.The (k) sign corresponds to the antisymmetric and
symmetric states relative to the center of the structure, respectively. The
energies are counted from the top of the wells. When b m, Eq. (27) gives
back the isolated well equation [in a form which can be transformed into
Eq. (5)i.
b. The Communicating Multiple-Quantum- Well Structure or
Superlattice
Introducing more wells leads to the creation of a continuous band of
states. The transition from single wells to multiply connected wells, as
COUPLED WELLS
_--_---------- - ----------------
' - - - I *-.
-- I
---- ------_ -
I I
v2
2 DEGENERATE STATES W, AND W2
PERTURBATION MATRIX ELEMENT V12

+ ANTISYMMETRIC STATE
E=E1tV12 - SYMMETRIC STATE
FIG. 14. Double-well structure: the unperturbed potentials (V,, V,) and wave functions
(r,, v2)of the separate wells are represented by (-) and (-) respectively.
revealed by optical absorption, has been studied by Dingle et al.Iz3For N

wells, the N-degenerate levels give rise to bands with 2 N states. The sim-
plest way to analyze this is to consider a tight-binding model of the N-well
chain125(Fig. 15). The Bloch-like envelope wave function can be written as
where xfbc(z- nd)is the ith wave function of the quantum well centered at
z = nd and g is the Bloch wave vector. Assuming a nearest-well interaction,
the energy is
&,.(q)= Ei si + + 2ti cos qd (29)
with
si= E & ( z - d ) V ( z ) ~ [ &- d ) dz
ti = ~ & ( z ) V ( Z ) ~ $-(dZ) dz (30)
The factor of 2ti in Eq. (29) that yields a bandwidth of 4ti as compared
with 2 V,, in the double-well case comes from the interaction of one well
with its two neighbors in the chain. The variation of the electronic band-
width in GaAs MQW is shown in Fig. 16.
26 C. WEISBUCH
SUPERLATTICES
loc
N WELLS
N-DEGENERATE GROUND STATE
TIGHT-BINDING APPROXIMATION
I E = E,+S +2Tcosqd(
2N states usin BVK

boundary condigions
I
I
lid q
FIG. 15. Tight-binding model of superlattices.
Assuming usual Born - von Karman periodic conditions, one finds that q
can only take discrete values which are integer numbers of l / N d There-
fore, the superlattice band can accommodate 2 N electrons with different
quantum states [different q’s in Eq. (28)].
The superlattice effect introduces a profound change in the 2D DOS.
The dispersion of the N states in a band destroys the steepness of the square
density of states. From the energy
E,*(q, k,) = fi2k:/2m + E,(q)
5
-
c
E
d
I
t
0
z
z
a
D
w
0
I-
I-
1 LA = 30 8
a 2 LA I 50 8
a
w
n 3 LA = 100 A
3
v)
0 50 100 150
BARRIER THICKNESS LB (8)

FIG.16. Tight-bindingmodel of GaAs/GaAIAs superlattices: Variation of the fundamental
state bandwidth [4ti of Eq. (30)] in the tight-binding model as a function of barrier thickness
for three different well thicknesses. X = 0.2; V, = 212 meV (after Bastard*25).
one finds a density of states as represented in Fig. 17:
This is obtained by summing over q values and over the various bands
the 2D DOS corresponding to the transverse free motion of a single q state.
There are still two singularities of the density of states at both extrema of
each band. One sees that the 2D limit for N independent wells is retained
when the bandwidth goes to zero, i.e., when the overlap matrix element
vanishes due to wide barriers.
More precise calculations of the band structure of superlattices have
been carried out in the envelope wave function approximation, using the
Kane model to describe the band structure within each well and barrier.
BastardE2has shown that for kl = 0, in the parabolic band approximation,
28 C. WEISBUCH
a b/ c /I/-SUPERLATTICE
- 11 4 I
ENERGY E
FIG. 17. Comparison ofthe DOS of a superlattice with that of a 2D system (--) and a 3D
isotropic system. Note the broadening of the superlattice band with band index as the overlap
of wave functions increases with energy E in the tight-binding description, increasing the
transfer matrix element ti(from Esaki').
the equation yielding the values of q takes the simple Kronig- Penney form
COS qd = COS kALA cash 7C&g - +(I/< - r ) Sin kALA sinh IC&g (32)
<
with = mfkA/mgkB.
The allowed energy bands are given as usual by - 1 5 cos qd 5 1 (Fig.
18).
The solutions of unbound states (E > 0) are similarly given by
COS qd = COS kALA COS kBLB - f(I/< + r ) Sin kALA Sin kBLB (33)
Equations (32) and (33) can be solved graphically.
The limit of noncommunicating wells is found in Eq. (32) for
K ~ L -+00, which
~ leads to cos kALA- f(l/( - r ) sin kALA= 0 , the usual
single-well equation [Eq. (5)]after simple transformation.
For the hole bands, Bastard82considered uncoupled hole bands and
showed that they obey Eq. (32) with a corresponding change of parameters.
The situation is much more complicated if kl f 0, as in the single quan-
tum well. The heavy- and light-hole states are mixed by the boundary
conditions. Only numerical calculations have been camed ~ ~ t . ~ h ~
The limiting cases of very thin layers, where the envelope wavefunction
approximation tends to break down, can be calculated using LCAO
methods. Such calculations have been performed by Schulman et ~ l . , ' ~ ' , ' ~ ~
yielding results similar to the envelope approximation when the layer
thickness is 2 6 - 8 monolayers. Superlattice effects involving band extrema
other than at the r point ( X point of GaAs, for instance) have been shown
by Mendez et a1.126
SUPERLATTICE
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
WELL OR BARRIER WIDTH a IN A
FIG. 18. Allowed energy bands E , , E2, E,, and E4 (hatched) calculated as a function of
well or bamer width (Lz= & = a) in a superlattice with a barrier potential V = 0.4 V. Note
the existence of forbidden gaps even above the bamer potential (from Esaki4).
7. CONTINUUM
STATES
It is a classic textbook14aexample that continuum states ( E > 0) in a
quantum well can play an important role in the dynamics of incident
particles. The transmission and reflection coefficients of a quantum well
display resonances every time the condition kL = na is fulfilled. This is the
quantum analog for the electronic de Broglie waves of Fabry-Perot reso-
nances in classical wave optics. The particle spends a longer time in the
quantum-well region, which should have important consequences regard-
ing the particle capture by the well. One should note in Fig. 7 that, with
decreasing well thickness, a new resonant continuum state pops out of the
well whenever a bound state reaches the well top for kL = na.These states
have been calculated by Bastard'*' in the envelope wave function frame-
work, and by Jaros and Wong'28using pseudo-potential calculations. The
30 C. WEISBUCH
resonant continuum states should be of greatest importance in the camer

capture of QW, as the reflection coefficient is near unity for such states.Iz9
The continuum states have recently been observed in optical studies of
coupled wells124and by resonant Raman scattering.I3O
8. MODULATION
DOPINGOF HETEROSTRUCTURES130a
A major advance for potential high-performance devices was made when
Stormer and Dingle et a1.131J32 introduced n-type modulation-doped sam-
ples (Fig. 19). The underlying idea is that, at equilibrium, charge transfer
occurs across a heterojunction to equalize the chemical potential (i.e., the
Fermi on both sides. Doping the wide-bandgap side of a GaAlAs/
GaAs heterojunction, electrons are transferred to the GaAs layer until an
equilibrium is reached; this occurs because electron transfer raises the
Fermi energy on the GaAs side due to level filling and also raises the
electrostatic potential of the interface region because of the more numer-
ous ionized donors in the GaAlAs side. The charge-transfer effect makes
possible an old dream of semiconductor technologists, i.e., getting conduc-
ing electrons in a high-purity, high-mobility semiconductor without having
FVACUUM LEVEL
(I jEgZ
FIG. 19. Schematics of the energy-band diagram of a selectively doped GaAlAs/GaAs

heterostructure before (left) and after (right) charge transfer has taken place. The relative
energy bands are, as usual, measured relative to the vacuum level situated at an energy Q (the
electron affinity) above the conduction band. The Fermi level in the Ga,-,AI,As bulk
material is supposed to be pinned on the donor level, which implies a large donor binding
energy (x > 0.25).
to introduce mobility-limiting donor impurities. Since then, modulation

doping has been applied to a number of situations involving various
semiconductor pairs and also to hole modulation doping. The impressive
development of the subject is due to the applicability both to basic science
(2D physics, quantum Hall effect, . . .) and to very high-performance
devices called equivalently HEMT (high-electron-mobility transistor),
TEGFET (two-dimensional electron-gas FET), SDHT (selectively doped
heterostructure transistor), and MODFET (modulation-doped FET).The
pace of progress is shown by today’s performance (as of 1985): electron
mobilities of 2 X lo6 cm2/V s, hole mobilities of 83000 cm2/V s, re-
search production of ICs such as 4k RAMS,. . . . We will concentrate in
this article on the basic properties of MD structures, referring the reader to
other chapters of this book for more details on device applications.
a. Charge Transfer in Modulation-Doped Heterojunctions
The understanding of the mechanism of charge transfer in heterojunc-
tions is of the utmost importance, as it determines the GaAs channel
doping and sets the design rules for the growth sequence of the doped and
undoped layers. There are three main phenomena to be determined in a
self-consistent manner to calculate the Fermi energy throughout the struc-
ture and therefore the charge transfer.
(1) The electric charges and field near the interface determine the
energy-band bending in the barrier and in the conducting channel.
(2) The quantum calculation of the electron energy levels in the chan-
nel determines the confined conduction-band levels.
(3) The thermodynamic equilibrium conditions (constant Fermi en-
ergy across the junction) determine the density of transferred electrons.
A very crude calculation can show the interplay of the various factors in
a simple situation (Fig. 20). Assume that before the charge transfer occurs
the potential is flat-band; after charge transfer of Nselectrons, the electric
field in the potential well created can be taken as constant to first order,
given by F = Nse/coc, (Gauss’s law). The electrostatic potential is then
4 ( z )= -Fz for z > 0. The Schriidinger equation for the electron envelope
wave function is then
[p2/2m*- e4(z)lx(z)= q ( z ) (34)

A quantum calculation of the energy levels in the infinite triangular
quantum well gives the ground state134,135
El = ( ~ 2 / 2 m * ) 1 / 3 ( 3 ~ e 2 N , / ~ 0 & ~ ) 2 ~ 3 (35)
32 C. WEISBUCH
/
AT
/
I---
'- E,
-l -
I
b
0 2
FIG.20. Scale-up of the right-hand side of Fig. 19. The various symbols are defined in the
text.
One usually writes phenomenologically El = yMd3,with y to be deter-

mined experimentally. As charge transfer increases, the electrostatic con-
fining potential created by the transferred electrons also increases, leading
to the raising of the bottom of the conduction band E of channel electrons.
Equilibrium at T = 0 occurs when the top of the filled states, given by (if
only one confined subband is occupied)
NS Irh2Ns
E=E,+-=EI+-
P2D m*
is equal to the Fermi level on the GaAlAs side of the heterojunction. That
level is equal to the bulk GaAlAs Fermi energy level, pushed downwards by
the electrostatic potential Vdepbuilt up at the interface due to the depleted
donor atoms. Assuming a constant doping in the GaAlAs, V,, is
where W is the depleted thickness. Counting the energies from the bottom
of the conduction band at z = 0, one finds that
afi2N,
AE,=E,+- +ed+eV,,
m*
where E,, is the donor binding energy in GaAlAs. This assumes that the
donor level in GaAlAs is sufficiently deep so that the Fermi level is pinned
there (In other cases one has to calculate through standard procedures the
Fermi level position in GaAlAs). Remembering that Ns = N,W, one ob-
I. III -V SEMICONDUCTOR QUANTIZED STRUCTURES 33
tains the implicit equation in N,:
Various more exact calculations have been provided, relying on more or

less rigorous bases and providing analytical or numerical results. They,
however, rely on the very simple, although well-justified, assumption that
the GaAs electron wave function has a negligible penetration in the barrier.
Thus the electron energy levels are unaffected by the possible changes of
the barrier electrostatic potential induced by charge transfer. As will be
seen below, the wave function penetrates at most 20 A in the barrier, which
is much less than the depleted thickness in the barrier. Therefore, the wave
function is only determined by the barrier height, and only at second order
by the electric field at the interface due to the depletion charges. It is then
possible to uncouple the equilibrium conditions from the electrostatic and
energy-level calculations. The additional ingredients of the more exact
calculation follow.
b. Electrostatic Potential
The different parameters entering the calculations of the electrostatic
potentials are as follows:
(1) The various layers have some degree of compensation that must be
taken into account for evaluations of the charge transfer. As will be dis-
cussed in Section 17, these uncontrolled ionized impurities play a crucial
role in the ultimate performance of devices.
(2) Residual doping in the GaAs layer creates an electrical field in the
resulting depleted region of GaAs, but also contributes to the potential in
the barrier.135aFor ptype residually doped GaAs, this doping is described
by the depletion charge due to the interface band bending in the depletion
length LAof the material:
As the doping is usually quite small, the depletion width in GaAs is much
larger than all other dimensions in the system and the potential due to
these charges can be considered triangular (constant E field) in the region
of interest. In the limit of large charge transfer, this potential can be almost
neglected when compared to the field F, of transferred electrons: For
NA= lOI4 ~ m - Nacp~ , = 4.6 X 10" cm-2, L A = 4 X lo-* cm, Fdcp= 7.5 X
lo3V/cm, whereas for N, = 5 X 10" cm-*, E, = 7.5 X lo4 V/cm. On the
other hand, the detailed knowledge of the residual impurities potential is
34 C. WEISBUCH
extremely important in the case of small charge transfer. It also dominates

in all cases for the determination of the electron excited states, as their
wave function is very sensitive to the potential away from the interface due
to the orthogonality of the excited-state wave functions with the ground-
state wave function.
(3) The case of n-type residual doping in GaAs is not so easy to sohe,
as the Fermi level away from the interface cannot be evaluated indepen-
dently of the charge transfer occurring at the interface. One usually treats
this case as a quasi-accumulation case, considering that the situation is the
limit of either a very small p-type residual doping (NdW = lo9 cm-2 in the
case of and^'^^,'^') or that the Fermi energy far away from the interface lies
1 eV below the conduction band. Detailed calculations actually show that
one or the other of these choices does not influence the calculated energy
level.
(4) An undoped GaAlAs “spacer” layer of thickness WV is usually
used to separate the ionized donor atoms further from the channel elec-
trons: increasing this spacer layer diminishes the Coulomb interaction
between the ionized donors and the electrons, resulting in an increased
m ~ b i l i t y . ’ ~There
* J ~ ~is, however, a limit: since the electric field is constant
in the spacer layer (no space charge in the absence of ionized impurities),
the electrostatic potential builds up there, although it does not correspond
to transferred charges. The consequence is that increasing the spacer layer
width W, tends to decrease the channel electron density N,. An additional
effect is the diminution of the impurity screening in the channel with
decreasing N,, which should also diminish the mobility when limited by
residual channel impurities. At low temperatures, the equilibrium Eq. (38)
can be rewritten as
+
AE, = eVdW eV, + cd + El + nA2Ns/m* (41)
with Vsp= e W # S / & & R .

c. Energy-Level Calculation
The electron energy levels can be self-consistently calculated using ap-
proximations of various degrees of sophistication. The most widely used
scheme is the Hartree approximation calculated using variational Fang-
Howard-type wave functions.
At lowest order, the electron-electron interaction Vee(z)is described by
the Hartree approximation; i.e., Vee(z)is given by
1 . 1II-V SEMICONDUCTOR QUANTIZED STRUCTURES 35
which expresses that an electron feels the average electrostatic field created
by all others electrons.
The Schrodinger equation is then
where Vo and Vi, are, respectively, the heterojunction and channel ion-
ized impurity electrostatic potentials.
The usual Fang-Howard" functions used for the Si-SiO, case (no
penetration in the Si02 barrier) are modified to account for the penetra-
tion in the GaAlAs b a ~ ~ i e r I ~ ' * ' ~ '
~ ( z=
) Bb'I2(bz + p) exp(- bzlz), if z > 0 (44)
= B'bf1J2exp(b'z/2), if z < 0 (45)
where B, B', b, b', and p are variational parameters. The usual boundary
and normalization conditions leave only two variational parameters, b and
FIG. 21. Calculated energy levels and wave functions of the GaAlAs/GaAs selectively
doped interface. The Fang-Howard variational wave function (no penetration in the barrier)
is shown (---). The variational wave functions [Eqs. (44) and (45)] are also shown (-).
The line ( . . .) represents the numerical calculation, which includes correlz$on effects. The
different confining potentials V(z)are shown. The spacer thickness is 50 A and the donor
binding energy of GaAlAs has been chosen as 50 meV (from and^'^^).
36 C . WEISBUCH
\
(a)
>
0
0 1
o !
I
I
I
I
I
L 0
FIG.22. Energy-level schemes in SDHT/TEGFET/HEMT/MODFET structure. (a) Band

diagram for normally-off (top) and normally-on (bottom) transistors. (b) Energy levels and
wave functions in a highly doped normally-on structure. The Ga,,,8Al,,,2As layer thickness is
600 A, ND = 2 X loL8~ m - AEc ~ , = 0.22 eV, and the potential at the GaAlAs surface is taken
as 0.33 eV. The total number of electrons in the structure is N, = 8.45 X loi2crn-,, but most
of them are in the GaAlAs banier (Nus = 6.90 X 1OIz cm-2). The Fermi energy EF is
counted as the zero energy and is well above the bottom of the conduction band of GaAlAs as
the donor level is shallow for the actual A1 concentration (see below, Fig. 25). Two subbands
belonging to the channel are occupied, corresponding to the energy levels El and E,. Five
subbands are occupied in the GaAlAs barrier (after VinteriM).
DISTANCE FROM THE METAL-Ga APAs INTERFACE (A)

FIG.22 (Continued)
b'. A very good approximation for b' is actually b' = 2A-*(2m* AE)'l2,
the standard wave-function penetration in the barrier.
More refined values of the electron - electron interactions have been
considered, such as the local exchange correlation potential. Ando gave
numerical solutions for the Schrodinger equation in that case137(Fig. 21).
Very complete calculations, including finite-barrier effects, effective mass
and dielectric constant discontinuities,interface grading, and nonzero tem-
perature, were performed by Stem and Das Sarma.14*
d. ThermodynamicEquilibrium
In a real device situation one has to consider the finite temperature
through Fermi- Dirac distribution functions for level occupancy. The de-
termination of the relation between the Fermi energy and the channel
38 C. WEISBUCH
density N, is very simple because of the constant DOS in 2D. From the
usual expression
JE,
wheref(E) is the usual Fermi- Dirac probability function. One deduces
N , = - k ~ m In
nh2
* 1[+ ( exp E ~ i E 1 ) ]
which can be used in Eq. (41).

The finite extension of the GaAlAs layer also plays an important role in
devices (Fig. 22): The full MESFET-type structure must therefore be ana-
lyzed, taking into account the Schottky built-in voltage at the metal-
GaAlAs interface. Vinter has made quantum-mechanical calculations of
the gated h e t e r o J ~ n c t i o n ' ~As
~ Jcan
~ : be seen in Fig. 22b, quantum levels
exist both in the GaAs channel and in the barrier material. The potential
barrier at the GaAs/GaAIAs interface is actually so thin that coupling of
the quantum states occurs between the two regions. Technology interesting
solutions of the whole structure can arise, such as the two situations of
normally-on or normally-off GaAs channel (Fig. 22a); the latter situation
occurs because the rather large Schottky voltage (-0.33 eV) can com-
pletely deplete the GaAlAs layer and the GaAs channel for thin enough
GaAlAs layers. One can therefore have on the same chip normally-on
and-off devices by controlled etching of some GaAlAs thickness from a
normally-on layer. The voltage control of devices is also tailored by the
layer thickness and doping. One of the challenges raised by LSI and VLSI
components is actually the required layer uniformity for constant switch-
ing characteristics across the whole circuit. Only MBE at its best seems now
acceptable for the needed level of control.
The device characteristics of TEGFET/HEMT/SDHT/MODFET struc-
tures due to the gate control of the charge densities, which in turn induce
such quantities as transconductance, etc., have been calculated using
various models and approximations for various I5O
(Fig. 23).
Several authors have addressed the problem of the design rules needed to
obtain optimum performance of single heterostructures: Increasing the
doping level NDof the barrier material increases charge transfer as Wvaries
as N,1/2 [Eq. (37)], leading to a charge transfer WN, 0~ N g Z .Such a high
transfer leads to efficient channel impurity screening, but it also leads to
more scattering by the impurities located in the barrier. Inclusion of an
undoped spacer layer leads to a decrease of this last scattering mechanism,
x 10”
GATE VOLTAGE V, (V)

FIG.23. Measured gate-voltage dependence of the channel density of 2D electrons in the
GaAUs/GaAs system. W, represents the spacer thickness.All samples have ND = 4.6 X 1017
except sample #R-76 A, which has ND = 9.2 X 1017~ m - The ~ . channel carrier density
saturates with V,, as electrons tend to accumulate in the barrier subbands once they can be
populated (see also Fig. 22) (from Hirakawa et ~ 1 . ’ ~ ~ ) .
but also diminishes charge transfer. Considerations on the optimal doping

have been produced by Stern.lS1The experimental determination of the
density of transferred electrons as a function of the doping level Nd and the
spacer thickness W , is shown in Fig. 24a. As can be seen, there is not
much room for obtaining densities larger than loL2 cm-2 in single GaAs/
GaAlAs interfaces. In order to obtain higher camer densities in the chan-
nel, several authors1S2J53 have studied the double-heterojunction field-ef-
fect transistor where the active layer consists in a wide GaAs undoped layer
imbedded between two selectively doped GaAlAs barriers. This configura-
tion produces a double hetero-interface situation, thus allowing one to
double the channel carrier density (Fig. 24; see also Section 17). More
recent studies have been made on modulation-doped multiquantum wells
which have still higher densities and allow high-current operation.153a
It might well seem that we have at hand enough theoretical mastery to be
40 C . WEISBUCH
I I I I
I I
I I
I
3v 2 1 A \ n - GaAlAs I G a A s
~ ~ 0 . 3
- c o
-
ND NA ( cm-3)
1 xl018
cn
01 '
0
I I
100
I I
200
I I
300
I I
400
I I
500
I
SPACER LAYER THICKNESS Wsp ( d)
I
i
I AlGoAs
( b, GoAs
AlGaAs 1 I
I
,
-
NEUTRAL , DEPLETION~SPACER~ ;SPACER DEPLETION lNEUTRAL
LAYER j LAYER ; LAYER: j LAYER I LAYER ;LAYER
- 1 7 , - -:-I -8
x-0 x-x, x=xt x-XI

FIG.24. (a) Sheet electron concentration N, at an n-type GaAs/GaAlAs single interface as
a function of the spacer layer thickness W,p and of the doping level in the doped portion of
the GaAlAs layer. The lines are theoretical calculations for the three doping levels indicated
(after Hirakawa et al.'"). (b) Schematicsof the double-heterojunction transistor (from Miyat-
suji et ~ 1 . l ~ ~ ) .
I-
0 0.1 02 0.3 0.4
Al MOLE FRACTION x
FIG.25. Thermal ionization energy of the Si donor as a function of the Al mole fraction in
Gal-,Al,As (from Schubert and Pl00g'~~).
able to design heterostructureswith great precision. Unfortunately, a num-

ber of precautions must be taken, in order to precisely design a desired
structure:
(1) The donor energy levels Ed in Gal-,Al,As are quite unreliable,
changing from only 6 meV at x 5 0.1 to more than 160 meV for indirect-
gap m a t e ~ i a l ' ~ (Fig.
~ - ' ~25).
~ The transition from shallow to deep donor
level occurs at x = 0.235. This increase in Ed is very detrimental to the
transfer of large charge densities [see Eq. (39) and Fig. 201 and to good
operation at low temperatures (77 K), because of camer freeze-out. On the
other hand, one requires large values of x in order to increase A E c , thus
increasing the charge transfer. A very elegant way to solve this problem has
recently emerged15': the charge-transferring side of the heterojunction is
made up from a GaAs-GaAlAs superlattice, where only the GaAs layers
are strongly n-type doped and the GaAlAs barriers are thin enough to allow
charge tunneling. Due to the large carrier confinement effects in the thin
(<20 A) GaAs layers, the donor ground level associated with the lowest
confined level is raised well above the bulk GaAs conduction-band level,
almost to the GaAlAs barrier level. Charge transfer can therefore occur
between these GaAs confined donor levels and the GaAs channel (Fig. 26).
A number of bothersome low-temperature effects have thus been elimi-
42 C. WEISBUCH
FIG.26. Superlattice selectively doped GaAlAs/GaAs heterostructuretransistor.
nated, such as source-drain polarization effects, persistent conductivity,

and electron freeze-out at 77 K.158,159
(2) The number of electrically active donors is not unambiguously
related to the number of metallurgical donors. Some Si atoms seem to be
associated with deep defects, giving rise to persistent photoconductivity
centers. These centers are also responsible for the collapse of device char-
acteristics at low temperatures.
(3) Recent detailed experiments160-161 point out the segregation of Si
towards the GaAlAs growing front, the more so for larger values of x. This
observation tends to provide a satisfactory explanation for a number of
hitherto puzzling results: (a) The smaller-than-expected transfer of charges
in normal heterostructures (GaAlAs over GaAs) is due to the actual wider
spacer than metallurgically grown. This in turn explains the sometimes
observed higher mobility than theoretically expected. (b) On the other
hand, the past poor performance of inverted structures (GaAs over
GaAlAs) can also be explained the segregation of Si impurities to the
GaAlAs surface brings impurities near or in the GaAs channel. The excel-
lent characteristics of the inverted MODFET by Cirillo et ~ 1evidence
. ~ ~
the high quality of inverted interfaces now attainable. Heiblurnl6lobserved
that for x = 0.1 and low growth temperatures the segregation effect was
much reduced.
(4) The compensation and residual doping of the various layers are not
too well controlled even in a given growth chamber, and might not be
uniform in a given sample depth or reproducible from sample to sample.
This situation is best exemplified in the sequential growth of high-quality
samples by Hwang et charge transfer as a function of spacer thick-
ness follows a reasonable behavior and allows a determination of the donor

energy level in the GaAlAs barrier taken as an adjustable parameter. On
the other hand, the mobility does not show a maximum as predicted from
the decreasing bamer and increasing channel scattering probabilities. This
is probably due to the erratic residual doping in the channel, evidencing
that this doping is the limiting factor in these high-quality samples.L51
Earlier results on lower-quality samples did exhibit a well-behaved mobil-
ity variation due to the more consistently reproducible background chan-
nel doping.'63 The progress in growth control is, however, such that one
can expect to achieve more systematically the well-behaved charge transfer
and mobility obtained recently (see Fig. 56).149J61J638
9. n-i-p-i StructuresL64
As was proposed in the original paper by Esaki and Tsu,~a spatial
modulation of the doping in an otherwise homogeneous lattice can pro-
duce a superlattice effect, i.e., a spatial modulation of the band structure
which induces a reduction in the Brillouin zone of electrons and new
energy bands in the superlattice direction. The realization of such struc-
tures was achieved using periodic n-doped, undoped, p-doped, undoped,
n-doped, . . . , multilayer structures, hence the acronym n-i-p-i for
such doping superlattices (as opposed to compositional superlattices).
By comparison with the modulation-doped heterostructure, the appear-
ance of the doping superlattice effect is easy to understand (Fig. 27):
charged particles are subject to a self-consistent potential:
where Vimp(z)is the electrostatic potential of the ionized impurities, V,(Z)

the Hartree potential of electrons and holes, and Vxc(z)the exchange and
correlation potentials. The first term, Vimp(z),can be calculated from the
Poisson equation
Similarly, the Hartree potential is
The exchange and correlation terms for electrons have been calculated
by Ruden and DOhleP5 in a density-functional formalism:
V,,(Z) 21 0.61 1 (49)

where N(z) is the electron density.
44 C. WEISBUCH
FIG.27. n-i-p-i band-structure formation. (a) Growth sequence of the structure; elec-
trons from neutral donors recombine with holes located on the neutral acceptors, leaving a
net space charge assoCiated with ionized impurities shown in (b); the resulting band-gap
variation and carrier confinement are shown in (c).
Energy levels for the z-quantized motion have to be calculated self-con-

sistently through the one-dimensional Schrodinger equation
where xe and x h are the envelope functions of the electron or hole wave
functions.
A number of straightforward features can be extracted from Eqs. (46)
and (50)'%
(1) In the case of exact compensation (equal numbers of donors and
acceptors),
+d/2
+dl2
W Z )
j-42
= j-d/2
N A ( Z ) d.2
where d is the superlattice period, no free camer exists in the unexcited

sample.
(2) For equal uniform doping levels N A = ND and zero-thickness un-

doped layers, the periodic potential consists of parabolic arcs and has an
amplitude
(for GaAs with N A = N D = 1018cm-3 and d = 500& one has V o =

400 meV). The quantized energy levels in the potential wells are approxi-
mately the harmonic oscillator levels:
For electrons, for instance, the subband separation is 40.2 meV for the
direction of crystal growth -m

FIG.28. Three types of n-i-p-i superlattice: (a) compensated intrinsic superlattice with
2V0 < E, and N,d, = NAd,,; (b) n-type superlattice with 2V0 < E, and N,d, > NAdA;(c)
semimetal superlattice with 2 V,, > V, (after Ploog and DohleP).
46 C . WEISBUCH
above parameters. Since the effective bandgap Eeffshown in Fig. 27 is

given by Eeff= EG - 2 V, -4- E , -4- &h, it is reduced below the bulk material
value.
(3) When there is unequal doping, free carriers will accumulate in the
corresponding potential well (Fig. 28). Equations (46) and (50) must then
be solved self-consistently. The Fermi level can be located at will (Fig.
28b).
(4) For large enough spacings and dopings, the effective bandgap can
become negative (i.e., d z 700 A for N A = N D = 10l8~ m - ~ There ). then
exists charge transfer from hole wells to electron wells until a zero gap is
attained due to three factors: band filling, diminishing of the periodic
superlattice potential thanks to the charge neutralization by the transferred
charges, and quantized energy-level modification (Fig. 28c).
( 5 ) Under nonequilibrium conditions such as photoexcitation or car-
rier injection, electron and hole populations can build up in the wells,
leading to charge neutralization and an effective bandgap increase.
(6) Under such nonequilibrium conditions, electrons and holes are
spatially separated and the radiative recombination rate is strongly dimin-
ished as compared to the bulk case as for an indirect-bandgapsemiconduc-
tor. At the same time, nonradiative recombination rates are also strongly
decreased, leading to reasonable quantum efficiencies. This justifies the
hopes for tunable light sources expected from doping superlattices, even
though they are real-space indirect semiconductors. They should also lead
to excellent photodetectors, as the photoconductive gain should be very
large.
Many of the features that are expected from the n - i-p- i structure have
indeed been observed: variation of the bandgap with increased excitation,
change of absorption features with light intensity, tunable luminescence,
etc. The reader is referred to the review articles by Ploog and Dohler165and
Abstreiter'& for a very exciting description of doping superlattices. An
interesting recent development is the heterojunction doping superlattice
(Fig. 29); in the standard doping superlattice the transport of electrons and
holes occurs in doped regions and therefore mobility is rather poor. By
introducing undoped small-gap semiconductor layers in the middle of the
n- and p-doped layers of the superlattice, the carriers are transferred in the
undoped small-gap material where they experience high mobilities as in
usual modulation-doped structures.
111. Optical Properties of Thin Heterostructures

The most general and surprising feature of the optical properties of
quantum wells is the strength of the intrinsic optical effects as compared to
FIG.29. Heterojunction doping superlattice:Instead of occumng in doped (low-mobility)

regions as in the standard structure of Fig. 27, carrier transport occurs here in the high-purity
undoped potential wells (after Ploog and Dohler164).
bulk optical properties: in many circumstances one measures features of

comparable size for a single quantum well of = 100 A as for bulk samples
of thickness of the order of an absorption length, a few 1000 A (Fig. 30).167
In particular, the quantum efficiency of luminescence has been observed to
be larger in QW structures for all the systems reported up to now: GaAs/
GaA1As,l6' GaInAs/AlInAs,'69 GaSb/GaAlSb,170 GaInAs/InP,6'" CdTe/
CdMnTe,79GaAsSb/GaAlSb,170a ZnSe/ZnMnSe,170b. . . .
10. OPTICAL
MATRIXELEMENT
The interband transition probability for particles confined in quantum
wells can be calculated by perturbation theory and is, as usual, the product
on an optical matrix element times a density of states. The modification to
the usual probability stems from the 2D density of states as it can easily be
shown that the optical matrix element is hardly changed as compared to
3 D taking the electric dipolar and the infinite-well approximations, inter-
band optical matrix element15,16 has the form
..
where x,(z) and xh(z)are the electron and hole envelope wave functions,
k,, k h are electron and hole wave vectors, q is the polarization vector of
48 C. WEISBUCH
E GaAlAs
1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 e
PHOTON ENERGY
FIG.30. Electroreflectanceofa double 49 A quantum-well sample.The remarkable feature
is the size of the n = 1 QW exciton electroreflectance peak, quite similar (factor of 4) to that
of the GaAs substrate. The luminescence spectrum is used for the peak assignment (after
Alibert et al.Ib7).
light, uck,(r)and u&) are the usual Bloch functions. The integral contains
fast-varying functions over unit cells (uck and unk)and slowly varying
functions. Using the usual procedure, one transforms Eq. (53) in a sum-
mation of localized integrals involving only Bloch functions over the N
crystal unit cells:
J- dr -$ * ruvkh)
~ c k e ( m dr (54)
The only difference between this and the usual 3D summation lies in the
z-direction summation, which produces a factor ZX~(R,)X,,(R,) dRi,where
the R;s are the lattice cell centers in the z direction and dR, is the distance
between two lattice sites, i.e., the lattice constant. Transforming back into
an integral J $ x ~ ( z ) x ~dz,
( z )one finds a unity factor for the transitions
between electron and hole states with the same quantum number n, as they
are identical [-sin(nnz/l)] and normalized to unity. The optical matrix
element is therefore the same in 2D and 3D. In the absence of exciton
effects, the absorption coefficient should reflect the 2D DOS, i.e., should
consist of square steps corresponding to the various confined states. This
situation is usually obscured by exciton effects, and has only been observed
in standard absorption measurements in the GaSb- AlSb ~ystem.'~'
From these considerations, one concludes that the band-to-band absorp-

tion probability is independent of layer thickness. It has been calculated
by V o i ~ i n to ~ =6 X
' ~ be per layer using the known parameters of
GaAs.
RULES
1 1. SELECTION
One should first notice that the quantum well and superlattice potentials
are symmetric under space reflection changing z into - z. Therefore, parity
is a good quantum number; i.e., the envelope wave functions are character-
ized by their even or odd character under space reflection.
Considering the electric-dipole matrix element in Eq. (53), the factoriza-
tion procedure leads to the following results.
(1) The usual change of parity of electric-dipole transitions appears in
the Bloch integral matrix element.
(2) Transitions are then allowed for confined states with the same
envelope wave function symmetry under space reflection (even or odd).
(3) In his original paper, DingleI4 remarked that in the infinite-well
approximation, due to the orthogonality of the envelope wave function,
only transitions between confined valence and conduction states with the
same quantum number n were allowed (An = 0 rule). It is actually true
that these transitions are the strongest observed features in the absorption
and excitation spectra.
However, a number of additional transitions have been observed, origi-
nating in the breakdown of the simplifying assumptions made.
( I ) For finite quantum wells the envelope wave functions are not
exactly orthogonal, which leads to the observation of transitions with
differentn (such as the n = 3 heavy hole to n = 1 electron line; see Fig. 36).
(2) Even the parity selection rule has been broken in the case of many-
particle spectra either optically created173or due to modulation doping."*
In that case, particle- particle interaction breaks the single-particle picture
used to derive the selection rules.
Light polarization matrix elements have also been calculated at k = 0,
where the quantum-well potential acts as a simple perturbation to the
Kane description of the bands. The split-valence states retain their sym-
metry characterized by the angular momentum of the Bloch wave func-
tions: the heavy-hole level at k = 0 has J, = +$; the light-hole level has
J, = f+. The various allowed transitions can be calculated as in the atomic
physics case of transitions between ground levels with J = 3, J, = k 3 or
J, = k+and excited levels J = +,J, = -C+. The various absorption transi-
tions are shown in Fig. 31 with the corresponding light polarizations,
50 C . WEISBUCH
lo*
ELECTRON S T A T E S
-112 +I12 -112 +I12
2t
-312 +3/2 -112 +I12

HEAVY-.HOLE S T A T E S LIGHT- HOLE S T A T E S
light e m i s s i o r p T
drection E
FIG.3 1. Optical selection rules for absorption and luminescence between Bloch states of
the valence and conduction bands. The usual notations are used. The axis of quantization for
angular momentum of electrons and photons is along z, the growth direction. o transitions
correspond to electron motion in the x - y plane and polarization vector of the emitted or
absorbed photon in that plane (TE polarization). 7~ transitions correspond to electron motion
and light polarization along the z direction (TM polarization). The relative values of matrix
elements are indicated.
respective to the momentum quantization axis. From the correspondence

principle, the polarization vector also describes the electron dipole rno-
tion. Using the classical description of radiation emission, which states
that an electric dipole radiates mainly perpendicular to its own motion and
does not radiate in the parallel direction, the following selection rules can
be deduced for light absorption or
1. 111- V SEMICONDUCTOR QUANTIZED STRUCTURES 51
a. Light Propagating Perpendicular to the Layers

Only those dipole moments in the plane can absorb or radiate. Free
electron- hole absorption (no exciton effect) must be three times larger for
the HH band than for the LH band transitions. Under circularly polarized
light excitation, 1OOYo spin polarization occurs when electrons are only
excited from one of the HH or LH band. This is to be compared with the
50% polarization obtained in the bulk case, where one excites at once both
transitions and creates electron spins with opposite directions, the net
polarization occurring only because of the unequal transition probabili-
ties.”6 The possibility to obtain 1OOYo electron spin polarization should be
of great interest for the production of photoemitted spin-polarized
electrons. Preliminary experiments have not yet succeeded in yield-
ing higher free-electron spin polarizations than for bulk GaAs, although
photoluminescence measurements of electron spin have evidenced high
ABSORPTION
t0.2 U+ LIGHT Amj=+l
I
4-0.
0,
2
3.0
0
:
I- 4 / 2 1 -+1/2 1
-
K
EMISSION
U
J
0
-0.1
n
5 4
-0.2 I
0
PHOTON ENERGY (ev) SELECTION RULES
(a) (b)
FIG. 32. Photoluminescence and circular polarization spectrum of GaAslGaAlAs quan-
tum wells under circularly polarized excitation (a). For a+ excitation well above the bandgap,
where exciton effects become negligible, one creates three times more spin electrons than ++.
Assuming some spin memory at the moment of recombination, these dominant electrons will
emit a+ light when recombining with heavy holes and a- light when recombining with light
holes (b). The observation of opposite signs for the polarizations of the two lines in part (a)
ascertain the 1.522 eV peak as being related to heavy holes and the 1.527 eV peak as being
due to light holes. Resonant light excitation experiments were also done to c o n h these
assignments (after Weisbuch et a1.’96).
52 C. WEISBUCH
polarizations (- 70%) within the crysta@

l.' ' No specific linear polarization
effects are expected. The selection rules have helped to ascertain the quan-
tum states participating in QW luminescence (Fig. 32).
b. Light Propagating along the Layers
The HH transition can only occur with light polarization parallel to the
layer (TE mode). The LH transitions occur both for TE and TM light
polarizations (see Fig. 3 1). A remarkable feature is the relative intensities of
the TE and TM modes (which from Fig. 3 1 should be in the ratio 1 :$). It
was already reported by Dingle that the TE mode luminescence due to the
HH transition was much larger than the TM emission.181Although ther-
malization effects at low temperatures could reasonably explain the effect,
it is not so at room temperature, where both the TE-HH luminescence
and gain have been shown to be larger ("4 times) than for the TM
mode.182-184 This is the more surprising as one could expect from the
simplest 2D-DOS analysis the HH transition probability (corresponding to
the light-transverse hole mass) to be significantly smaller than the LH
transition probability. The analysis clearly requires a more profound analy-
sis of exciton effects, valence-band symmetry, selection rules, and density
of states, as the valence-band anticrossing discussed in Section 3 should
play an important role.
Luminescence of modulation-doped QW samples shows a similar
breakdown of selection rules. Pinczuk et a1.'74 were able to show in z
propagation a rather strong n = 2 electron to n = 1 HH luminescence,
where the ratio between the panty forbidden and allowed transitions
amounts to 0.5. More recently, observations of the luminescence along
91392
the QW plane in such samples show a strong HH-forbidden TM lumines-

cence, which extends over a wide spectral range. This observation allows
the k spectroscopy of the HH valence band (symmetry and DOS) to be
performed, since the electron plasma acts as a supply of well-defined
excitations (i.e., well-known dispersion curve, DOS, and band filling.
12. ENERGY
LEVELS,
BANDDISCONTINUITIES,
AND LAYER
FLUCTUATIONS
As mentioned earlier, the 2D exciton has a stronger exciton - photon
coupling due to the increased overlap of the electron and hole wave
functions. Refle~tivity,'~'ellipsometric,'67~185~'8sa
and p h o t o r e f l e c t a n ~ e ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
measurements evidence this enhancement, as the quantum-well peaks
appear strong as compared to the much thicker confining and buffer layers.
The well thickness and spectral dependences of the index of refraction have
also been observed near resonance. Strong room-temperature excitonic
effects have now been reported for a number of semiconductor pairs. One
of the surprising features of absorption and excitation spectra is the

observation of exciton states related to the higher-lying confined states, as
they are degenerate with the continuum electron states of lower confined
states. This has been theoretically explained by the weak coupling between
these states, which leads to long disintegration times of the excitons of the
higher confined states and therefore a weak broadening.'I8
Exciton absorption corresponding to the various confined levels has
been the first optical evidence of quantum size effects in semiconductor
thin layers. The transition energies are given by
where EG is the bandgap, E g d , E$'$ are the electron, heavy-, or light-hole

nth confinement energies, respectively, and E,, is the exciton binding
energy. Prominent peaks are those with n = m . The influence of layer
quality and its progress can be traced through time. Until the middle of
1975, when liquid nitrogen shrouding of the MBE chamber began, no
heavy- and light-hole n = 1 transitions could be observed for samples with
well thicknesses > 150 A. A major improvement occurred in 1978, when
introduction of samples in the growth chamber through UHV interlocks
was used. Growth interruption for interface smoothing has led to the
present state of the art of atomically flat interfaces and ultrasharp peaks in
optical spectra, which, however, can now also be reproduced in high-qual-
ity MBE systems without interruption.186a
The fit of the early absorption measurements led to the determination of
the bandgap discontinuity A E between the conduction bands AE, and
valence bands A E,. Calling Q = AEJAE, Dingle14 found that Q =
0.85 -t 0.03, assuming standard values for the [lOO] electron and hole
masses, i.e., m, = 0.067 mo, mHH= 0.45 m,,= mzzLH = 0.08mo. In recent
similar experiments on squarelS7and parabolic188quantum wells, Miller
was led to a reexamination of this partitioning and evaluated Q = 0.60,
using a heavy-hole mass mHH= 0.34mo.It is remarkable that the two sets
of parameters can explain all the standard features of the A n = 0 tran-
sitions for the square wells.IE7It is only for the case of parabolic wells
(Fig. 33), and for the n = 1 e to n = 3 HH forbidden transitions in square
wells (Fig. 34), that the need arises to consider the newer set of parameters.
In an elegant method, using separate-confinement heterostructure QWs,
Meynadier et al. were able to measure combination absorption lines
between a narrow well embedded in a wider confinement well. Their
transition energy is strongly dependent on bandgap discontinuities and
allows a determination of Q = 0.6. It should be remarked that a small
value of Q, i.e., a small conduction-band discontinuity, tends to account
54 C . WEISBUCH
n
PARABOLIC WELL
E5
E46h
I
I
/I' 72
I
1.52
to
1.56 1.60 1.64

A
1.52 I.!
1.68
u
1.54
llLlLlJ
1.72
PHOTON E N E R G Y (eV)
FIG.33. Excitation spectrum of parabolic quantum wells. Note the large number of peaks
observed when compared to square wells, due to the relaxation of the An = 0 selection rule.
En,,,,refers to a transition from an electron state with quantum number n to a heavy- or
light-hole state with same n: EnmLh refers to a transition with a change in quantum number
(from Miller ef al. I**).
for the smaller-than-expected charge transfer in electron MD heterostruc-

tures168J90and conversely the good properties of hole MD heterostruc-
tures.Igl
Early experiments were also carried out on double and multiple inter-
acting quantum wells.93Interwell coupling leads to the lifting of the degen-
eracy of the degenerate ground state, evidencing the formation of a super-
lattice band according to Eq. (29). The data of Fig. 35 show the transitions
from the coupled double well with two states, one symmetric and one
antisymmetric, to a quasi-continuum of states due to superlattice band
formation in a 10 coupled-well sample. More recently, superlattice forma-
tion has been shown from electroreflectance measurements for Brillouin
zone points away from the center of the zone.126
The data fitting must also include the exciton binding energy [Eq. (55)]
as an adjustable parameter, a function of well thickness and exciton (heavy
or light hole). Dingle14extracted a value of 9 meV for the exciton Rydberg
R* in thin wells (<100 A), which is to be compared to the 4.2 meV value
in the bulk. This is, however, a rather imprecise measurement due to its
dependence upon the overall fitting procedure. More recently, Miller was
1. 111 -v SEMICONDUCTOR QUANTIZED STRUCTURES 55
200 -
100 -
70 -
50 -
-
- 30
>,
E 20-
w
-
S
I
._
.-
W
10 -
7-
5-
3-
2-
1'
30
I
50
I
70
I
100
I
$00
-
300
€11
'
E12h
500 7001000
L(A)
FIG.34. Fit of the observed transitions in quantum wells with various thickness. Full lines
are obtained with Q = AE,/AE= 0.51, me= 0.0665ma,m, = 0.34ma, m,,, = 0.094. The
dashed line is obtained using previous parameters Q = 0.85 and m,,,, = 0.45me, and is only
shown for the transition (n = I electron to n = 3 heavy hole), as all other transitions
would be satisfactorily fitted by this set of parameters (from Miller ef al.lE7).
56 C. WEISBUCH
1.5
1.0
>
0.5
v)
B
5F
$ 1m
.
0.5
0
1.54 f.55 1.60 1.65 1.70 1.55 1.60 1.65 1.70
PHOTON ENERGY (eV)
FIG.35. Absorption spectra of single (a), double (b), triple (c), decuple (d) coupled quan-
tum wells. The positions of the expected transitions in the perturbative approach [Eq. (26)]
are indicated. The appearance of bonding and antibonding states is well evidenced in (b). The
inserts show the structures under measurement (after Dingle et ~ 2 . ~ ~ ~ ) .
able to extract similar values from the onset of the n = 2 exciton absorp-
tion edge in excitation spectra.192 Another measurement has recently been
carried out by Maan et ul.,193in which the unbound electron and hole state
levels are determined by extrapolation from their high magnetic field
value. The heavy-hole exciton binding energy can be as large as 17 meV for
50 A wells, and 10 meV for the light-hole exciton in 100 A wells. The
heavier hole mass of the heavy exciton (as determined from the apparent
p), contradictory to the light transverse mass of the heavy-hole band, is a
proof of the strong perturbation of the valence band from the simplest
pictures. From the exciton radius uB it is clear that one needs to know the
dispersion of the valence band up to k = uB = lo6 cm-' to construct the
exciton wave functions and deduce the exciton Rydberg.
It might be thought that interband transitions should provide a conve-
nient way to measure interface grading. It has, however, been shown
t h e ~ r e t i c a l l y ' that
~~.~ grading
~ ~ does not modify the energy-level structure
for grading extending up to a few atomic layers, unless the wells are
extremely thin.
A very convenient way to deduce absorption spectra without any sample
preparation (in particular thinning) is the photoluminescence excitation
spectra (ES) methodIg6:observing the photoluminescence at a given wave-

length, one scans the exciting light wavelength (with a tunable dye laser, for
instance). Peaks will appear in the spectrum as a result of increased ab-
sorption coefficient (Fig. 36). Actually, there is another contribution to
luminescence ES peaks which is due to more efficientrelaxation/coupling
to the luminescent level under observation, such as resonant LO-phonon
relaxation.’” One should carefully watch whether this effect occurs as it
could lead to erroneous assignments in ES peaks. Although very efficient in
11-VI compounds, this mechanism has proven negligible in QW struc-
tures, thanks to the smallness of the LO phonon coupling and to the very
efficient nonresonant relaxation mechanisms to the luminescent channels.
A first use of the ES method was to assess the layer -to - layer thickness
reproducibility using a sample with noncommunicating wells (bamers
= 150 For such an MQW structure, luminescence peaks and their
A).’9891w
ES are characteristic of a given well and its thickness. In the case of varying
QW thicknesses, the various portions of the overall luminescence spectrum
FIG.36. Excitation spectrum of a multiquantum-well (MQW) sample with 260 A thick

barriers and wells. The various observed peaks are labeled according to their origin. Several
forbidden peaks (E,) are also observed. The peak labeled E, has since then been assigned to
E,3hand yields crucial data for the determination of bandgap discontinuities (see Fig. 34 and
discussion in the text). The detection monochromator is set at the energy marked “pump” in
the figure, where there is a signal peak due to elastically scattered light (after Miller et ~ 1 . ’ ~ ~ ) .
58 C. WEISBUCH
GROWTH DIRECTION - lndlvldual layer luminescence
INTENSITY Excltatlon spectra
_______
t _-_-_I
- - - - _ --
r-----
TOTAL
LUMINESCENCE
INTENSITY
INDIVIDUAL LAYER ABSORPTION
OR EXCITATION SPECTRUM
PHOTON ENERGY
FIG.37. Schematicsof the excitation spectra (ES) to be observed in a multiquantum-well
structure where the wells are unequal, leading to an inhomogeneousluminescenceline due to
different wells with varying thicknesses. Each recombination wavelength, corresponding to a
different well with its own confined energy spectrum, gives rise to different ES.
should be inhomogeneous, i.e., should have different origins in space and

have different ES. On the contrary, for equal QW thicknesses, one expects
the same ES whatever the luminescence observation energy (Fig. 37). The
detection of a single ES in good MQW samples, to a precision better than a
tenth of the ES linewidth, allows one to assess the reproducibility of the
average layer thickness as better than one-tenth of a monolayer.
For such an optimally grown sample, it was observed that the ES line-
width would increase for decreasing layer thickness (Fig. 38). This was
interpreted as being due to variations of the confined energies due to
intralayer thickness fluctuations.199 In a layer -to-layer growth mode, one
expects to find islands where the thickness varies by -0.5 of a monolayer
from the average monolayer thickness. Therefore, the various zones corre-
spond to various confinement energies, which leads to broadening of the
absorption and excitation spectra due to the spatially disordered exciton
absorption band. The simple fit of Fig. 39 represents quite well the results
of a series of samples grown sequentially at the optimum temperature. The
model assumes that the lateral size of the exciton is smaller than the island
size, so that the confinement energy change is that calculated in the usual
infinitely wide layer model. Bastard et ~ 1 calculated
. ~ the~ confinement
energy variation with the lateral size of islands or holes in otherwise
atomically perfect layers. The next step in a detailed analysis would be the
determination of the interface topology, either theoretically or experimen-
1 . 111- v SEMICONDUCTOR QUANTIZED STRUCTURES 59
I I I I
145
I I
1.50 1.55 1.60 1.65
PHOTON ENERGY k V )
FIG. 38. Excitation spectra of various wells with different thicknesses at 1.8 K [C. Weis-
buch, R. Dingle, A. C. Gossard, and W. Wiegmann, unpublished (198O)l.
tally. In the Bell Laboratories series of samples,'* the linewidth data could
be interpreted assuming a majority of island sizes larger than the exciton
diameter (e.g., = 300 A), which is in agreement with X-ray diffuse scatter-
ing observationsMand TEM imaging technique^.^^ More knowledge of the
topology of the interfaces as revealed by X rays and TEM and of the
spatially disordered DOS is required to be able to describe the detailed
correlation between the interfaces and the DOS, as revealed by absorption
and ES in such samples. In some more perfect crystals, one could expect
almost atomically flat layers. A few experiments tend to show such perfec-
tion, as deduced from luminescence experimentsm',202 in samples grown by
standard procedures. More recently, interrupted MBE growth202a-202c has
been used in order to allow for atomic migration and island coalescence at
60 C . WEISBUCH
CONFINEMENT ENERGY (meW

FIG.39. Linewidth versus confining energy: The solid line is a fit assuming fluctuations of
each interface equal to +u/2, where u is a monolayer. The fit is not good for large confining
energies where the energy fluctuations are larger than the exciton Rydberg. At low energies,
other broadening mechanisms come into play (from Weisbuch et u Z . ' ~ ~ ) .
interfaces. In that case, the island size can become much larger, and
discrete exciton lines display the exact quantized energy corresponding to
the various layer thicknesses equal to an integer number of atomic layers.
The linewidth assessment has been used to optimize growth conditions.
Varying growth temperatures, Weisbuch et al. were able to identify three
different growth regimes in an MBE system (Fig. 40); at the optimum
temperature (= 690 C), the growth occurs in a layer - to - layer mode, a
O
layer being completed through island extension from nucleation (impu-

rity?) centers and coalescence of the islands into a complete layer. At lower
temperatures, surface atom mobilities are not large enough to ensure
lateral size growth of islands and instead islands with a height higher than a
monatomic height can occur. At the same time, periodic macroscopic
fluctuations of the surface can be observed with an optical microscope. At
high temperatures, the atom's kinetic energy is large enough to overcome
the binding energy at the island coast which leads to a roughening transi-
tion, which here appears temperature broadened by impurities instead of
abrupt, as in the case of the helium phase t r a n s i t i ~ nThis
. ~ ~interpretation
is supported by the earlier TEM imaging measurements of ultrathin struc-
tures (down to alternate mono layer^)^^ and by Monte Carlo calculations of
the growth mechanism.204-206 MOCVD growth exhibits an opposite effect
-z - \
I
-E \ 1
I- /-
=
-1 \
-
IMPURITY
BROADENED
INTRINSIC
ROUGHENING
-i /
-
3u '-
CURVATURE
X
w
7------
-
I I t I , I
FIG.40. sam-
ples grown
of line narrowing with increased Ts,zo6 as an island size decrease leads to

fluctuation averaging.
Absorption and ES have been used to study various processing methods
of GaAs-GaAlAs QWs. Thermal interdiffusion was studied o p t i ~ a l l y , ~ ~ ~ , ~
by x rays,m8 and by TEM.209 In the optical method, one observes the
upwards energy shift of the quantum well levels as A1 interdiffises in the
well material. Dingle was able to determine a diffusion constant for Al,
D = 5 X lo-'' cmz s-I at 9OO0C,in good agreement with X-ray and TEM
measurements, which justifies the neglect of interdiffision during MBE
growth under standard conditions (T' < 750T). A very promising tech-
nique for controlled interdiffusion is provided by Zn-assisted A1 diffu-
sionZlo;during their difision, Zn atoms induce A1 atom diffusion. This
opens the way to low-temperature spatially controlled smear-out of quan-
tum wells. This has already been used in the selective protection of laser
facets, which enables higher optical powers without facet damage;211the
higher-gap regions obtained near the facets confine the recombining
electron -hole pairs, thus suppressing radiation-induced defect formation,
the main mechanism for facet degradation. Although requiring higher
temperatures and longer times, Si-assisted A1 diffusion can also be ob-
served.2
The 2D DOS and the excitonic nature of the absorption coefficient lead
to an absorption edge much sharper in QWs than in the usual 3D double
62 C. WEISBUCH
1.4 - Room temp.

"I TE mode
-
1.2
1.0
- J.
fB
0- A+
v)
v)
0.8
- A\ I"
0
-1 %J \
0.6
- \cGaAs DH
MOW' h
\
0.4 - \
\
h
0.2
0
-
I I , I S , I I ,
*
'\
WAVELENGTH ( i)
FIG. 41. Transmission curves for passive waveguides with MQW and conventional DH
structures. AROWS A and B denote the spontaneous (higher-energy) and lasing wavelengths,
respectively, when each waveguide is current injected (after Tarucha et
heterostructures. This results in a lower transmission loss in MQW wave-

guides as compared to DH waveguides at the lasing wavelength of the
structures213(Fig. 4 1). One therefore expects better performance of mono-
lithic integrated optoelectronic circuits made on QW material.
13. LOW-TEMPERATURE
LUMINESCENCE~~~
The luminescence of undoped GaAs/GaAIAs quantum wells at low
temperatures consists of a single narrow line,196J98 which is at first quite
different from the observed multiple-impurity-related lines observed in
bulk material of similar q ~ a l i t y . ~ It
' ~is* also
~ * ~brighter than in thick 3D
layers such as typical double heterostructures.'68 A number of factors,
occurring simultaneously or not, tend to this single recombination process
and large quantum efficiency.
(1) Carrier collection in QW at low temperatures is extremely efficient.
Carriers created in the overlayer barrier material are largely captured by
quantum wells, as shown by the usually small luminescence of the barrier
material as compared to quantum-well luminescence.
(2) The 2D exciton enhancement leads to efficientexciton formation.
The accumulation of photocreated carriers in the small phase space of

QWs should also increase the bimolecular formation rate of excitons.
(3) Exciton luminescence is to first order a forbidden process, as the k
selection rule of the optical matrix element only allows excitons with
exactly the photon k vector to radiate.215-217 In the pure bulk material,
polariton phenomena (i.e., the coupled exciton- photon excitation) relaxes
this rule but transforms the exciton fluorescence mechanism into the
transport of the coupled excitation to the surface. In this picture, exciton
fluorescence is no more an intrinsic phenomenon described by the
exciton-photon coupling, but is a transport problem described in terms of
excited depth, energy and momentum relaxation, group velocity, etc.216.2'7
In another picture of strong damping (impure material, high temprature),
polaritons do not propagate but luminescence occurs due to the scattering
of an exciton state to a photonlike state, followed by the transformation of
the exciton into a photon thanks to the exciton-photon coupling. In this
picture, the exciton luminescence is a second-order process involving exci-
ton interactions with impurities or phonons and the exciton-photon in-
teraction. In quantum wells, excitons cannot propagate along the z axis as
they are localized in the well. However, luminescence should be very
efficient as the k conservation rule should be lifted thanks to the scattering
by confining energy fluctuations. Exciton-mediated luminescence should
also play a role at high carrier densities as demonstrated by the sharp ES
peaks observed by Pinczuk et ~ 1 . ' 'in
~ modulation-doped samples.
(4) Impurity gettering can occur during multilayer formation, which
diminishes the number of nonradiative centers. The effect was first evi-
denced in GaAs-GaAlAs MQWs, where the usual dark spots in photolu-
minescence of double heterostructures associated with dislocations could
not be observed.218The effect was shown to be due to impurity gettering by
the GaAlAs barrier material in the first layers.57A smoothing of the
interface roughness can also be observed as growth proceeds (see Fig. 2).
Similar material improvement was also observed in MOCVD material6'
(see Fig. 3). However, material grown in other optimally set systems seems
to be exempt of impurities even in single quantum well^?'^^^*^
The free-exciton nature of the pure-material luminescence line was

established through a careful study.196 Its energy position coincides almost
exactly with the exciton peak observed in ES. The possibility of excitons
bound to neutral shallow impurities (donors or acceptors) is ruled out by
the spin memory measurements under circularly polarized excitation light,
which ascertains the symmetry of the luminescent state as that of a corre-
lated single electron and single hole. The dependence of the high-energy
slope of the line on temperature and excitation intensity points out the
64 C . WEISBUCH
free-moving nature of the excitation, ruling out exFitons bound to isoelec-

tronic impurities. For thick enough QWs (> 150 A) the light-hole exciton
can also be observed at low temperatures. More higher-lying levels were
observed either at higher temperatures or under high-intensity excitation.
A careful study of the transition from 3D luminescence features to 2D
behavior in a series of samples with varying thicknesses has been given by
Jung et d 2 1 9 Theoretical calculations tend to support the dominance of
free exciton over bound exciton recombination in quantum wells: Herbert
and Rorison220" have shown that, whereas confinement increases free-exci-
ton oscillator strength as 1/L, it slightly decreases that of donor bound
excitons due to the decrease in carrier correlation.
It is obvious that the quality of interfaces as revealed by ES will influence
the luminescence line shape and width (Fig. 42). Whereas the ES directly
probes the DOS and marks the peak of the disordered exciton energy band,
the luminescence line shape does not represent directly the DOS of the
exciton band (see Fig. 44 below). It cannot even be simply positioned
relative to the center of the DOS, as the luminescence line shape results
from the competition between the energy relaxation time of excitons down
the disordered exciton energy band and the recombination time. There-
fore, the discussion of the exciton line shape and the shift between lumines-
cence and ES requires a detailed understanding of the disordered exciton
band which we lack at the present time. The linewidth of the luminescence
peak can however, be used as an indication of the quality of the interface.
Sakaki et aLmh have used it to indicate the atomic flatness of growth-inter-
rupted quantum wells.
Whereas the early optical measurements were limited to MBE material,
measurements in MOCVD material show a very similar quality of such
material and interfaces as compared to the best MBE materia1.58-60A very
useful scheme has proven to be the sequential growth on the same substrate
of several QWs with different layer thickne~ses.~~ This allows one to com-
pare different QWs grown under exactly similar conditions. This is also
very useful to ascertain the spatial homogeneity in the case of alloy quan-
tum wells such as Ga1nAs/InP1";when the alloy composition varies across
a multiwell sample, it acts as a constant shift of the ground-state energy of
the well, independent of the well thickness. If the growth rate is spatially
varying, this is reflected in unequal shifts for the various confining energies
due to the nonlinear (Emd - Le2 in the infinite-well approximation) rela-
tion between well thickness and confining energy.
In some high-purity MQW samples a double peak is observed around
the n = 1 heavy-exciton position (Fig. 42c). First interpreted as a reabsorp-
tion feature, this structure was attributed to the heavy exciton band
at high energy associated with a biexciton recombination line at low en-
ergy.
I 1.639
I
I I I I
1.510 1.520 1.530 1.54
PHOTON ENERGY ( e v )
FIG.42. Luminescence of optimally grown quantum wells with varying thicknesses [(a),
5 1 A; (b), 102 A; (c), 222 A]. For the sake of clarity, the energy and count-rate scales have
been shifted with respect to one another. Note the log scale for the count rate. The lumines-
cence linewidth is to be compared with the excitation spectrum linewidth of Fig. 39. [C.
Weisbuch, R. Dingle, A. C. Gossard, and W. Wiegmann, unpublished (1980)].
Although vanishingly small in undoped structures due to the efficiency

of the free-exciton recombination, impurity-related luminescence can eas-
ily be observed for deliberately doped samples. Miller et were able to
observe the dependence on QW thickness and impurity position of accep-
tor binding energies through the detection of the electron- to - neutral
acceptor transitions. Excitons bound to neutral acceptors were also
shown.223Shanabrook and Comas used spike doping at the center of
quantum wells to measure donor-related levels.224
66 C. WEISBUCH
14. CARRIER
AND EXCITON
DYNAMICS
There has recently been a surge of optical transient measurements of

~ a m e and 8 ~ exciton
~ ~ dynamics in QWs. Some care must be used in
analyzing the results as compared to the 3D case, as a number of parame-
ters are strongly altered. In particular, the rather small 2D DOS induces
band-filling effects even at moderate exciting powers.
The pump-and-probe experiments were first performed on MQW
structures.225At low densities (Fig. 43) the absorption spectra show a
washout of the exciton peaks due to exciton screening. Studies of this
bleaching allow one to measure the exciton band filling and ionization
time of excitons by hot electron or phonon collisions.226An ionization
time of -300 fs due to phonons is deduced at room temperature. The
remaining absorption displays the exciton-less absorption curve, i.e., the
2D-DOS step structures. Higher pumping rates show the large amount of
band filling and gain at the higher densities. Camer relaxation rates have
been estimated and shown to be very similar to those observed in 3D. At
still higher excitation rates, energy relaxation was shown to be slower, as
evidenced by the hot luminescence correlation-peak method.227It is not
yet clear whether this slowing is due to phonon accumulation in the well or
band-filling effects. Femtosecond experiments228have recently found simi-
lar energy relaxation rates in 2D and 3D, even in the higher-density regime,
which, however, does not rule out the phonon-accumulation model227for
longer times as the phonon population should be low at the early stages of
relaxation.
Photoluminescence camer dynamics has been studied through time-re-
solved l u m i n e s ~ e n c e . The
~ ~ ~relaxation
, ~ ~ ~ times of excitons in the disor-
dered band have been measured by Masumoto et dZ3' showing the impor-
tance of the spatial disorder that controls the energy migration.
Takagahara232made an analysis of the experimental results using a model
of energy transfer in a disordered band. The shortening of the exciton
lifetime with decreasing well thickness has been traced to the increase of
electron- hole wave function overlap in the 2D exciton optical matrix
element.229,229a This interpretation, however, supposes that the measured
lifetime is directly related to the radiative recombination mechanism, i.e.,
that the quantum efficiency is near unity. It also supposes that the radiative
lifetime is uniquely related to the optical matrix element, although, as
discussed above, exciton luminescence is not an intrinsic process described
only by the optical matrix element. The increase in luminescence rate with
decreasing well thickness may well be due to the scattering by well-thick-
-
ness fluctuations (inducing an energy fluctuation L-3),although a more
detailed study of exciton recombination is required to fully understand
UNPUMPED ABSORPTION
n=3
17.2 A
0.2
I I I
1.51 1.54 4.57 1.60
ENERGY (eV) (a)
I I I I I I
ENERGY (eV) (b)
1.2 -
I
4.0- UNPUMPED
; 0.8-
0.6-
ABSORPTION-
0.4 -
a
0.2 -
148 1.51 1.54 157

ENERGY l e v ) - (C)
FIG.43. Subpicosecondpumpand-probe experiment: absorption spectra of a 250 A MQW
sample are shown before (-) and at later times (broken curves) following excitation.
Canier density is (a) 5.1011cm-2, (b) 10l2ar2, (c) 10" cm-z. Curve (a) shows quite well the
almost square-shaped absorption edges of 2D systems when the exciton effects are washed out
at the densities used here. Curve (b) shows the large band-filling effects at short times. Curve
(c) shows the large structureless gain curve (after Shank et U Z . * ~ ~ ) .
68 C. WEISBUCH
luminescence kinetics. It seems that exciton oscillator strength determina-

tion through quantitative reflectivity measurements would be a better way
to assign exciton-photon interaction, as is the case in 3D.
A detailed and profound analysis of exciton dynamics has been carried
out by Hegarty et u1.233-237 Resonant Rayleigh scatteringz3’ has been used
as a probe of the homogeneous exciton linewidth within the inhomoge-
neous exciton absorption band due to interface disorder. As shown in Fig.
44, the exciton DOS as revealed by ES, the luminescence line, and the
intensity of elastically (Rayleigh) scattered light are shifted relative to one
another. The downward shift of the Rayleigh intensity shows the transition
from localized exciton states (undamped, i.e., efficient for light scattering)
to delocalized exciton states (less efficient). This is therefore an optical
measurement of a mobility edge for excitons on the interface disordered
band in the sense of Mott. Hole-burning experiments233in absorption at
higher intensities yielded very similar behavior for excitons in the band;
Luminescence
z
0
tK
zrn
4
0
2 1.610 1.615
PHOTON ENERGY ( e V )
FIG. 44. Absorption peak (-), intensity of elastically (Rayleigh) scattered light (0),
and luminescence intensity (--) of a 5 1 A MQW sample. W h e m the absorption peak
represents the DOS of the 2D disordered exciton band, the Rayleigh eEciency curve is shifted
downward because of the inefficient light scattering by delocalized excitons above the center
of the band. The shift of the luminescence peak represents the relaxed state of recombin-
ing excitons (from Hegarty et aL235).
finally, transient grating experiments,2" at still higher densities, directly

indicate spatial exciton transport, with again the observation of a mobility
edge near the center of the exciton energy band. As expected, the mobility
edge appears to be strongly dependent on thermally activated exciton
hopping, as revealed by increasingthe temperature?% The whole picture of
a disordered 2D exciton band appears well justified from this set of experi-
ments. Quantum wells seem to be a good prototype for 2D disordered
systems,237with the strong exciton-photon coupling allowing for the use
of very convenient optical probes.
15. INELASTIC LIGHTSCATTERING
Inelastic light scattering by electronic excitations is a very powerful tool
for the investigation of 2D systems, although perhaps not widely used. We
cannot describe here all the important results which have been obtained
with this type of experiment and strongly recommend two recent reviews
of the s~bject,2~**'~~ still in active progress.
At first glance, it might appear that the electron absolute number at an
interface might be too small to allow for any sizable inelastic scattering of
light by electrons. However, Burstein et ~ 1pointed . ~out that,
~ thanks to
resonant enhancement of the efficiency, signals from the standard electron
density N,- 10" cm-' should be observed. The resonance at the spin-
orbit split-off gap at & + A o is usually used in order to prevent hot
luminescence signals to obscure the light scattering spectrum. As in the
b~lk,2~~*"' two sorts of signals are to be observed the single-particlespec-
trum, corresponding to uncorrelated particles, which involves a 'spin-flip
and is observed in the orthogonal-polarization configuration. The effi-
ciency is then due to spin-density excitations. Excitations of the collective
modes of the electron gas (plasmons) are due to the charge-density fluctua-
tions of the gas and are observed in the parallel-polarizationconfiguration.
The theoretical considerations leading to these selection rules have been
described in detail by Burstein et al.242
Single-particle intersubband scattering has been studied widely as it
provides an excellent tool to directly measure energy levels in modulation-
doped heterostructures, either single interface^,"^ quantum wells?44multi-
ple quantum wells or n - i - p - i's.245 The measured energy shifts provide
good tests for the evaluation of energy-level calculations. Light Scattering
measurements of the 2D hole gas'" confirm the AEc determination of
Miller et ~ 1 . They
l ~ ~ also indicate the nonparabolicity of the various va-
lence bands (see Section 3). Using modulation-doped MQWs with varying
spacer thicknesses, Pinczuk et ~ 1 . ' ~ were
' able to show a striking correlation
between light scattering linewidth and electron mobility. This is interpreted
by assuming that the same collision mechanisms determining electron
70 C. WEISBUCH
I I , I 1 I
0 20 40 60 80
ENERGY SHIFT (rneV)
FIG.45. Single-particle light scattering spectrum [depolarized backscatteri?g Z ( y ’ x ’ ) a of
three MQW MD samples. The varying spacer thicknesses of 0,50, and 15 1 A are correlated
withincreasingspectrasharpnessand4.2Kmobilitiesof 12,500,28,000, and 93,000 V2 cm-‘
s-I, respectively. The observed transitions are shown in the insert (after F‘inczuk et ~ 1 . ~ ~ ’ ) .
wave-vector changes are responsible for the mobility value and light scat-
tering k-conservation rules (Fig. 45).
Collective excitations observed in the parallel polarization configuration
allowed the determination of the LO phonon-plasma coupled
modes.248,249 Optically created plasmas have been detected by their induced
light scattering in undoped MQW structure^.^^.^^' Carrier densities have
been determined from the measured shifts. In n- i-p- i structures, light
scattering experiments on photocreated carriers have revealed their 2D
character, and the transition to 3D at high intensities when light-induced
photoneutralization of impurities destroys the superlattice potential.252
Finally, inelastic light scattering in MQW under strong magnetic fields
yields inter-Landau level transitions as observed by Worlock et al.253
16. LASERACTION
Since a number of recent review articles have given full descriptions of

quantum-well we will only point out here a number of
their specific properties. Only few papers have tackled the analysis of the
operating features of quantum-well lasers.254a-261
The first useful property of quantum-well material is the better sponta-
neous quantum efficiency than corresponding double-heterostructure ma-
terial. As discussed in Section 13, this can be due to one or a combination
of various effects, such as enhanced 2D radiative recombination, impurity
gettering, diminished 2D nonradiative recombination, etc. This enhanced
efficiency should lead to enhanced inversion of carriers at a given injection
if the relevant mechanisms result in an enhancement of the carrier lifetime.
The square shape of the 2D DOS increases the gain at low injection.
Figure 46 shows a comparison between two situations, 2D and 3D, for the
same layer thickness (see discussion in Section 3): at 300 K, a given gain is
obtained in 2D for an equivalent 3D electron density - 30% smaller than
in 3D. The gain will also vary more rapidly with injection current (Fig. 47).
The square DOS in 2D also leads to a smaller dependence of gain, thus of
laser threshold, on temperature. One therefore expects a larger Tovalue262
for quantum-well lasers from this square DOS.260
Due to the 2D DOS, the gain spectrum in QW lasers is steeper than in
DH lasers (Figs. 47 and 48).263This leads to the useful additional property
of quantum wells already discussed in Section 12 and Fig. 41 that, at the
lasing frequency, the unexcited quantum-well layer has a lower absorption
coefficient (= lo2 cm-') than in a DH layer (=8 X lo2 cm-l). This prop-
erty might prove helpful in designing efficient monolithic integrated opto-
electronic circuits.
The increased exciton effects in 2D could also play some role in laser
action. Radiative recombination rates might be increased due to such an
effect as the Sommerfeld enhancement factor of the optical matrix element
due to the electron - hole correlation in the unbound hydrogenic levels.
A very important and certainly main effectexplaining the good perform-
ance of QW lasers is the small absolute value of the DOS. In 2D, it is only
-3 X 1013 cm-2 eV-l for the conduction electrons, as compared to the
typical 3D DOS =2 X 1014cm-2 eV-' in a DH at an energy equal to the
room-temperature kT. This means that, in order to fill band states up to an
energy of the order of kT to satisfy the Bernard-Duraffourg inversion
~ondition,'~,'~ one will require in 2D =6 times less injected carriers per cm2
than in 3D.264This is, however, to be weighed against an adverse effect of
the small energy-independent 2D DOS; the maximum gain will tend to
saturate with carrier injection, whereas in 3D the ever-increasing 3D DOS
72 C. WEISBUCH
3D
--
W
n + 2 . 0 x 1 0 ~ ~ c(BULK)
m~
n . i . 4 ~10%m-3 (QUANTUM WELL)
NEEDED TO REACH THE SAME
=,
t'
PEAK GAIN IN (CJ
E
2
0
a
t
0
W
2
w E
0
a h
\ I\
W
a
0
L -E
€2
FIG.46. Comparison of gain formation in 2D and 3D systems assuming an equal layer
thickness (see discussion in Section 4). The same gain is obtained for a lower equivalent 3D
carrier concentrationin the 2D systems thanks to the square DOS.
with carrier population allows one to reach enough gain to obtain laser
action (unless the sample is blown out). Dutta's explicit calculations255
(Fig. 49) exhibit the expected quantum-well gain saturation, which implies
that, if this intrinsic maximum gain is not large enough to overcome losses
due to unfavorable semiconductor parameters (masses, matrix ele-
ments, . . .), poor material, or very lossy structure, laser action will not
CURRENT (mA)
FIG. 47. Variation of the maximum gain with injection current for a single QW laser
(SQW) and a modified MQW laser (MMQW). The gain versus current slope of a DH laser is
also indicated, 2 cm-'/mA (from T~ang*~").
Wavelength (%I Current , 111th
(a) ( b)
FIG.48. (a) Gain spectra for MQW structure and (b) dependence of the peak gain on in-
jection intensity with DH comparison (from Kobayashi et ~ 1 . ~ ~ ~ ) .
74 C . WEISBUCH
I I
INJECTED C A R R I E R DENSITY (1048 cm-3)

FIG.49. Calculated maximum gain for the electron-heavy-hole transition as a function of
injected camer density in undoped material at various temperatures (from D ~ t t a ~ ~ ~ ) .
occur. The alternative to the single QW is then to use multiple quantum-

well structures (MQWs), which yield a DOS which is the single QW DOS
multiplied by the number of wells in the structure (Fig. 50).
The MQW, however, introduces a new unknown: injection of electrons
at one side of the structure and holes at the other side leads to a spatially
inhomogeneous camer inversion, as the carriers are efficiently captured by
the quantum wells nearest to each injection side (Fig. 51b). Observed in
some structures, this effect tends to raise the threshold.265Tsang made a
systematic study of well and bamer thicknesses and well number in order
to optimize the lasing characteristics of these MQW structures.266To over-
come the injection inhomogeneity, was led to introduce the modi-
fied MQW structure, where lower bamers in a MQW structure allow for
more efficient carrier transport across the barriers and therefore lead to a
more uniform carrier inversion, leading to lower laser threshold. High-bar-
rier confining material is conserved at both extremities of the lasing region
to ensure maximum carrier and optical confinements (Fig. 5 lc). Kroemer
and Okamoto have discussed some of the parameters involved in efficient
electron transfer from well to
I00
L, = IOOA
CURRENT DENSITY ( A / c m 2 )
FIG.50. Variation of gain versus injected current density in N-well quantum-well lasers.
The saturation effect due to the square DOS appears clearly in the single (N= I ) well case.
Increasing the number of wells increases the threshold current as more states have to be
inverted (proportional to N), but it also increases the saturated value of the gain (from
Arakawa and YarivZ6’).
In the case of single or few QW structures, one encounters an effect

which is quite unfavorable to the QW laser as compared to the DH laser:
the optical confinementfactor, i.e., the overlap of the optical wave with the
quantum well, tends to be very small, varying as L-2due to two
the first is the diminution of overlap between the optical wave and the QW.
The second is due to the diminishing confinement of the overall optical
wave by the vanishingly small waveguide (in the limit of zero thickness
QW, the optical wave would recover its natural size “1, whereas in opti-
mum GaAIAs/GaAs structures its width can be reduced to 800 A). The =i:
optical confinement factor enters the gain coefficient as it represents the

efficiency for an emitted photon to drive another stimulated e-h pair
radiative recombination. One way to keep the optical wave optimally
concentrated, independently of QW thickness, is to use a second optical
cavity to confine the optical wave. In this manner Tsang developed sepa-
rate confinement heterostructure quantum-well lasers (SCH-QW). As an
76 C . WEISBUCH
nnn \h
-+
@ MQW @ MMOW
@ SCH-QW @ GRIN-SCH-QW
FIG.51. Band-energy levels (under forward bias) of various QW laser structures. (a) Single
quantum well, SQW, (b) multiple quantum well, MQW, (c)modified multiple quantum well,
MMQW (d) separate-confinement heterostructurequantum well; (e) graded-index separate-
confinement heterostructurequantum well GRIN-SCH-QW.
additional improvement, Tsang also proposed the graded-index separate

confinement heterostructure laser.268r269 This GRIN-SCH-QW laser struc-
ture (Fig. 5 1e) has proven to be remarkably efficient, leading to the lasing
thresholds.270This was recently explained by Nagle et dz7@ as due to the
small DOS in the confining layers of the GRIN-SCH.
A promising feature of QW lasers is their long operating lifetime, which
now appears to be e x ~ e l l e n tOne . ~ ~of~the
~~reasons
~ ~ might be the optical
inactivity of dislocations. Another possible mechanism is the lower operat-
ing current density, which implies a lower rate of recombination-enhanced
defect creation in the bulk. Due to the small overlap of the QW and optical
field, crater formation at laser extremities due to carrier-enhanced defect
formation should also play a smaller role; the crater should have the QW
width, therefore acting as a very small perturbation for the optical field.
Catastrophic damage threshold should therefore be higher in QW lasers
when compared with DH lasers, as’wasrecently 0bserved.2~~
The observed shift between lasing wavelength and spontaneous or calcu-
lated wavelength has been the subject of intense debate. It was widely
reported that this shift, as well as the high efficiency of QW lasers, should
I Ga As / A l Ga As
Room temp.
MQW
W
V
z
W
%
W
2
0
z
5 t
K
3 0
I I , , , , l l l l l l l
5:m
a
8000 8500 9000
WAVELENGTH (A )
FIG.52. Reabsorption effect on the edge luminescence of MQW structures: luminescence
emitted perpendicular to the MQW planes [no reabsorption(--) or parallel to the plane
reabsorption “edge” luminescence (- )] differ strongly due to the sharp absoxption
edge (-) (after Tarucha et ~ 1 . ~ ~ ~ ) .
be due to very efficient LO-phonon-assisted radiative recombination in

QWs.274,275 However, spontaneous LO-phonon sidebands were neither ob-
served in low-e~citation’~~ nor h i g h - e x c i t a t i ~ n ~photoluminescence
~~.~~~
experiments. The gain structure shown in Fig. 43 and 48a shows no
LO-phonon structure. It seems rather that the data reported were either
due to impurity-related effects or specific to the structures under scrutiny
or to the experimental conditions used or to a combination of these. The
observed downward shift (=30 meV) of the laser line from the n = 1 HH
confined energy level has been carefully analyzed by Japanese
teams.’84~278~279
They first demonstrated in photoluminescenceexperiments
that the double-peak line shape of the wave-guided emission along the
layer plane (same geometry as that of lasers) is due to reabsorption effects
in the layer (Fig. 52). Then, the increasing shift to lower energies of the
lower component with increasing injection is supposed to be due to the
bandgap renormalization at high carrier densities. This last argument is
supported by the luminescence studies of modulation-doped QW samples
by Pinczuk et where the analysis of the luminescence line shape
yields a bandgap renormalization of 17 meV for Ns= 5.9 X 10” cm-2, a
density smaller than that existing at laser threshold. Additional support for
the exclusion of the LO phonon mechanism is provided by the time-re-
solved measurements of Fouquet et ~ 1on MOCVD . ~ ~samples: ~ the feature
78 C. WEISBUCH
observed at the so-called LO-replica position is observed to have a decay

time much longer than that of free excitons, whereas an LO-phonon
replica would have an equal decay time.
Auger recombination, a main limitation in the operation of standard
DH GaInAs and GaInAsP lasers,281has created interest in the context of
QWs. Several authors have evaluated various Auger probabilities for QW
laser structure, with diverging conclusions.281-286 Transient measurements
by Sermage et give approximately equal Auger coefficients in 2D
and 3D. In that case, single-quantum-well lasers are at a disadvantage: due
to the low confinement factor, SQW lasers operate at higher volume gain,
thus at higher camer densities, which lead to very high Auger recombina-
~ ~ ~is~why only the MQW laser, with its low carrier density,
t i 0 n . 2 ~ "This
has been operated successfully with sometimes a high TWz8'
Additional properties of quantum-well lasers were calculated by Ara-
kawa and Yariv.261They predict a twofold increase in modulation band-
width and tenfold decrease in spectral linewidth.
As a conclusion of this analysis of the elements of laser action in QWs, it
appears that the analysis of their excellent operation requires the detailed
evaluation of a number of opposing phenomena: low densities for finite
gain, poor optical confinement, inhomogeneous carrier injection. . . . On
the other hand, the success of present GaAs lasers, together with the
potential of impurity-induced interdiffision for fabrication stepsZ'o-Z'2,2B8
should stimulate great activity in the QW laser field in the near future.
IV. Electrical Properties of Thin Heterostructures

17. MOBILITY
IN PARALLEL TRANSPORT
The flourishing development of modulation-doped heterostructures is

based on the extremely high mobility obtained in such structures. As
mentioned above, this arises from the spatial separation between charge
carriers in the channel and the impurity atoms from which they originate
and which remain in the barrier material. It is, however, important to
analyze in more detail the various mechanisms limiting the mobility in
order to be able to give interface design rules and predict the behavior of
the various semiconductor pairs yielding promising interfaces. We shall
follow here an analysis first given by S t i ) ~ m e r . ~ ~ ~
Scattering mechanisms are now quite well understood and are measured
in bulk s e r n i c o n d ~ c t o r s , ~although
~ - ~ ~ ~ some higher-order phenomena
(such as multiple Coulomb scattering)have never been completely worked
The scattering mechanisms in the usual perturbative description are
decomposed into five contributions.
( I) Optical-phonon scattering (dominant at high temperatures);

(2) Acoustic-phonon scattering due to the deformation potential;
(3) Acoustic-phonon scattering due to the piezoelectric field (111-V
and 11-VI compounds are piezoelectric due to their lack of inversion
symmetry);
(4) Scattering by ionized impurities; and
(5) Scattering by neutral impurities.
The importance of the various mechanisms is shown in Fig. 53 for bulk
GaAs as well as experimental results for high-purity VPE GaAs. It is clear
that at high temperatures mobility is limited by LO-phonon scattering,
very efficient through the Frohlich mechanism, whereas ionized impurity
(- N,, - NA)scattering dominates at low temperatures. Two points should
be added (i) In doped bulk GaAs, the mobility depends on the shallow
impurity concentration, even at room temperature. (ii) In some optical
experiments, ionized impurity scattering can be totally suppressed even at
Z t
m
0
I
\
I I I I I I I l l I I
2 4 6 8 40‘ 2 4 6 8 (0‘ z
TEMPERATURE ( K )
FIG.53. Experimental temperature variation of the mobility of a high-purity GaAs VPE
sample (N,, = 4.80 X lot3~ m - NA~ ;= 2.13 X 10” crn-’) and calculated mobility curves for
each scattering process acting separately and for all scattering processes combined (from
Stillman and W01fe~~~).
80 C. WEISBUCH
low temperatures ( T = 4 K) owing to the photoneutralization of ionized

impurities by photocreated electrons and h0les.2~~-~% Under such condi-
tions mobilities of -2 X lo6 cm2 V-’ s-’ were observed in bulk GaAs by
optically measured electron drift velocity294and by optically detected cy-
clotron resonance.296Very high hole mobilities were also observed.296Such
experiments give direct evidence of the dominant limiting effect of ionized
impurities in bulk material at low temperatures, and show that the sup-
pression of this scattering mechanism indeed leads to mobilities similar to
those observed in the best MD 2D samples.
In heterojunctions or quantum wells, the same five mechanisms apply
for carriers in the channel, as well as some additional ones?89
(6) Scattering by GaAlAs phonons
(7) Scattering by ionized or neutral impurities located in the bamer
material (spatially separated from the channel camers)
(8) Scattering by alloy disorder, either in the barrier material such as in
the GaAlAs/GaAs case, in the channel when the channel material is an
alloy, as in the case of InP/GaInAs or in both, as in the GaInAs/AlInAs
case
(9) Surface phonon scattering, as new propagating surface modes exist
at interfaces. However, since the materials are usually similar in density
and dielectric functions, these phonons modes never create large scattering
probabilities and will not be considered any further
( 10) Interface roughness scattering
(1 I) Intersubband scattering between the quantized levels in the chan-
nel
These different mechanisms have been analyzed in great detail by var-
ious a u t h ~ r s , ~ ~and
’-~we~ will only review their main conclusions per-
taining to the GaAlAslGaAs selectively doped heterointerface, unless
otherwise specified.
Mechanisms (1)- (3): The various phonon scattering mechanisms do not
change significantly for the quantized channel camers when compared to
the bulk situation. The transition rates from a subband state In, k ) to
another subband state In’, k’) have been calculated for various phonon
scattering mechanisms by P r i ~ e .In~ short,~ ~ ,the
~ usual 3D momentum
conservation in the k direction is replaced by overlap integrals Fn,d(4):
Fn,n*(q) =
B dz dz’ xn(z’),yd(z’)e-d2-’’) xn(z)xn(z’) (56)
where xn(z)and xn(z’)are the envelope wave functions of the In, k) and In’,
k’) states and q = Ik - k’l. A complete calculation by Vinterm shows a
mobility reduction lower than 25% at 77 K. One therefore expects high-
1, 111- v SEMICONDUCTOR QUANTIZED STRUCTURES 81
temperature (>80 K) mobilities of 2D carriers to be comparable to those of

3D electrons when phonon scattering is dominant. The limit of the high-
temperature mobility of 2D systems is therefore that of high-purity bulk
material if all other scattering mechanisms are small (ionized impurities
suppressed by modulation doping and low residual channel doping, low
interface roughness, etc.). Actual observationsm show that this is indeed
the case and therefore that the LO-phonon scattering rate is similar in 2D
and in the bulk. The advantage here is that such values are obtained for
highly conductive channels as compared to the low conductivity (low n) of
high-purity 3D GaAs.
CHANNEL ELECTRON DENSITY ( 10” ~ r n - ~ )

FIG.54. Calculated low-temperature reciprocal mobility versus channel electron density
N, for a GaAs-Ga,-,Al,As heterojunction with 7 X lot7cmV3donors in the barrier with
binding energy Eob= 100 meV, a heterojunction barrier height V, = 300 meV, an acceptor
doping level Nk = lOI4 ~ m in- the ~ GaAs (for which the density of depletion charges, Nd,is
0.46 X l o l l cm-2), and a residual density of charges in the spacer layer also equal to lot4
cur3. The spacer layer thickness d, is determined for each value of N,. The three sources of
scattering, from the barrier doping itself, from the residual doping in the spacer layer, and
from the acceptors in the GaAs, are separately shown (from Stern).151
82 C . WEISBUCH
(4) and (5) ionized and neutral impurities in the GaAs channel: Usually
the residual doping is quite small (- ~ m - and
~ ) does not influence the
room-temperature mobility. In the case of intentional doping, an impurity
contribution to the mobility is ~ b s e r v e d .At
~ ~low
~ .temperatures
~~ and low
densities, when all other causes of scattering have been reduced ( p > 2- 3
lo5 cm2 V-' s-'), the limiting factor is still the uncontrolled channel
impurity doping.151Progress through the years is well evidenced in the
sum-up figure (no. 1) in the review by Mendez.Msa
(6) Scattering by GaAlAs phonons does not play a significant role at any
temperature. At low temperatures all phonon mechanisms are suppressed;
at high temperatures the GaAlAs phonons can be neglected, as the camer
wave function penetration in the barrier is negligible.
(7) Scattering of channel carriers due to the Coulomb interaction with
barrier impurities is an important mechanism of scattering due to the high
doping density of the barrier (Fig. 54). Such a mechanism has been cal-
culated in detail and will not be reproduced here.299The most remark-
able factor appearing in the scattering time is the form factor of the
Coulomb interaction matrix element:
m , Z ) = j-
dz' lX(Z')I2 exp(-qqlz - 2'1) (57)
where z is the impurity position, q = 2k sin(8/2) is the scattering vector of

the electron with wave vector k, ~ ( zis) the confined electron wave func-
tion. As expected, the interaction decreases with increasing impurity chan-
nel separation thanks to this form factor. This is directly evidenced in
front- and back-gating experiments which change the electron wave func-
tion penetration in the barrier (see Fig. 60). Another important effect
originates from the form factor: as those electrons being scattered are near
EF at low temperatures, one needs to evaluate Eq. (57) for q = 2kFsin(8/2).
When kF increases with the channel density N,, this form factor remains
significant only for the smaller scattering angles. Such small-angIe scatter-
ing events, even though efficient in terms of collision time, can be expected
to be less efficient for momentum relaxation time (i.e., mobility increases)
because of the factor 1 - cos 8 in the momentum-loss integral.
We therefore have the main ingredients of bamer-impurity-limitedmo-
bility: it increases both with impurity-channel separation and with channel
density. As these two factors vary in opposite directions with undoped
spacer thickness for a given alloy doping, one expects a maximum mobility
at some value of the spacer. Assuming now a fixed spacer, one has to
change the doping density of vary channel density. In such as case there is
also some optimal value of N, (Fig. 55). Such tendencies have been ob-
served experimentally310(Fig. 56).
Coulomb Scattering
di (1)
N ~ , , ~ , 5x10'~cm-*
E, = 50 meV
K = 0.25
I
‘.S \-I.. ,
FIG. 55. Influence of Coulomb scattering as a function of channel camer density N, and
spacer-layer thickness d,. The increase in N, is determined by a change in the doping
concentration of the GaAlAs bamer. As long as N, is smaller than Ndep,the main effect of
increasing N, is to reduce the scattering rate because of increased electron velocity and
channel-impurity screening. Above that value, Coulomb scattering by remote donors in the
GaAlAs barrier takes over and decreases the mobility (from Ando”’).
The low-temperature behavior of various high-purity samples shows the

delicate balance between the various impurity and phonon scattering
mechanisms. The temperature dependence of the mobility switches from
positive slope to negative slope when the sample mobility increases, i.e.,
when the impurity-related scattering rate decreases (Fig. 57). This effect
was shown by Lin et aL2@to be due to the balance between impurity-lim-
ited mobility (from the bamer or in the channel) (positive slope) and
acoustic-phonon-limited mobility (negative slope). It is remarkable that for
the purest samples studied, even though the main scattering mechanism is
due to impurities, the temperature dependence arises from the smaller, but
strongly temperature-dependent, acoustic phonon mechanisms. Several
authors have used this determination of the acoustic phonon scattering
rate to evaluate the various phonon scattering mechanisms.161,300,35,310-313
The form factor in the scattering probability leads to opposite variations of
acoustic deformation potential and piezoelectric scattering rates with vary-
ing channel electron density N,. In order to obtain a good fit of the
observed decrease of the phonon-limited mobility with N, using generally
84 C . WEISBUCH
2.0 I I I I
?
NE
0.0
z
8
L
I I
0' I I
0 10 20 30 40
SPACER THICKNESS (
FIG.56. (a) Mobility and (b) channel electron densities as a function of undoped GaAlAs
spacer thickness. Fitting curves are calculated after the method described by Stem. NAcand
Nspare residual acceptor concentrations in the GaAs and GaAlAs layers, respectively, NDb
donor concentration in the doped GaAlAs barrier, Vbbarrier height, and Em, donor energy
in the barrier material (from Heiblum et uf.16*).
accepted phonon coupling parameters, Vinter3I3carried out a calculation

involving accurate wave functions and screening of the electron- phonon
scattering interaction.
(8) Alloy disorder scattering is due to the statistical composition fluctua-
tions which are unavoidable even in perfectly grown but fundamentally
disordered alloy^.^^^,^'^ Such fluctuations give rise to a random fluctuating
2t 1
1031 I I I I I I I I l l I I I I 1
100 2 4 6810‘ 2 4 68102 2 4 68103
TEMPERATURE (K1
FIG.57. Temperature dependence of electron mobility in a series of GaAlAs/GaAs MD
heterostructures(from Lin”’).
potential, well known to limit the mobility in bulk alloy semiconductors.

For the GaAs/GaAIAs heterojunction case, there is a weighting factor to
the “bulk” alloy mobility given by the channel wave function penetration
in the barrier.299As this penetration is typically a few percent, reaching
such values as maximum N,, this mechanism is only important at high N,.
In the case of an alloy material channel, such as InP/GaJnAs, the alloy
potential is undiminished by such a factor and sets a rather low maximum
mobility to be expected from the 2D electron^.^^^^^'^
( 9 ) Scattering by interface roughness.
The exact topology of the interfaces is usually unknown. In the case of
transport properties, it is modeled by a Gaussian correlation function of
the surface position:
-
(A@) A@’)) = Az exp(-lr - r’12/A2) (58)
where A@) is the average displacement of the surface height at position r
and A represents the lateral decay rate of the fluctuations of the interface.
Such changes in the interface position can be modeled to act as a spatial
variation of the position of the band discontinuity at the interface. One can
calculate the transition probability due to such a variable potential by a
86 C. WEISBUCH
perturbative approach to the otherwise perfectly plane interface used in the

calculations of Section 8. Ando299found for the relaxation time 71R(k) due
to interface roughness
x (1 - cos 8 ) a(&/(- E/(-J (59)

where c(q) is the static dielectric function of the 2D electron gas and the
interface potential effect is represented by F, the electric field that con-
fines the channel electrons:
The result of the integration over q is shown in Fig. 58, assuming a mean
displacement of the interface A = 4 A and a lateral correlation length
1 = 15 A.The effect of such an interaction should be observable, at least at
high electron densities for extreme-purity samples. It has, however, not
been systematically studied. It has only been indirectly shown, as samples
grown outside an optimal temperature of 600- 700°C, dependent on the
growth parameters, show poor mobilities.318The high- and low-tempera-
ture growth ranges have been correlated by other methods (x rays, TEM,
-Present
N~ (cm-2)
FIG. 58. Calculation of the interface-roughness-limited mobility. A is the amplitude of
interface position fluctuationsand 1 the lateral correlation length of these tluctuations (from
and^"^).
optical spectroscopy) to interface roughness (see the discussion in Section

12),which should then be the mobility-limitingfactor if all other scattering
causes remain the same.
(10) Intersubband scattering occurs at high densities when higher-lying
quantum levels (n = 2, 3, . . .) can be p o p ~ l a t e d The
. ~ ~ phase space for
the final states in scattering events is then larger, increasing the scattering
probability and hence diminishing the mobility. Through a study of back-
gated Hall samples, Stormer et aL319were able to show such a decrease in
mobility with an increase in channel electron density, and correlate this
effectwith the population of the n = 2 quantum level through the appear-
ance of a double period in Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations (Fig. 59). The
effect was also observed by Englert et u I . , ~ ~ Owho used a magnetic field
parallel to the layer to change the band separation and show the change in
sample resistance when the number of populated subbands changes.
The various scattering mechanisms in heterostructures therefore appear
rather well understood. The best reported mobility to date for GaAs/
GaAlAs is 2.6 X lo6 cm2V-' s-'. It is not clear whether this value can still
be significantly improved, as several scattering mechanisms seem to com-
bine to set a limit mobility at a few lo6 cm2V-' s-'.
We have limited our examples to the case of electrons in the GaAs/
GaAlAs system, but a similar analysis of the various scattering mecha-
nisms leading to similar results can be performed on other systems, as has
been exemplified on holes in the GaAs/GaAlAs Several
teams have successfully operated a p-type FET based on this structure,
complementary to the n-type ~ t r u c t u r e . ~ ~ ~ - ~ ~ ~
Besides'the single GaAlAs/GaAs heterointerface, several other systems
have been considered. Very early, Mori and Ando326,327 calculated the
parallel mobility in modulation-doped superlattices and showed the im-
portance of intersubband scattering. The case of modulation-doped single
wells has been considered by Inoue and S a k a I ~ iFor . ~ ~rather
~ wide wells,
this situation is equivalent to the double heterointerface situation, but
gradually changes to a new situation when the well thickness is decreased.
The advantage of this QW structure is the higher electron transfer that can
be obtained, about twice when compared to the single interface, which
leads to better device characteristics due to the better conductivity. Until
recently, this structure could not be grown with good equivalent interfaces
(GaAs grown on GaAlAs was bad), but recent progress in growth tech-
niques allowed good symmetric, structures to be g r o ~ n .On ~ the
~ ~other
, ~ ~ ~
hand, Sakaki used the different mobilities of the asymmetric interfaces
(under bias) to design the velocity-modulation transistor (VMT)331,332: a
large change in channel conductivity is controlled by the gate potential,
which confines the carriers on one or the other of the two interfaces of the
AREAL DENSITY n~ [lo"
0.0 8.5 9.0
I I I I I I
-600 400 -200 0 200
GATE VOLTAGE Vg [V]

FIG. 59. Onset of intersubband scattering in a GaAs/GaAIAs MD heterostructure. The
backside-gate voltage dependence of electron density [(a), (b)] and mobility (c) shows the
correlation between the decrease in mobility and onset of upper-subband populations. The
Shubnikov-de Haas measurement (a) yields the densities of the two subbands from the two
oscillation periods observed. It agrees with the Hall measurement of electron density (b)
(from StiSnner et aL319).
88
F G mode 0 G mode
(a) (b)
n-AIGaAslGaAs
40 I I I I 1 1 ”
-
al
V
In
2
N
Eu
30
20-
R-73 FETE
Wsp.4.5nm. W~=123nm
Wsub=120pm
Ng’4.6 x 1017cm-3
x =0.3
/ -
U T = 8.9K I
5) 1 4
A 4
i L’
v
I i t
10 - A’ ;.‘ -
.-2,
8-
-- A’ :..’ --
2 1 .
d
.: -----
.........
- //
FG/’ ...
Theory
-
/ . .
- /4 :. EG
NA+Ni= 3 . 2 5 ~ 1 0 ’ ~
cm-3-
// .:. K= 0
5- //* :._. -
.
,/* I .
,:. I I I I I l l ,
90 C. WEISBUCH
quantum well, changing their mobility through the deformation of the

confined wave function and therefore their interaction with remote ionized
impurities in the barrier material (Fig. 60). As one controls the channel
conductivity by changing the carrier velocity without changing the carrier
density, the switching time of the VMT should not be limited by charging-
time effects and might reach the subpicosecond range.
18. HOTELECTRON IN PARALLEL TRANSPORT333
EFFECTS
Since many of the applications of digital heterostructure ICs call for
high-speed devices, it is highly desirable to know the high-field properties
of such heterostructures. A number of theoretical calculations have been
carried out to evaluate the various relaxation rates in 2D systems and the
resulting high-field properties297*334-34 (Fig. 6 1). The main result of these
calculations using different methods is that the 2D energy relaxation rates
should be comparable to the 3D rates. Ridley has predicted that, due to the
peculiar 2D momentum, energy relaxation and intersubband scattering,
intrinsic negative differential resistance (NDR)could occur.337-339 Hess
and his collaborator^^^ have in addition predicted and shown that camer
heating in a heterostructure gives rise to a new mechanism of NDR by
real-space transfer over the potential barriers. Such concepts of real-space
transfer were applied by Kastalsky et al. to design a number of new
high-frequency device^?^-^'
Room-temperature hot-electron characteristics have been studied by a
number of groups using Hall measurements under pulsed applied electric
field in order to avoid lattice h e a t i r ~ g . ~ ~Velocities
* - ~ @ significantly higher
than in bulk GaAs were obtained at 300 K and increased even more at 77
K (Fig. 62).There certainly is a good improvement in performance in
TEGFET devices when going from room temperature to 77 K as compared
to standard MESFET based on bulk GaAs material.
Several additional effects can occur for the hot-electron regime at low
temperatures: Schubert and Ploogw observed a decrease in conducting
electron density by Hall measurements at 77 K in the GaAlAs/GaAs
interface. They explain this effect by the scattering of electrons into the
higher-lying confined subband level E2 where they have a low mobility,
and by the trapping of hot electrons in localized states situated in the
barrier material near the interface. At liquid helium temperatures, the
electron density tends to increase in both the barrier and channel due to
impact ionization of neutral Si donors in the barrier material in the hot-
electron regime.
Energy relaxation rates were measured optically at low tempera-
, ~3D~case,
t u r e ~ ~as~in~the : carrier heating is deduced from the line-shape
analysis of the photoluminescence line (high-energy slope exp(- hv/ -
kTd), where Td is the carrier effective temperature), the carrier heating
I I I 1
I I I I I 1
51-
----.
2 ----...-..
I-
0
0 40 80 0 40 80
ELE C T R 0N K IN E T I C E NE R G Y (meV )
FIG.6 1. Calculated optical phonon scattering rates via the Frahlich mechanism at 300 K.
(-*--) represents the 3D scattering rate, (--) includes only the intraband scattering proba-
bility (n = 1 to n = 1 confined state) for scattering out of 2D electrons from the lowest (n = 1)
subband, while (-) includes inter- and intraband scattering in a GaAs/GaAIAs hetero-
structure. (a) N, = 4 X 10'0 cm-2; (b) N, = 6.2 X 10" cm-2. The abruptness of the onset of
-
phonon emission at E 36 meV is characteristic of the square 2D DOS. Note the comparable
scattering rates in 2D and 3D except near onset (after Vinte?).
being produced by an electric field applied to the illuminated area. Energy

relaxation rates are deduced from power-balance equations, which equate
the energy loss to the lattice with the energy gained per camer from the
amlied field:
These rates have been measured both for the electron and hole gas in the
GaAlAs interface. For electrons, camer heating can be detected for fields as
low as 0.3 V/cm. Such an efficient electron heating, due to the very high
mobility, has also been observed by the Hall e f f e ~ t ~ and
, " ~ damping of
the Shubnikov- de Haas oscillation^^^^^^^^* (Fig. 63). Comparing electron
and hole relaxation rates, Shah et al. found a scattering rate 25 times larger
for holes than for electrons.= This difference, which cannot be explained
by 2D or coupling effects, has been attributed to the accumulation of hot
phonons, well above the thermal number, which interact predominantly
with electrons.22"
19. PERPENDICULAR
TRANSPORT
As mentioned in the introduction, the hope for new effects in perpendic-
ular transport gave impetus to the development of superlatticesand hetero-
structures. The semiclassical equations of free motion for electrons in an
92 C . WEISBUCH
GaAs/n-AI,Gal-, As: Si
.-,
0
20
1
T=300K
/
/ /
‘BULK n-GaAs
ND=2.5 x 1017,,-3
I I I
200 300 LOO
EL. FIELD E CV/cml
MBE # 5182 (b)

GaAs I n - A l x G a l - x A s : S i
T=77K
EL.FIELD E I V l c m I
FIG.62. Electron drift velocity at (a) 300 K and (b) 77 K under strong applied electric field
for bulk or modulationdoped GaAs/GaAlAs heterostructures. The 77 K curves displayed
correspond to the fraction of electrons in the 2D lowest subband of the channel and to the
whole averaged electron gas. Note the large increase in velocity between the bulk and 2D
electrons at 77K (from Schubert and P1oog’).
- I I I I I 2
-
-- n -GaAIAs I GaA5
50
-
-
at 4.2K dark
Y Ns
Y -
ia u-333 (3.5~1011) : r
. I
0,
I- 0 R-6 (4.6~10~’) ! ;A
W 20-
T R-98
A U-319
(7.1 x10”)
(8.1~10’’)
i’ O -
FIG.63. Electron heating as deduced from the damping of the Shubnikov-de Haas oscilla-
tion. (-) represents the results of Shah et al. deduced from the analysis of the lumines-
cence line shape (from Sakaki et d.”’).
energy band E(k) (infinite solid) with an electric field F are
In a steady applied field

k(t) = k(0) - eFt/A
For electrons in a band, k therefore changes linearly with time. The
energy of the electrons also changes according to the dispersion curve E(k),
and so does v(k). In the reduced Brillouin zone scheme, once the electron
reaches a zone boundary point k, it is Brag reflected in the opposite
direction; i.e., it appears at the -km point. Thus v(k) is an oscillatory
function of time with a period equal to the time needed for k to cross the
Brillouin zone, T = (2~/d)(eF/h)-~, where d is the lattice periodicity (Fig.
64). The motion in real space would have the same frequency, and a very
fast oscillator called a Bloch oscillator could be a ~ h i e v e d .However,
~ , ~ ~ ~ the
period has to be shorter than the collision time, which is currently impossi-
ble when d is an atomic lattice constant (T= lo-” s for F = 10 kV cm-’
94 C. WEISBUCH
I BLOCH OSCILLATIONS I
E - E , + E, co s k d
v. I/* a E / a k = F sin k d
k(t) = k(0) - h
t -to+t,cos wa
I
FIG.64. Schematics of Bloch oscillation.
and d = 3.5 A), but should become possible when the lattice constant d is
that of a superlattice, about 10 to 50 times larger.
The existence of Bloch oscillations was, however, challenged quite
early352:the main argument is due to the fundamental modification of the
band structure in an electric field, which allows interband transitions at
Brillouin zone boundaries rather than Brag reflections. We refer the
reader to two recent discussions on the validity and conditions for observa-
tion of Bloch oscillation^.^^^^^^^
Taking collisions into account, Esaki and Tsu3,350calculated the drift
velocity in an inJnite superlattice using a classical method.35' The velocity
increment in a time interval dt is, from Eqs. (61) and (62)
eF d2E
do, = --dt
k2 dkj
The average drift velocity imposed by collisions occumng with a fre-
quency T-* is
As k is changing with time, d2E/dk2is a function of time, and one requires

the knowledge of E(k) to proceed further. Assuming a sinusoidal depen-
+
dence of E on k, E = Eo 2E, cos kd, one finds
-
nk p
2.'d =
m,d 1 + n2P
where = eFTd/nfi and 1/msL= ( 1 /fi2)(d2E/dk2).
1. 111- V SEMICONDUCTOR QUANTIZED STRUCTURES 95
The ud versus F curve has a maximum for a(= 1 and exhibits an

NDR beyond this value. The condition to be fulfilled on T to achieve
NDR is about 6 times easier than that required to achieve Bloch oscilla-
tions.
Effects in jnite (i.e., a low number of barriers and wells) heterostructures
were also considered very early by Tsu and Esaki using a multibanier
tunneling model.120A pioneering theoretical analysis of the I - Vcharacter-
istics was provided by Kazarinov and Suris as early as 1 972.355a In addition
to being very tractable with few-interface problems, such a formalism
allows one to treat the case of intersubband electron tunneling transfer
which occurs at high electric fields, an effect not easily described in the
formalism of Bloch transport [Eqs. (61) and (62)]. The negative differential
resistance observed in superlattices by Esaki et a1.13,354,355 was actually
explained by resonant electron transfer between adjacent wells due to
coincident ground and excited states. The formalism also allows one to
take into account the effect of unequal layer thickness and/or interface
disorder (caption of Fig. 1) which, in the Bloch oscillator formalism, would
lead to untractable scattering events, as they destroy the coherence of the
superlatticewave function [of the type described by Eq. (28)]. The electron
motion is then most easily described in a hopping model between localized
states. The transition between the two types of transport, superlattice or
hopping, is discussed by Calecki et a1.355b and compared to experiments. A
discussion of the theoretical foundations of quantum transport in hetero-
structures can be found in Barker.355c
The resonant transmission of single and double heterostructures is the
subject of renewed interest due to recent advances in growth ~ o n t r o l . ~ ~ ~ - ~ ~ *
The origin of the effect is shown schematically on Fig. 65. Resonant
transmission of current occurs whenever the Fermi level of the injecting
side is resonant (energy matched) with the confined quantum state El in
the well embedded between the two GaAlAs barriers. This gives rise to a
current maximum occumng at an applied voltage 2E1, as this applied
voltage is split into two equal voltage drops at each barrier. These predic-
tions were verified in 1974 by Chang et af.,355 and more recently by Sollner
el uI.,*~ who were able to demonstrate the resonance tunneling effect even
at room temperature and negative differential resistance with a peak- to -
valley ratio of 6: 1 at 25 K. High-frequency response with far-ir lasers
shows that response times are less than s, consistent with tunneling
times which are given by the uncertainty relation T 5 h/AE = s,
where A E is the energy imbalance of the tunneling state. Oscillations at
200 GHz and nonlinear harmonic generation above 1 THz are Sollner’s
early 1987 state of the art. These results seem to indicate that such systems,
much simpler to implement than the superlattice Bloch oscillator, could
lead to efficient millimeter and submillimeter amplifiers and oscillators.
96 C. WEISBUCH
Similar resonant tunneling effects were observed in p - n - p GaAs homo-
The theoretical analysis of even such a simple heterostructure as the

double barrier requires large efforts if one wants to obtain quantitative
agreement with the simple bamer-transmission
theories predict extremely large peak-to-valley ratios, whereas the best
samples only exhibit peak-to-valley ratios = 3 at room temperature. A first
correction to simple theories is to use more realistic structures than that
shown in Fig. 65: due to the electric fields existing in the structure, one
expects charge accumulation at the first heterointerface coming from the
left and charge depletion at the last heterointerface at the right of Fig. 65.
Such charges play an important role in the operation of devices, in particu-
lar in determining their frequency limit as shown by Sollner et a1.,358d but
should not change the peak transmission value. One therefore has to take
into account transmission channels, competing with the resonant trans-
mission channel, such as nonresonant transmission due to phonon-assisted
processes (which do not conserve energy) and to thermoionic emission
across the structure. These processes yield a structureless, voltage-increas-
ing current which strongly diminishes the peak-to-valley ratio. Besides
these competing transmission mechanisms, one also has to consider the
possibility of incoherent scattering during the transmission time in the
resonant tunneling process: L~ryi’~& has shown that NDR is not a proof of
a resonant, coherent transmission process as NDR can exist when no
Fabry-Perot effects due to resonant tunneling are present: NDR only
originates from energy and momentum conservation rules for the left-elec-
trode electrons contained in a Fermi sphere and transmitted through the
single left barrier. The existence of a coherently transmitted electron wave
function through the whole double barrier structure leads to a much higher
aspect ratio of the transmitted wave thanks to wave function buildup and
interference in the well due to multiple reflections on both bamers, just as
in the classical Fabry -Perst optical resonator. This description could
therefore provide an alternative explanation of the poor peak-to-valley
ratio usually observed: it would then be due to inelastic scattering events of
the quantum-well state during the transit time. Such inelastic scatterings as
phonon scattering would destroy the charge buildup in the well and there-
fore would wipe out any sharp resonance. Weil and have,
however, shown that under reasonable assumptions, incoherent scattering
of the quantum-well state has little effect on the current and that the two
possible descriptions of tunneling, i.e., coherent transmission or sequen-
tial transmission, lead to equal transmitted currents. Their conclusion
supports the model of poor peak-to-valley ratios as being mainly due to
non-energy-conserving transmission mechanisms.
FIG.65. Schematics of resonant tunneling effect. Energy levels in a single-well double-bar-

rier heterostructure (top three drawings) under bias increasing from the top. The electron
energy is indicated as a function of pqsition. Parameters are ND, = ND3= 10I8 ND2=
10'' ~ m and - ~W, = W2= W, = 50 A. Resonant transmission occurs for V = 2E/e, when
electrons tunnel resonantly into the n = 1 well state from the left electrode (from Sollner et
a1.25).
Nonresonant hot-electron tunneling was used in a hot-electron tunnel-

ing transistor by Yokoyama et a1.% (Fig. 66). Due to the high kinetic
energy of the electrons in the base region, the electron transport is ballistic,
leading to transit times well below the picosecond range. Using tunnel-
ing358hor thermoionic injection,358ia variety of hot-electron structures
have been designed for vertical d e v i c e ~and ~~~ hot-electron
j studies, renew-
ing the field of ballistic t r a n s p ~ r t . ~ ~ ~ J * ~
A new optical technique was developed to monitor perpendicular trans-
port: photoexcited carriers moving in conduction and valence bands of
98 C. WEISBUCH
Collector
AlGaAs n-GaAs EFe---
n-GaAs
c 100 nrn
FIG.66. Band diagram (top) and schematic (bottom)of a tunneling hot electron transistor
(from Yokoyama ef ~ 1 . ~ ~ ) .
superlattices are trapped and detected in deliberately introduced enlarged

quantum wells which act as probes of spatial t r a n ~ p o r t . ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
This field of perpendicular transport is certain to develop significantly,
with the bandgap-engineered structures and other real-space transfer de-
vices described in Capasso’s companion ~hapter.~’
20. QUANTUM
TRANSPORT36’
As in studies of 3D electrons, transport measurements under strong

magnetic fields (in the so-called “quantum regime,” where o,z >> 1, T
being the carrier collision time) provide a vast amount of information
about the parameters of the 2D electron gas. They have also opened the
large new area of quantum Hall effects, a major advance in solid-state
physics. We therefore devote a detailed description to such studies, broken
into three parts: the effect of magnetic fields on 2D electrons, the
Shubnikov-de Haas effect, and the quantum Hall effect.
a. Eflect of a Magnetic Field on 2 0 Electrons
In the 3 0 quantum-mechanical problem of electrons in a magnetic field
B,,361the motion in the x- y plane is described by Landau levels. The
wavefunction is given by (in the Landau gauge of the vector potential
A = [0, xB, 01)
iyynk(r) - Xk)eiky’ eikzr
= (LyL,)-1/2qn(x (66)
where L,, L,, and L , represent the dimensions of a 3D crystal, the qn
functions are normalized wave functions of a harmonic oscillator with the
quantum number n centered at point X, = -rzky, r, being the classical
cyclotron radius of the lowest oscillator (n = 0) orbit,362
r , = W
The oscillator quantum number n can take the values 0, 1, 2, . . . . The
energy eigenstates are
Ed = (n + +)ha,+ g*pBB, + E ,
where w, is the cyclotron frequency eB/m*, g*pBB, is the spin magnetic
energy, g* being the Land6 factor, and E, is the energy associated with the
z motion of the carrier.
From Eq. (67), it is easily shown that the quantum states in k space are
located on cylinders with their symmetry axes along the z direction (Fig.
67a). In the z direction the usual quasi-continuum free-particle DOS has
the value LZ/2n.For the x - y motion, states are characterized by the
+
cyclotron energy ( n +)fza,, +
located on circles with radii k; k: = (2 m */
+
h2)(n +)hw,. The degeneracy of each single-spin Landau level (i.e., the
number of states on each circle) can be found from the number of possible
cyclotron orbits in the crystal. One has to ascertain that the center of the
quantum state is within sample boundaries, i.e., 0 < x k < L,; this can be
transformed into
0 < k, < mw,L,/A (68)
From the density of states in the ky direction Ly/2a, this means that the
number of possible states in the range [0, rnw,L,/h] is L,Lymo,/2ah;
i.e., the DOS per unit area is mwC/2nh= eB/h. Comparing this with the
100 C. WEISBUCH
' I
I I I I I
112 3J2 512 1/2 9/2

, REDUCED FERMl ENERGY ( EF/*Wc)
(a (€9
FIG. 67. Allowed states and density of states (DOS) for a 3D electron gas in a magnetic
field B,. (a) Momentum-space occupied states: Allowed states are characterized by the
+ + +
relation E = (n f)fiwc E,. Such a relation defines cylinders of axis k, and radii k: k: =
+
2m*/fi2(n thw,). (b) Density of states dN/dE. The change in Landau state degeneracy is
smooth, whereas the z-motion DOS diverges each time a new Landau state enters the Fermi
sphere, which is reflected in the total DOS. The 3D DOS is shown for comparison.
number of states in zero field contained within the energy separation

between two Landau states, i.e.,
(fio,)[rn*/(27rfi2)] = rnoJ27rfi = eB/h (69)
we find the same value! Thus the average density of states in a quantizing
magnetic field is unaffected. Instead of having a 2D continuum of states,
these states are all collapsed in a single degenerate Landau state. For a 3D
electron system, the occupied states within a given Fermi energy EF are
contained in a 3D k sphere of radius k, = ( 3 E , / 4 7 ~ ) 'if/ ~no magnetic field
is applied. When a quantizing field exists, all the states situated within the
sphere on the allowed state cylinders are occupied. The density of states,
given by dN/dE, is shown in Fig. 67b. It shows a divergence typical of 1D
systems, each time a new cyclotron state comes into the Fermi sphere. For
that new Landu state, the number of states is given by the degeneracy of
each k Landau state times the density of states for the z motion, i.e.,
which diverges as the cylinder of allowed states is then tangent to the Fermi
sphere, yielding numerous new states for a small change in magnetic field
(ko,) or charge carrier density (change of EF). In real systems, broadening
will wipe out the divergence, but the periodic behavior of the DOS is
retained. The period is given by the change in the number of cyclotron

states in the Fermi sphere, determined by
(n + f)hw,= EF
For a fixed number of carriers, it can be shown that the DOS at the Fermi
energy oscillates with the magnetic field. As many physical quantities
depend on the D O S at the Fermi energy, they will exhibit oscillations with
the magnetic field. Such effects such as Shubnikov-de Haas [oscillatory
magnetoresistance due to an increase in the scattering rate whenever p ( E )
diverges], de Haas - van Alphen (magnetic susceptibility), etc., have long
been observed in 3D systems and have been widely used to analyze the
electronic properties of metals and semic~nductors.~~~
In 2 0 heterostructures, with a magnetic field perpendicular to the layer
plane, the same Landau quantization occurs (Fig. 68). However, the effect
is even more dramatic as the z motion of carriers is also frozen by the
confining potential leading to a “completely confined quantum limit”
system. The energy-level structure is made up of a ladder of cyclotron
levels for each confined state, each level having a singular DOS (Dirac-like
function) with a degeneracy of eB/h. As in 3D, this degeneracy is equal to
the number of 2D states contained in the energy spacing between two
consecutive Landau levels. For real systems, disorder (random impurities,
alloy fluctuations, interface roughness, . . .) will broaden this singular
tE tE
Partially filled
P*D(E) 2
0 @
FIG.68. Magnetic field effect in 2D systems. (a) Energy levels and DOS of a heterojunction
without magnetic field. (b) Energy levels and DOS of a single quasi-2D level in a magnetic
field [scaled up compared to (a)]. Electrons occupy Landau levels up to some last partially
filled Landau level.
102 C . WEISBUCH
DOS (Fig. 69). The states in the tails of the levels are localized in space and
will be shown below to play an important role in the existence of the
quantum Hall effect.
The oscillatory behavior of several quantities has been ~ a l c u l a t e d ~ ~ ~ . ~ ~
as in 3D, the Fermi energy oscillates. When a Landau state is not com-
pletely filled, the Fermi level lies in that state and has therefore a smooth
variation with the magnetic field or electron density. However, when the
last occupied Landau state is filled, the next electron must lie in the next
Landau state, and the Fermi level jumps there. The result of the calculation
of EFincluding a Gaussian broadening of the Landau states is shown in
Fig. 70a. Other quantities have been calculated, such as the magnetization
(de Haas-van Alphen effect) (Fig. 70b), the specific heat (Fig. ~OC), the
thermoelectric power (Fig. 70d), etc. The peculiar shape of the specific heat
curve (Fig. 70c) is due to the existence of inter- or intra-Landau state
thermal excitations. At finite temperatures and low enough fields, where
fimc= kT, intersubband excitations can occur and show up as sharp peaks
whenever the Fermi level lies in between two Landau states. Such effects
have been observed in heat-pulse experiments by Gornik et al.36sThe
no broadening
Gaussian I
I
I
f I
f I
1
G9 03
FIG.69. Fermi level in a 2D system. (a) In k,-k, plane. Landau states are all filled up to
some fractionally occupied state where the Fermi level lies. (---) represents the Fermi disk,
which contains all allowed states when no magnetic field is present. (b) Energy representation:
The Landau states are broadened, which smoothes out the transition of the Fermi level from
the last fully occupied Landau state to the next empty one when adding an electron or
changing magnetic field.
1. 111 - v SEMICONDUCTOR QUANTIZED STRUCTURES 103
20 -
2
E
10-
N 0 -----
t,
= -10-
2z -20-
-3oc
MAGNETIC FIELD ( k G )
FIG. 70. Oscillatory phenomena in a 2D GaAs/GaAHs system in a magnetic field. (a)
Fermi level; (b) magnetization; (c) specific heat; (d) thermoelectric power. A Gaussian broad-
ening of 0.5 meV is assumed (after Zawadski and Lassnig3@).
typical oscillatory behavior of the thermoelectric power has also been

demonstrated by Obloh et a1.366
Many spectacular effects have been observed in the quantum regime of
2D heterointerface systems. The 2D cyclotron resonance has been demon-
104 C. WEISBUCH
strated for confined electrons and holes in various heterostructures

( G ~ A ~ A s / G ~GA ~s , I~ ~~ ~A S ~G Ia s~b P/ I ,n A
~ ~~and
~~~ ~has
) allowed the de-
termination of electron and hole93 masses as well as p o l a r ~ n and ~~~,~~
screening effects370in 2D. In particularly pure samples, a specific oscilla-
tion of the cyclotron-resonance linewidth has been observed, which has
been related to the oscillatory character of the scattering probability with
the filling fact09~* or to the softening of the 2D magnetoplasmon mode.372
The de Haas -van Alphen measurement of the oscillatory magnetic
susceptibility allows a more direct determination of the 2D DOS as com-
pared to Shubnikov- de Haas magnetoresistance measurements (which
involve carrier scattering) and cyclotron resonance (which yields a com-
bined DOS of initial and final states). Such measurements are extremely
difficult, as the total number of 2D electrons to be measured is very small,
as compared to a 3D case. Nethertheless, using a 272-layer sample,
Stormer et were able to measure the 2D electron gas magnetic
susceptibility. Switching from a SQUID detection to a torsional balance
magnetometer recently allowed a 100-fold gain in sensitivity.374
When the magnetic field B is parallel to the heterostructure layers, the z
motion in the confining potential is only slightly perturbed by the applied
magnetic fields. Conversely, the usual cyclotron motion is inhibited by the
confining potential. Therefore, the above description of 2D or 3D states
collapsing into degenerate Landau level is invalid and the only effect of B,
is to increase the separation between low-lying confined quantum levels.375
As mentioned above (Section 16), this effect was used by Englert et to
study the onset of intersubband scattering. However, in an extremely high
parallel magnetic field, a new oscillatory effect sets in when the cyclotron
orbit becomes of the order of, or smaller than, the confined wave function.
This effect has been observed in QW structures and gives rise to a new form
of SdH oscillation.376
We now concentrate on the most widely used magnetic field techniques
in physics and assessment of 2D heterostructure systems, the Shubnikov-
de Haas effect and the quantum Hall effect.
b. The Shubnikov - de Haas Measurements
The Shubnikov-de Haas effect, i.e., the oscillations of the longitudinal
resistance in a quantizing field ( u c>~1, hut> kT) has long been a
premium technique to study 2D systems. In Si MOSFETs, Fowler et a1.377
showed that the oscillation observed with changing electron number (by
varying the gate voltage) has a constant period, which proves that each
Landau level has the same number of states in 2D. This would not be the
case in 3D due to the k, motion, and can provide a signature for the 2D
character of the electronic system. Another specific effect is the directional
n = 1.7 x tO'7cm-3
p=11400crn2V-'sec-'
Lz = 1844
Lg = 190A
HI LAYERS
HII LAYERS
$1
P
0
I ,
2 4 6
I ,
8
,
I0
,
H (TI
FIG. 7 1 . Directional dependence of the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillation (from St6rmer et
a1.131).
dependence of the SdH effect: only the perpendicular component of the B

field confines the x- y motion of carriers and determines the SdH oscilla-
tion period, which thus changes as cos B in 2D. This was already observed
in early papers on modulation d ~ p i n g ' ~(Fig.
' J ~ ~71).
From Eq. (69) one can deduce the carrier density from the period of the
SdH oscillation between two adjacent Landau levels A( 1/B):
Ns = (e/N/A( 1/ B ) (71)
These measured values are usually in excellent agreement with those
determined by Hall measurements (see Fig. 59), provided that no parallel
conductance occurs in the GaAlAs barrier. The cyclotron mass does not
enter the value of the oscillation period because the mass factor of ocis
cancelled by the mass factor entering the determinationsof EFfrom the 2D
density. However, the temperature dependence of the SdH oscillation
amplitude allows one to extract an effective mass. Ando et ~ 1 . have' ~
calculated the low-field (o,z 5 1) oscillatory conductivity as
Nse2zr 1 2(0,z~)~ 2n2k,T
on=-----
m* 1 + (WCQ 1 + (0,7f)2 fim,
106 C. WEISBUCH
where z, is the scattering time corresponding to the dephasing of the

Landau state.
From the temperature and magnetic field dependences of the oscillation
amplitude, it is thus possible to extract m* and z., It must however be
remembered that this 7, is quite different from that deduced from Hall
mobility measurements, as the small-angle collisions can play a much
more important role in SdH oscillations, depending on the scattering
mechanism. Harrang et carried out a detailed comparison of both
determinations.
In a number of cases, the spin splitting of the quantized levels has been
~bserved~ (see
' ~ Fig.
~~~ 73~below). The effective g* value, defined as the
distance between two spin-split states observed in the SdH measurements,
is strongly enhanced as compared to the 3D value of - 0.44.381,382 This has
been explained in terms of the electron- electron correlation energy, which
depends strongly on the spin of occupied electronic states in the partially
filled Landau states. g factors up to 5 in GaAs/GaAlAs have been mea-
~ , ~ * ~ direct spin-resonance
s ~ r e d , ~ ' whereas reveal an un-
correlated spin splitting with g* = 0.2. In this latter case, the g factor is at
variance with the 3D value because of the lifting of the Kramers degener-
acy of the conduction band by the confining electric field.
When two or more confining levels are occupied, the structure of the
SdH oscillations becomes more complex.131If two levels are occupied, two
2218 218
z
n =306 x 10'2 crn-2
>
a
a
a
k
m
-
(L
4
N
I
-u
I I I I I I I I I I I
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
MAGNETIC FIELD IN kG
FIG.72. Interferenceeffect in the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations due to the occupancy of
two confined subbands. The second derivative of SdH oscillations is shown. After data
reduction, calculations show that the two subbands are separated by 8.6 meV (from Stormer
et ~ 1 . l ~ ~ ) .
14,000 1 I I I I I I
1
B(kG)
FIG. 73. Normal quantum Hall effect (NQHE) observed in the Hall resistance p, and
parallel resistancepu of a selectively doped GaAs/GaALb interface at 50 mK. From the low
magnetic field, where p, and pu display a typical “classic” behavior, the NQHE behavior
-
develops from 10 kG.Note the large n = 1 state spin splitting due to the strong electronic
correlation (from Paalanen et ai.39’).
oscillations will occur with two different periods due to the different densi-
ties in the two levels [Eq. (7 I)]. This effect is shown in Fig, 72 and is very
useful in ascertaining the number of occupied subband levels. It is also
used to differentiate the conducting channels in TEGFET-like structures
when parallel conductance in the GaAlAs is present.384
c. Quantum Hall Effect385*386
When observed at high magnetic field, at low temperatures and in
high-purity samples, the SdH effect and the Hall effect exhibit a very
marked departure from the usual behavior, a linear change of Hall voltage
and smooth oscillations of the longitudinal magnetoresistance with mag-
108 C. WEISBUCH
netic field (Fig. 73).387,388

Zeros of the longitudinal resistance are observed,
corresponding to well-defined plateaus of the Hall resistance. Also remark-
able is that these features exist over a wide range of sample parameters
(electron density, mobility, temperature, . . .) and are not dependent on
the exact shape of the sample.386Although first reported in Si-MOSFET
samples,387this effect, the quantum Hall effect (QHE), has since seen an
enormous development in the GaAlAs/GaAs system, the main reason
being the lighter electron mass (=0.07moinstead of 0.19mo in Si), which
increases by the same amount the cyclotron frequency for a given magnetic
field, rendering the extreme quantum limit (low quantum numbers) easier
to reach. The higher mobility of GaAlAs/GaAs heterostructures also leads
to better resolved plateaus.
A standard Hall bar geometry can be used (see inset of Fig. 73). The
current I is imposed while the magnetic field, perpendicular to the layer
plane, is swept. The Hall resistance p, = V H / Iand the longitudinal resist-
ance p, = g V J I, (where g is a geometric factor depending on the exact
geometry) are measured. As usual, the resistivity tensor is related to the
conductivity tensor 'a by = Z-l, i.e.
with ayx= -a,; pyx - - -pq; on = ;,a p n - - p,.

The classical Drude model can give a useful physical insight in the
problem.385When no collisions are present, an electron moving classically
in crossed electric (F,) and magnetic field (B,) describes a cycloid in the
x- y plane. The equation of motion is
d2r, -
m- dr*
- - eF - e -X B
dt2 dt (74)
with the solution

dx---F
-
dt B
(cos w,t - I); 2 = $ sin w,t (75)
where initial conditions v1 = 0 have been chosen. The time-averaged mo-

tion occurs in a direction perpendicular to the electric field, i.e., to the
potential drop, and occurs with a constant driji velocity FIB. In that case,
a, = a, = 0; , a = -ayx= N,e/B. The Hall voltage is given by pxv =
B/N,e. There is no power dissipation in the absence of scattering and the
movement of electrons is perpendicular to the electric field.
In presence of collisions Eq. (74) can be simply modified by adding a
phenomenological friction term mu,/z, where z is the collision time. The

time-averaged motion now becomes
from which one deduces
Quantum mechanically, electron motion (in reasonably low electric

fields) occurs in Landau levels, i.e., closed cyclotron orbit. The electric field
superimposes over this cyclotron motion a drift motion which is given by
the same expression as in Eq. (74), but where a, has now its qdantum-
mechanically computed value. The 2D DOS leads to a peculiar situation
when the Fermi level is located between two Landau levels numbered i and
+
i 1 (Fig. 69b). In such an occasion, no quasi-elastic scattering can occur
at low temperatures; all states below the Fermi level are occupied, and an
electron requires an energy Ao, (neglecting broadening) to be scattered to
the next empty Landau state. In that case, 0, = 0 and a, is given by the
classical collisionless value! From the density of states per Landau level,
eB/h, we deduce Ns = ieB/h and therefore
- . e2 l h
om-l-j;-; pxV=7-
i e2
The Hall resistivity takes quantized values (1 /i)(h/e2)whenever the
Fermi level lies in between filled Landau levels. The remarkable feature of
Eq. (78) is the fundamental nature of the parameters involved. The partic-
ular semiconductor does not even play a role. When compared to the
observed SdH and QHE curves, the predicted values p, = 0 and Eq. (78)
are extremely well verified386;resistivities as low as lo-'" Q/U, equivalent
to Q/cm in 3D, have been measured. This value is three orders of
magnitude lower than any other nonsuperconducting material. The accu-
racy of the corresponding plateau in pw is one part in lo'. Such a high
precision is of fundamental physical importance and can be used to calcu-
late the fine-structure constant a = e2/4aeoAc.One also expects to use the
QHE to define a new standard of r e s i s t a n ~ e .At
~ ~present,
, ~ ~ the precision
to the measurement of p, = (l/i)25818.8 - - * R is set to a few parts in
lo-', due to limitations in the unprecise value of the reference SI resistor!
The QHE resistance from samples with different origins has been mea-
~ u r e d to
~ ' a~relative experimental uncertainty of 4.6 X
110 C. WEISBUCH
There is, however, a major difficulty in the explanation just given above.
It cannot explain the existence of aJinite width for the QHE plateaus and
for the zero longitudinal resistance dips: if there are no states between the
successive conducting Landau levels, the Fermi level jumps from the
last-occupied Landau level to the next higher-lying one. The Fermi level
never lies in between conducting Landau levels as the magnetic field is
swept and quasi-elastic scattering is always present. Therefore, one has to
invoke the existence of localized, i.e., non-current-carrying, states in the
tails of the current-conducting Landau levels. The existence of such local-
ized states is well justified within our present understanding of disordered
systems, the disorder here being due to random distribution of defects,
impurities, or to the random interface topology. When varying the mag-
netic field or the number of charge carriers, the Fermi energy will either lie
in delocalized, current-carrying states where quasi-elastic scatterings are
possible, with pxxf 0, or in localized states, in which case the lower-lying
current-conducting charges will require a finite energy to be scattered into
an empty conducting state. In such a case pxx= 0 at low temperatures and
the Hall resistance pv retains a constant value due to the constant number
of current-conducting carriers while the Fermi energy is swept through
localized states.
The new, astonishing phenomenon is the value of pv, exactly equal to
( 1/ i ) h / e 2 ,as if all electrons were in conducting states, independent of the
fact that a fraction of them are in localized states, which crucially depends
on sample disorder and therefore should vary from sample to sample.
Several explanations have been given to explain this amazing result: it was
shown by calculating the current carried by delocalized carriers in the
presence of disorder that their speed is modified in order to exactly com-
pensate for the lack of conduction of the localized electron^^^'^^^* (Fig. 74).
A classical image is that of an obstacle in a pipe carrying a fluid: Around
the obstacle, the fluid will flow faster than in the rest of the pipe, in order to
conserve a constant fluid flow along the pipe. It is however clear that such
an important feature of QHE must be due to first-principles arguments,
which were outlined by L a ~ g h l i nHe . ~ showed
~~ the accurate quantization
of QHE to be due to two effects:
(1) gauge invariance of the interaction of light with matter: and

(2) the existence of a mobility gap.
From these two assumptions, Laughlin was able to demonstrate that,

whenever the Fermi level lies within a mobility gap, pxx= 0 and pm =
-
Ne
B
0 1
LEVEL FILLING FACTOR

FIG.74. Density of states (top), longitudinal (middle), and Hall (bottom) conductivitiesfor
a single Landau state as a function of the filling factor p = N/d, where N is the electron
density and d the degeneracy of the Landau state. The shaded areas indicate the localized
states. Note that the Hall conductivity ofthe filled Landau state is the classical, collisionless
value S/h, independent of the fraction of localized states (after Aoki and and^^^').
h/ie2.Detailed discussions of the significance of gauge invariance were

given by L a ~ g h l i nA, ~~~ k~ iand
, ~H~ a~j d ~ . ~ ~ ~
We therefore now have a satisfying explanation of the QHE: Plateaus are
due to Fermi levels situated in localized states due to disorder. Well-de-
fined values of the QHE resistance independent of sample and detailed
experimental conditions are due to the adjustment of conducting camers
to compensate for localized electrons. The detailed shape of the observed
features, however, depends on the sample parameters, and has opened the
way to numerous fundamental studies of 2D systems. The localized frac-
FILLING FACTOR, Y
4 2 4 2/3 113
I 1 I I I
(01
n = 4.48 to'' crn-2 /
MAGNETIC FIELD B ( k G )
MAGNETIC FIELD B(k6)

FIG.75. Normal (NQHE) and fractional (FQHE) quantum Hall effect for a GaAs/GaAIAs
sample. (a) At 4.2 K, only the NQHE is observed, with a small n = 3 dip in the SdH curve, as
is expected from odd values of the filling factor (see text). When lowering the temperature,
dips develop at fractional values of the filling factor (from Tsui el dW3).
(b) Observed SdH
and quantum Hall effect at 90 mK (courtesy H. L. Stbrmer, AT&T Bell Laboratories).
112
FILLING FACTOR u
5/3 415 Y5
2l4/3 I 2/31 2/5 IA 2/7
- I l l I I I 1 I
a)
I 1 I I I I l
I00 150 200 250
MSNETIC FIELD B
[kG]
FIG. 76. Fractional QHE for various GaAs/GaAIAs samples. Curves (a), (b), (c), and (e)
correspond to electron FQHE in different samples, and show a great variety of fractional
values of the QHE; (d) corresponds to hole FQHE, in a ptype modulationdoped GaAs/
GaAlAs structure (from Sterner et
113
114 C. WEISBUCH
tion of the DOS determines the width of the plateaus. These have been
observed with up to a 95% width with 5% transitions. The width of the
plateaus has been correlated with sample mobility. High-precision mea-
surements of pa( T) have demonstrated its dependence upon the residual
p,(T) (Eq, 77).396-398 The temperature and voltage dependence of pxx
gives information about the transport mechanism in localized states.397
The breakdown of the QHE as a function of applied voltage has also been
studied and explained by various heating m e c h a n i ~ r n s .The
~~~ influence
,~
of sample shape and contact interconnections on the sample has been
studied in a number of fascinating experiments.401
Going to lower temperatures and in the extreme quantum limit
(hm, > E F ) ,novel correlation effects have been observed in the 2D elec-
tron gas as the Coulomb interaction between electrons exceeds their kinetic
energy, which is almost completely frozen by the magnetic field and the
heterojunction confining potentiaLm2The extreme quantum limit is char-
acterized by the filling factor v = N,/d = 1, where d is the degeneracy of
Landau levels. In that situation, all electrons are in at most one or two
Landau levels. The signals observed under such a situation are shown in
Figs. 75 and 76, for highly perfect samples. At even v, the Fermi level is
between Landau states of different n, whereas, at odd v, it resides between
the spin levels of a given Landau level. The spin splitting in GaAs being
much smaller than the cyclotron splitting ha,, the QHE is better observed
for even values of v (top curve of Fig. 75a). However, new plateaus appear
at the lower temperatures for fractional values of v.m3-405 Many rational
values p / q have been observed, all with q being odd. These plateaus can
be very well defined, with the v = 3 plateau defined to better than one part
in lo4.
Such a new effect, named the fractional quantum Hall effect after its
resemblance to the integer quantization of the normal QHE (NQHE)
described above, cannot be explained in the framework of NQHE. It must,
however, rely on a similar type of explanation; i.e., it requires the Fermi
level to lie for fractional v's in a true gap or in a mobility kap. The
long-predicted Wigner solidification of an electron gas could explain such
anomalous behavior if the solid would preferentially form at given frac-
tional values of v. However, all calculations give smooth variations of the
cohesive energy of the solid Wigner crystal on the filling factor.406Experi-
ments would also reveal the pinning of the solid at the existing potential
fluctuations due to disorder, and yield nonlinear current - voltage charac-
teristics, which have never been observed. A numerical calculation for a
finite system of 4,5, and 6 electrons confined in a box in a magnetic field
has shown that minima in the total energy could exist a fractional values of
v, significantly lower than that of a Wigner crystal which is therefore not
the ground state of the s y ~ t e m . ~

Laughlin
' has proposed a new many-par-
ticle wave function for the description of the ground state, which gives
states at filling factors of 1/q, where q is odd.4o8The elementary excitations
from this ground state are situated above a gap =0.03e2/rc= 5 K at
150 kG and have e / q charge. These quantum states form an incompress-
ible fluid with no low-lying excitations, implying a flow with no resistance
at T = 0. This model, therefore, explains satisfactorily at present the phe-
nomena observed for v = 1/ q and, due to particle- hole symmetry, those
observed at v = 1 - 1/ q = ( q - l)/q. Some extensions of the theory have
been proposed to explain the other observed fractional values of"'.v The
field of FQHE is still very vigorous and aims to attain a fuller basic
understanding as well as to explore all its implications: statistics, phase
condensations, crystallization, etc.
The specific features of the NQHE and FQHE have been observed in
several systems other than GaAs/GaAlAs, such as Ga1nAs/InP,4l0GaSb/
I ~ A s . ~They
* ' were also observed for holes in the GaAs/GaAlAs system
(Fig. 76). A general trend is that the NQHE is better observed (wider
plateaus) in samples with some degree of disorder, i.e., nonoptimum mo-
bilities, whereas the FQHE requires samples of the utmost A
converging argument is provided by frequency-dependent measurements:
Long et a1.413,414 were able to switch from NQHE to FQHE with increasing
frequency, which diminishes the length scale of transport and therefore
localization effects. The very different origins of NQHE and FQHE are
emphasized by the experimental facts, the former requiring disorder and
the latter being based on the intrinsic properties of the 2D electron gas in a
magnetic field.
V. Conclusion
I have tried in this review to give a flavor of the many facets of the basic
properties of semiconductor 2D quantized structures relevant to device
operations and the characterization of such structures. We are witnessing
in this field a rare occurrence, where technological advances driven by the
need for ever-better electronic devices have yielded new physical systems
which have in turn led to major new advances in fundamental solid-state
physics. These 2D structures, first made in U.S. industrial laboratories, and
now studied all over the world in many academic institutions. The impor-
tance of the field can be well evaluated from the relative space devoted to
the subject in such basic conferences as the biennial International Confer-
ence on the Physics of Semiconductors. Those attending these conferences
know the spectacular impact of 2D systems, witnessed by the very crowded
and vivid atmosphere in the specialized sessions. Actually, this exponential
116 C. WEISBUCH
development has caused a major embarassment to this reviewer: the num-

ber of signiJicuntpapers in the field is still increasing faster than his ability
to grasp them all. I therefore apologize for the many omissions of relevant
basic material and refer the reader to the proceedings of the various confer-
ences in our field, past or coming. Single references giving more details on
one or other aspect of the physics of 2D structures can be found in the
Proceedings of the 1984 and 1986 Maunterndorf Winterscho01,4’~ the 1985
Les Houches Winters~hool,~~ in Lecture notes by G. Bastard,416soon to be
published, and in the monumental review by Ando et U L ’ ~
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank my many colleagues in the field. R. Dingle introduced me to the field
back in 1979, and has since been more than a colleague, a friend, and a source of major
inspiration. H. Starmer was during the Bell Labs years an especially close colleague and
friend. Bell Labs was a outstandingly welcoming institution and very fruitful collaborations
occurred, principally with A. Gossard, W. Wiegmann, W. Tsang, A. Cho, J. Hegarty, M.
Sturge, R. Miller, P. Petrof, C. Shank, R. Fork, B. Greene, A. Pinczuk, and V. Narayana-
m u d . In Thomson-CSF, B. Vinter, J. Harrang, J. Nagle, A. Tardella, T. Weil, M. Razeghi,
and J. P. Duchemin provide a most stimulating scientific environment. B. Vinter, J. Harrang,
and C. Hermann read and Criticized some of the early drafts of the manuscript, a main task
for which the author is deeply thankful. Many authors have kindly supplied me with preprints
and photographs.
Selected Bibliography
The field reported here is treated in a very dense form. In addition to the specialized
chapters in the present book, the following bibliography provides a recent set of references
which are either (i) review papers on some part of the present chapter, (ii) introductory papers
at the nonspecialist level, or (iii) recently published specialized papers which bring new light
to some of the outstanding issues discussed in the text. The references will be respectively
noted as R (review), I (introductory), and S (specialized).
GROWTH
AND INTERFACES
E. H. C. Parker, ed. (1985). “The Technology and Physics of Molecular Beam Epitaxy.”
Plenum, New York. (R)
L. L. Chang and K. Ploog, eds. (1985). “Molecular Beam Epitaxy.” NATO AS1 Series,
Martinus Nijhoff, Dordrecht. (R)
W. T. Tsang (1985). MBE for 111-V Compound Semiconductors. In “Semiconductors and
Semimetals” (R. K. Wdardson and A. C. Beer, eds.), Vol. 22A, Lightwave Communica-
tions Technology, volume editor W. T. Tsang. Academic Press, Orlando. (R)
G. B. Stringfellow (1985). Organometallic W E growth of 111-V Semiconductors. In “Semi-
conductors and Semimetals” (R. K. Willardson and A. C. Beer, eds.), Vol. 22A, Lightwave
Communications Technology, volume editor W. T. Tsang, Academic Press, Orlando. (R)
M. Razeghi (1985). Low-Pressure MOCVD of G a ~ n , - ~ s , , P , - ,Alloys. In “Semiconductors
and Semimetals” (R. K. Willardson and A. C. Beer, eds.), Vol. 22A, Lightwave Communi-
cations Technology, volume editor W. T. Tsang, Academic Press, Orlando. (R)
D. B. McWhan (1 985). Structure of Chemically Modulated Films. In “Synthetic Modulated
Structures” (L. L. Chang and B. C. Giessen, eds.). Academic Press, Orlando. (R)
BASICCALCULATIONS IN HETEROSTRUCTURES
M. Altarelli (1986). In “Heterojunctions and Semiconductor Superlattices” (G. Allan, G.
Bastard, N. Boccara, M. Lannoo, and M. Voos, eds.). Springer-Verlag, Berlin and New
York. (R)
G. Bastard (1987). “Wave Mechahics Applied to Semiconductor Heterostructures.” Editions
de Physique, Paris. (I)
B. Ricco and M. Ya. Azbel (1984). Physics of resonant tunneling. The one dimensional
double-barrier case.. Phys. Rev.B 29, 1970. (S)
3. Barker (1986). Quantum Transport Theory for Small-Geometry Structures. In “The Phys-
ics and Fabrication of Microstructures and Microdevices” (M.Kelly and C. Weisbuch,
eds.). Springer-Verlag,Berlin and New York. (S)
J. Hajdu and G. Landwehr (1985). Quantum Transport Phenomena in Semiconductors in
High Magnetic Fields. In “Strong and Ultrastrong Magnetic Fields’’ (F. Herlach, 4.).
Springer-Verlag,Berlin and New York. (R)
H. L. Stormer (1986). Images of the Fractional Quantum Hall Effect. In “Heterojunctions
and Semiconductor Superlattices” (G. M a n , G. Bastard, N. Boccara, M. Lannoo, and M.
Voos, eds.). Springer-Verlag,Berlin and New York. (I) (R)
R. E. Prange and S. M. Ginin, eds. (1986). “The Quantum Hall Effect.” Springer-Verlag,
Berlin and New York. (R)
APPLICATIONS
P. M. Solomon (1986). Three Part Series on Heterojunction Transistors. In “The Physics and
Fabrication of Microstructures and Microdevices” (M. Kelly and C. Weisbuch, eds.).
Springer-Verlag,Berlin and New York. (R)
B. de Cremoux (1986). Quantum Well Laser Diodes. I n “Solid State Devices ’85” (P. Balk
and 0. G. Folberth, eds.). Elsevier, Amsterdam. (I)
C. Weisbuch (1987). The Physics of the Quantum Well Laser. Proceedings of NATO ARW,
“Optical Properties of Narrow-Gap Low-Dimensional Structures” (C. Sotomayor-Torres
and R. A. Stradling, 4 s . ) . Plenum, New York. (R)
S. Luryi and A. Kastalsky (1 985). Hot electron transport in heterostructure devices. PhySica B
and C 134,453. (R)
S. Luryi (1987). Hot-Electron-Injection and Resonant-Tunneling Heterojunction Devices. In
“Heterojunctions: A Modem View of Band Discontinuities and Device Applications” (F.
Capasso and G. Margaritondo, eds.). North-Holland Publ., Amsterdam. (I) (R)
F. Capasso, K. Mohammed, and A. Y. Cho (1986). Resonant tunneling through double-bar-
riers, perpendicular quantum phenomena in Superlattices, and their device applications.
IEEE J. Quantum Electron. QE22, 1853. (R)
WHOLEFIELD
The special issue “Semiconductor Quantum Wells and Superlattices: Physics and Applica-
tions” of the IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics (Vol. QE22, September 1986) con-
tains an excellent set of review articles on various aspects of quantum wells and superlat-
tices. (R)
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SEMICONDUCTORS AND SEMIMETAU, VOL. 24
CHAPTER 2
Factors Affecting the Performance of

(Al,Ga)As/GaAs and (Al,Ga)As/InGaAs
Modulation-Doped Field-Effect Transistors:
Microwave and Digital Applications
H. Morkoc and H. Unlu
COORDINATED SCIENCE LABORATORY
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
URBANA, ILLINOIS 61801
I. Introduction
Recent progress combined with a strong need for handling high-speed
data have led to increased interest in high-speed devices. In order to
operate devices at high frequencies, the transit time through the device and
parasitics, or the susceptibility of device to parasitics, must be minimized.
One can reduce the transit time by decreasingthe path length, e.g., the gate
length in field-effect transistors (FETs), and/or by increasing the carrier
velocity. Improved ohmic contacts, metal conductors, and small device
geometries are useful in reducing these effects.
In digital circuit applications the most common figures of merit are the
propagation delay time, zD, i.e., the minimum time required to turn the
transistor on and off, and the power dissipated in the transistor during
the switching cycle, PD. The former sets an ultimate limit on the speed of
the circuit, and the latter sets a limit on how densely the transistors can be
integrated before the heat dissipation in the circuit becomes a problem. In
microwave amplifiers, the figures of merit are the current-gain cutoff
frequency,fT, and the noise figure, NF. The former is a measure of device
speed, and the latter is a measure of the minimum signal amplitude
required at the input of the amplifier.
In both circuit applications, one would like to have a transistor that is
capable of carrying large currents. This leads to the requirement that the
carrier concentrations, mobility, and velocity must be very high. Having
the digital switching device a normally-off type, which implies that the
channel must be very thin, will maintain a low power consumption. This is
due to the fact that the compound semiconductorgate is based on Schottky
135
Copyright 0 1987 Bell Telephone Laboratories, Incorporated
136 H. MORKOC AND H. UNLU
gates. There is, however, a trade-off in reducing the channel length, since
current is proportional to camer density as well as velocity. As the channel
length is reduced, the camer density becomes very small and, therefore, the
channel transport properties become extremely important.
In standard microwave and digital metal - semiconductor field-effect
transistors (MESFETs), the channel region of the device is a highly doped
(uniform doping) bulk semiconductor. Electrons and donors interact via
their Coulomb potential within the channel region, which leads to ionized
impurity scattering. The noise of the device starts to increase as both
electron and hole mobility and saturation velocity are decreased. In GaAs
the peak velocity at room temperature (300 K) decreases from 2.1 X lo7
cm/s (in pure GaAs) to 1.8 X lo7cm/s for a doping level of 1 X lOI7 ~ m - ~ .
In order to be able to overcome the aforementioned limitations on
device performance imposed by the ionized impurity sites, one must physi-
cally separate the electrons from the donors (or holes from acceptors for
the hole gas). The new modulation-doped heterostructures allow one to
place the dopants (donors or acceptors) only in the layers with wider
bandgaps, keeping the layers of narrower-bandgap material as close to
intrinsic as possible. Therefore, there is a substantial increase in the two-
dimensional mobility, because the ionized impurity scattering is reduced
by the spatial separation of impurity atoms from the mobile electrons.
Mobile carriers in the conducting channels can be further separated from
the ionized impurities by introducing undoped spacer layers in the barriers
just before the well region. This mobility enhancement will play an appre-
ciable role in controlling the turn-on and turn-off characteristics of high-
speed switching applications, since the device is driven from off to on and
back to off conditions very rapidly. The enhancement in the two-dimen-
sional mobility will, of course, reduce the parasitic resistance components
much as the source resistance.
The heterojunction FETs go by various names, e.g., MODFET for mod-
ulation-doped field-effect transistors, SDHT for selectively doped hetero-
junction field-effect transistors. HEMT for high-electron-mobility transis-
tors, and TEGFET for two-dimensional electron-gas field-effect transistors.
In this article we shall refer to this device as MODFET.
11. How Modulation Doping Works

Modulation doping relies on the selective doping of a semiconductor
layer adjacent to an undoped smaller-bandgapsemiconductor layer. Theo-
retically, as long as the donor energy is larger than the conduction-band
energy of the smaller-bandgap material, the electrons diffuse into the
smaller-bandgap material. The three most commonly studied systems so
2. (Al,Ga)As/GaAs AND (Al,Ga)As/InGaAs MODFETs 137
Undoped
L J
f
Undoped
Doped AIxGal-,As
Undoped
Ga As
FIG. 1 . Since interface heterostructures are used for heterojunction FETs, the structure
with (Al,Ga)As grown on top of GaAs, a "normal modulation-doped structure," is the one
that is commonly used for FETs. The diagram on the right-hand side shows the conduction-
band edge with respect to distance. When the order of growth is inverted [bottom sketch,
doped (A1,Ga)As first], the interface quality is not sufficiently good to provide enhanced
device performance. The relatively small surface mobility of A1 is thought to lead to a
degraded interface in the inverted structure.
far have been GaAs/(Al,Ga)As,' Ino.s~Gao.47As/Irb.,,Ab,,As,Z and

(Al,Ga)A~/(1n,Ga)As~-~ lattice-matched systems. Systems such as
III,,~~G~~.~~As/I~Phave also been in~estigated.~ In this article we shall
concentrate on the GaAs/(Al,Ga)As heterojunction systems, with which
the vast majority of the devices and the only device with high-speed data
have so far been fabricated. Furthermore, the newly developed pseudo-
morphic (In,Ga)As/(Al,Ga)As heterojunction systems and their superior
potential for microwave and digital applications will be discussed.
Figure 1 shows the schematic cross section of a single heterointerface
modulation-doped structure along with its energy-band diagram. The
structure is grown typically by molecular-beam epitaxy, generally at a
growth rate of 1 pm/h and at a substrate temperature of 580-620°C.
Following the growth of an undoped buffer layer, typically 1 pm thick, the
(A1,Ga)As layer, part of which is left undoped at the heterointerface to
reduce the Coulombic interaction between donors and is
grown. A thin surface layer of GaAs, either doped or undoped, is optional.
For structures intended for very high electron mobilities, the undoped
138 H. MORKOC AND H.UNLU
layer thickness is quite large (2200 A),

and for them to be used in FETs
this layer is quite thin, about 30 A.The latter is to obtain large transcon-
ductances, which lead to improved device performance.
Although predicted in the late 1960s, the first experimental realization of
modulation doping came out of independent research at AT&T Bell Labo-
ratories in the late 1970s. The improved transport obtained has quickly led
to a worldwide effort to use this structure for high-speed device^.^-'^
111. FET Fabrication

The first step in device fabrication is generally the device isolation, which
in most cases is done by etching mesas down to the undoped GaAs layer or
to the semi-insulatingsubstrate, or by an isolation implant. The source and
drain areas are then defined in positive photoresist, and typically an
AuGe/Ni/Au metallization is evaporated. Following the lift-off, the
source-drain metallization is alloyed at or above 400°C for a short time
(- 1 min) to obtain ohmic contacts. During this process Ge alloys down
past the heterointerface, thus making contact to the sheet of electrons, as
shown in Fig. 2.
The gate is then defined, and a very small amount of recessing is done by
either chemical etching, reactive ion etching, or ion milling. The extent of
the recess is dependent upon whether depletion- or enhancement-mode
devices are desired. In depletion-mode devices the remaining doped layer
should be just the thickness to be depleted by the gate Schottky barrier. In
Source Gate Droin
ric Passivotion
aI
s
Irnplanl Isololion
FIG.2. Cross-sectional view of a commonly used MODFET. Alloyed contacts,e.g., AuGe/
Ni/Au, diffise past the interface, forming contacts to the 2DEG.
FIG.3. Top view of a fabricated device intended for microwave applicationsand having a
1 X 290 pm2 gate. For logic circuits the gate width is reduced to 20 pm to minimize the real
estate and power consumption.
enhancement-mode devices the remaining doped (Al,Ga)As is much thin-

ner, and thus the Schottky barrier depletes the electron gas as well. In test
circuits composed of ring oscillators, the switches are of enhancement-
mode FETs, which conduct current when a positive voltage is applied to
the gate and the loads are of depletion type. Figure 3 shows the top view of
a MODFET with a gate dimension of 1 X 300pm2 intended for micro-
wave applications. For logic circuits, the gate width is typically 20 pm.
In the long run, more advanced fabrication procedures for reducing
parasitic resistances must be employed (these will be described later). In
addition, the structures must be designed to allow a reproducible gate
recess. This can be achieved by placing a very thin GaAs layer a specific
distance away from the interface, determined by the desired device charac-
teristics. The recessing, preferably done by dry processing, can be stopped
selectively at the GaAs surface, which also makes possible the deposition of
the gate on the more stable GaAs as opposed to (A1,Ga)As.
IV. Principles of Heterojunction FET Operation

1. GENERAL
Since the electrons moving parallel to the heterointerface (in GaAs)
encounter reduced scattering by ionized donors located in the (A1,Ga)As
layer, the current-conducting channel must be parallel to the heterointer-
face. Modulation of the channel current is done by a third terminal, the
gate, placed on the doped (Al,Ga)Aslayer. Since the transport properties of
the (A1,Ga)As is much inferior even to the bulk GaAs, care should be
exercised to make certain that the (A1,Ga)As layer is entirely depleted by
the gate and heterointerface fields. Only then is the current carried entirely
by the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG), which has enhanced proper-
ties.
In discrete devices the power consumed can be dissipated rather easily,
allowing the use of normally-on devices. In this case with no external gate
bias, only the (A1,Ga)As layer is depleted, and the device conducts the
maximum amount of current. When a negative gate bias is applied with
respect to the source, the channel (2DEG) is depleted, pinching off the
device. In integrated circuits, however, the device density is very high, and
the power consumption of normally-on devices prohibits their use. The
doped (A1,Ga)As layer under the gate is then made thinner, such that the
gate with no external bias depletes the electron gas as well. The current
flows only when a positive voltage is applied to the gate.
The device operation is to some extent analogous to that of the Si/Si02
metal - oxide- semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs). While
the basic principles of operation are similar, the material systems and the
details of the device physics are different. The most striking difference,
however, is the lack of appreciable interface states in this heterojunction
system, where the gate metal and the channel are separated by only about
300-400 A.This, coupled with the large dielectric constant of (A1,Ga)As
as compared to SO2, gives rise to extremely large transconductances. In
addition, large electron densities, about 10l2 cm-2, and higher electron
velocities and mobilities can be achieved at the interface, which lead to
high current levels. The effective mass of electrons in GaAs is much
smaller than in Si, and therefore the electron concentrationsunder consid-
eration raise the Fermi level up into the conduction band, which is not the
case for Si MOSFETs. It is therefore necessary to develop a new model for
this device, as has been attempted by the Thomson CSF groupl5and by the
team at the University of Minnesota and the University of Illinois.16 In
order to calculate the current -voltage characteristics, we must first deter-
mine the 2DEG concentration.
2. TWO-DIMENSIONAL
ELECTRON-GAS
CONCENTRATION
As indicated earlier, the electrons diffuse from the doped (A1,Ga)As to
the GaAs, where they are confined by the energy bamer and form a 2DEG.
This was verified by the Shubnikov- de Haas oscillations and their depen-
dence on the angle between the magnetic field and the normal of the
~amp1e.l~ The wave vector for such a system is quantized in the direction
perpendicular to but not parallel to the interface.
The electric field set up by the charge separation causes a severe band
bending in the GaAs layer, with a resultant triangular potential barrier
where the allowed states are no longer continuous in energy, but discrete.
As a result, quantized subbands are formed, and a new two-dimenstional
model is needed to calculate the electron concentration. In most cases the
ground subband is filled, with the first excited subband being partially
empty. Since the wave function or the electron concentration is distributed
slightly in the direction perpendicular to the heterointerface, we shall refer
to the areal density of the electron gas from now on.
To determine the electron concentration we must first relate it to the
subband energies. The rigorous approach is to solve for the subband ener-
gies self-consistently, with the solution for the potential derived from the
electric charge distribution. This has been done by Stem and Howard'* for
the silicon-silicon dioxide system in the 1960s, and more recently by
Ando and Stern and Das Sarma19for the GaAs/(A,Ga)As system. A work-
able approximation is to assume that the potential well is perfectly triangu-
lar, and that only the ground and first subbands need be considered. Using
the experimentally obtained subband populations, adjustments in the pa-
rameters can be made to account for the nonconstant electric field and
nonparabolicity in the conduction band. Solving Poisson’s equation in the
(A,Ga)As and GaAs layers and using Gauss’s law, one can obtain another
expression for the sheet electron concentration in terms of structural pa-
rameters, e.g., the doping level in (A,Ga)As, doped and undoped (A,Ga)As
layer thicknesses, and the magnitude of the conduction-band energy dis-
continuity or the AlAs mole fraction in (A,Ga)As.I6
Analysis of the Fermi level shows’6that it is nearly a linear function of
the sheet carrier concentration, n,, for n, 2 5 X 10” cm-*. Taking this into
account, one can eliminate the iteration process because analytical expres-
sions become available. Another feature that must be considered in the
model is the necessity of using the Fermi-Dirac as opposed to the com-
monly used Maxwell- Boltzmann statistics.2oThis term is particularly im-
portant at room temperature because of larger thermal energy. In the case
of Si/SiO, MOSFETs, three-dimensional analyses work quite well because
the Fermi level is not as high, but they fail for this heterojunction FET.
This will be explained in detail below.
The interface density of the 2DEG, n,, is determined as
where E, is the bottom of the conduction band, g(E) is the density of states
and
1
= 1 + exp[(E - E,)/kT] (2)
is the Fermi-Dirac distribution. In Si MOSFETs the integral in Eq. (1)

may be evaluated using the foIlowing assumptions:
( I ) the Maxwell- Boltzmann (rather than the Fermi - Dirac) distribu-
tion function may be used; and
(2) the density of states in the potential well near the interface is
continuous.
Both of these assumptions are justified for Si MOSFETs, but are not
justified for modulation-doped structures. This is illustrated in Fig. 4,
where interface carrier densities for intrinsic Si and GaAs are plotted as
functions of the Fermi level using the three-dimensional Joyce - Dixon
approximation2’ (dashed line) and a more accurate “two-dimensional”
formula proposed in Ref. 15. This two-dimensional model is based on
considering the quantized energy levels in the potential well near the
interface. It is also shown that a simple linear approximation for the n,
2. (A1,Ga)AslGaAsA N D (Al,Ga)As/InGaAs MODFETs 143
Fermi Level (Volts)

FIG.4. Variation of the electron-gas density with Fermi level as measured from the bottom
of the conduction band in GaAs at 300 K. Since the conduction-band density of states in Si is
very large, the F e m i level even for the largest sheet canier concentration, 2 X lo1*cm-2, is
still below the conduction band, and predictions are reasonably accurate when the problem is
treated as a three-dimenstional(3D) one and the quantization is neglected (---). For GaAs,
however, the density of states is smaller (or the effective mass is smaller) and the quantization
of the electron population at the heterointerface cannot be neglected. Models encompassing
the two-dimensional (2D, - ) nature of the electron population must be utilized.
versus EF curve may be used in analytical calculations22for interface

densities greater than about 5 X 10” cm-2. Due to a large effective elec-
tron mass in Si (rn*/rno = 0.3 for one ellipsoid in the [ 1001 direction) and
six ellipsoids included in the density-of-states effective mass, there are
many levels in the potential well, so that a “three-dimensional” theory
works quite well. The Maxwell -Boltzmann distribution function may be
used because the position of the Fermi level (for realistic interface densi-
ties) is several kT (about 0.1 eV at room temperature) below the bottom of
the potential well. In GaAs the Fermi level is in the potential well, necessi-
tating the use of the Fermi-Dirac distribution; therefore, the discrepancy
between the three-dimensional and two-dimensional models is quite large
in GaAs. The theory of modulation-doped structures should also account
for the fact that the position of the Fermi level in Si is much less sensitive to
the interface carrier density n, as compared to GaAs.
For n, 2 5 X 10” cm-2 the linearized relationship between n, and EF
(Fig. 4) can be used, which allows the following analytical expression for
the maximum density of the 2DEG to be derived:20
+ +
n, = [N$(di Ad)2 (2&2Nd/q2)(AE, 6 - + - Nd(di A d ) ( 3 ) +
where Nd is the donor density, di is the thickness of the undoped (A1,Ga)As
layer, Ad = 80 A is a constant related to the EF versus n, curve,2oc2 is the
dielectric permittivity of (Al,Ga)As, 4 is the electronic charge, A E, is the

discontinuity in the conduction band,
+
6 = -kT[ln( 1 g’y) + ( 4 / N 3 In( 1 - 1/(4y))] (4)
and
y = { [( 1 - 1/4Na2 + 4g’NJ’’’ -(1 - 1/(4N3)}/2g’ (5)
where
N i = NJN,, g’ = g exp(EJkT) (6)
and
y = exp(- En/kT)
Here EF is the energy difference between the bottom of the conduction
band and the Fermi level in (Al,Ga)As, N, is the density of states in
(Al,Ga)As, g is the donor g factor, and Ed is the donor ionization energy.
Comparison of the exact solution (dotted line) with our analytical expres-
sion for n, (solid line) in Fig. 5 illustrates the accuracy of the approxima-
tion.
3. CHARGE
CONTROL
AND I-V CHARACTERISTICS
So far we have related the interface charge, which is to carry the current
parallel to the heterointerface, to the structural parameters of the hetero-
junction system. To control and modulate this charge, and therefore the
:
H
0
lo17 10”
Doping Density (cm-3)

FIG. 5. Interface carrier density n, as a function of doping density Nd, with various
undoped (A1,Ga)As layer thicknesses. ( . . * f, the exact solution; (-), the analytical
expression, Eq. (3).
current, a Schottky barrier is placed on the doped (A1,Ga)As layer. As

indicated earlier, the doped (A1,Ga)As is depleted at the heterointerface by
electron diffusion into GaAs, but this is limited to about 100 A for an
(Al,Ga)As doping level of about 1OI8~ m - ~ It .is also depleted from the
surface by the Schottky barrier. To avoid conduction through (Al,Ga)As,
which has inferior transport properties, and screening of the channel by the
carriers in the (Al,Ga)As, parameters must be chosen such that the two
depletion regions just overlap. A detailed description of the device model-
ing and analysis has been given elsewhere.23
In normally-on devices the depletion by the gate’s built-in voltage must
be just enough to have the surface depletion extended to the interface
depletion. For example, devices designed for 1OI2cm-2 electrons in the
channel can be turned off at a gate bias of - 1 V by the gate located 600 A
away from the interface on the (Al,Ga)As layer. This is the structure used
for discrete high-speed analog applications, e.g., microwave low-noise am-
plifiers.
In normally-off devices the thickness of the doped (A1,Ga)As under the
gate is smaller and the gate built-in voltage depletes the doped (Al,Ga)As,
overcomes the built-in potential at the heterointerface, and depletes the
electron gas. No current flows through the device unless a positive gate
voltage is applied to the gate. This type of device is used as a switch in
high-speed integrated digital circuits because of the associated low power
dissipation. The loads may be normally-on transistors with the gate shorted
to the source, or an ungated “saturated resistor,” which has a saturating
current characteristic due to the velocity saturation of the carriers.
Away from the cutoff regime, it is quite reasonable to assume that the
capacitance under the gate is constant and thus the charge at the interface
is linearly proportional to the gate voltage minus the threshold voltage. As
the threshold voltage is approached, the triangular potential well widens,
and the Fermi energy of the electrons is lowered. This change in surface
potential subtracts from the change in the applied gate bias, so that a lesser
change in potential acts across the (A1,Ga)As layer, reducing the transcon-
ductance of the device, and causing the curvature of the transfer character-
istic near threshold, as will be discussed later. This curvature is more
pronounced at room temperature, due to the thermal distribution of the
electrons; however, some curvature will persist down to the lowest temper-
atures, due to quantum-mechanical confinement energies. This has pro-
found implications for device operation, since it precludes high-speed
operation at voltages less than a few tenths of a volt. This means that
ultralow-power-delayproducts, similar to those of Josephson-junction de-
vices, which operate at only a few millivolts, would not be realized. Near
complete pinchoff (defined loosely as when the free-electron gas concen-
tration drops to 10%of its maximum value) the effective position22of the
electron gas may be 200 A away from the interface, as shown in Fig. 6. This
simply implies that it will require larger gate voltages to deplete the elec-
tron gas, leading to a slow gradual pinch-off. In addition, the gate capaci-
tance near pinch-off will show a decline as well.
Away from cutof€, the charge can be assumed to be linearly proportional
to the gate voltage, and in the velocity-saturated regime the current will
then be linarly proportional to the gate voltage, and the transconductance
will approach a constant [except when the (A1,Ga)As starts conducting].
These arguments apply to the velocity-saturated MESFET as well. For the
MESFET, in constrast, the transconductanceincreases with increasinggate
biases, since the depletion layer width narrows and modulation of the
channel charge increases.
In order to calculte the current-voltage characteristics, one must know
the electron velocity as a function of electric field. Since the device dirnen-
sions (gate) used are about 1 pm or less, high-field effects such as velocity
saturation must be considered.
Even though the electrons in MODFETs are located in GaAs, and the
electron transport in GaAs is well known, there was some confusion in the
early days as to what one should expect. There were, in fact, reports that
this heterojunction structure held promise only because of the high mobili-
ties which are measured at extremely small voltages (electric field cr: 5
Gate Voltage ( V )
FIG.6. Effective position of the 2DEG from the heterointerface, Ad versus gate bias.
V/cm). In short-channel devices the electric field can reach tens of kV/cm,
making it necessary to understand the high-field transport.
Using 400 pm long conventional Hall bar structures, the velocity -field
characteristicshave been measured.24A dc technique below 300 V/cm and
a pulsed technique up to 2 kV/cm were used to measure the current versus
field characteristics. Knowing the electron concentration from the same
sample by Hall measurements, the electron velocity versus electric field
characteristics were deduced on many modulation-doped structures.
Above 2 kV/cm the electric field was suspected to be developing nonuni-
formities, as determined by the voltage between equally spaced voltage
wings along the sample. Depending on the low-temperature low-field mo-
bility of the sample, hot-electron effects, even at fields as low as 5 V/cm,
have been observed.25At very low fields piezoacoustic phonons and, at
fields of about 100-200 V/cm, optical phonons are emitted. This leads to
electron velocities smaller than predicted by simple extrapolations based
on low-field mobility.
The velocity versus field characteristics below 300 V/cm for a typical
modulation-doped structure intended for FETs is shown in Fig. 7. Also
A
300
Electric Field (V/cm)
FIG. 7. Velocity versus electric field measured in a single-interface modulationdoped
structure at 300 and 77 K. The electron-gas concentration at the heterointerface is about
7 X lOI1cm--’, and the unintentional background acceptor concentration in GaAs of the
modulation-doped structure is about lOI4 ~ m - ~For . comparison, calculated velocity-field
characteristicsof bulk GaAs with zero ionized impurity density (Nr= 0) at 300 and 77 K and
with N, = lot5~ m at- 77~ K are also shown. It is clear that at 300 K the transport properties
of the modulation-doped structure with as many electrons as needed for FETs is comparable
to the pure GaAs. At 77 K it is almost comparable to pure GaAs at fields below 300 V/cm
and quite comparable at 2 kV/cm and above (estimated from FET performance).
shown are the Monte Carlo calculations performed for lightly doped and
ion-free bulk GaAs layers. The agreement between the modulation-doped
structures and undoped GaAs (Ni5 lOI5 ~ m - is ~ striking.
) The agreement
at low temperatures is even better at high fields, as determined from the
heterojunction FXT performance. It is clear that having electrons but not
the donors in concentrations of about 10l2cm-2 in modulation-doped
structures does not degrade the velocity. The most important aspects of
these results can be summarized as follows.
(1) A quasi-saturation of electron velocities is obtained at fields of
about 200 V/cm. This implies that the extremely high electron mobilities
obtained at very low electric fields have only a secondary effect on device
performance.
(2) The higher mobilities at low fields help give the device a low
saturation voltage and small on-resistance and help enhance its speed
during turn-on and turn-off transients.
(3) Since the properties of the pure GaAs are maintained, electron peak
velocities of over 2 X lo7 and 3 X lo7 cm/s at 300 and 77 K, respectively,
can be obtained. These values have already been deduced using drain
current versus gate voltage characteristics of MODFETs.
(4) Perhaps the velocity overshoot is more pronounced.
It can be simply concluded that modulation-doped structures provide
the current transport that is needed to charge and discharge capacitances,
without degrading the properties of pure GaAs. To get electrons into
conventional structures, the donors have to be incorporated, which de-
grades the velocity. From the velocity considerations only, these devices
offer about 20% improvement at 300 K and about 60% at 77 K. However,
other factors, e.g., large current, large transconductance, and low source
resistance, improve the performance in a real circuit far beyond that
predicted by the velocity enhancement only. For small-signal operation,
e.g., microwave small-signal amplifiers, the improvement in the device
performance as compared to the conventional bulk FETs may actually be
very close to the figures mentioned above.
In the presence of a Schottky gate on (Al,Ga)As, the density of the 2DEG
is approximately described by the modified charge control model:
Vg- V,,)/(d + A 4
n, = (&2/d( (7)
+
where d = dd di, dd is the thickness of the doped (A1,Ga)As beneath the
+
gate, VOs= - (I/q)(AE, AEm)- V,,, #, is the Schottky barrier
height, A Em is a temperature-dependent parameter (0 at 300 K and 25
meV at 77 K),17*19and V,, = qNdod32&,.A similar calculation for a Si-
SiOz interface leads to A d = 10 A (compared to A d = 80 A for GaAs).
2. (Al,Ga)As/GaAs AND (A1,Ga)AslInGaAs MODFETs 149
This 10 A correction may not be very important in a typical MESFET but

should be considered when the oxide thickness becomes less than 200 A.
In Fig. 8, the exact value of interface carier density (dotted line) is plotted
against the applied gate voltage. As can be seen from this figure, the
analytical expression (dashed line) of Eq. (7) is quite good except near
threshold. The solid line is plotted assuming no dependence of EF on n,,
i.e., A d = O.I5 Using two-piece and three-piece approximations for the
velocity-on field characteristics, simple analytical expressions for I - V
characteristicswhich include the source resistance R, and the drain resist-
ance were developed earlier.20*22
V. Optimization
In a normally-off MODFET, the type used for the switches in an inte-
grated circuit, a positive gate voltage is applied to turn the device on. The
maximum gate voltage is limited to the value above which the doped
(A1,Ga)Aslayer begins to conduct. If exceeded, a conduction path through
the (A1,Ga)Aslayer, which has much inferior properties, is created, leading
to reduced performance. This parasitic MESFET effect for typical parame-
ters becomes noticeable above a gate voltage of about +0.6 V, which
determines the gate logic swing.26Using alternate methods to improve this
shortcoming should be very useful.
FIG.8. Interface cyrier density versus voltage difference between gate and channel (V,, =
0.15 V and d = 400 A). (-), the simple chargeantrol model proposed in Ref. 12,
where the Fermi level is assumed to be constant; ( . . .), the numerical exact solution; and
(---), the analytical model of Ref. 19. Note this figure should be used only up to the value of
n, which is typically about 9 X 10" cm-z.
4. TRANSCONDUCTANCE
Since the ultimate speed of a switching device is determined by the
transconductance divided by the sum of the gate and interconnect capac-
tiances, the larger the transconductance, the better the speed is. MODFETs
already exhibit larger transconductances because of higher electron veloc-
ity, and, in addition, since the electron gas is located only about 400 A
away from the gate metal, a large concentration of charge can be modu-
lated by small gate voltages. The latter comes at the expense of a larger gate
capacitance. Considering the interconnect capacitances, any increase in
transconductance (even with increased gate capacitance) improves the
speed.
The transconductancein these devices can be optimized by reducing the
(A1,Ga)As layer thickness. This must accompany increased doping in
(Al,Ga)As, which in turn is limited to about lo’* cm-3 by the requirement
for a nonleaky Schottky barrier. By decreasing the undoped setback layer
thickness, one can not only increase the transconductance, but also the
current level (through the increased electron gas concentration). There is,
of course, a limit to this process as well because thinner setback layers
increase the Coulombic scattering. All things considered, a setback layer
thickness of about 20-30 A appears to be the best at present. Setback
layers less than 20 A have led to much inferior performance. Transcon-
ductances of about 225 mS/mm (275 being the best) and 400 mS/mm gate
width have been demonstrated at 300 and 77 K, respectively. The current
levels of MODFETs also depend strongly on the setback layer thickness
and on the doping level in (A1,Ga)As.
For good switching and amplifier devices, a good saturation, low differ-
ential conductance in the current saturation region, and a low saturation
voltage are needed. These are attained quite well, particularly at 77 K, as
shown in Fig. 9. The increased current level at 77 K is attributed to the
enhancement of electron velocity. The rise in current would have been
greater if it were not for the shift in the threshold voltage, about k 0.1 V, as
the device is cooled to 77 K. This may be due to the freeze-out of electrons
in the (A1,Ga)As layer.
The maximum gate voltage Vimiu that can be applied is the pinch-off
voltage of the 2DEG:
This, together with the 2-piece model, leads to the following expression for
the maximum “intrinsic” transconductance (R,= 0)26:
2. (Ai,Ga)As/GaAs AND (Al,Ga)As/InGaAs MODFETs 151
O.SV/div
FIG.9. Drain I - Vcharacteristic of a MODFET with a 300,um gate width at 300 (---)and
77 K(-). As indicated, the extrinsic transconductance increases from about 225 (best
275 mS/mm) to 400 mS/mm as the device is cooled to 77 K. The improvement in the drain
current observed at 77 K could be much larger if it were not for the positive shift in the
threshold voltage. This shift is attributed to defects in (AI,Ga)As and is a subject of current
research.
where gm is the intrinsic transconductance per unit gate length, p the

low-field mobility, us the saturation velocity, and
where VBi= $, - AEJq is the effective built-in voltage. One of the conse-
quences of Eqs. (9) and (10) is that higher doping of the (A1,Ga)As reduces
the minimum thickness of the doped (A1,Ga)As beneath the gate given by
the second term on the right-hand side of Eq. (lo), leading to a higher
transconductance.
The results indicate that at small gate lengths the transconductance
becomes nearly independent of the gate length due to the velocity satura-
tion. In reality, an additional enhancement of the transconductance in
short-gate structures is possible due to overshoot and/or ballistic effects.
For very short gate lengths when
wn,(d+ Ad)/eZusL>> 1 (1 1)
+
and one finds (g,)= = E2usZ/(d Ad). This expression, together with
Eq. (lo), sets an upper limit for the transconductance of short-gate hetero-
junction FETs.
At room temperature when p is only a weak function of di,the transcon-
ductance should increase both with a decrease in di (in agreement with
experimental results) and with a decrease in gate length. This reduction in
di has two effects. First, it increases both the capacitance and transconduct-
ance. Second, it increases n,, the maximum voltage swing [Eq. (S)], the
maximum drain saturation current, and (gm)- through Eq. (9).
Assuming VBi = 0.7 V, Ad = 80 A, and p = 7000 cmZ/V s, which is
independent of di at 300 K (Fig. 10 and Ref. 25), we calculate (gm)- as a
function of dj for a 1 pm gate noqnally-off device. The results are shown in
Fig. 1 1. Also shown are the values of the highest intrinsic transconductance
obtained in our laboratoryz8at 300 and 77 K. The transconductance is
considerably larger for small values of di,especially at higher doping levels.
This result is in good agreement with the experimental data reported
earlier.z9It should be noted here that the values of transconductance are
somewhat overestimated for reasons not yet understood, although it could
possibly be due to the uncertainties in (A1,Ga)As thickness under the gate.
To some extent the current swing is even more important than the high
transconductance in logic devices designed for maximum speed because
the current determines the time necessary to charge the effective input
capacitance. The maximum current from the 2DEG layer is given by
where Z is the width of the device. Using the theory described earlierZO
(I&)- as a function of difor lo'* ~ r n can- ~ be calculated. The results of
this calculation are shown in Fig. 12, where they are compared with the
experimental results. As can be seen from the figure, the trend in (4)-
variations with di seems to agree with the experimental results. However,
the calculated values of the current are considerably higher than the experi-
- -
.-
.-
4-
0 0
n
r"
0 0
Q
0 -?
c 4- -0
9
u Doped (AI,Ga)As (300-7008,)
-
W
w
c
- Undoped (AI,Ga)As (di)

Undoped GaAs
0- I I I I I
FIG. 10. Measured (0),deduced (A), and calculated (-) two-dimensional electron
mobility at 300 K versus the set-back layer thickness. Extremely good agreement is obtained
when the effect of parallel conduction through (A1,Ga)As on the mobility is accounted for.
4 ' 20 I 40
' ' 60 ' 00
Undoped Layer Thickness ( A )
I ' '
100
FIG. 11. Since transconductance is inversely proportional to the gate-toelectron gas sepa-
ration, the undoped (Al,Ga)As layer at the heterointerface can influence the transconduo
tance substantially. Considering that the gate-toelectron gas distance is about 300 A, an
undoped layer thickness of greater than 100 A can have a dramatic i n f l u p x on the transcon-
ductance. For best results an undoped layer thickness of about 20-30 A must be used. This
imposes stringent requirements on the epitaxial growth process, and only molecular-beam
epitaxy has so far been atle to produce such structures. (0),experimental data points;
(-), theory. Below 20 A, the performance degrades.
mental values. One of the reasons for this is that Eq. (3) slightly overesti-
mates the measured n,, perhaps due to uncertainties in the electron con-
centration in the (A1,Ga)As layer. This discrepancy may also be a result of
the reduction of the effective mobility and/or saturation velocity at large
values of n, due to the intersubband scattering. As can be seen from Eq.
( 12), the maximum drain current is determind by n, and v, independent of
the series source resistance R,. Thus, more detailed studies of the maxi-
mum current may yield importat information about n, and v,.
The steps to be taken to optimize the heterojunction structure for FETs
for logic and microwave applications can be summarized as follow:
(1) Increasing the A1 content in the (A1,Ga)As increases both the
Schottky barrier height of the gate and the heterojunction interface barrier.
These permit higher forward gate voltages on the device, reduce any hot
carrier injection from the GaAs into the (Al,Ga)As, and permit higher
electron concentrations in the channel without conduction in the
(A1,Ga)As. The concentration of the A1 in the (A1,Ga)As should therefore
be as high as possible consistent with obtaining low ionization energies for
the donors, good ohmic contacts, and minimum traps. In present practice
it varies from 25 to 30%.
T=300K
x.0.3
vS= 2x10~crn/sec -
,200 -
z 0
FIG. 12. Maximum drain current is also very sensitive to the undoped (Al,Ga)As layer
thickness. For the desired large current levels a smaller electron-donor separation is needed
to yield a large electron-gas cohcentration. The available data obtained in normally-on FETs
while showing the general trends, should be augmented with more experiments. Maximum
current levels of about 300 mA (per millimeter of gate width) at 300 K in normally-on FETs
with a 1 pm gate length are possible. Large current levels obtainable at low voltages lead to
fast switching speeds with low power dissipation.
(2) Maximum voltages on the gate, limited by Schottky diode leakage

or by conduction in the (Al,Ga)As, are about 0.8 V at room temperature
and about 1 V at liquid nitrogen temperature. Threshold voltages should
be about 0. I V for good noise margins and tolerances.
(3) To maximize the transconductance for logic applications (and dc
current, since voltage swings are given), the (A1,Ga)As should be as thin as
possible. Thinner (A1,Ga)As implies higher doping, to achieve the desired
threshold voltage. Doping levels cannot be larger than about 1 X 10l8cm-3
because of possibly large gate leakage currents. If one goes ahead with a
thin (A1,Ga)As layer without increasing the doping level, the gate built-in
potential will widen the triangular potential well, and the electrons will not
be confined to the heterointerface, as shown in Fig. 6. When this happens
the transconductance near turn-on will be very small and nonlinear with
respect to the gate voltage.
(4) The setback layer should be as narrow as possible without compro-
mising transport properties (20-30 A) since this gives the minimum total
(A1,Ga)As thickness and maximum transconductance consistent with the
above limits. Typical parameters for a nomally-off device to satisfy these
2. (Al,Ga)As/GaAsAND (Al,Ga)As/InGaAsMODFETs 155
criteria would be: A1 concentration of about 30%, (A1,Ga)As thickness of

about 350 A, setback thickness of 30 A, and doping level of about
1 X 10I8~ m - ~ .
VI. Performance in Logic Circuits

Interest in MODFETs was aroused almost immediately after the first
working circuits were built by Fujitsu in 1980, with its 17 ps delay time and
power -delay product of 16.4 ft at 77 K and 1.7 pm gate length, attained by
ring oscillators operating at liquid nitrogen temperature.30These results
may be explained on the basis of higher velocities and transconductance
and lower saturation voltages of the device, as evidenced from the experi-
mental characteristics. In the logic applications area, using 1 pm gate
technology and ring oscillators (about 25 stages), Fujitsu reported a
zD= 12.8 ps switching time at 77 K (power consumption not given),
Thomson CSF reported 18.4 ps with a power dissipation of PD = 0.9
mW/stage at 300 K,31and AT&T Bell Laboratories reported zD = 23 ps
and PD = 4 mW/stage with 1 pm gate te~hnology.'~ Rockwell reported a
switching speed of 12.2 ps at 300 K with 13.6 fJ/stage power-delay
product. Honeywell reported ring oscillators with switching speeds of
zD = 1 1.6 ps at 1.56 mW/stage and 8.5 ps at 2.59 mW/stage at 300 and 77
K, respectively, using 1 pm self-aligned gates,33and AT&T Bell Laborato-
ries reported delay times of zD = 10.2 ps at 1.03 mW/stage and 5.8 ps at
1.76 mW/stage at 300 and 77 K, respectively, with a 0.35 pm gate length
device.34MODFETs have also been used to realize medium-scale integra-
tion (MSI) level circuits with a 4 X 4 bit multiplier circuit (1.6 ns multipli-
cation time)35and even large-scale integration (LSI) level circuits with a 4
kb static memory (2.0 ns access time).36
Modulation-doped field-effect transistors have progressed from non-
functional circuits, e.g., ring oscillators, to functional circuits such as fre-
quency dividers. AT&T Bell Laboratories, using a type-D flip-flop divide-
by-two circuit with 1 p m gate technology, obtained frequency division at
3.7 GHz (with 2.4 mW/gate power dissipation and 38 ps/gate propagation
delay) at 300 and 5.9 GHz (with 5.1 mW/gate power dissipation and 18
ps/gate propagation delay) at 77 Fujitsu has reported results on their
master- slave direct-coupled flip-flop divide-by-two circuit. At 300 K and
with a dc bias of 1.3 V, input signals with frequencies up to 5.5 GHz were
divided by two. At 77 K the frequency of the input signal could be
increased up to 8.9 GHz before the divide-by-two function was no longer
possible, The power dissipation per gate was 3 mW, and the dc bias voltage
was 0.96 V.38The best performance, however, is achieved with the type-D
flip-flop circuit made at AT&T Bell Laboratorie~.~~ Their results are im-
pressive considering that the type-D flip-flop circuit is inherently slower

than the master-slave circuit, and the transistor gate lengths were 1 pm as
opposed to 0.7 pm for the master-slave circuit. AT&T Bell Laboratories
reported frequency dividers of 6.3 GHz at 300 K and 13 GHz at 77 K with
0.7-0.8 pm gate lengths.39
All of the above circuits have used the simple direct-coupled logic cir-
cuits family using enhancement-mode drivers and depletion-mode loads,
or saturation resistor loads. The delay for such a stage is proportional to the
capacitances, and the voltage swing inversely proportional to the current
drive. To achieve high speed one needs to develop a high current-to-voltage
ratio. This requires more than just a high transconductance, which is
simply the slope of the drain current versus gate voltage characteristics.
The characteristics should also have a sharp knee so that little of the
valuable swing is lost traversing the low-transconductance knee region.
The sharp turn-on of the device maximizes speed. The maximum trans-
conductance is mainly a function of the saturated carrier velocity, but the
sharpness of the knee depends strongly on the lower-field part of the
velocity versus field characteristics (as well as on the charge-control char-
acteristics, as previously mentioned). While the device possesses good
high-speed characteristicsat room temperature, these are enhanced consid-
erably at liquid nitrogen temperature.
Low voltages are the key to low-power operation, since the switching
energy of the circuit is proportional to C - V 2 ;however, operation at low
power-supply voltages would require a very tight control over the turn-on
characteristics of the device. Good uniformity of the threshold voltage has
been achieved over distances of a few centimeters, the best number being
about a 10 mV standard deviation, achieved by Fujitsu,@and 14 mV over
a 3 in. wafer, achieved by H~neywell.~' This control would be sufficient for
enhance- deplete logic, if it could be obtained reproducibly.
The experimental findings can be further improved by developing opti-
mal inverter design rules through an accurate and practical large signal
device model. Such a model should give some insight as to what properties
of MODFETs make them perform exceptionally well and what parameters
should be optimized for maximum speed and power dissipation as well as
the maximum device parameter variations tolerable for reliable circuit
operation. Ketterson et ~ 1and. Ketterson
~ ~ and M o r k o ~have~ ~ ,made
~
attempts to develop such a model for both current-voltage and
capacitance- voltage characteristics of experimental devices produced in
this laboratory. This device model takes the charge response of (A1,Ga)As
gate voltage swings into account. Such important high gate bias effects as
free-electron generation neutralization of donors in the (A1,Ga)As were
included by numerically solving Poisson's equation in the (Al,Ga)As using
2. (Al,Ga)As/GaAsAND (Al,Ga)As/InGaAs MODFETs 157
Threshold Voltoge (V)
Threshold Voltage (V)

FIG. 13. The effect of drive threshold voltage on propagation delay and minimum noise
margin at (a) 300 and (b) 77 K for a supply voltage of 1 V (-) and 2 V (---). Increasing
V,, decreases r, and leads to improved noise margins, expecially "3.
Fermi- Dirac statistics?*-* Using this model various direct-coupled FET

logic (DCFL) ring oscillators with saturated resistor loads were simulated,
and the agreement with the experimental r e s ~ l t sis~reasonably
~,~ good for
the effect of threshold voltage, supply voltage, gate length, fan-out, and
parasitic capacitance on propagation delay time and noise margin.
Figure 13 shows the effect of threshold voltage V,, on propagation delay
time zD at 300 and 77 K for two different supply voltages. The propagation
delay time shows a steady decrease with increasing V, reaching a mini-
mum for V, above 0.6 V. The origin of this decrease in T D with VTHis
similar to that for the decrease in tDwith smaller V D D , with the exception
that the logic swing and noise margin are not degraded.
Figure 14 shows the supply voltage V D D dependence of propogation
delay time z, showing the trend of increasing T D with increasing VDD and
saturating for large V D D . Figure 14 also shows the power-dissipation de-
pendence on the supply voltage, showing good agreement with that of
Hendel et d . I 9 for the same gate width. As discussed in Ref. 42, the
increase in zD for large vDD is for the most part due to the saturation of
drain current and the resulting decrease in transconductance at high gate
voltages. Therefore, by decreasing V,, so that V,, is at or below the point
where g, degrades and where large capacitances due to (A1,Ga)As charge
changes begin, Z , improves remarkably. This decrease in V D D , however,
5 I I I I I lo
.!5 1.00 1.25 150 L75 200 225
Supply Voltage (V)
FIG.14. Effect of supply voltage on propagation delay time and power dissipation at 300 K
(-) and at 77 K (---). Minimum delay times at VDD= 2 V are 14.4 and 8.6 ps at 300
and 77 K, respectively.
results in a small logic swing and noise margin. Rather than reducing VDD
to prevent these high gate bias effects, a large Vm can be used to effectively
push the gate voltage necessary to see the transconductance degradation
above VoH. Furthermore, a wide logic swing and noise margin can be
maintained with a large V, . The effect of V, on noise margin NM is also
illustrated in Fig. 13. Only the minimum, either NMO or NMI, is plotted,
since it is the smallest noise margin that determines the overall noise
margin for the circuit. The NM is much larger at 77 than at 300 K because
of the smaller on resistance and sharper transfer characteristics. For small
Vnr it is NMO which is the smallest and determines the overall NM.
Because noise margins represent an additional voltage difference that
must be tranversed before the actual switching takes place, large noise
margins should result in an increase in delay time?’ However, as Fig. 13
shows, minimal delay times are possible even with large NMs by using high
threshold voltages, while large NMO should not affect 7D, due to the high
gate capacitance well above threshold. Nevertheless, the gain in zD of
reducing high gate bias effects by raising v, is more significant than the
detrimental effect of large noise margins.
The effect of reduced gate lengths LG on device and circuit performance
is very important.42Submicrometer devices exhibit superior current -gain
cutoff frequencies and improved ring oscillator switching times due to the
increased transconductance and reduced gate capacitance. The simulations
made for ring oscillatorsof LGranging between 0.25 and 2 pm show that 7,
is virtually the same for a given gate length even though the L,-dependent
transconductancevaried from 197 to 258 mS/mm at 300 K and 348 to 393
mS/mm at 77 K. This demonstrates the real gain of short gate length
MODFETs in digital circuits is in reducing the gate capacitance rather than
being from the increased transconductance. In summary, the simulations
indicate that a large driver threshold voltage should be used to provide
ample noise margins (especially NMO) and to increase the gate voltage
where high gate bias effects become noticeable. Circuits utilizing such
high-threshold drivers have improved propagation delay times and large
logic swings.
The simulations for a minimum tolerable noise margin of 0.2 V and a
threshold voltage of 0.5 V under various conditions indicate that delay
times can be obtained at small supply voltages, in agreement with the
majority of experimental results. This is explained as being due to the
reduction in transconductance and the increase in gate capacitance at large
voltages. Fan-out resistivities of 10.8 and 7.1 ps per FO at 300 and 77 K
show the superiority of (Al,Ga)As/GaAs MODFETs over values predicted
for Si MOSFET and GaAs MESFET circuits. The simulations further
show that, at least for circuits dominated by gate capacitance loading, the
important effect of reducing the device gate length on delay time is in

reducing the gate capacitance rather than increasing transconductance.
Although these results are strictly valid only for ideal circuits (i.e., ring
oscillators),they do provide an indication of how actual circuits dominated
by interconnect capacitance and multiple fan-out capacitance can be opti-
mized.
VII. Microwave Performance

While a great majority of heterojunction-related research has so far been
directed toward the logic applications due to their distinct advantages over
conventional GaAs MESFETs, with the increasing interest in industrial
laboratories, impressive results have become available on the microwave
low-noise performance of MODFETs. Even though this device is being
considered for power applications as well, its power-handling capabilities
are limited by the relatively low breakdown voltage of the gate Schottky
bamer. Approaches such as the camel which utilizes a p+-n+
structure on n-(A1,Ga)As for an increased breakdown voltage, will have to
be improved before the MODFETs can be a good contender in the power
FET area except at extremely high frequencies.
In the microwave low-noise FET area, there have been recent reports of
successful operation of MODFETs with gate lengths as short as 0.35
pm.49-s8The results are very impressive as compared to conventional
GaAs MESFETs. Devices with a 0.35 pm gate length operated at 35 GHz
exhibited an impressive low-noise figure of only 2.7 dB at 300 K,s3 and
MODFETs with relatively long gate lengths, i.e., 1.4 pm, have demon-
strated current-gain frequencies as high as 25 GHz. Most recently, the
General Electric groups8has reported (Al,Ga)As/GaAsMODFETs with a
noise figure of 0.8 dB at 18 GHz and a current - gain cutoff frequency offT
of 80 GHz for 1 pm gate length. As will be seen from the comparison, the
available current-gain and noise-figure data on nonoptimized MODFETs
are extremely superior to the optimized conventional GaAs MESFETs
with the same gate length. The microwave MODFET models show that a
50% improvement in the power-gain cutoff frequency can be expected as
5. EQUIVALENT
CIRCUITS
In understanding and modeling the high-frequency small-signal and
large-signal performance, one needs to develop an equivalent circuit for the
MODFET structure, such as by assuming a lumped-element circuit
model.60 One can perform microwave S-parameter measurements as a
function of applied bias, from which Y parameters and the equivalent-
circuit parameters can be calculated. Measurements made between 2 and
FIG.15. Scatteringparameters measured as a function of frequency (data)at V, = 0 V and

V, = 2.5 V for a normally-on FET. The outer circle corresponds to 1 for S,, and S,,, 5 for
S,, ,and 0.2 for S,, ,respectively. The calculated S parameters using the equivalent circuit of
Fig. 14 are also shown (-). The measurements for this particular figure were performed
at Tektronix.
18 GHz are illustrated in Fig. 15. S parameters, which are easily measured
for a two-port device, are connected to gain and admittance parameters
corresponding to the equivalent-circuit model commonly used for high-
speed FETs, as shown in Fig. 16. The intrinsic transistor elements are: C,
and C,, the sum of which is the total gate-to-channel capacitance; and rh
and R&, which relate the channel current to the voltage drop across CP.
The transadmittance is characterized by a transconductance g,, and a
transit time rt for electrons in the high-field region beneath the gate. In
some cases a feedback resistance R, is placed in series with C,. The
extrinsic circuit elements are: R, and R,, each of which is the sum of an
ohmic contact resistance; the semiconductor resistance between the ohmic
contact and the edge of the gate; and part of the channel resistance under
the gate.61,62Rg is the meta gate resistance, and Lg, L,, and Ld are the
inductances associated with wires bonded to the transistor.
The current-gain cutoff and unilateral power-gain cutoff frequencies
may be estimated from the equivalent circuit given by Ref. 63.
fT = gmd2nCgS (13)
FIG. 16. Equivalentcircuit parameters calculated from Y parameters which in turn are
calculated from S parameters.
and
fmax =fTl{2[(& + Rg + RJRG' + 2nhRgcds]''2) (14)
The current-gain cutoff frequency can also be found directly by measuring
the current gain as a function of frequency and extrapolating the unity of
gain. Table I shows the values of the small-circuit parameters reported for
(Al,Ga)As/GaAs MODFETs with 0.35,52 0.50,64and 1 pm50 gate lengths
with estimated and/or measured values of& and f ,,. One should keep in
mind that these values are bias dependent and do not represent the device
operation under identical conditions. Arnold et have studied the bias
dependence of small-signal parameters of MODFETs as compared to
GaAs MESFETs which were fabricated in the same manner. The values for
GaAs are given in parentheses in Table I. Furthermore, the circuit ele-
ments g,, , C, ,and Rdsfor MODFETs displayed sharper pinch-off charac-
teristics than in the GaAs MESFETs, as demonstrated in Fig. 17.
The superiority of MODFETs over the conventional GaAs MESFETs
for low noise can be seen by using a first-order analysis. For a short-gate
MODFET operating in the saturated velocity mode, the intrinsic transcon-
ductance g,,, is given by
gm =~
2 ~ sW
Zl (15)
and C, is primarily due to the gate capacitance, given by
+
C, = E2LZ/(d A d ) + c,LZ/W (16)
where E~ and dare the dielectric and the thickness of the (A1,Ga)Asbeneath
the gate, Ad is the average effective displacement of the electron gas in the
GaAs from the heterointerface, and L the gate length. For a MODFET, W
TABLE I
SMALL-SIGNAL
CIRCUIT-ELEMENT
VALUES,
CURRENT-GAIN
CUTOFFFREQUENCIESV;) AND
POWER-GAIN
CUTOFFFREQUENCIES
&
), FOR
MODFETs"
~ ~~~~
L,@m) 0.39 03 1.od
g,,,(mS/mm) 230 235 140 (100)

Tz (PS) - 2 2.4 (4.4)
C,(pF/mm) 0.78 1.3 1.3 ( 1 . 1 )
C, (pF/mm) 0.23 0.15 0.09 (0.11)
c d s (pF/mm) 0.17 0.45 0.16 (0.28)
R, (a) 2.4 1 4 (4)
Rin (amm) 1.11 0.4 7 (3.6)
Rds(Rmm) 44 66 220(120)
R,,(Rmm) 0 0.2 0 (0)
R, (Q mm) 0.38 0.8 1.5 (0.93)
Rd mm) 0.39 1.0 0.84 (0.15)
f, (GH-8 47 35*/29 18(14)
f, ( G W 75 96 38 (30)
The values in parentheses are for a GaAs MES-

FET with the same geometry as the MODFET. The
starred values of f, were obtained by measuring
lhz,l versusf and extrapolating to the intercept with
the faxis.
* Reference 52.
Reference 64.
* Reference 50.
and therefore C, are relatively bias independent except near the pinch-off,
as shown in Fig. 18. This change may also show that C,, calculated here,
merely represents an effective input capacitance. The combined capacitive
effects in the input circuit is here termed and modeled as C,,.shown in Fig.
14. The large drop in C, as the gate voltage approaches pmch-off is ex-
plained by the widening of the potential well in the undoped GaAs channel
near pinch-off, as shown in Fig. 17. Combining Eqs. (14) and (1 5) we have
fT = vJ2;nL
an identical expression to that obtained for GaAs MESFETS.~',~~ This is
confirmed in Fig. 19, which showsf, andf,, as a function of the gate bias
for both devices. For the MODFETs one would have expectedf, to remain
constant if the effective input capacitance C, were bias independent.
MODFETs have higher effective V , at 300 K (- 1.8-2 X lo7 ~ m / s ) ~ ~ @
than GaAs MESFETs (- 1.3 X lo7 ~ m / s ) , 6which
~ gives the MODFETs a
f [ l 051
-7
70t
6% 0.25
I I
0.50
I
0.75
"
1.00
IVdV, I
FIG.17. Small-signal transconductance calculated from Y,, at 4 GHz for a MODFET (0)
and conventional MESFET (A) versus the gate bias normalized with respect to the pinch-off
voltage and to 1 mm of gate width. The fact that the transconductance of the MODFET stays
high for about half the gate bias range supports the theory presented.
v)
u"
1.0-
0.8
0
I
0.25 0.5
I I
0.75
1
1.o
vgs / v p
FIG. 18. The variation of gate capacitance with gate bias in a conventional MESFET (A,
experimental) and a MODFET (0,experimental; ---, theoretical). Again, invariance away
from the pinch-off is characteristic of the MODFET.
2. (AI,Ga)As/GaAs AND (Al,Ga)As/InGaAs MODFETs 165
40
I
c 30.-/- n
0
0
2 0
c3
-
Y
0 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00

IVqdVpI
FIG. 19. Current-gain cutoff frequency, fT (0,
MODFET A, MESFET), and unilateral
power-gain frequency,f- (A, MODFET; 0,MESFET) a (in GHz) versus gate bias normal-
ized to pinch-off. V, = 4 V.
speed advantage of about 1.5 over MESFETs for a 1 pm gate device. At 77

K the speed advantage of MODFETs increases to 1.5 as Y , increases to
- 3 X lo7C ~ / S , ~ ~ while
, ~ O us is independent of temperature for MESFETs.
The feedback capacitance C, is mainly due to gate fringing capacitance
between the gate and drain; therefore, it is almost in contact with the
increase in reverse gate b i a ~ . ~At, ~lower
' drain biases C, contains parts of
C,as well. As the device reaches velocity saturation C, reflects only the
gate fringe capacitance. This explains the rapid decrease of C, with the
increase in drain bias in the vicinity of saturation, as illustrated in Fig. 20.
Similar behavior has also been reported for conventional GaAs
MESFETS.~,~' -73
The drain resistance %, is another crucial parameter in deterrniningf,,
and, in turn, the power gain of the MODFETs. Figure 21 illustrates how
the drain resistance (output resistance) %, of the MODFET changes with
V,, with the gate voltage used as a parameter. At lower drain voltages %,
is in good agreement with the theory developed for conventional GaAs
FIG.20. Feedback capacitance for a MODFET versus V , with V, as a parameter ( 0 , O ; A,

-0.2; 0, -0.4;V,-0.6 V) in pF per mm gate width.
Here I d and I, are the drain and drain saturation currents, respectively. The
V, dependence of R, at lower drain voltages can be immediately seen in
Fig. 2 1. Figure 22 demonstrates how Rdsvaries with Id.As can be seen, the
linear depenence of R, on the drain current I d does not hold over the
entire operational range of the device. The observed nonlinearity can arise
from parallel resistance in the substrate, as observed for GaAs MES-
, ~ * increase of the L$d+ Ad ratio in MODFETs decreases
F E T s . ~ ~The
R, and in turn increases f-. In MESFETs it is desirable to keep
+
L J a >> 3.75 For MODFETs d A d is less than 0.05 pm, so that gate
-
lengths can be reduced to 0.15 pm before suffering serious degradation.
The final scaling consideration is that the threshold voltage of MODFETs
has been found to be independent of L down to at least 0.25 This is
due to the fact that the large electron density is located in the vicinity of the
gate. In conventional GaAs MESFETs threshold voltage shifts of - 1 or -2
FIG.21. Output resistance for a MODFET versus Vdawith VW as a parameter (0,0; A,

-0.2; 17, -0.4; V, -0.6 V) in R mm.
V have been observed as the gate length is decreased to 0.3 One can
overcome this in MESFETs by increasing the channel doping up to
1 X lo1*~ m - ~ Figure
. 23 show the current-gain cutoff frequencyf, as a
function of gate length L (in pm). The slope shows that fT is inversely
proportional to the 1.5 power of the gate length over the entire gate length.
Here we should like to point out that for submicrometer gate lengths
velocity overshoot effects on fT may be i r n p ~ r t a n t . ~ ~ , ~ ~
The low-noise performance of state-of-the-art MODFETs is illustrated
in Fig. 24. The noise value is plotted as a function of gate length. Goronkin
and Nair78have pointed out that the noise value M = 1 - F is a useful
figure of merit in comparing FETs. The method is based on the form of
physical or empirical noise models which can be written as F = 1 fL.F +
is related to the measured noise figure by NF = 10 log,,, F. The solid and
dashed lines are the best published data for MODFETs and GaAs MES-
FETs characterized at 8 and 18 GHz, respectively, in 1984.
FIG.22. Output resistance for a MODFET as a function of drain current in R mm.
VIII. Anomalies in the Current - Voltage Characteristics

As indicated earlier, these devices have the potential for better perform-
ance at cryogenic temperatures; however, a peculiar behavior in the drain
I- V characteristics of these devices upon cooling to 77 K has been ob-
~ e r v e d . ' ~In. ~particular,
~ when the device is cooled to 77 K without expo-
sure to light, the drain I- I/ characteristics collapse at drain to source
voltages less than about 0.5 V, while at voltages greater than about - 5 V
the characteristics look normal. In addition, a marked reduction in the
drain current has been reported in some devices for large drain biases:'
which was attributed to carrier injection over the barrier.82
Modulation-doped FETs would be of limited value for cryogenic opera-
tion if this effect could not be understood and preferably eliminated. By
careful control of the fabrication process and growth conditions it has been
shown to be possible to fabricate heterojunction FETs that do not exhibit
this effect at cryogenic temperature^.^^
Figure 25 shows a schematic cross section of a fabricated device and also
indicates one possible mechanism by which the distortion of the drain I- V
characteristics may occur. Since the collapse in the I- V characteristics of
MODFETs is observed only after a drain bias greater than 1 V has been
00 -
70-
60 -
50-
40 -
N
I
(3
Y
+I-30-
20 -
101 I I I I I l l
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
Gate Length ( p m )
FIG. 23. The comparison of experimental values of current gain cutoff 6 ) versus gate
length for state-of-the-art(In,Ga)As/(Al,Ga)As (---) and GaAs/(Al,Ga)As (-) MOD-
FETs.
applied, it seems likely that the mechanism responsible for the collapse is
related to some charge-injection/trappingprocess. Also, since the magni-
tude of the electric field is largest at the drain end of the channel, the
charge-injection mechanism would be expected to occur near the drain.
Drummond et al.76have suggested that the mechanism responsible for the
observed effect is due to charge injection and trapping in the bulk
(A1,Ga)Asnear the drain end of the channel. A similar collapse in the drain
current has also been observed in CdSe thin-film transistors” and in
insulated gate (SiOJ FETs.85,86 In both cases the collapse was attributed to
electron trapping in the gate insulator. In the MODFET the depleted
1s
0.
7 0.
s
0
v)
P
%
.-
20
L I 1 I I I I
0.2 0.4 0.6
Gote Length (,urn)
FIG. 24. Noise measure of state-of-the-art (Al,Ga)As/GaAs MODFETs as a function of
gate length. (---), the performance of state-of-the-art GaAs MESFET for comparison (see
Ref. 50).
Depletion Electron
Doped AlxGo~-xAs 4 Injection
Undoped AIxGal-xAs l-
f’
2 DEG
FIG.25. Schematiccross section of a MODFET, indicatinga possible mechanism by which
I - V collapse occurs.
2. (AI,Ga)As/GaAs AND (AI,Ga)As/InGaAs MODFETs 171
(a 1
300 K 77
r
;jE
60
F
Dorh Light
-
32u
L " 1
o a5 1.5 ~5 , 0 0 5 5
Drain to Source Voltage (V)
(b)
77 K
r Dark r Light
*c---
_----
--
/----
0 0.5 1.0 L5 o a5 LO 1.5

FIG.26. Current-voltage characteristics from two devices, (a) one With 1.0 pm long gates
and (b) one with 1.6 pm long gates. The gate recess was the same length in both devices. The
step size was +0.2 V for all characteristics. Some of the traces at 77 K are shown as dashed
lines because of oscillations.
(AI,Ga)As, undoubtedly containing a very large concentration of defects,

can trap the injected electrons. This was also observed by Kastalsky and
KiehLS7
It is well known that (A1,Ga)As contains a defect center presumably
induced by donors and has quite a large barrier to electron capture and
emission at cryogenic temperatures.88It is this center which is believed to
give rise to the persistent photoconductivity effect in ( A I , G ~ ) A sand
, ~ ~it is
conceivable that this particular center could capture the electrons injected
into the (A1,Ga)As for a sufficient period of time so as to give rise to the
observed phenomenon. Once electrons are injected into the (A1,Ga)As
near the drain, the reduction of net positive space charge in the depleted
(A1,Ga)As calls for a smaller concentration in that region. A depleted

2DEG would restrict current flow in the channel. As the drain bias in-
creases, however, the depleted region can be punched through, resulting in
the resumption of drain current.
The mechanism is supported by the experimental results shown in Fig.
26a, where the typical behavior of the collapse of I- Vcharacteristics at 77
K is plotted. The drain I- V characteristics are shown at room tempera-
ture, after cooling to 77 K in the dark, and after exposure to light at 77 K.
Some traces in the I- V characteristics of these devices at low temperature
are shown as dashed lines. The larger transconductances achieved at low
temperatures lead to bias instabilities due to oscillations caused by para-
sitics of the TO- 18 headers used.
Both of the devices shown in Fig. 26 were fabricated from the same
epitaxial layer. Once the source and drain ohmic contacts were formed, the
wafer was cut in half. On one piece, 1.6 pm long gates were fabricated,
while on the other, 1.0 pm gates were fabricated. The gate recess was the
same length in both pieces. The characteristics shown in Fig. 26b corre-
spond to the device having the 1.6 pm gate length, while those in Fig. 26a
correspond to the device with the 1.O pm long gate. The I- Vcharacteristics
of the device in Fig. 26b demonstrate that is indeed possible to fabricate
FETs whose performance improves substantially when cooled to 77 K in
the dark. Furthermore, when the characteristics of Fig. 26b are compared
with those of Fig. 26a, it is obvious that at least part of the mechanism
resonsible for the collapse is related to the geometry and/or particular
fabrication procedures used.
The transconductanceof the device in Fig. 26b was 170 and 280 ms/mm
at 300 and 77 K, respectively. The source resistance of this device esti-
mated from the drain I- V Characteristics was about 1.5 51 mm at 300 K
and decreased to 0.36 R mm at 77 K. The value for the source resistance
measured by forward biasing the gate with respect to the source and
recording the drain voltage while monitoring the gate current was slightly
larger than 1 SZ mm at 300 K. On the same wafer, using the transmission
line method, a specific contact resistivity of slightly less than 2 X lo-' 51
cm2 was measured for this particular structure. This resistivity should be
treated with some caution, because the sheet resistivity underneath the
contact may be different.
The results of Fig. 26 can be understood in light of the phenomenologi-
cal model outlined above. It has been shown that when the distance
between two electrodes is less than about 0.4 pm, the surface depletion
does not occur to any appreciable extent,w which has been confirmed in
camel diode gate GaAs FETs9' as well. Since the (A1,Ga)Asis thinner in the
gate recess, any surface depletion can extend closer to the 2DEG than in
regions away from the gate recess. In addition, this results in lifting the
conduction-band edge in (A1,Ga)As with respect to the Fermi level. The
entire thickness of the (A1,Ga)As could in fact be depleted, enhancing the
charge-trapping mechanism alluded to earlier.
Since little or no effective surface depletion was shown to occur for
distances of less than about 0.4 pm,w this allows some variation in the
positioning of the gate metallization within the recess. As long as the gap in
the recess is kept below about 0.4 pm, the devices should not show any
collapse. The results of Fig. 26 support this observation, since the only
difference between the device of Fig. 26a as opposed to that of Fig. 26b is in
the size of the gap between the gate metal and edge of the recess. Figure 27
shows the drain I- V characteristics of the device of Fig. 26b with the
source and drain leads interchanged (inverted). For this particular device,
the 1.6 pm gate was not placed in the center of the 2.2 p m long recess. The
gap between the edge of the gate metal and gate recess on the drain side was
about 0.1 pm when the device was operated in the normal configuration,
while that for the inverted configuration was about 0.5 pm.The fact that
collapse occurred only for inverted operation but not for normal operation
further verifies the proposed mechanism. The results of Fig. 26 also indi-
cate that the drain I- Vdistortion in MODFETs is not necessarily related
to problems associated with contacting the 2DEG through (Al,Ga)As. The
devices of Fig. 26 had their source and drain ohmic contacts formed at the
same time, yet one exhibited collapse while the other did not.
If indeed the collapse of the drain I-V characteristics at cryogenic
temperatures is related to charge trapping in the (Al,Ga)As, the density of
defects in the (A1,Ga)As should have a profound impact on this phenome-
non. In order to determine the influence of defect concentration, FETs
were fabricated from an expitaxial layer on which several monolayers of
Ga had been deposited on half the surface of the substrate prior to the
+0.2V/step, 77K Dork

FIG.27. Drain I - V characteristic from the device of Fig. 22b with source and drain leads
interchanged.
initiation of growth to achieve a varying As vacancy-related defect concen-

tration across the wafer. The characteristics shown in Fig. 28a correspond
to devices taken from areas of wafers with no Ga predeposition, while those
of Fig. 28b are associated with the area of the wafer with predeposited Ga
layer.
The characteristics of Fig. 28a show no collapse, while those of Fig. 28b
do show collapse. This demonstrates that the presence of traps plays an
important role in the drain I- Y collapse. The characteristics of Fig. 28a
demonstrate another important feature having to do with the lack of
performance enhancement as it is cooled to 77 K. At room temperature,
the transconductance and source resistance were 150 ms/mm and 1.5 R
mm, respectively. As the device was cooled to 77 K in the dark, the
(a)
300 K 77 K
-a1vistep -0.1Vlstep
Dark Light
a
0
10-
, - 0
0 0.5 1.0 L5
Drain to Scurce Voltage (V)
(b)
300 K 77 K
-0.2 V/step -0.2 V/step -0.2 V/step
3or
Light
25
2
3 I0
5-

FIG.28. Drain current- voltage characteristicsfrom two devicestaken from a layer in which
about one monolayer of Ga was predeposited to study the effect of traps. The characteristics
shown in (a) are from a device with a smaller amount of predeposited Ga, and those in (b) are
from one with a larger amount.
transconductance increased slightly to 155 mS/mm, but the source resist-

ance increased to about 2 R mm. Upon exposure to light, however, the
transconductance increased to 3 15 mS/mm, and the source resistance
decreased to about 0.5 Q mm. This demonstrates the importance of elimi-
nating defects and shows that the cryogenic performance of the device is
sensitive to the molecular-beam epitaxial growth conditions. Since it is well
known that ternary compounds such as (A1,Ga)Asare much more sensitive
to the growth conditions used than are binaries, the defects are predomi-
nantly believed to be associated with (A1,Ga)As.
A further verification of this conclusion was obtained in another experi-
ment in which the GroupV/III ratio used during the growth of the
(A1,Ga)Aswas varied from the optimum vaue (about 5 : 1) to a much lower
value (2 : 1). The points to be drawn from the results of this series are that
the device performance at room temperature and 77 K (dark and light) all
degrade as the Group-V/III ratio decreases. This underscores the impor-
tance of obtaining the highest possible quality (A1,Ga)As. Another impor-
tant point is that, although the device results degrade with lowering the
Group-V/III ratio [and hence (A1,Ga)As quality], the Hall measurements
do not necessarily reflect this difference. With the exception of the 77 K
mobility for the layer grown with the lowest GroupV/III ratio, the Hall
data do not vary appreciably from layer to layer. This demonstrates that
the Hall mobility of modulation-doped layers gives a rather poor indica-
tion of device performance. Again the device with the lowest (2 : 1) Group-
V/III ratio showed collapse while the others did not.
IX. Advanced Technology Requirements

In the ultra-high-speed area, the technology for fabricating submicrom-
eter gate devices with extremely small source and drain contact resistances
must be developed. In order for the heterojunction FET to retain its speed
advantages over self-aligned-gate GaAs FETS?~a postgrowth ion implan-
tation and annealing process (Fig. 29) must be used. It is then imperative
that after annealing the heterojunction structure maintain its electrical
properties. Initial furnace annealing studies have revealed an extensive
degradation, which casts doubt on the development of this important
t e c h n ~ l o g yFurther
.~~ investigation with furnance annealing showed that
the interface sheet carrier concentrations must be made very very small to
reduce d e g r a d a t i ~ n(but
~ ~ failed to eliminate it). This is contradictory to
the requirements for a fast switching device, since large interface electron
concentrations are needed.
Using conventional single-interface modulation-doped structures, Hen-
derson et al.95have shown that almost no degradation occurs after flash
nf Implant
I\
i
I I n
tI
I I
I I ' ___--
Goas 1-7-1 2DEG
t
FIG. 29. Cross-sectional view of a self-aligned modulationdoped MODFET where the
T-shaped gate is used as a self-aligned n+-implantation mask. The gate metal in contact with
the semiconductor is a refractory material, and the cap on it may or may not be left in place
depending on whether or not it tolerates the annealing process.
$1012 ' I I
Y
b
b 4
c
c
0 w
-.a
s t-
-
c
.-
a 2-
r"
TA ("C)
FIG.30. The sheet-electron areal density and the electron mobility at 77 K of modulation-
doped heterostructures flash annealed between 750 and 900°C (A, layer A; 0, layer B).
2. (Al,Ga)AsfGaAs AND (A1,Ga)AsfInGaAsMODFETs 177
annealing at 8OO"C,which is believed to be sufficient to produce about

80-90% activation in GaAs when the dose is about 10l2 cm-2. In this
particular study the samples were flash annealed at TA= 750, 800, 850,
and 900°C in a commercially available annealing apparatus in an inert
atmosphre of 3%H2 in Ar, and in contact with an undoped GaAs wafer to
minimize As desorption. A similar technique has been shown95to yield an
activation efficiency of >90% in Zn-implanted bulk GaAs at TA= 800°C.
The results of HalI-mobility and sheet-camer-concentration measure-
ments are presented in Fig. 30. Note that, while in both instances annealing
at 800°C preserves over 85% of the virgin 77 K mobility, n, at 77 K is
reduced 25% in layer A, but remains virtually unaffected in layer B. Layer
A consisted of a 1.0 ,urn GaAs buffer layer beneath a 30 A undoped
(A1,Ga)As setback layer topped with a 400 A n-(A1,Ga)As layer which is
then capped with 200 A n-GaAs. The thicknesses in layer B were 3.0 pm,
30 A, 600 A, and 50 A, respectively. Diffusion of Si from the doped
(Al,Ga)As layer can be ruled out on two premises: (1) insufficient time at
the elevated temperature and (2) the more heavily doped layer is less
I I
8200 8300
x ti,
FIG. 3 1 . Low-temperature photoluminescence spectra obtained From layer A after flash
annealing between 750 and 900°C.
Excitons
I I
8200 8300
x (8)
FIG.32. Low-temperaturephotoluminescence spectra obtained in layer B following flash
annealing at temperatures between 750 and 900°C.
affected with the same undoped layer thickness. The remaining plausible
mechanisms are As desorption, diffusion of impurities from the substrate,
and site transfer of the amphoteric Si dopant in the doped (A1,Ga)As layer.
The photoluminescence (PL) spectra reproduced in Figs. 31 and 32
exhibit trends similar to those observed in the Hall data. Both samples
display an overall decrease in integrated PL intensity as TA increases,
except that the control from layer B produced weak luminescence, possibly
due to misalignment during measurement. Deterioration of the GaAs
buffer at higher TAis evidenced by a broadening of the exciton lines and an
increase in the ratio of intensities of peaks associated with defects96(D,
X)
with respect to the free-exciton (F, X) line. It should be pointed out,
however, that recent results on high-purity samples indicate that what were
previously thought to be (D, X)97lines may actually be associated with
donor- acceptor pairs.
The difference in the deterioration of the optical properties of the two
layers is again one of degree. The overall similarity of PL spectra from
samples annealed at 750 and 800°C to their respective controls supports

the conclusion that decreases in n, stem from either As depletion or site
transfer of the amphoteric Si dopant in the doped (A1,Ga)As layer rather
than deterioration of the GaAs itself The decrease in intensity of exciton
lines is due to and correlates well with the decrease in n,: In layer A as TA
increases from 750 to 800°C, An, = 16%,while A(F, X) = 28%; in layer B
as TA increases from 750 to 8OO"C, An, = I%, while A(F, X) = 1.5%.
The above data present some clues regarding the processes leading to the
degradation observed at 900°C. The mechanisms that may be responsible
are: (1) diffusion of impurities from the substrate into the epilayers, (2)
lattice damage and autocompensation due to As desorption from surface
layers, and (3) diffusion of Si from the n-(A1,Ga)Aslayer into the 2DEG
region.
The role of substrate impurity outdiffusion is addressed by a comparison
of layers A and B. These structures are similar except that B is grown on a
Cr-doped substrate and includes a buffer layer between the substrate and
the heterointerface that is three times the thickness of the buffer layer in
structure A, which was grown on an undoped substrate. Because the
substrate type and buffer layer thickness do not appreciably affect the
degradation of those two structures, substrate impurity outdiffusion can be
eliminated as a significant mechanism.
A second possible mechanism is surface desorption of As. Because the
total thickness of GaAs or (A1,Ga)Asabovethe 2DEG in these structures is
less than 700 A,this mechanism might be expected to play a significant
role. The increased density of surface defects observed in structures an-
nealed at TA = 900°C supports this hypothesis. If As desorbs to the extent
of creating lattice vacancies near the heterointerface, a significant degrada-
tion in mobility as well as camer concentration would be expected as a
result of the large density of scattering centers and traps. In addition,
because PL measurements made on Si-doped epitaxial GaAs indicate
increasing probability of the transfer of Si from donor to acceptor sites with
increasing TA,a similar trend can be expected for the Si-doped (A1,Ga)As
layers in these structures. This would tend to further decrease measured
electron concentrations. Above 850°C both samples show a drastic de-
crease in mobility and carrier concentration. This is undoubtedly due in
part to the creation of a large number of GaAs lattice defects, as seen in the
PL spectra of those samples. This is consistent with extensive loss of As
from the samples.
The importance of a third mechanism, diffusion of Si from the doped
(A1,Ga)As layer to the heterointerface, is less certain. A simple extrapola-
tion of results available in the literature indicates that Si in GaAs may
diffuse as far as - 50 A for TA= 800°C or - 200 A for TA = 900°C with an
annealing time of 1 s. Assuming that these lengths are similar for diffusion
in (Al,Ga)As, one might expect that diffusion of Si to the heterointerface
could cause a large reduction in the 2DEG mobility for TA2 800°C. Our
data indicate that this is not the cause, even for annealing temperatures as
high as 850°C. Whether or not significant Si diffusion takes place from 850
to 900°C is difficult to determine because the effects of As desorption on
mobility will obscure any similar effects that Si diffusion might produce.
PL measurements on annealed modulation-doped structures do not show
the spectral lines characteristic of Si in GaAs. This indicates that, if diffu-
sion of Si into the GaAs takes place, the difision depth is indeed fairly
small. Microprobe measurements should be of some value in this regard.
Despite the fact that some degradation is observed in transient annealed
modulation-doped heterostructures at the higher end of the temperature
range, the results of this experiment are quite promising and demonstrate
that the modulation-doped structures can withstand the annealing process
that makes 90% implant activation possible in GaAs and retain over 95%
of the virgin mobility and sheet carrier concentration. The successful
results reported here serve to remove a significant obstacle on the path to a
new generation of ultrafast, MODFET-based circuits.
X. Pseudo-morphic MODFET- (In,Ga)As/(Al,Ga)As

So far our focus has been on the most extensively studied MODFET
structure, (Al,Ga)As/GaAs. It is shown that although the (Al,Ga)As/GaAs
structure is one of the most promising and widely studied transistors,
cryogenic operation of this device (where its advantages over the conven-
tional GaAs MESFET are most apparent) is not ideal. Deep levels (DX
centers) in the (Al,Ga)As with peculiar persistent properties can lead to the
“collapse” of the drain I - V characteristics. More troublesome is the
threshold voltage, which occurs at 77 K after the gate has been forward
biased. To reduce these problems one may use (A1,Ga)As with x 5 0.20,
where the DX occupation probability is significantly decreased. This, how-
ever, reduces the conduction-band discontinuity at the heterointerface,
which results in less efficient electron transfer and therefore a smaller
2DEG concentration. Furthermore, the use of a low Al mole fraction in
(A1,Ga)As also compounds the problems of parasitic MESFET effects. An
alternative solution proposed recently, which replaces (A1,Ga)As alto-
gether, is to use (In,Ga)As as the narrow-bandgap material and dope the
larger-bandgap GaAsW A thin layer of the narrow-bandgap (In,Ga)As,
which is lattice mismatched to GaAs (- 1%) is sandwiched between an
undoped GaAs buffer and a doped GaAs cap layer. The (In, Ga)As is thin
enough (-200 A) that the lattice strain is taken up coherently by this
quantum well, resulting in a dislocation-free “pseudo-morphic” material.

More recently it was demonstrated that, by replacing the GaAs with the
even higher-bandgap low mole fraction (Al,Ga)As, device performance
rivaling the best reported (Al,Ga)As/GaAs MODFET results are possible.
Ketterson et aL3have made the first s u m f u l fabrication of I ~ . 1 5 ~ . s s A l /
Ab.lsG~.ssAs MODFET exhibiting good dc characteristics. dc transcon-
ductances are 270 mS/mm at 300 K and 360 mS/mm at 77 K for devices
with 1-pm gate lengths and 3-pm source-drain spacings. Their results
rival the best results obtained for (Al,Ga)As/GaAs MODFETs. A current-
gain cutoff frequency of about 20 GHz was found, and no persistent
photoconductivity or drain collapse was observed. Most recently, Ketter-
son et aL5 characterized the pseudo-morphic InyGaI-yA~/AI,,15Ga,,85A~
(0.05 I y I0.20) MODFETs grown by molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) at
dc (300 and 77 K) and rf frequencies. The pseudo-morphic single-quan-
turn-well (In,Ga)As/(Al,Ga)As structures studied were grown by MBE on
GaAs substrates. The 1 pm unintentionally doped GaAs buffer layer was
followed by either 150 or 200 A quantum well of undoped InYGal-,As,
with y varing from 0.05 to 0.20. Finally, a structure with a 30 A
Ab.15Gh.sy4sundoped setback layer, a 350 A n-Ab.lSG%.85As layer doped
to 3 X lo1*cm-3 with Si, and a 200 A n+-GaAs cap layer to facilitate
ohmic contact formation is grown.
Hall measurements performed on the sample shown in Fig. 33 indicate a
300 K low-field mobility and areal concentration of 6000 cm2/V S and
1.4 X 10I2 cm-2; at 77 K these values are 29,000 cm2/V S and 1.2 X 10l2
cm-2 and showed no peristent photoconductivity effect. When the setback
layer thickness was reduced to 30 A, the 2DEG concentration decreased to
3 X 10’’ cm-2, and the Hall mobility increased to 8000, 95,000 and
158,000 cmF2/VS at 300, 77, and 10 K, respectively. They represent the
highest yet reported mobilities for a strained-layer MODFET structure.
However, the low sheet carrier concentration makes this structure less
suitable for FETs.
In order to demonstrate the superior cryogenic performance of
(In,Ga)As/(Al,Ga)As pseudomorphic MODFETs compared to the more
conventional GaAs/(Al,Ga)As structure, Hall measurements were made
down to 12 K in the light and dark. At 12 and 77 K persistent photocon-
ductivity measurements were done by measuring the sample in the dark
just following the illumination, and the results are illustrated in Fig. 34. As
Fig. 34 shows, there is virtually no change in either the mobility of sheet
carrier concentration between light and dark for the (In,Ga)As/(Al,Ga)As
sample as compared to a conventional GaAs/(Al,Ga)Assample of a similar
structure. Figures 35 and 36 show the mobility and velocity of electrons in
an A~.IsG~.ssAs/I~.lsG~.ssAs pseudo-morphic structure as a function of
200.4 n-GoAs
Al Gate
p- GaAs
Undoped
Undoped EC
- -- - - --- - - EF
FIG. 33. (a) Typical structure for MBE-grown (In,Ga)As/(AI,Ga)As pseudo-morphic

MODFET and (b) the associated conduction-banddiagram. The conductingchannel forms a
two-dimensionalelectron gas in the strained-layer(In,Ga)Asquantum well.
electric field at both 77 and 300 K, respectively. Although the 77 K

mobility is not extremely high at low electric fields (29,000 cm2/V S), the
high-field mobility is as high as or higher than typical (Al,Ga)As/GaAs
structures. Furthermore, it was shown earlier that the low-field mobility
does not affect the device performance of FETs.
The dc characterization was made by using an HP4145 semiconductor
parameter analyzer at both 300 and 77 K. The current-voltage and FET
transfer characteristics are shown in Fig. 37, indicating excellent saturation
and pinchoff characteristics with an output conductance of 700 p s and an
on resistance of 18.4 a. As the In mole fraction increased form 15 to 20%,
the peak extrinsic transconductance was increased from 270 to 310
ms/mm at 300 K. This is superior to the best reported transconductances
for I pm non-self-aligned GaAs/(Al,Ga)As MODFETs. Figure 38a and b
illustrates the 77 K state of the dc characteristics for the y = 0.15 device in
the dark. There is no collapse observed under this condition. As the device
is illuminated, no visual change in the curves was seen, and they com-
T(K)
FIG.34. Hall mobility and sheet carrier concentration as a function of temperature for the
conventional Ga/As/Ab3Ga,,,As and pseudo-morphic I ~ . I s G ~ . 8 5 A ~ / A b . 1 5 GMOD-
~.,,As
FET structure. The pseudo-morphic structure exhibits virtually no light sensitivity or PPC
effects due to the lower mole fraction of (A1,Ga)As used. (0,light; A, dark; 0 persistent.)
pletely return to their original values when the source of the illumination is
removed. Table I1 summarizes the In mole fraction effects on the transcon-
ductance, agreeing with expectations.
An important problem with conventional GaAs/(Al,Ga)As MODFETs
is the positive shift in the threshold voltage after a gate bias sufficient to
3.55104 , , , , , , ,I 3 I 1 I I I I I I I I I l l l l l f
-
a,
W
0.5
- -
OlL ' ' """' 102
I I I I 1 1 1 1 1
103
I I I I I I I I
104
Electric Field [V/crn)
FIG. 35. Electron mobility as a function of electric field for the A&
In,,,,Ga,,,,As structure at both 77 and 300 K.
fully turn on the channel is applied. The bending in the conduction band,
due to the large positive gate voltage, in the (A1,Ga)As is enough to allow
energetic electrons to fill DX traps. The injected charge acts to decrease the
2DEG concentration and therefore shifts the transfer characteristics
toward higher gate voltages. Figure 39 illustrates the transfer characteristics
before and after bias stress for both a pseudomorphic 1%.IsG%,ssAs/
Electric Field (V/crn)

FIG. 36. Electron velocity as a function of electric field for the Al,,.,sGa,,.ssAsl
In,,,Ga,,,,As structure at both 77 and 300 K. The straight low-field lines indicate the
velocity expected from a constant mobility.
2. (Al,Ga)As/GaAsAND (Al,Ga)As/InGaAsMODFETs 185
Drain Voltage Vos ( V )
a
CI
-
L
3
0 -
Gate Voltage VGS (V)

FIG.37. (a) 300 K current-voltage characteristics and (b) transfer characteristics for
1 X 145 pm2 pseudo-morphic MODFET. Excellent pinchoff and satu,ration behavior are
evident, with a peak transconductance of 270 mS/mm and a maximum current density of
290 mA/mm at V,, = 2 V.
Ab.,sG%.ssAsand a more conventional GaAs/&,,,G%,,+ MODFET

with a similar threshold voltage and doping concentration. As seen clearly
in Fig. 39, the pseudomorphic MODFET shows virtually no threshold
shift, while the Ab.wG+.7&/GaAs MODFET shows a 0.12 V shift. This
bias stability is extremely important for practical cryogenic device opera-
tion.
50 , , , , , , , , ,
0 1 2
Drain Voltage VDS ( V 1
- 0.6 0 1.0
Gate Voltage VGs ( V )
FIG. 38. (a) 77 K Current-voltage characteristics and (b) transfer characteristics for a
pseudo-morphic MODFET with a 3 pm source-drain spacing. The gate potential ranges
from -0.3 V (bottom curve) to +0.9 V (top curve). The I - V curves remain virtually
unchanged under illumination.
To demonstrate the superiority of (Al,Ga)As/(In,Ga)AsMODFETs over

the more conventional (Al,Ga)As/GaAs MODFETs in large-signal logic
applications, the (Al,Ga)As/(In,Ga)As MODFETs were also simulated in
ring 0scillators.4~~~Model parameters were chosen to agree with the dc
current - voltage characteristics and velocity-field measurements of
Ah,,5G+.ssAs/Iq,2G~.sAsMODFETs fabricated in our laboratory. The
effects of the second heterobarrier of the (In,Ga)As quantum well (1 50 A
wide) was neglected, and the (Al,Ga)As/GaAs expression used in Ref. 100
TABLE I1
EFFECTOF INDIUMMOLEFRACTIONON DC
TRANSCONDUCTANCE OF (In,Ga)As/(M,Ga)As
MODFETs
5 253 -0.24 303 -0.13

10 234 -0.99 276 -1.03
15 270 -0.33 360 -0.19
20 310 -0.32 380 -0.27
for the quasi-triangular potential solution is assumed in the model calcula-

tions. Nevertheless, a reasonable fit to the experimental device was possi-
ble. Using the (Al,Ga)As/(In,Ga)As device model for a 1 X 20 pm2 driver
FET with a 10pm saturated resistor load, ring oscillators were simulated at
various supply voltages. Figure 40 shows the same trend of decreasing
delay time with V , , as seen for the (Al,Ga)As/GaAs MODFETs in Fig. 14.
C
Gatevoltage V, (V)
FIG. 39. Gate-bias stress measurements for conventional GaAs/A&,G%,,As (---) and
pseudo-morphic In,,,G~~,,As/A~,,,G~~ssAs (-) MODFETs at 77 K. The threshold
voltage shift is due to electron trapping in the (A1,Ga)As and is a measure of the quality of the
material. The pseudo-morphic MODFET shows very little shift due to the reduced trapoccu-
pation probability of low mole fraction Ab.,sGa,,ssAs.
FIG.40. Effect of supply voltage on delay time and power dissipation at 300 K (-)
and 77 K (---) for (In,Ga)As/(Al,Ga)As pseudo-morphic MODFET inverters. Delay times
are 18 and 22% smaller than for conventional Ga/As/(Al,Ga)As at 300 and 77 K, respec-
tively.
The minimum delay time and power dissipation at V,, = 0.8 V is 11.8 ps
and 0.62 mW/stage at 300 K and 7.5 ps and 0.9 mW/stage at 77 K. These
delay times represent a 18 and 12% improvement, respectively, over the
300 and 77 K results for conventional (Al,Ga)As/GaAs MODFETs. The
power dissipation is larger, however, due to the higher oscillator frequency
and current levels. The large current densities possible with the small logic
swings of MODFETs and, in particular, (Al,Ga)As/(In,Ga)AsMODFETs
make them perform so exceptionally well. Although these results are
strictly valid only for ideal circuits (i.e., ring oscillators), they do provide an
indication of how actual circuits dominated by interconnect capacitance
and multiple fan-out capacitance can be optimized.
In order to determine the bias dependence of equivalent-circuit parame-
ters of these MODFETs, scattering parameter measurements were made
between 2 and 18 GHz. The parameters giving the best overall fit were
plotted versus gate and drain voltage. Figure 41a and b demonstrate the
gate voltage dependence of tranconductances g,,,dc, gm,ext, and gm,int
for
V, = 0.5 and 3 V at room temperature, showing a good agreement with
the expected trend. Figure 42a and b demonstrate the gate voltage depen-
dence of C, and C, capacitances for V, = 0.5 and 3 V at 300 K and Fig.
43 shows the drain-source voltage dependence of G, and C, for
VGs= 0.7 V at 300 K, both showing good agreement with the expected
trend from these devices.
Gate Voltage (V)
Gate Voltage (V)

FIG. 41. The effect of gate voltage on the large-signal transconductance of (In,Ga)As/
(Al,Ga)As MODFETs for (a) 0.5 V and (b) 3 V drain-source voltages V , at 300 K.
The microwave performance of pseudomorphic MODFETs were mea-

sured from l to 26.5 GHz using a Cascade Microtech on-wafer prober and
automated network analyzer. the device current gain hS, was determined
from the measured S parameters. Figure 44 shows the maximum available
and short-circuit current gain comparisons of I~.15G~.s5As/~.,5G~.s5
and,GaAs/Al,,mG+.7& MODFETs, which demonstrate the superiority of
the former to the latter. Table I11 shows element valuesh and , f for
devices with increasing In mole fractions. As seen from Table 111, the
increase in In mole fraction improves the device microwave performance.
0.61 , I I I I I
I I I I I
- 0.4 0 0.4 0.8
Gate Voltage (V)
0.8-
- 0.6:/-z-s-=!
al
LL
vQ 1x 290pm
2 0.4- -
0
.-0
+
- -
0
I2
0
0.2- -
~
-
Cdg
P A . 3%
0 I 1- I 1 - 1 I 1 4
FIG.42. The effect of gate voltage on the large-signal capacitancesof (In,Ga)As/(Al,Ga)As

MODFETs for (a) 0.5 V and (b) 3 V at 300 K.
Henderson et al. Io1 have reported excellent dc and millimeter-wave

performance in I~.lsG~.ssAs/A~.lsG~.ssAs pseudo-morphic MODFETs
with 0.25 ,urn gate lengths. Extrinsic transconductances as high as 495
mS/mm at 300 K and unprecedented power performance in the 60 GHz
range were observed. Although not yet optimized, excellent low-noise
characteristics, 0.9 dB, with an associated gain of 10.4 dB at 18 GHz, and a
2. (Al,Ga)As/GaAs AND (Al,Ga)As/InGaAsMODFETs 191
".. 0
-
L L - 1 x 290pm
-
I \
0, I I I I I I I
FIG.43. The effect of drain voltage on the large-signalcapacitance of (In,Ga)As/(AI,Ga)As

MODFETs for VGs= 0.7 V at 300 K.
noise figure of 2.4 dB, with an associated gain of 4.4 dB at 62 GHz, were
obtained, This is the best noise performance ever reported for a MODFET
in this frequency range. Furthermore, much better efficiency and power
output levels (28% and 0.43 W/mm, respectively) than in conventional
MODFETs were observed. Figure 45 illustrates the drain-voltage depen-
dence of 62 GHz output power and power-added efficiency for a 0.25 X 50
pm2 gate pseudo-morphic device. The device is tuned for maximum out-
put power with 3 dB gain. The superior performance of these 0.25 pm gate
pseudomorphic MODFETs is attributed to the excellent carrier confine-
ment and transport properties that the (In,Ga)As quantum well provides,
in addition to a high gate-to-drain reverse breakdown voltage. These results
clearly demonstrate the superiority of pseudo-morphic MODFETs in
high-frequency applications.
XI. Remaining Problems and Projections

Since the (Al,Ga)As/GaAs heterojunction FETs are large-current and
small-voltage devices, the saturation voltage and transconductance are
very sensitive to the contact resistance. In fact, the higher the transconduc-
tance the more severe the effect of the source resistance becomes. In order
to fully take advantage of the device potential, it is essential that extremely
low contact resistances be obtained. Not only the contact resistance but
parasitic resistances such as the source and drain semiconductor access
resistance must be minimized. This could be done using the gate as an ion
T A B L E I11
EQUIVALENT-CIRCUITPARAMETERS FOR DEVICES
WITH
INCREASING INDIUM MOLEFRACTIONS OF
(In,Ga)As/(Al,Ga)As MODEFTs
~~~ ~ ~
[Indium](mol %)
0 5 10 15 20
2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5

0.0 0.0 -0.4 0.0 0.0
43.0 37.0 23.0 45.0 24.0
42.15 80.80 16.72 71.94 81.01
0.54 0.69 0.61 0.58 0.53
3.26 3.87 4.38 4.23 3.90
29.28 21.19 43.94 32.82 35.84
50.29 63.87 61.13 62.62 62.76
2.51 4.00 2.51 2.87 2.82
1.04 1.20 1.16 1.20 1.20
4.82 5.67 5.79 1.05 7.31
7.80 1.26 6.66 6.49 6.40
1.95 3.09 3.53 3.39 3.39
26.57 26.29 27.97 22.88 22.82
48.41 49.49 40.28 35.16 34.90
10.05 13.58 10.45 10.36 10.45
30.5 36.0 34.5 37.0 40.0
12.0 19.0 18.5 21.5 24.5
0.013
-0.0 18 0.0 17 0.0 19 0.016
501 I I I I 10.5
62 GHz I
-
- 0.3 <E
- -0.2 g
0
n
FIG.45. Output power and power-added efficiency as a function of drain voltage for a
0.25 X 50 pm2 pseudo-morphic MODFET. The device is tuned for maximum output power
with 3 dB gain.
implantation mask to increase the conductance on each side of the gate, as

described in Section IX. In some prototype devices this technique has
successfully been applied, but high-speed results are not yet available.'O2
Currently many laboratories, both university and industrial, are looking
into the degradation mechanism occurring during the annealing step. Al-
though preliminary, the transient annealing technique looks very promis-
ing in this regard.
Modulation-doped structures also suffer from the persistent photocon-
ductivity (PPC) efect below 100 K.Io3This is believed to be the result of
donor-induced defects in (Al,Ga)As, which, once ionized, exhibit a repul-
sion towards capture. It has also been suggested, however, that defect-
related processes in GaAs as well can play an important role.'04As a result,
increased carrier concentrations, which persist unless the sample is warmed
up, are obtained. The electron mobility also increases with illumination in
samples with low areal carrier density. This is tentatively attributed to the
neutralizing of some defect centers in the depleted (A1,Ga)As near the
heterointerface, which then do not cause as much scattering. This PPC
effect has been shown to decrease when the (Al,Ga)As layer is grown at
high substrate temperatures.*05 It should be pointed out that, using an Asz
dimeric source, modulation-doped structures with minimal light sensitivity
have been grown.
For the most part the heterointerface is almost perfect in that the inter-
face states encountered in Si MOSFETs do not occur. However, the
194 H. MORKOC A N D H. UNLU
(A1,Ga)As layer contains a large concentration of traps which can give rise
to threshold voltage shifts with temperature and perhaps with time. The
temperature dependence of the threshold voltage in long-gate FETs has
been studied in detail,'% and these studies show a positive shift as the
temperature is lowered. Part of this threshold shift can be attributed to a
freeze-out of electrons to relatively deep donor level in (A1,Ga)As. Since
the (A1,Ga)As under the gate is thicker in normally-on devices, the voltage
shift as compared to normally-off devices is much larger. The emission
time from the traps is dependent exponentionally on the sum of the trap
level and the barrier against emission. This barrier against emission may be
obtained from transient gate capacitance measurements, as reported ear-
lier. lo6 A highly nonexponential time response of the gate capacitance to a
gate voltage pulse was found to be indicative of the time-dependent thresh-
old voltage resulting from the change of trap occupation. In addition, from
the temperature dependence of the threshold voltage, donor traps were
found to be 42 meV below the conduction-band edge with a 30%A1 mole
fraction. The value of the thermal activation energy for emission from the
traps is estimated to be 450 meV. The density of the native traps and
donor-induced traps in (A1,Ga)As can be comparable to the electron con-
centration, which makes the deep-level analysis by transient capacitance
somewhat difficult. Alternative studies, such as the drain-current transient,
can be used in FETs to deduce similar information when large trap con-
centrations are encountered.'07 Again, recent results obtained in our labo-
ratory show that the threshold voltage shift when the device is cooled to 77
K is much less than 0.1 V.
The drain-current response to a gate bias with varying temperature can
be used to calculate the activation energies of the traps as well. With this
method an activation energy of 0.47 eV was deduced for a 30%A1 mole
fraction, which is in good agreement with the data obtained from transient
capacitance measurements.lo6 In addition, other techniques, such as low-
frequency generation-recombination noise characteristics of MODFETs,
can be used to characterize deep levels at the h e t e r o i n t e r f a ~ e . The
~~~~'~~
generation-recombination noise is a result of fluctuations in the number of
electrons,'@' in this case the number of electrons at the heterointerface
trapped by defects located in the forbidden band of (A1,Ga)As. Using the
low-frequency noise characteristicsof FETs measured in a frequency range
of 1 Hz-25 kHz and a temperature range of 100-400 K, four deep levels
at 0.4,0.42, 0.54, and 0.6 eV below the conduction band were detected.'1°
These energy levels are in general agreement with those deduced from
deep-level transient spectroscopy performed in bulk (Al,Ga)As, which
indicates the presence of deep levels. There are some discrepancies among
the results of deep-level transient spectroscopy in bulk (A1,Ga)As per-
2. (Al,Ga)As/GaAs AND (Al,Ga)As/InGaAsMODFETs 195
formed at various laboratories as well. The details of the deep-level study is

beyond the scope of this text and will not be covered here.
It is obvious that the defects associated with the (A1,Ga)As must be
minimized so that their influence on device performance is not noticeable.
Realizing the importance of the issue, many researchers are looking into
sources and causes of the traps and electronic defects in (A1,Ga)As. Modu-
lation-doped FETs, in contrast to injection lasers, are the first devices
utilizing (A1,Ga)As where charge and defect concentrations of about
10" cm-2 can give rise to unacceptable adverse effects on the device
performance. There are also efforts to explore device structures that are not
very sensitive to at least some of the obstacles discussed above.
The questions of yield and reliability may, however, take a little longer to
resolve. For yield, the processing philosophy with regard to GaAs must
change. Instrumentation, care, and environment similar to that used for Si
ICs must be implemented. There is also the question of epi defects either
introduced by the epi process or present on substrates. Some of these are
morphologicaldefects, which not only degrade the semiconductor,but also
cause processing defects. The present state of the art of molecular-beam
epitaxy when used with average GaAs substrates is such that only MSI
circuits with some success in terms of yield may be possible. There are
already encouraging results that tend to suggest that by the latter part of the
decade the substrate quality, the epi morphological quality, the processing
that introduces few defects, and thus functional circuits with active ele-
ments in the mid to upper thousands may be possible.
Like that of MESFETs, the threshold voltage of FETs is very sensitive to
the epi properties. For a normally-off device, a thickness control to about 2
monolayers (- 5 A) and doping control and AlAs mole fraction control of
about 1% are needed to control the threshold voltage within about 10 mV.
Controls like this have already, though occasionally, been obtained on
wafers slightly less than 3 in. in diameter. The repeatability of this technol-
ogy is one of the questions that is also being addressed. Perhaps the most
difficultproblem is to prepare (A1Ga)As of the quality with defect and trap
concentrations of 1014~ m - as ~ ,compared to the present concentration of
high loL5~ m - ~ Again
. more effort and time will undoubtedly result in
substantial reductions in the defect concentration.
Finally, it is clear that this device has many of the attributes required by
high-speed devices, particularly those of the integrated circuits. Present
results with moderate devices are very encouraging, and with more effort
even better results are expected. In fact, MODFETs with only 1 pm gate
length and 3 pm source- drain spacing have surpassed the performance of
other techniques, e.g., conventional GaAs with sub-0.5 pm dimensions, as
shown in Fig. 46.It should be kept in mind that the delay times shown in
Power Dissipation Per Gate ( p W )

FIG. 46. Gate delay versus power consumption of various technologies obtained in
(Al,Ga)As/GaAs ring-oscillator ckcuits.
Fig. 46 would increase by a factor of about 3 in a real circuit with loaded

gates. Nevertheless, the MODFET is capable of providing functional oper-
ations in a large system by at least a factor of 10 faster than the current state
of the art. With more advanced fabrication technologies, even better per-
formance can be expected.
The motivation for obtaining high-quality 111- V materials such as those
used for MODFETs on Si substrates is quite substantial. Si integrated
circuits containing 111- V devices would have the capacity for higher speed
for certain functions and the capability of producing optical signals. Prog-
ress and the remaining problems on this subject have been discussed by
Drummond et ~ 1 . " ~
XII. Summary and Conclusions

Modulation-doped (Al,Ga)As/GaAs field-effect transistors (MODFETs),
whose operation is similar but performance is superior to Si/Si02 MOS-
FETs, have been analyzed throughout this work. It has been shown that
MODFETs are inherently superior to other FET technologies in terms of
achieving higher speeds of operation, lower power dissipation, and lower
noise. These advantages are due to the superior transport properties of
undoped GaAs, which is used as the channel layer for the FET. The
electrons transferred from the wide-gap (Al,Ga)As into the narrow-gap
GaAs experience reduced interactions with the parent donors, and form a
2DEG at the heterointerface.
The transport properties of the 2DEG are strongly dependent on the

structure parameters and the interfacial properties as well. An undoped
(A1,Ga)As set-back layer has been used to decrease the electron-donor
interaction further. The realization of the full potential of GaAs in a FET
structure has become possible with improvements in the modulation dop-
ing, which combine features of both MOSFETs and MESFETs.
Although MODFETs have long been based on the (Al,Ga)As/GaAs
material system for high-speed digital and high-frequency microwave ap-
plications, the more through understanding of the concept of modulation
doping shows that other MODFET structures can be more attractive for
high-speed digital and high-frequency applications, along with the
(Al,Ga)As/GaAs system. In fact, the charge transfer and enhanced trans-
port due to the reduction of ionized impurity scattering has been demon-
strated for two other lattice-matched semiconductor combinations. In
these MODFET structures the electrons are confined in a (In,Ga)As layer,
which showed superiority over other I11 - V semiconductors recognized as
competitors for high-speed digital and high-frequency microwave device
applications.
Since the first demonstration of mobility enhancement in modulation-
doped heterostructures, the potential application to make high-speed de-
vices has driven remarkable attention in this area. The rapid advances in
developing the potential of these high-speed devices is due to its compati-
bility with the conventional GaAs FET technology, bringing a new dimen-
sion to the microelectronics industry. Despite the remarkable advances
already made, both the fabrication and material preparation technologies
are far from the maturity needed to obtain the expected benefits from these
devices. With respect to fabrication, improvements need to be made in
ohmic and Schottky contact formation. Crystal growth technology is at a
stage at which one can obtain high-quality GaAs and “normal” heteroin-
terfaces. Further work is needed in improving the quality of the alloy
semiconductors, such as (Al,Ga)As, (In,Ga)As, and (Al,In)As, and in the
preparation of the “inverted” heterointerfaces.
To summarize, MODFETs based on strained-layer systems have dem-
onstrated a superiority both as high-speed digital and high-frequency mi-
crowave devices. In order to use their high potential, further research is
needed which may lead to new device structures and device concepts.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. The results
reported here would not have been possible without the contributionsof T. J. Drummond, R.
Fischer, K. Lee, W. T. Masselink, and B. Nillson, graduates students D. Arnold, J. Klem,T.
Henderson, and P. Pearah, A. A. Ketterson, and research associate W. Kopp. The author has
benefitted greatly from discussions, collaborations, and exchange of data and ideas with M. S.
Shur, L. F. Eastman, K. Heime, and with A. Y. Cho, R. Dingle, A. C. Gossard, P. M.
Solomon, F. Stem, M. I. Nathan, P. J. Price, H. L. Stormer, and N. T. Linh. We also would
like to thank A. A. Ketterson for providing Figs. 41,42, and 43.
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SEMICONDWTORS A N D SEMIMETALS,VOL. 24
CHAPTER 3
Two-Dimensional Electron Gas FETs:

Microwave Applications
Nuyen T.Linh*
THOMSONCSF CENTRAL RESEARCH LABORATORY
DOMAINE DE CORBEVILLE, 91401 ORSAY, FRANCE
I. Introduction
During the past decade, the GaAs MESFET has dominated the world of
microwave solid-state devices as a power source and a low-noise amplifier.
GaAs FETs cover a large field of applications: satellite communication,
radar links, CB radios, car telephones, mobile receivers, direct broadcast
satellite TV (DBS-TV), cable TV converters, phased array antenna radar,
receivers for radioastronomy, etc.
The market demand is pushing the GaAs MESFET to its highest limit.
Some examples can be presented as follows:
( 1) Spectrum congestion in telecommunication leads microwave sys-
tems to operate at higher and higher frequency; satellite communication is
now reaching the 30 GHz range, while military applications are working at
94 GHz, wherq.no transistor can operate yet, the best GaAs MESFET
being at 60 GHz with a gate length as short as 0.25 pm.* By reducing the
gate length, one hopes to improve the cutoff frequency of the GaAs MES-
FET, but limitations are foreseen due to technological difficultiesand basic
physical properties of the material and the devices themselves.
(2) The increase of the distance covered by microwave networks neces-
sitates higher-power sources and lower-noise amplifiers. In DBS-TV
equipment, for example, the performance of the low-noise amplifier will
contribute to reducing the antenna dimension and then to its cost, which is
one of the major problems in DBS-TV. Therefore, the search for extremely
low-noise transistors is necessary. Usually the improvement of the noise
figure in GaAs MESFETs is obtained by reducing the gate length. As was
stated above, however, limitations are foreseen.
* Present address: Picogiga, 5 Rue de la Rkunion, Z.A. de Courtaboeuf, 91940 Les Ulis,
France.
203
Copyright 0 1987 Bell Telephone Labratorig Incorporated.
204 NUYEN T. LINH
(3) Many other examples can be cited. Let us just mention one more
application for which high cutoff frequency transistors are the key element
in the electronic system: the phased array antenna radar. This antenna is
constituted by thousands of transistors assembled in microwave integrated
circuits (MICs). One of the main problems related to this type of radar is
the reduction of its weight and dimension; therefore, one has to reduce the
dimension of the integrated circuit to a minimum size, i.e., to integrate all
the elements of the circuits (transistors, capacitors, inductors, etc.) in the
same GaAs chip as has been done for many years in digital integrated
circuits. In these monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) the
active element (the transistor) is often small compared to the passive
elements. Then, to miniaturize the MMIC, an effort to diminish the area
occupied by the passive elements (particularly the inductances) has to be
made. The problem related to this dimension reduction is that the transis-
tor cannot be perfectly adapted to the passive elements, a compromise
having to be found between a small area and a good adaptation. In this
FIG. 1. Extremely high-performance FETs are needed in small-dimension monolithic

microwave integrated circuits for phased-array radar antennas as well as in direct broadcast-
ing satellite receivers. The picture shows two GaAs monolithic microwave integrated circuits
having the same function but whose areas differ by a factor of 10.
3. TWO-DIMENSIONAL ELECTRON GAS FETS 205
condition, the transistor is not used at its optimum performance. There-

fore, extremely high-performance transistors are needed. The higher the
transistor performance, the smaller the circuit area. The two MMICs
shown in Fig. 1 illustrate the size reduction: A factor of 10 has been
obtained. The smaller circuit has an area of 0.16 mm2.2To be compatible
with the phased array antenna a further reduction of area by a factor of 5 is
necessary.
Through the examples cited above, one can realize that the achievement
of a transistor exhibiting higher performance than the GaAs MESFET will
lead to applications of tremendous interest. The question remains, how-
ever, as to which way to follow in the search for a new transistor.
Figure 2 briefly summarizes the transistor story. The GaAs MESFET
presents over Si transistors the advantages of high mobility (5000 cm2V-'
s-' versus 1000 cm2 V-' s-') and high electron velocity (1.5 X 10' cm s-'
versus 10' cm s-'). GaAs MESFETs can operate up to 60 GHz, while the
best Si bipolar is at 10 GHz. This comparison leads one to think that some
other 111-V compound semiconductors are also good candidates for low
noise and high gain amplification.
(1) InP, another binary compound with high electron velocity3
(-2.5 X lo7 cm s-'), was studied, but experimental results do not show
any improvement with respect to GaAs in the field of low-noise amplifica-
tion." At the present state of knowledge, the InP FET is more suitable for
high power amplification, where an improvement by a factor of three was
~bserved.~
(2) Ternary and quaternary alloys such as GaInAs and GaInAsP,
which present high mobility (- 10.000 cm2 V-' s-') and high electron
velocity, were thought to be excellent material^.^,' But due to some diffi-
culties in the device realization, experimental data are rather poor.
(3) In fact, 111-V compound semiconductors belong to a family in
which heterojunctions with extremely good interface quality can be grown:
Ge
1
Si (MOS ,Bipolar)
1
GaAs (FET)
InP GalnAs HETEROJUNCTIONS

(FET, MOS) (FET , MOS) (FET, Bipolar)
FIG.2. The transistor story started with germanium, is developingwith Si and GAS, and is
entering into the world of heterojunctions.
206 NUYEN T. LINH
Al,Ga,-,As on GaAs, G%.48I%,,As on InP, etc. Heterojunctions have

been used in optoelectronics for many years. In the field of microwaves,
the heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) is the first example of a hetero-
device,8 but its performance has not yet reached that of the GaAs MES-
FET.9*10
Since the pioneering work on modulation-doped superlattices, which
demonstrated a mobility enhancement with respect to the bulk crystal,"
interest has been focused on the utilization of the high-mobility two-di-
mensional electron gas (2DEG) for microwave amplifi~ation.'~,'~ The
transistor made of a single modulation-doped heterostructure was labeled
TEGFET (two-dimensionalelectron-gas FET)', or HEMT (high-electron-
mobility transistor).I3 The TEGFET has been found to be definitely the
best low-noise transistor: with a gate length of 0.5 pm,a noise figure as low
as 0.85 dB has been measured at 10 GHz and 1.3 dB has been measured at
17.5 G H d 4 With a similar gate length, the best GaAs MESFET is far
behind with 1.3 dB at 12 GHz and 2.2 dB at 18 GHz.l5Since the TEGFET
technology has not been optimized yet, further improvement is sure to be
made in the near future, at which point a large field of applications will
open up.
In the following sections we will first describe the TEGFET structures
(Section 11) and transport properties (Section 111). Device modeling and
performance will be represented in Sections IV and V, respectively. Dis-
cussions are given in Section VI.
11. TEGFET Structures

The TEGFET is essentially a MESFET in which the Schottky gate can
be deposited on one side of the modulation-doped heterojunction (Fig. 3).
Figures 4 and 5 schematically show how the 2DEG density n, can be
controlled by the gate bias. It can be noticed that the control of n, is
performed through the variation of the 2DEG well position with respect to
the Fermi level. This type of charge control is similar to that of a MOSFET
and is quite different from the conventional MESFET, for which the
Schottky gate bias induces a variation of the depletion depth.
According to the diagrams shown above, the TEGFET can theoretically
work with the Schottky gate on GaAs or on AlGaAs, but experimental
results have shown that the latter structure is more suitable for various
reasons.
(1) When the ndoped AlGaAs is underneath, its thickness has to be
exactly controlled to be completely depleted of electrons, otherwise parallel
conduction occurs.1zThere is no way to recalibrate the thickness of this
3. TWO-DIMENSIONAL ELECTRON GAS ETS 207
S G 0
,, .. , . .. . . . n- GaAs
n- Al Go As
Buffer SI AlGaAs
m.
Si Substrate
S G D
n- A l Ga As
, , ., . . . _. : . . . .- . _ . _ .
,
p- Go AS
Si Substrate
FIG.3. Cross-sectional view of TEGFETs: the bottom transistor is called normal and the
upper inverted; most of the TEGFETs studied have the khottky gate on AlGaAs, i.e., are
normal mode.
metal AlGaAs I GaAs p-

CB
v,= 0
r n \ \ \ l S
EF
VB
FIG.4. Schematic band diagram of the normal TEGFET at equilibrium and at negative
gate bias.
208 NUYEN T. LINH
2DEG
m\,
ki CB
EF
. L
FIG. 5. Schematic band diagram of the inverted TEGFET. As in Fig. 4, notice that the
charge control is similar to that of a MOSFET, rather than a MESFET.
AlGaAs layer as can be done in a recessed structure when the AlGaAs layer
is at the top (Fig. 6).
(2) Under gate bias, hot electrons in the 2DEG channel are pushed by
the gate electric field toward the heterojunction interface. Since the hetero-
junction barrier height is 0.3 eV (for an A1 fraction in the ternary alloy of
-0.3), hot electrons with an energy above 0.3 eV can be injected into
, w o A ' \ W ,, f
OO%')-rJ--.--r,. ,.# ._ . spacer
1 Pm G a A s p-
l, i-
FIG.6. Recessed gate TEGFET.

deep depletion loyer

5 f G 0
I/ -1 buffer layer
high access
resistance 7
shallow depletion layer
AIGOAS n=6x1d7cm-3
two-dimensional
electron gas
low access ,
resistance
I 1/S i substrote
FIG.7. Owing to the low surface potential of AlGaAs, a normal-mode planar enhance-
ment-mode TEGFET exhibits low parasitic source resistance.
AlGaAs, the low electron velocity material. This real-space transfer mecha-
nism has been shown to occur in GaAs/AlGaAsquantum-well structures'6
and to a smaller extent in a TEGFET structure." This injection mecha-
nism, which would give rise to a large output conductance, is undesirable.
(3) When GaAs is grown on top of the AlGaAs n-doped layer, the
modulation-doped heterojunction exhibits low mobility.l8 The origin of
this poor mobility is not clearly understood. Recently, by using a superlat-
tice structure in the spacer layer, some mobility enhancement was ob-
served.l9
(4) We have found that the surface potential of AlGaAs is low (-0.3
eV) compared to its Schottky barrier height (- 1 eV).ZOThen the depletion
layer under the free surface is thin compared to the depletion layer under
the gate. This allows one to obtain a low parasitic resistance even in a
planar or quasi-planar structure; that is not the case for the conventional
GaAs MESFET, particularly in the enhancement-mode (or normally-off)
configuration, where the active layer is thin (Fig. 7). In fact, for microwave
FETs the source resistance reduction is usually obtained by recessing the
gate.
Because of the reasons cited above, experimental results reported so far
principally concern TEGFETs having their Schottky gate on AlGaAs. In
the following sections, only this TEGFET configuration, which is called
the normal structure as opposed to the inverted one, will be dealt with.
210 NUYEN T. LINH
111. Transport Properties in TEGFETs

1. HIGHMOBILITY
OR HIGHVELOCITY?
It is now well known that modulation-doped heterojunctions present

extremely high mobilities: 9000, 140,000, and 1.5 X lo6 cmz V-’ s-’ at
300, 77, and 4 K, respectively.21*2z These high mobilities, which are in good
agreement with theoretical c a l ~ u l a t i o n s ,confirm
2 ~ ~ ~ ~ the important concept
of electron-impurity spatial separation and reduced Coulombic scattering,
and clearly show the extremely high quality of the epitaxial layers. Figure 8
compares the mobilities of a 2DEG heterostructure and an active GaAs
MESFET layer: the mobility enhancement reaches a factor of 2 at 300 K
and 15 to 20 at 77 K. Therefore, can we imagine that for these reasons the
TEGFET would be twice or 20 times “better” than a conventional GaAs
MESFET at 300 and 77 K, respectively?
First, ultrahigh mobilities are obtained with a spacer thickness of 150 to
200 A. One can see in Fig. 9, however, that an increase of the spacer
thickness leads to a decrease of the sheet carrier concentration n, in the
2DEG. Then the contribution of the 2DEG to the source resistance de-
10
\twd.dimensional eleitron gas
9
I
4
0
c
-x 6
t
c
5 t
\ I
t
1- GaAs FET active layer

I I
~ ~~
0 100 200 300

TEMPERATURE I K 1
FIG.8. The electron mobility in TEGFET structures is extremely high with respect to
conventional GaAS MESFETs.
0 0.5 1 1.5
AlGaAs FREE CARRIER CONCENTRATION I ~ l O ' ~ c r n - ' I
FIG. 9. Increasing the spacer thickness leads to a large enhancement of mobility but
reduces the sheet electron concentration in the 2DEG. What value is the best compromise?
creases. Moreover, with a large spacer layer, electrons cannot be easily

injected from AlGaAs to GaAs. Therefore, the contribution of AlGaAs to
the source resistance is weak. From this point of view, strictly speaking, the
suppression of the spacer layer would be the most favorable situation. But
this configuration presents a poor electron - impurity spatial separation.
Thus a compromise has to be found between high mobility (thick spacer
layer) and low source resistance (no spacer).
Second, in a short-gate-length FET (51 pm), the intrinsic performance
of the transistor is not directly related to mobility but to electron velocity.
For example, the'intrinsic cutoff frequency of a transistor is proportional to
the electron velocity:
fT - g,K, - l/z - v
where g,, is the intrinsic transconductance, C, the gate to source resist-
ance, z the transit time under the gate, and v the mean value of electron
velocity under the gate.
21 2 NUYEN T. LINH
How high is the electron velocity in a TEGFET? How is it compared to

the GaAs MESFET situation? The answers to these questions are difficult
because, in contrast to mobility, electron velocity cannot be easily deter-
mined. Studies on electron velocity in the 2DEG can be summarized as
follows.
(1) Drummond et aLZ5have deduced the electron velocity from the
current - voltage characteristics of a Hall bridge sample. They have found
in the modulation-doped single heterojunction values of 1.7 X lo7 and
2.24 X lo7 cm/s at 300 and 77 K, respectively, at an electric field of 2
kV/cm. These data represent the lower limit, since sample heating may be
affecting the measurements. Therefore, it seems that electron velocity in
the 2DEG is close to that of an undoped GaAs crystal. It is higher than that
of an n-doped crystal by a factor of 30%at 300 K and 200% at 77 K.
(2) In the above experiment the velocity is determined in its steady-
state regime. It is well known that in an FET structure where the gate is
short, nonstationary effects (overshoot) have to be taken into account. The
overshoot phenomenon in a TEGFET has been studied by Cappy et u Z . ~ ~
and Mudares and F o ~ l d s It . ~ was
~ found that the overshoot effect is
stronger in the TEGFET structure than in the MESFET, because of the
higher mobility. Figure 10 compares the electron velocity distribution
under the gate between a TEGFET and a GaAs MESFET. It can be noticed
that at 300 K the peak velocity is 40% higher in the TEGFET but the mean
value is twice as high. The improvement of the mean velocity reaches a
factor of 4 at 77 K (see Section 3).
(3) Aside from this theoretical estimation of the electron velocity in a
submicrometer gate length TEGFET, experimental data are poor. As will
be shown in the next section, the electron velocity in a TEGFET can be
deduced from the measurement of the intrinsic transconductance of the
transistor [Eq. (24)]. Values of electron velocity of 1.1 to 2 X lo7 cm s-'
have been determined at 300 K by this m e t h ~ d ,but~ ~this
. ~ procedure
~ just
gives a rough estimate of the velocity since the analytical model of the
TEGFET is itself also approximate. Therefore, it is difficult to deduce from
the transconductance measurement the exact value of the electron veloc-
ity. Nevertheless, it is perfectly clear that the enhancement of electron
velocity reaches a factor of more than 2 at liquid nitrogen temperature,
which is much higher than in the conventional GaAs MESFET.29Because
of such observations, it is often concluded that the TEGFET is interesting
only at low temperatures. We will see in Section V that the room-tempera-
ture performance of the TEGFET is also tremendously high. Discussion of
this point will be given in Section VI.
t --_ G a A s FET
GATE
FIG.10. Reduced electron interaction with the lattice enhances electron-velocityovershoot
in the TEGFET. According to this nonstationary electron dynamic effect, the mean electron
velocity in a TEGFET is twice that in a MESFET even at 300 K (after Cappy ef U L ~ . ~ ~ ) .
2. SCREENING
EFFECT
Reduced Coulombic scattering in modulation-doped structures and the
overshoot effect in FETs are two phenomena that were treated frequently
in the literature. On the other hand, the screening effect by free electrons is
often ignored in FETs. Recently Wallisw demonstrated that the screening
of the effect of scattering due to ionized impurities and optical phonons by
free electrons plays an important role in determiningthe electron mobility
of I11- V semiconductors. In particular, for GaAs MESFETs the mobility
of the electrons in the channel decreases as the pinch-off regime is a p
proached (Fig. 1 l), because then there are few free electrons and therefore
the screening by free electrons is reduced. Figure 12 shows that the mobil-
ity in an FET decreases as the sheet carrier concentration in the channel
decreases, in good agreement with theoretical calculations based on
screening effects.
214 NUYEN T. LINH
0 . 6 u .5000
4ooo>T m
W
0
z 0.4 3000
6
>
V
$ 4 - k
3 2000 ='
0.2 m
0
0 1000 I
V
-1 -2 -3 -4 -5
GATE BIAS (volts)
FIG.1 1. Electron mobility in a GaAs MESFET decreases as the gate voltage is approaching
pinch-off (after WallisM).
How important is this phenomenon in microwave transistors? It is

known that the low-noise transistor operates at a gate bias (VJ condition
where the drain current is approximately 5 to 10 mA, i.e., at of the total +
current, Iass( Vg= 0). One can see in Fig. 12 that in this condition ( n , -
0.5 X lo'* cm-*) the electron mobility in the MESFET channel is -2700
cm2 V-' s-'. The same type of measurement has been achieved in TEG-
FETs. As an example, the decrease of electron mobility versus gate voltage
of the low-noise TEGFET reported in Ref. 30 is shown in Fig. 13. The gate
bias that gives the minimum noise figure is 1.2 V in that case.31As shown
in Fig. 13, the electron mobility in the TEGFET channel is then -4000
cmz V-' s-', i.e., much higher than in the MESFET. Since the TEGFET
reported above has poor mobility (38,000 cm2V-' s-' at 77 K), it is
FIG. 12. The decrease of electron mobility near pinch-off is attributed to the reduction of
screening of ionized impurity and optical phonon scattering by free electrons. Good agree-
ment was found between experimental data (0)and calculated results (A) (after WallisM).
..... I
- 5000 7
-4000
;
-5
w "E
40 . -3000 2
-
a >
30 *..
12000 5-
2ol
3
8
1000 I
g 10
0 -0.4 -0.8 -1.2 -1.6

GATE BIAS ( V )
FIG. 13. Screening is also responsible for the decrease of electron mobility near pinch-off in
TEGFETs, but at the minimum noise figure operation condition the mobility in the 2DEG is
higher than in the GaAs MESFET (after Wallis-'O).
3001 I 3 8 r I 8 1 I I * 9 r
200 -
-
h
c
C
E0
150-
z
2si
w
a
z
2 100-
?
W
W
a
3
0
cn
0
-0.5 0 0.5 1.o
GATE VOLTAGE ( V I
FIG.14. The sheet free-electron concentration dependence of the mobilityin TEGFET was
first observed by Delagebeaudeuf et who found the relationshipp =p0(nJk,k sz 0.5- 1.5.
216 NUYEN T. LINH
thought that with better material quality mobilities as high as 6000 cm2
V-I s-' can be obtained at the minimum noise figure bias condition.
By studying the gate voltage dependence of the source-to-drain resist-
ance of a TEGFET, Delagebeaudeuf et aZ.28have found that the electron
mobility under the gate varies with the sheet free-electron concentration
according to the formula (Fig. 14)
,u = ,uo(rQk, k - 0.5 - 1.5
The role of screening effects has been pointed out by Linh32to explain this
result and other mobility behavior in modulation-doped structures, such as
the decrease of mobility observed in certain modulation-doped layers as
the spacer thickness increases.33
IV. Device Modeling

Device modeling was first achieved by Delagebeaudeuf and Linh28,M*35
on normal and inverted structures. These first works led to an analytical
model of the TEGFET, which is approximate but useful because it can be
used in a simple way to correlate device characteristics with material
parameters (doping concentration, thicknesses, etc.)
More recently, VinteIj6 performed an accurate modeling of charge dis-
tribution in TEGFETs at low drain voltage, while Cappy et ~ 1proposed
. ~ a~
TEGFET model which takes into account nonstationary electron-dynamic
effects.
3. TEGFET ANALYTICAL
MODEL
a. Sheet Density in 2DEG
Figure 15 represents the schematic band diagram of the heterojunction
and gives the notation used. We start from the assumption of a quasi-con-
stant electric field F,, in the potential well, i.e., we assume a triangular
potential well. The solution for the longitudinal quantized energy is then
well approximated by the formula
where rnf is the longitudinal effective mass,z ! the Planck constant, and q
the electron charge. For GaAs, and considering only the existence of two
subbands, we obtain
Eo(eV)- 1.83 X 10-6F:(,3
(2)
E,(eV) - 3.23 X 10-6F:(,3
3. TWO-DIMENSIONAL ELECTRON GAS E T S 217
L
FIG. 15. Schematic TEGFET band diagram at equilibrium.
In GaAs, the electric field Fl obeys the Poisson equation
where el is the dielectric constant of GaAs, n(x) the free camer concentra-
tion, and N the ionized acceptor concentration (the low doped GaAs is
p-type) with n(x) >> N. By solving the Poisson equation with the appropri-
ate boundary condition (Fl = Flo)at the heterojunction interface, Fl = 0
far from the interface, we find
where n, is the sheet carrier concentration of the 2DEG. Equation (2)

becomes
Eo -yon:’3, El - y1n,2/3 (5)
with yo = 2.26 X 10l2and y, = 4 X 1OI2 in SI units.
By considering the relationship between n, and the Fermi level position,
it can be easily found that
218 NUYEN T. LINH
where D is the density of states in the 2DEG:

D = qm: /z@ (7)
At the heterojunction interface, we find the same value of the electric
displacement vector (neglecting interface states):
E,FlO = E2F20 - 9% (8)
c2FzOcan be determined by assuming the total depletion approximation in
the space charge layer:
E (2qN2v20
~ =F +- qN2a
~ ~ q2N$a2)'f2 (9)
where N2 is the electron concentration in the AlGaAs layer, a is the
thickness of the undoped AlGaAs spacer layer, and
v2o=AEc-(r2- Em (10)
Combining Eqs. (6), (S), (9), and (lo), n, can be determined, and the
solution is obtained numerically. The variation of n, versus the electron
concentration N2 in AlGaAs is represented in Fig. 9.
b. TEGFET Characteristics
Figure 16 shows the band diagram of the heterostructure submitted to
the influence of a Schottky gate. We suppose that for a certain gate bias VBs
there is interpenetration between the Schottky depletion layer and the
heterojunction space-chargelayer. Under these conditions we have
E2F20 = ( & 2 / d 2 ) ( vp2- v2) (1 1 )
vp2 = (4N2/2E2)@2 - a)2 (12)
~ 2 = & - Vg-EF-AEc (13)
where d2 is the total thickness of the AlGaAs layers (see Fig. 16). Thus we
deduce a gate voltage dependence of the sheet concentration Q.:
- +M - EF-I-AEc i- vB>
Qs = ( E 2 /d2)( vp2 (14)
If E Fis neglected, the following can be written:
voff = +M - AEC - v p 2 (15)
Q, = ( ld2)( Vg - v.,~)
~ 2 (16)
If EFis not neglected, E , can be written as
EF(ns, T ) -1.21 + 3.3 x
x 10-17n3, i - T/280) (17)
where T is the temperature.
CB
VE
I
,,
I
I
FIG.16. Schematic TEGFET band diagram at negative bias on the Schottky gate, showing
curves at equilibrium (- - -) and with V bias (-).
Then one obtains

Q,= (82 /4(v g - GF)
with
+
d$= dz 80 A
+
e; = e2 80 A
A EL = A E, - 3.3 X lo-’( 1 - T/280)
Similar corrections have been given by Drummond et aL38
Having obtained Q,, the drain current can be calculated as in the
conventional MESFET as follows.
( 1 ) Assuming a distribution of voltage V(x) in the channel, which
induces a distribution of charge
Qd4 -(&z /&A[ v* - V x ) - KffI (19)
220 NUYEN T. LINH
(2) Calculating the current in the classical manner:

1, = QMzW (20)
where Z is the gate width and v(x)the electron velocity at the abscissa x. It
can be assumed that, above a critical field F,, the velocity is saturated at
the value us at the drain side. Then we deduce the saturation current I, for
a short-length transistor:
where L is the gate length.

Equation (2 1) can be written as
= g m ( Vg - Viff - FcL) (22)
where g, is the transconductance:
gmois the intrinsic transconductance of the transistor. Equations (21) and

(22) are valid in gate voltage regions which are not too close to the
pinch-off voltage. They clearly show a linear dependence between Ids and
V,. In other words, the transconductance and the capacitance remain
constant over a large variation of gate voltage.
Recently, Lee et ~ 1have . given
~ ~ a more complete calculation, which
takes into account the conduction in the AlGaAs top layer in the case
where the gate voltage is sufficiently small.
The analytical calculations contain many approximations, particularly
in the description of the potential well and the subband structure. We will
see in Section 5 a more accurate description of the subband structure and
in Section 4 a microscopic model including velocity-overshoot effects. The
main different result in the device dc characteristics concerns the charge
distribution versus gate voltage; in particular, the gate capacitance, hence
the transconductance, is not constant. Therefore Eq. (24) cannot be taken
as an accurate determination of the electron velocity. Nevertheless, the
analytical model described above is a useful tool to correlate TEGFET dc
characteristics to material parameters.
(1) The I- V characteristics of TEGFETs can be a priori estimated.
Figure 17 shows good agreement between experimental results3' and cal-
culated data.
I i l -
-
a
E
v
-
ul
ul
0
t
w
a
a
3
V
za
a
D
GATE VOLTAGE ( V )
FIG.17. Comparison between experimental (-) data and calculated (- - -) Z& vs. Vg
curves. Good agreement is noted.
(2) The dependence of the pinch-off on various parameters such as

doping concentration and thickness of the n-doped AlGaAs layer is shown
in Fig. 18. The chart shown in that figure is particularly useful for growing
layers with a controlled pinch of voltage.
(3) Another helpful representation of the correlation between material
parameters and electrical characteristics of the transistors is shown in Fig.
19. Through a Hall measurement, the values of sheet resistance and Hall
mobility give a good estimation of the pinch-off voltage.
4. NONSTATIONARY MODELOF TEGFET
AND MICROSCOPIC
Nonstationary electron dynamic effects in submicrometer gate length

MESFETs have been studied for many While direct experi-
mental evidence is rare,44electron velocity overshoot effects due to nonsta-
222 NUYEN T. LINH
-
>
v
17
w N, .3.10 err?
(r
r
I- -1 -
-1.5 1 I I I I I I
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400
AlGaAs THICKNESS (8)
FIG.18. Dependence of the pinch-off voltage V, on the AlGaAs layer thickness for various
doping concentrations.
it;!
2
in
W
U ;_I
1000
6
In
I I
0
1 2000
I I
4000
I
6000
I
8000
I
10000
J
12000
HALL MOBILITY ( ~ r n ~ V - ~ < ~ )
FIG. 19. Through a Hall measurement, the pinch-off voltage can be predicted if the doping
concentration is known. The various iso-V, curves correspond to -0.15, -0.48, -0.71,
-0.99, - 1.27, - 1.56, - 1.84, -2.12, -2.40, -2.68, -3.00, -3.24, and -3.52, respectively.
tionary phenomena are often taken into account to explain MESFET dc or

microwave characteristics.
The nonstationary regime in TEGFETs was studied in some detail by
Cappy et al.26,37 The most exact treatment would certainly be a two-di-
mensional Monte Carlo calculation. But in the TEGFET case, the descrip-
tion of the heavily doped AlGaAs layer and the small potential well in
which the camers are accumulated requires one to simulate a great num-
ber of particles and to use a very small mesh size. Therefore, a very long
computation time would be needed. To simplify the problem Cappy et al.
proposed a one-dimensional calculation which includes nonstationary ef-
fects.
(1) The first step is to determine the dependence, in the stationary
regime, of the electron velocity and energy on the parallel and transverse
field under the gate. This is done by the simultaneous resolution of the
Boltzmann equation by the Monte Carlo method and the Poisson equa-
tion, the boundary conditions being expressed in Fig. 20. Real-space
transfer of electrons from the 2DEG to the AlGaAs layer is considered
when the electron energy related to the transverse component of the veloc-
ity is higher than AE,. The parallel component and the total energy are
then considered to be conservative. Transferred electrons remain in the
corresponding valley on both sides of the heterojunction. If the electron
energy is not high enough (<A&), specular reflection occurs.
IY
undoped IY’
GaAs
€1 = E Schottky
n -AIGoAs
FIG.20. Cross-sectional view of TEGFET showing transverse electric field Ek
224 NUYEN T. LINH
FIG.2 I. Electron concentration distribution under the gate of a TEGFET. Notice that at
high longitudinal electric field real-space transfer of electrons occurs from GaAs to AlGaAs
(after Cappy et af.").
The distribution of electrons in the potential well and its neighborhood

is then determined and represented in Fig. 2 1. Notice that at high longitu-
dinal electric field Ell(high drain voltage) more electrons are transferred
into the AlGaAs layer and toward the substrate. These effects can be easily
interpreted by an increase of electron energy.
The mean electron velocity in the stationary regime in the structure
(including electrons in the 2DEG and those in AlGaAs) is shown in Fig. 22.
It can be noted that the mean electron peak velocity is equal to that of bulk
GaAs. This result is not surprising since no particular assumption is made
on the two-dimensional character of the electron gas.
v (cmls)
FIG.22. High transverse electric field prevents real-space transfer from occurring, then the
mean electron velocity in the TEGFET structure is equal to that of undoped GaAs material
(after Cappy et ~21.~').(-) TEGFET at EL = 250 kV/cm; (- - -) intrinsic GaAs.
GATE
FIG. 23. Distribution of longitudinal electric field q,,electron velocity u,, and energy E
under the gate (L, = 0.8 bm, V, = 2 V, ,u = 4000 cm2V-I s-’ ) (after Cappy et ~ 1 . ~ ’ ) .
(2) The second step is to determine the dc characteristicsof the transis-

tor by taking into account electron dynamic effects. As has been done for
MESFETS,~~ the TEGFET model is based on the resolution of the follow-
ing equations:
Jas = z(Q1
UI +Qz~z) (25)
GATE LENGTH (pm)

FIG. 24. The intrinsic maximum available gain and cutoff frequency of the TEGFET
(-) is higher than that of the MESFET (- - -) (after Cappy et ~ 1 . ~ ’ ) .
226 NUYEN T. LINH
-
I
N
5- 1 250 0
Y
h
\
v)
G
-200 fj
3
z:
l-
s!
v
-150
lL
LL
100 e
3
V
z
’
I-
w
U 2
012 Ol4 Ol6 dl8 o <
0,
GATE LENGTH (pm)

FIG.25. The high electron velocity of TEGFETs (-) leads to a high gm,,/2nC, cutoff
frequency (after Cappy er a/.”). The MESFET curve is also shown (- - -).
aE E - E0
- = qEll- -
ax VIT,
dv, m*v,
0 = qE,,- m*v , -- -
dx T~
where I , is the drain current; Q, and Qzthe sheet concentration in GaAs

and AIGaAs, respectively; v1 and v2 the longitudinal mean electron velocity
in GaAs and AlGaAs respectively; E the mean electron energy in GaAs; m*
the effective mass of the electron; and ,z, z, the momentum and energy
relaxation time.
Figure 23 gives the distribution of electric field Ell, the mean electron
velocity vl, and the E under the gate. A comparison of electron velocity
between TEGFETs and MESFETs is given in Fig. 10; due to overshoot
effects the mean electron velocity under the gate is twice as large in a
TEGFET as in a MESFET (at 300 K). Therefore, Cappy et al. concluded
that the intrinsic maximum available gain (MAG) and the intrinsic cutoff
frequency of a TEGFET are much higher (Fig. 24), as is also the cutoff
frequency, gm0/27cC, (Fig. 25).
5. ACCURATE
SUBBANDS AND CHARGE CONTROL
IN TEGFET AT LOWELECTRIC
DETERMINATION FIELD
Recently Vinte$6 has given an accurate determination of the subband
structure and charge distribution as a function of gate voltage at room
temperature, by using a self-consistent calculation in which the electronic

subband structure in both GaAs and AlGaAs is taken into account (Fig.
26) as well as the partial neutralization of donors in AlGaAs.
The main results are as follows:
(1) The lowest subband contains approximately 60% of the 2DEG
electrons, and the second lowest subband 20%.
(2) The gate capacitance is not a constant function of the gate voltage.
Figure 27 shows the gate voltage dependence of the capacitance. We can
consider in fact that the capacitance remains roughly constant in a small
range of gate voltages (0.3-0.4), whereas the complete depletion of the
2DEG needs - 1 V. That figure also shows that there is a range of gate
voltages where the gate bias has an effect upon both the 2DEG and the free
electrons in AlGaAs. This effect is not described by the analytical model,
and is at the origin of the fact that the gate capacitance is not constant.
Figure 28 shows the sheet carrier concentration dependence of the Fermi
FIG.26. Band structure in TEGFET according to V i ~ ~ t eSubbands

r~~. are also created in
AlGaAs because of band bending due to the Schottky gate. (a) Depletion-mode device; (b)
enhancement-modedevice. The Fermi level is EF= 0. The energies of the donor level are
shown broken for the higher voltage.
228 NUYEN T. LINH
-2 -1 0 1
VG(V)
.
FIG. 27. Gate voltage dependence of gate capacitance: The gate capacitance is not strictly
constant as assumed in the analytical model. Nevertheless, the capacitance remains roughly
constant in a small range of voltage. (a) All electrons in the system; (b) all free electrons; (c) all
electrons in the GaAs channel. (0, 1, 2) correspond to the electrons in the three lowest
subbands (after Vh~ter-’~).
100
88
t //
POTENTIAL WELL
APPROXIMATION ( 4 6 )
-100 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
3
N, (10’~
FIG.28. Sheet carrier concentration dependence of the Fermi level. The triangular potential
well approximation gives a good fit at low values of n, (after Urien and Delagebeaudeufa).
energy EF for the two cases of a triangular potential well and more accurate
situation described by Vinter. Urien and Delagebeaudeuf&have given a
numerical formula which gives a good fit with the result obtained by
Vinter:
8
EF= a,(N,)'
i-0
where a, = - 112.7366820, a, = 137.8963593, a, = - 102.3133367, a3 =

52.99028938, a4 = - 17.32353641, a, = 3.545414254, a6 =
-0.439517149, a, = 0.030101690, and as = -8.72465 X with EFin
mV and 0.25 X lOI5I N , i 7 X lo', m-,.
V. TEGFET Microwave Performance

6. NOISEFIGURE
AND ASSOCIATED
GAIN
Microwave measurements on TEGFETS were first reported by Deles-
cluse et who showed a maximum available gain of 8 dB at 1 1 GHz.
Low-noise performance was then published by Laviron et ~ 1 With a
. ~ ~ 3 ~ ' :
gate length of 0.8 pm, a noise figure (NF) of 2.3 dB was measured at 10
GHz, with an associated gain (G-) of 10.3 dB. These figures were hum-
ble with respect to the state of the art of GaAs MESFETs at that moment
(mid- 198l), but by considering that the TEGFET technology was just
emerging and the gate length was large, the reported performance was
encouraging and indicated that the TEGFET is not worthy only at low
temperature as many people believed.
Better results were obtained by Niori et al.48They observed at 8, 11.3,
and 20 GHz noise figures of 1.3, 1.7, and 3.1 dB and G, of 13, 1 1.2, and
7.5 dB, respectively.
Further improvement was given by Joshin et and Linh? a noise
figure of 1.4 dB was reported at 12 GHz by the former authors, whereas the
latter obtained 1.26 dB at 10 GHz and 2.3 dB at 17.5 GHz. Both teams
showed very interesting performance at low temperature with noise figures
of -0.25-0.35 dB (-20 K), the physical temperature being - 100 K.
The above results show that progress was quickly made, but the state of
the art of GaAs MESFETs (in 1982-1983) was not yet reached. As a
matter of fact, 0.6 pm gate length MESFETs presented at 12 GHz a NF =
1.3- 1.47 dB, G, = 9.9- 10.3 dB,5'-52 while the 0.25 pm gate length
MESFET showed NF = 0.95 dB, G, = 11.5 dB at 12 GHz and NF =
1.55 dB, G, = 12.3 dB at 18 GHz.,~
Recent results obtained at T h ~ m s o n - C S F
and
~ ~NEC55on 0.5 pm TEG-
FETs have placed that device on the highest MESFET level: NF = 1.2 dB,
230 N U Y E N T. LINH
C l
- 167
- 15
-14
U
v
- 13
z
-12 9
- 11
T Gass
- 10
-9
20
DRAIN CURRENT (mA)
FIG.29. Drain current dependence of the noise figure, associated gain, and maximum gain
in an ultra-low-noise TEGFET at 10 GHz.
G, = 11 dB ~ NF = 1.07 dB, G,
at 12 G H z , ~and = 10.6 dB at
10 GHz, and N F = 1.9 dB, G,, = 7.5 dB at 17.5 G H z . ~ ~
It is only very recently that TEGFET performance has outdistanced the
MESFET performance: NF = 0.85 dB, G, = 1 1.2 dB at 10 GHz and
NF = 1.3 dB, G, = 9.5 dB at 17.5 GHz for 0.5 pm gate length device14
(Fig. 29).
Figure 30 summarizes the progress made by 0.5 pm TEGFETs, and Fig.
3 1 compares the performance of our best 0.5 pm TEGFET to that of the
best sub-half-micrometer GaAs MESFET: it is remarkable that the noise
figure of a 0.5 pm TEGFET is lower than that of a 0.25 p m MESFET,
particularly at high frequency.
7. S PARAMETERS
S parameters were first given by Niori et aL4*(Fig. 32), who deduced an
equivalent circuit similar to that of a conventional GaAs MESFET (Fig.
33). We have also used such an equivalent circuit to deduce the various
0.5pm
TEGFET {:
0 THOMSON-CSF
NFEUT
:SU
h
m
-0
v
2-
w
CK
3
c3 1.5-
w
cn
0 ’-
z
0.5
’81 ‘82 ‘83 ‘0L
YEAR
FIG.30. The progress made on low-noise TEGFETs since its beginnings is impressive. It
seems that there is still room for improvement.
parasitic elements of the tran~istor.’~ In fact, the establishment of an

equivalent circuit is a difficult exercise even for the conventional MES-
FET, and then results have to be considered with care. Comments on the
TEGFET circuit elements will be given in the next section.
Chao et dS7 have realized a 0.25 pm TEGFET and deduced a cutoff
frequency of 45 GHz (Fig. 34). The cutoff frequency (gm0/2nC,! of our
0.5 pm TEGFET was measured to be 30 GHz, while the intrinsic cutoff
frequency is 80 GHz. It is remarkable that for an extrinsic cutoff frequency
equivalent to that observed on MESFETs (see Ref l), the intrinsic cutoff
frequency is much higher.
8. DISCUSSION
ON THE NOISEFIGURE
IN TEGFETs
How can we explain the excellent results obtained for The TEGFET
noise figure? What is the physical parameter which is responsible for the
high performance of the TEGFET? Is it the enhancement of mobility and
velocity as was suggested in Section III? Is it an effect of the two-dimen-
sionality of the electron gas, or is it other factors we have ignored up to
now?
232 NUYEN T. LINH
i
v NEC 0.3pm
o HUGHES 0.3pm
MESFET A TOSHIBA 0.25pm
0 AVANTEK 0.25pm
TEGFET 0 THOMSON-CSF 0.5pm
0.25pm MESFET
/
0.51 1 I I I I I
I
8 10 12 1.6 16 18 20 22 24
FREQUENCY (GHz)
FIG. 31. The comparison of 0.5 pm TEGFET performance to the state of the art of
sub-half-micrometerMESFETs shows that the 0.5 pm TEGFET presents lower noise than the
best 0.25 pm MESFET.
To answer these questions, let us consider the problem through two

aspects: theoretical and semiempirical approaches.
a. TheoreticalApproach
The theoretical treatment of the problem of noise in a TEGFET was
achieved by the CHS Group of the University of Lille,58which undertook
the MESFXT noise study some years Let us recall briefly the main
results obtained on MESFETs.
Carnez et al.59took into account the nonstationary electron dynamics to
explain the dc characteristicsof FETs as well as their microwave properties.
Noise was considered to be mainly due to the fluctuations of carrier
velocity. Their contributions can be represented by a great number of noise
goo
FIG.32. TEGFET S parameters were first given by Niori et a/."
current sources distributed along the source -to -drain axis. These sources
are supposed to be uncorrelated. The mean-square value of the noise
current related to each section x is given by the relation
= q2(A$)njyjZ/Ax
where (Au;) is the average quadratic fluctuation of the drifl velocity, nj the
carrier density, and yj the channel thickness. It is assumed that the noise
spectral density of the current source in the j t h section is related to the
234 NUYEN T. LINH
RG CDG R DG
7.5R 0.01pF 1 R 4.3R
S
FIG.33. The equivalentcircuit of a TEGFET is similar to that of a MESFET (after Niori el
al.,48see also Linh56).
longitudinal diffusion coefficient Dll:

3 = 4q2D,lnjyjZ/Ax (31)
D,,is deduced from Monte Carlo calculations. From the knowledge of noise
current sources in the channel, one can deduce the noise sources in the gate
and at the drain, these two being correlated. The noise figure of the FET is
then evaluated and the minimum noise figure calculated.
1. 5
10
9
8
7
;
4
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
1 1.5 2 2.53 5 6 78910
4 1.5 2 2 . 5 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
FREQ (GHz)
FIG. 34. With a 0.25 pm TEGFET, Chao et aL5’ have obtained an extrinsic cutoff fre-
quency of =45 GHz.
The main result to be obtained from the work of Carnez et ul. is that
velocity overshoot can account for the noise figure experimentally ob-
served in MESFETs. As a matter of fact, when neglecting the overshoot
effect, the calculated noise figure is too high compared to experimental
data.
Such an approach of calculating noise figures in FETs was taken by
Cappy et ul. to predict TEGFET performan~e.~~ The nonstationary elec-
tron dynamics as recalled in Section 1 were used. The first interesting result
concerns the calculation of the diffusion coefficients D,,and D , . As shown
in Fig. 35, the coefficient D,, in the 2DEG is approximately equal to the
bulk case. D , in the 2DEG is much smaller than in bulk GaAs, but the
latter diffusion coefficient intervenes in the noise figure to the second
order. It was then concluded that the reduced dimensionality does not
seem to contribute to lower the noise figure in a TEGFET. The reduction
of noise figure seems to be totally due to the high electron mobility, which
300 I I 1
/\
N
-\
m
1
;I
,,
I
f \
\
1
\1
\\Ol
-TEGFET
___ MESFET
AT
El = 280kVlcm
E
V
U
5 200
w
E
LL
W
8
g 100
-
v)
3
LL
LL
0
I I I
0 10 20 30 3
ELECTRIC FIELD Ell (kV/cm)
FIG.35. Monte Carlo calculations show that the longitudinal diffusion coefficient D, in a
TEGFET is approximately equal to D, in MESFETs, but the transvem diffusion coefficient
DI is lower in TEGFETs. Since the noise figure is directly correlated with D,l,and vanes in
second order with Dl, then the two-dimensional character of the 2DEG does not seem to
contribute to reduce the TEGFET noise figure (after Cappy et
236 NUYEN T. LINH
FREQUENCY (GHz)
FIG. 36. Noise figure deduced from the nonstationary electron dynamic effect model is
dependent on mobility, since overshoot is also dependent on that parameter. The associated
+
gain indicated on the figure corresponds to R, R, = 6 R,p = 8000 cm2V-I s-l (after
Cappy et ~ 1 . ~ ~ ) .
enhances the velocity overshoot (Fig. 36). The mobilities used in Fig. 36
are 4000 and 8000 cm2 V-' s-I , respectively. As reported in Section 2, a
value between 4000 and 6000 cm2 V-I s-I seems reasonable since, at the
minimum noise figure bias condition, the mobility is lower than at zero
gate bias. By taking these figures, the calculated noise figure results seem to
be in agreement with experimental data at 10 GHz.
In conclusion, theoretical calculations predict that TEGFETs exhibit
lower noise than MESFETs because of the enhancement of velocity over-
shoot related to the high electron mobility of this transistor.
b. Semiempirical Approach
It is well known in MESFET technology that the noise figure is related to
the various parameters of the equivalent circuit by the semiempirical
Fukui formulam
Fmin = 1 + 2xC,JK,E(& + RJ/gmo11'2 (32)
where F- is the minimum noise figure; C, the gate-to-source capaci-
tance; R,,R , the source and gate resistance, respectively;,g the intrinsic
transconductance; f the frequency; and KF the fitting factor. Numerous
3. TWO-DIMENSIONALELECTRON GAS FETS 237
experimental results show that the fitting factor KF is -2.5. This factor is
often called the “material quality” factor, since it varies with the material
quality. It is high when the transconductance at near pinch-off is low, in
other terms when the camer concentration profile and/or mobility profile
is not abrupt at the interface.
Since the Fukui formula just takes into account the equivalent circuit
elements, one can try to use it in the case of the TEGFET. In this way Niori
et have found for the TEGFET K F= 1.6 and Linh, KF = 1.5.56 These
values are smaller than those of GaAs MESFETs. Before commenting on
this important point, let us state the question: Is the semiempirical Fukui
formula valid for the TEGFET?
To demonstrate the validity of the Fukui formula in the case of a
TEGFET, let us recall the work undertaken by Delagebeaudeuf6I.
The TEGFET operating condition is assumed to be at the knee voltage
where the velocity saturation is just commencing. The calculations of noise
figures are similar to those developed by Baechtold62and Brewitt-Taylof13
for the MESFET. They are long and will not be reviewed in detail in this
paper.
As in Section 8a, the noise figure of the device results from the contribu-
tions of thermal fluctuations of the current in the channel, obeying the
Nyquist relation
(Si,Z)j= 4kT AGj Af (33)
where AGj is the conductance of the section j in the channel. This current
fluctuation induces a correlated current fluctuation in the gate. Delage-
beaudeuf demonstrated that the intrinsic noise of the FET is represented
by the two sources of current noise:
(6ii) = 4kTgmoPAf (34)
with the correlation
(did 6iZ)=jC((Sii>(Bi;))1’* (36)

where P, R,and C are explicit functions of the dc characteristics of the
FET. Let us note that Eqs. (34), (35), and (36) are valid for any field-effect
transistor.
By including the extrinsic parasitic elements and by neglecting the feed-
back capacitance C,, which is usually low, the schematic circuit presented
in Fig. 37 can be used. By optimizing the input impedance Zi to have the
238 NUYEN T. LINH
minimum noise figure, one obtains, after long calculations:
where
K, = P + R - 2C(RP)‘I2
K, = RP(1 - C2)/Kg (38)
R, =R, +Rg
By using the analytical model developed in Section 3, one can calculate the
parametersP,R,andC:P-1.16,C-O,R-0.15.ThenEq.(37)canbe
reduced to
+
F ~ ,-, I + 2 @ ( 2 n C , f ) [ ( R , RJ/gmo]’/2 (39)
which is in conformity with the Fukui formula with KF= 2 fi= 2.15. In
fact, the exact value of the KF coefficient varies according to the approxi-
mation taken in the calculations stated above. We estimate that the calcu-
lated value of KF is -2 _+ 0.5 for both MESFETs and TEGFETs. There-
fore, it is not possible to find a theoretical reason why the Fukui factor of
the TEGFET is smaller than that of a MESFET.
Still, experimental data collected in Table I show that K,(TEGFET) <
KF(MESFET) for all studied samples, except for TEGFET No. 3562,
which will be commented on further.
The KF is calculated through the determination of the equivalent circuit
elements, and it is well known, even for MESFETs, that these elements
tR’
INPUT I TRANS I STOR I OUTPUT
FIG.37. Schematiccircuit representing noise sources in FETs.
TABLE I
THEFUKUIFITTING OF A TEGFET Is LOWERTHANTHATOF A MESFET, FOR COMPARABLE
FACTOR GATELENGTHTHE
VALUES OF C,lg,, ARESMALLER
IN TEGFETs
TEGFET 3468 300 0.8 6 2 46 0.39 8.5 10 1.8 9.6 1.58 6

3524 0.65 5.4 1.5 40 0.32 8 - 1.9 10.1 2.07 8
3584 0.6 9.6 1.5 44 0.48 11 - 2.8 11.2 1.9 6
3588 0.5 7.2 1.5 55 0.31 5.6 - 1.47 10.7 1.65 8
3562 0.5 1.35 3.4 42 0.4 9.5 - 2.9 11 3.56 20
4105 0.5 3.6 2.5 61 0.34 5.5 - 1.3 9.2 1.66 6.5 50
4108 - 0.5 2.5 2.3 69 038 5.5 - 1.07 10.6 1.47 8.5 54
4164 140 0.48 3.8 0.92 34 0.16 5.3 - 0.85 10.5 1.51 5.8 14
HEMT 200 0.5 4.3 7.5 55 028 5.1 8 1.3 13 1.6 7.5 48
HEMT 200 0.5 4 1 47 0.26 5.5 12 1.4 11 1.88 8 49
MESFET NE673 280 0.4 1.5 2 50 0.25 5.0 10 1.34 11.4 2.75 10
AVTK 75 0.25 4 7 19 0.07 3.7 18 1.55 12.3 2.2 5 53
Hughes I50 0.3 2.4 2.9 26 0.147 5.7 18 1.69 2.1 1
41 10 300 0.55 3 2.3 45 0.29 6.45 10 1.8 8.25 2.6 6.5
4155 140 0.5 1.5 2 28 0.175 6.25 10 1.03 12.1 2.45 13.5 14
240 NUYEN T. LINH
cannot be determined with precision, in particular the parasitic resistances.

We have used different techniques to determine R , and R,, including
microwave methods.@The data reported in Table I are the mean values.
For TEGFET No. 3562 the fitting factor is as high as 3.5 and the drain
current I- corresponding to the minimum noise figure is unusually high
(-20 mA). It was observed for the dc characteristics of the transistor that
the transconductance drastically drops near pinch-off below 20 mA. This
bad behavior occurs in some TEGFETs and has been shown to be due to
processing procedures rather than to material quality, as is often the case
for MESFETs.
c. Discussion
Theoretical calculations predicted that the strong electron velocity over-
shoot in TEGFETs induces ultra-low-noise properties in this device. On
the other hand, the semiempirical approach shows that the low value of the
KFfactor is responsible for the high performance of the TEGFET. Which is
the right explanation?
High electron velocity should induce a high value of gmo/C,. Table I
indicates that this is the case. An improvement by a factor of 1.4.- 1.8 is
I I I I I I
LG = 0 . 5 p m
p = 8ooocm2v”<1
R,+ R, = 6Q
Z =300~~m
gmo= 3 0 0 m S l m m
CGS 0.78 pFlmm
I I I t I
4 8 12 16 20 24 3
FREQUENCY (GHz)
FIG. 38. Frequency dependence of TEGFET noise figures calculated according to the
Cappy er nl. model5*(-) and by assuming the validity of a Fukui formula (- - -).
noted, in good agreement with the theoretical calculation (see Fig. 25). But
this simple analysis is not complete because it does not take into account rf
characteristics. Let us present the noise figure of a TEGFET calculated
according to the Cappy et al. model and compare it to the noise figure
obtained by the Fukui formula with various KF values (see Fig. 38). The
striking result is that in the Cappy et al. model the noise figure varies with
frequency more rapidly than predicted by the Fukui relation, the latter
being used with the same gm0/C,,R,, and R, parameters. The thinner the
AlGaAs layer, the higher the deviation from the Fukui relation. Let us
point out, however, that the Cappy et al. model applied to the MESFET
case is in agreement with experimental data.
Then it can be concluded that the microscopic model based on nonsta-
tionary electron dynamic effects has to be improved to account for experi-
mental observations. However, the supporters of that model can argue that
the determination of the source series resistance R, of a TEGFET is wrong
and that probably R, diminishes as the frequency increases because the
source resistance is constituted of two resistances (the 2DEG and the
AlGaAs top layer) coupled with the heterojunction capacitance. Actually
Fig. 39 shows that the TEGFET source resistance varies with frequency.
More work also has to be done to clarify to which phenomenon the low
value of Cm/gmoobserved on TEGFETs can be attributed. It was claimed
above that it can be due to the velocity-overshoot effect. There are some
I I I
TEGFET #3588
0 5 10 15
FREQUENCY (GHz)
FIG.39. The TEGFET source resistance varies with frequency. This dependence is more
pronounced near pinch-off. This result can explain the fact that the noise figure varies less
with frequency in a TEGFET than in a MESFET (after Cappy et U Z . ~ ~ ) .
242 NUYEN T. LINH
observations indicating, however, that the low value of C,/g, in TEG-

FETs can be interpreted by surface effects.
It is well known that the transconductance of a MESFET usually varies
with frequency: a drop in g, is often observed at 100 to 1000 Hz. Detailed
studies made by Wallis and c o - w ~ r k e r shave
~ ~ shown that this phenome-
non is related to surface states existing along the source-to-gate and
drain- to-gate GaAs surface. The electron trapping and detrapping by
these surface states is frequency dependent, and then is responsible for the
variation versus frequency of the depth of the surface depletion layer. The
modulation of the depletion layer thickness by the microwave signal ap-
plied on the gate induces the existence of an effective gate length which is
larger than the metallurgical gate length. The ratio between those two
depends on the quality of the GaAs surface treatment, i.e., the passivation.
This surface property also induces the so-called lagging effect. Suppose an
FET is in its offstate. By applying a positive (or less negative) voltage on the
gate, the FET is turned to its on state, but the drain current iilcrease
presents some delay. This lagging effect is also surface dependent.
The study of these phenomena on TEGFETs showed that
(1) g, is frequency independent (Fig. 40); and
(2) a lagging effect is not observed.
The effective gate length in TEGFETs is then shorter than in MESFETs.
I I I
100 102 104 106 lo8

FREQUENCY (Hz)
FIG. 40. The transconductance of a MESFET (- - -) often varies with frequency. This
spurious phenomenon is attributed to surface effects. Notice that the TEGFET transconduc-
tance (-) remains constant (after D. Pons and F. Faucher, unpublished).
By referring to the C,/g,, values collected in Table I and by ignoring

the overshoot effect, one can estimate that the effective gate length of
TEGFETs is I .4 to 1.8 times shorter than that of MESFETs.
With regard to the low KF value, no clear explanation can be given at
present. Since in MESFETs this factor is referred to the channel material
quality, it is concluded at first analysis that the TEGFET channel quality is
better than that of the MESFET. Reduced Coulombic scattering and
screeningeffectsby free electrons, particularly at the minimum noise figure
bias condition, make the material behave like an ideal case, toward which
the MESFETs are approaching. Notice that the best MESFETs reported in
Table I have a lower KF value than usual. Notice also that, in the ideal case,
the factor P [see Eqs. (34) and (39)] has the value of 0.666 near pinch-
off.61,63966
Then KF = 2 0, KF= I .63. It is probable that this analysis is too simple
since many approximations have been assumed, but it seems that it repre-
sents a reasonable hypothesis for the low value of K F .
In summary, a definite explanation of the high performance of TEG-
FETs has not been found yet. Probably there is not one single reason but a
combination of several factors that make the TEGFET superior to the
MESFET.
VI. Conclusion
Experimental results clearly show that the TEGFET is superior to the
MESFET as a low-noise transistor; with a 0.85 dB noise figure at 10 GHz
and 1.3 dB at 17.5 GHz (at 300 K) for a gate length of 0.5 pm, the TEG-
FET performance is higher than state of the art for 0.25pm MESFETs.
Moreover, TEGFETs do not present spurious effects such as ‘‘lagging” or
g , dependence on frequency.
The reason@)why TEGFETs work better than MESFETs is not clearly
understood yet. Whatever the explanation(s), ultra-low-noise TEGFETs
will constitute a breakthrough in the 1980s. Combining TEGFETs and
MM1Cs6’ is the future of microwave devices for satellite communication,
DBS, phased array antenna radar millimeter wave systems, etc.
ADDENDUM
During the preparation of this paper more results on TEGFETs were presented at the IEEE
MTT-S Symposium (San Francisco, May, 1984). In particular K. Ohata, H. Hida, H. Miya-
moto, M. Ogawa, T. Baba and T. MizutaN (1984 IEEE MTT-S Digest, p. 434) showed
a 0.5 ,um TEGFET with 1.85 dB noise figure at 20 GHz; also J. J. Berenz, K. Nakano, and
K. P. Weller (1984 ZEEE MTT-S Digest, p. 98) presented 0.35-0.37 fim gate length devices
244 NUYEN T. LINH
3.5
COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS TOSHIBA

43 4'"'Q
.
3.c 1
TRW0.25pm GE
I .25pml
2.5 TOSHIBAW
I
.25pm
-m
0
!A
2s
K
1
P
U
w
B 1.5
s
ROCKWELL
0 TRW 0.25 p
1.c
.25pm
A
0.5 -GE 0.25 pm
0
10 20 30 40
FREQUENCY (GHz)
FIG.41. State of the art of low-noise and millimeter-wave operation TEGFETs (July,
1986).
exhibiting 1.5 dB noise figure at 18 GHZ and 2.7 dB at 34 GHz. These new data confirm the
extremely high performance of the TEGFET.
Since May, 1984, more works have been published on low-noise TEGFETs. The main
results are summarized in Fig. 41: low-noise and high-frequency operation have made tre-
mendous progress both in the laboratory and in commercial products. Not included in this
figure are the excellent work of M. Sholley et al. (Military Microwave, Brighton, July 1986)
on HEMT millimeter-wave amplifiers, mixers, and oscillators working up to 70 GHz, and
that of P. M. Smith et al. (Electron. Lett. 22( 19,780, 1986) on a 94 GHz amplifier using an
HEMT.
In addition to low-noise amplification, let us note that a high-efficiency power TEGFET
also presents a very interesting performance (see,for example, H. Hida et al., Electron. Lett.
22(16), 780, 1986).
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
It is a great pleasure for the author to thank his co-workers and colleagues for their active
contribution to this work, especially D. Delagebeaudeuf, P. Delescluse, M. Laviron, J. F.
Rochette, J. Chewier, P. Jay, R. H. Wallis, D. Pons, A. Faucher, C. Rumelhard, and F.
Diamand in Thomson-CSF and A. Cappy, G. Salmer, and E. Constant at the University of
Lille. Many unpublished results were communicated by D. Delagebeaudeuf, A. Cappy, D.
Pons, and A. Faucher. The permission of R. H. Wallis, M. Niori, A Cappy, J. C. M. Hwang,

and B. Winter to reproduce figures from their publications is appreciated.
The author would also like to express his gratitude to P. Aigrain and E. Spitz for their
constant encouragement during this work, which is partially supported by DRET contract
No. 81.34.570.
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57. P. C. Chao, T. Yu, P. M. Smith, S. Wanuga, J. C. M. Hwang, W. H. Perkins, H. Lee,

L. F. Eatsman, and E. D. Wolf, Electron. Lett. 19, 894 (1983).
58. A. Cappy, A. Vanovemhelde, M. Schortgen, C. Versnayen, and G. Salmer, J. Natl.
Microondes, 1984 (1984).
59. B. Camez, A. Cappy, R. Fauquembergue, E. Constant, and G. Salmer, IEEE Trans.
Electron Devices EDZS, 784 (198 1).
60. H. Fukui, IEEE Trans. Electron Devices ED-26, 1032 (1979).
61. D. Delagebeaudeuf, unpublished. Part of the results were presented at the Maidenhead
Workshop (see Linhso) Details of the calculations can be found in the Thomson-CSF
report on TEGFET, DRET Contract No. 8 1-34-570.
62. W. Baechtold, IEEE Trans. Electron Devices ED-19,674 (1972).
63. C. R.Brewitt-Taylor, P. N. Robson, and J. E. Sitch, Proc. IEEE 127, 1 (1980).
64. F. Diamand and M. Laviron, Proc. Eur. Microwave Conf, 12th. 1982 (1982).
65. R. H. Wallis, D. Pons, A. Faucher, unpublished, A. Faucher, Thkse Centre National des
Arts et Metiers, Pans (1 984).
66. A. Van Der Ziel, Proc. IRE 50, 1808 (1962).
67. M. Le B a n , P. R. Jay, C. Rumelhard,G. Rey, and P. Delescluse, G d s ICSymp.,Digest,
p. 20, 1983 ( 1984).
SEMICONDUCTORS AND SEMIMETALS, VOL. 24
CHAPTER 4
Ultra-High-speed HEMT Integrated Circuits

M . Abe, T. Mimura, K. Nishiuchi, A. Shibatomi, M. Kobayashi,
and T. Misugi
COMPOUND SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES LABORATORY
FUJITSU LABORATORIES LTD., ATSUGI
10-1, MORINOSATO-WAKAMIYA
ATSUGI 243-01, JAPAN
I. Introduction
Information processing in 1990 will require ultra-high-speed computers,
requiring high-speed LSI circuits with logic delays in the sub-100 ps range.'
The evolution of high-speed GaAs integrated circuits (ICs) is the result of
continuous technological progress utilizing the superior electronic proper-
ties of GaAs as compared with those of Si. GaAs metal-semiconductor
field-effect transistor (MESFET) technology enables the demonstration of
GaAs integrated circuits with high speed and low power c o n s ~ m p t i o n . ~ ~ ~
Fujitsu's self-aligned-gate MESFET technology has made it possible to
develop a GaAs 4 kbit static RAM4 and a GaAs 3k-gate 16 X 16-bit
parallel m~ltiplier.~ The GaAs 4 kbit static RAM has an address access
time of 3.0 ns with a power dissipation of 700 mW. The GaAs 3k-gate
16 X 16-bit parallel multiplier has a multiply time of 10.5 ns with a power
dissipation of 952 mW.
Electron mobility in the MESFET channel with typical donor concen-
trations of around 1017cm-3 ranges from 4000 to 5000 cm2/V s at room
temperature. The mobility in the channel at 77 K is not too much higher
than at room temperature due to ionized impurity scattering. In undoped
GaAs, electron mobility of 2 to 3 X lo5cm2/Vs has been obtained at 77 K.
The mobility of GaAs with feasibly high electron concentrations for facili-
tating the fabrication of devices was found to increase through modula-
tion-doping techniques demonstrated in GaAs/AlGaAs superlattices.6 As
the first application of this electron mobility-enhanced phenomenon to the
new transistor approach, a high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT),
based on modulationdoped GaAs/NGaAs single-heterojunction struc-
tures, was invented7 and was demonstrated to greatly improve the 77 K
channel mobility.
249
Copyright 0 1987 Bell Telephone Laboratories,Incorpxated.
Au rights of nproduction in any form reaemed.
250 M. ABE et al.
HEMT technology has opened the door to new possibilities for ultra-
high-speed LSI/VLSI application^.'-'^ Due to the supermobility GaAs/
AlGaAs heterojunction structure, the HEMT is especially attractive for
low-temperature operations at liquid nitrogen temperature. In 198 1, an
HEMT ring oscillator with a gate length of 1.7 pm demonstrated a 17.1 ps
switching delay with 0.96 mW power dissipation per gate at 77 K, indicat-
ing that switching delays below 10 ps will be achievable with 1 pm gate
devices.8 A switching delay of 12.2 ps with 1 . 1 mW power dissipation per
gate has already been obtained with a 1 pm gate HEMT even at room
temperature." This is the shortest switching delay achieved so far in semi-
conductor devices. More complex circuits have achieved successful opera-
tion of HEMT frequency dividers with direct-coupled FET logic (DCFL)
circuits, demonstrating a maximum clock frequency of 8.9 GHz at
77 K.12J3The maximum clock frequency achieved with HEMT technol-
ogy is roughly two times higher than that of its GaAs MESFET counterpart
with comparable geometry. Recently, frequency-divider circuits composed
of selectively doped heterojunction transistors (SDHTs) with 1 pm gates
were fabricated, showing a maximum clock frequency of 10.1 GHz at 77
K.I4 For more complex HEMT circuits, HEMT technology has made it
possible to develop 1 kbit static RAMSwith access times of 0.87 ns, and has
already jumped into the LSI/VLSI application field.
This article first presents the technological advantages of HEMT. Next,
we will describe an HEMT technology for VLSIs including material, device
fabrication, and characteristics for device modeling. We will then review
current work and recent advances in HEMT logic and memory 1Cs. Fi-
nally, we will project the future performance of HEMT VLSIs for ultra-
high-speed computer applications.
11. Technological Advantages of HEMTs

HEMT technology has new possibilities for LSI/VLSI with high speed
and low power dissipation. This section describes the principles of the
HEMT and its technological advantages compared with other technologies
for high-speed devices.
1 . HEMT PRINCIPLES
A cross-sectional view of the basic structure of a HEMT, with a selec-
tively doped GaAs/AlGaAs heterojunction structure, is shown in Fig. 1 .
An undoped GaAs layer and Si-doped n-type AlGaAs layer are successively
grown on a semi-insulating GaAs substrate by molecular beam epitaxy
(MBE). Because of the higher electron affinity of GaAs, free electrons in
the AlGaAs layer are transferred to the undoped GaAs layer, where they
4. ULTRA-HIGH-SPEED HEMT INTEGRATED CIRCUITS 251
Swce Gate Dmin
I Somi -insulating
GaAs substrate I
FIG. 1. Cross-sectional view of the basic structure of a HEMT, with a selectively doped
GaAs/MGaAsheterojunction structure.
form a two-dimensional high-mobility electron gas within 10 nm of the

interface. The n-type AlGaAs layer of the HEMT is completely depleted in
two depletion mechanisms: ( I ) the surface depletion results from the trap-
ping of free electrons by surface states; and (2) the interface depletion
results from the transfer of electrons into the undoped GaAs. The Fermi
level of the gate metal is matched to the pinning point, which is 1.2 eV
below the conduction band. With the reduced AlGaAs layer thickness, the
electrons supplied by donors in the AlGaAs layer are insufficient to pin the
surface Fermi level. Therefore, the space-charge region extends into the
undoped GaAs layer and, as a result, band bending results in the upward
direction, and the two-dimensional electron gas does not appear. When a
positive voltage higher than the threshold voltage is applied to the gate,
electrons accumulate at the interface and form a two-dimensionalelectron
gas (2DEG).
Thus, we can control the electron concentration to achieve depletion
(D)-mode and enhancement (E)-mode HEMT operation.'.' Electron mo-.
bility and sheet electron concentration (N,) in the heterostructure are
shown as a function of temperature in Fig. 2.16 As temperature decreases,
the electron mobility, which was about 8 X lo3cm2/V s at 300 K, increases
dramatically and reaches 2 X lo5 cm2/V s at 77 K due to reduced phonon
scattering. A further increase with a considerable gradient occurred even
below 50 K, and a maximum value of 1.5 X lo6 cmZ/Vs in the dark and
2.5 X lo6 cmZ/Vs under light illumination was attained at 4.2 K. Sheet
electron concentration decreases with decreasing temperature until it be-
comes constant below 150 K. The almost constant value of about
3.5 X 10'' cm-? below 150 K corresponds to that of 2DEG at the interface,
since this value agrees well with the value of N, determined by
Shubnikov-de Haas measurement at 4.2 K. Apparent excess camers
above 150 K are attributed to free electrons which are thermally excited
from relatively deep donors in n-type Ab.3Gh.7A~. Figure 3 shows annual
2DEG mobilities reported so far for selectively doped heterostructures and
252 M. ABE et al.
-
GWn-AIGaAs
I '
d.20
1 ' " " ' 1
nrn
' ".
-
N
- loB, ;Id4 50'

u .-c
5 E
%x Id, :Id3
c
c
f
-
c
.-
0 c
2
c
8
E lo4,
t ,Id2 =
0
iii f
5
I
Id I I I I , I I . I I I I I I 1 I I I I Id'
I empmrure Kj
FIG.2. Electron mobility and sheet electron concentration in GaAs/n-AlGaAs with a 20
nm thick undoped AlGaAs spacer layer, as a function of a temperature.
modulation-doped superlattices starting with 1978, when modulation dop-

ing in superlattices was first demonstrated. Open circles indicate mobilities
in selectively doped heterostructuresat 77 K and solid circles show mobili-
ties at 4.2- 10 K. During 1978 and 1979, mobility remained rather low. It
began increasing rapidly, however, afler the first HEMT was developed.'
4"j, ;
Id
, ~'p;Ki"A"
'78 '79 '80 '81 '82

Year
FIG.3. 2DEG mobility improved in selectively doped GaAs/AlGaAs as a function of year.
2. COMPARISON
WITH OTHERHIGH-SPEED
DEVICE
APPROACHES
The performance of various device approaches competing for high-speed
applications are compared roughly in Fig. 4,on the basis of ring-oscillator
results, except for Josephson junction devices, which use a gate chain. It is
difficult to compare their optimized performances fairly. Here we have the
criteria based on 1 pm device technology.
HEMT and Josephson junction devices show excellent high-speed per-
formance, The switching delay of GaAs MESFETs is two or three times
longer than that of HEMTs. GaAs/AlGaAs heterojunction bipolar transis-
tors (HBT) should achieve the same high-speed performance as the
HEMT. The ultimate speed capability, limited by cutoff frequencyfT, is
over 100 GHz, and the HBT also has the merit of flexible fan-out loading
capability. The silicon MOSFET and bipolar transistor are excellent for
both designing due to threshold voltage uniformity and controllability with
no material problems, and for ease of fabrication in spite of complex
processing steps. Configuration for both high-speed and large-scale integra-
tion with low-power performance, however, may be difficult for Si-based
technology. The technological advantages of HEMTs are compared with
various competing approaches to high-speed device design in Table I.
HEMTs are very promising devices for high-speed VLSIs but require
technological problems to be solved to achieve the LSI quality of GaAs/
AlGaAs material, using MBE and/or metal organic vapor phase epitaxy
(MOVPE) technologies.
Power dissipation (mW)

FIG. 4. Performance territory of various device approaches competing for high-speed
applications, based on 1 pm device technology.
TABLE I
TECHNOLOGICAL
ADVANTAGES
OF HEMTs COMPARED
WITH VARIOUS
COMPETING
HIGH-SPEED
DEVICEAPPROACHES
Uniformity
and
Performance controllability
Device - (uV,/swing Material Total
approach Speed Power ratio) Fabricability problems advantages
HEMT Excellent Very good Excellent Excellent Good Excellent

L, = 0.5- 1 pm 10 ps 0.1 mW 10-20 mV Simple Defect and
Highly geometry controllable (2%) MBE and trap-free epi
dry etching High throughput
GaAs MESFET Good Good Good Excellent Good Good
LG=0.5-1pm 20-30 PS I mW 60 mV Simple Defect-free ingot
Poor geometry controllable (10%)
GaAsIAlGaAs Excellent Good Excellent Complex Good Unknown
HBT 10-30 PS 1 mW (< 1%) New process Defect and
required trap-free epi
High throughput
Si MOSFET Very poor Very good Excellent Complex Excellent Difficult
80 ps 0.1 mW (1%) to high
speeds
Si bipolar Good Poor Excellent Complex Excellent Difficult
30-60 PS 1-10mW (< 1%) to large
scale
111. HEMT Technology for VLSI

The development of a high-performance VLSI requires new technologi-
cal breakthroughs. This section describes state-of-the-art HEMT technol-
ogy including material and the self-alignment-device fabrication technolo-
gies, and HEMT device modeling.
3. MATERIAL
TECHNOLOGY
To realize high-quality material grown by MBE, we optimized the buffer
layer between the semi-insulating GaAs substrate and the two-dimensional
electron-gas channel layer. The thickness of this layer is 0.6 pm. Figure 5
shows the electron mobility and sheet electron concentration in this opti-
mized heterostructure as a function of temperature. As temperature de-
creases, electron mobility, which was 8 X lo3 cm*/V s at 300 K, increases
to 1.2 X lo5cm2/V s at 77 K due to reduced phonon scattering."
The surface defect problem of MBE is a serious one at the present time
for fabrication of LSI-level complexity. Figure 6 shows the surface of an
MBE-grown GaAs film. Many surface irregularities are found. These sur-
face irregularities are called oval defects. Depending on growth conditions,
the density of the oval defects was 500-3000 cm-'. The oval defects
typically are from submicrometerto several micrometers, which is compa-
rable to the size of devices in LSI circuits. These oval defects seriously
affect the current -voltage characteristics of HEMTs.'* The effect of oval
defects on drain current - voltage characteristics is demonstrated in Fig. 7.
Figure 7a is an enlarged view of the HEMT with an arrow pointing to an
i
t GaAs/n-AEaAs
".i
-
.-b
a
0
E
d3
lo=
E
tI , , I 4 I I I I 4 I l l
In
3 10 100 500
Temperature ( K )
FIG. 5. Electron mobility and sheet electron concentration in the optimized GaAs/n-
AlGaAs heterojunction as a function of temperature.
256 M. ABE et al.
FIG.6 . A micrograph of surface irregularities of an MBEgrown GaAs film.
oval defect under the gate metal. The I - Vcharacteristicsare shown in Fig.
7b. Clearly, drain current cannot be cut off by the gate. In Fig. 7b, curves
on the left and on the right show the I - Vcharacteristics for positive and
negative gate voltages, respectively. This suggests that oval defects produce
H
(a) 1v (b)
FIG. 7. Effect of oval defects on drain current-voltage characteristics: (a) Top view of
HEMT with an oval defect under the gate; and (b) drain current-voltage characteristics.
I$,, ,
0 1020304050607080
, , ,
Distance (mm)
(0)
p0j,
w
, , , ,
An/n<kl% within 60
I , , , ,
0 1020304050607080
Distance (mm)
(b)
FIG. 8. Uniformities of n-GaAs layer grown on the 3 in. substrate by MBE (a) layer
thickness and (b) electron concentration uniformities.
FIG.9. Photograph of MBE wafer of 3 in. diameter with HEMT structure.

258 M. ABE et a!.
extra conductive channels between source and drain, which cannot be

controlled by the gate, The prime challenges for LSIs from a material
viewpoint must be centered on reduction of these oval defects on MBE
wafers. We could achieve a density of less than 100 cme2.
Another important problem in fabricating HEMT LSIs is epitaxial wafer
growth technology with high throughput and large size. We optimized
growth conditions for highly uniform epitaxial layers on 3 in. diameter
semi-insulating GaAs substrate, which made high throughput and high
quality possible. Figure 8 shows the uniformity of thickness and the elec-
tron concentration of an n-GaAs layer grown on the 3 in. substrate. Highly
uniform performance of less than 1% in thickness and electron concentra-
tion have been achieved within the circular area of 60 mm diameter.lq
Figure 9 is a photograph of an 3 in. diameter MBE wafer with HEMT
structure.
4. SELF-ALIGNMENT-DEVICE
FABRICATION
TECHNOLOGY
Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view of a typical self-aligned structure of
enhancement-mode (E) and depletion-mode (D) HEMTs forming an in-
verter for a DCFL circuit configuration. The basic epilayer structure con-
sists of a 600 nm undoped GaAs layer, a 30 nm Al,,,G%,7As layer doped to
2 X 10l8cm-3 with Si, and a 70 nm GaAs top layer successively grown on a
semi-insulating substrate by MBE. The low-field electron mobility was
found from Hall measurements to be 7200 cm2/V s at 300 K and 38,000
cm2/V s at 77 K. The concentration of two-dimensional electron gas
(2DEG) was ,1.0 X 1OI2 cmF2at 300 K and 8.4 X 10” cm-2 at 77 K. The
AlAs mole fraction tentatively selected was 0.3, although it can be expected
that higher AlAs mole fractions would increase the maximum achievable
concentration of 2DEG, resulting in an increase in transconductance of
HEMTs. Al,Ga,-,As with a high AlAs mole fraction, however, exhibits
E- HEMT D - HEMT
Ohmic Intercansct insulator ( SiOp 1

,contact /Gate ,/-mrtot /’
,--insulator ( SiOp)
GaAs
AlGoAs
GaAs
AIGoAs
Semi- insulating GaAs submate
FIG.10. Cross-sectional view of a typical self-aligned structure of E/D-HEMTs forming an

inverter for DCFL circuit configuration.
inferior surface morphology and an increase in deep traps, making device

fabrication difficult. A thin Ab.3Ga,-,7As layer to act as a stopper against
selective dry etching is embedded in the top GaAs layer to fabricate E- and
D-HEMTs in the same wafer. By adopting this new device structure, we
can apply the selective dry etching of GaAs to AlGaAs to achieve precise
control of the gate recessing process for E- and D-HEMTs.
Figure 11 indicates the process sequence for the self-alignedgate process
in the fabrication of HEMT LSIs including enhancement-modeand deple-
tion-mode HEMTs.~OFirst of all, the active region is isolated by a shallow
mesa step (180 nm), which is produced by a very simple process and can be
made nearly planar. The source and drain for E- and D-HEMTs are
metallized with AuGe eutectic alloy and Au overlay alloying to form
ohmic contacts with the electron layer. Then fine gate patterns are formed
for E-HEMTs, and the top GaAs layer and thin Ab,3G%.7Asstopper are
etched off by nonselective chemical etching. Using the same resist, after
formation of gate patterns for D-HEMTs, selective dry etching is per-
formed to remove the top GaAs layer for D-HEMTs and also remove the
GaAs layer under the thin Ab,Gq,As stopper for E-HEMTs. Next,
Schottky contacts for the E- and D-HEMT gates are provided by deposit-
ing Al, the Schottky gate contacts, and GaAs top layer for ohmic contacts
being self-aligned to achieve high-speed performance. Finally, electrical
connections from the interconnecting metal, composed of Ti/Pt/Au, to the
device terminals are provided through contact holes etched in a crossover
insulator film. As described above, a unique epistructure in combination
with self-terminating selective dry recess etching makes it possible to fabri-
cate super-uniform E- and D-HEMTs simultaneously, reflecting the uni-
formity of MBE-grown epitaxial film. The key technique to achieve stable
fabrication of self-aligned gate HEMTs is the selective dry etching of the
GaAs/AlGaAs layer as is understood from Fig. 1 1. Figure 12 shows etching
+
characteristics in CCl,F2 He discharges by using GaAs (60 nm thick)/
Ohmic contact
Resis
------ AlGaAs
-----
S.1 . GaAs substrate
(a 1 (b)
FIG. 1 1. Process sequence for self-aligned gate fabrication: (a) dry recessing, and (b) gate
metallization.
260 M. ABE et al.
3001 I
d CC12F2/He
GaAs I
(520 nm/min ,,' 7---
-
I
5 200 I
I
I
I
0
0 20 40 60 80
Etching time (sl

FIG. 12. Optimized selective dry-etching characteristics in CC1,FJHe discharges by using
GaAs/AIGaAs heterojunction MBE material.
Ab,Ga,,7As heterojunction material. A high selectivity ratio of more than

260 is achieved, where the etching rate of Ab,,Ga,,7As is as low as 2
nm/min and that of GaAs is about 520 nm/min at 140 V of self-generated
bias voltage.21
Maps and histograms of threshold uniformities for E- and D-HEMTs are
shown in Figs. 13 and 14. The standard deviations in threshold voltages,
measured for 149 E-HEMTs and 148 D-HEMTs distributed over an area
of 15 X 30 mm2, are 19 and 74 mV, respectively.22 Recently we have
achieved 12 and 20 mV standard deviations in threshold voltages for E-
and D-HEMTs typically due to more refined processing conditions. The
ratio of standard deviation of threshold voltage to the logic voltage swing
E-HEMT D- HEMT
0.5 - 1.0
--> -->
s >'
0 -2.0
(a) (b)
FIG.13. Maps of threshold voltages for (a) E-HEMTs and (b) D-HEMTs, over an area of
15 X 30 mm2.
60
N 6149
0
-0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 -2.0 -1.5 -1.0
Threshold voltage (V) Threshold voltage (V)
(0) (b)
FIG. 14. Histograms of threshold voltages for (a) E-HEMTs and (b) D-HEMTs, corre-
sponding to data shown in Fig. 13.
(0.5 for DCFL) is 3.8%, indicating excellent controllability of MBE growth

and the device fabrication process. This strongly supports the viability of
these technologies for realizing ICs with LSI/VLSI-level complexities.
MODELING
5. HEMT DEVICE
To give reasonably accurate predictions of device performance and pro-
vide guidelines for LSI design, simple device modeling is carried out.
Figure 15 shows the energy-band diagram under flatband conditions for
device modeling. According to the gradual channel approximation,HEMT
drain current, below the saturation region, can be written as23
ID = I O W - (1)
where
I0 = /&w&v+/2L~d, v~# 0 (2)
FIG.15. Energy-band diagram under flatband conditions used for device modeling.
262 M. ABE et al.
v = ( V S - VG+ VT)/VT (3)

and
C=(VD- G + VT)/VT (4)
Here, p,, WG,LG, E, and VT have their usual meanings, and d is the
thickness of the Al,Ga,-,As layer. The quantities v and C: denote the
normalized potential differencesat the source and drain, respectively. The
threshold voltage VTis given by
VT = CY, - A EJq - qnD( d - do)2/2~ (5)
where yM is the metal-semiconductor bamer potential, AEc is the differ-
ence in energy between the Al,Ga, -,As and GaAs conduction-band edges,
nD is the donor concentration in the Al,Ga,-,As layer, and do is the
thickness of the undoped spacer. The vertical threshold sensitivity is de-
fined by the differential threshold voltage to the thickness of the AlGaAs
layer and can be derived from Eq. (5) as follows:
dVT -
dd
L2qnD(V/M - A Ec/q - vT)/&11’2* (6)
We use the piecewise linear approximation of Turner and Wilson for the
velocity-field character is ti^.^^ In the approximation, saturation is assumed
to occur when the field at the drain end of the gate reaches the peak field
Em, and the saturation current is calculated from Eq. (1) by imposing the
boundary condition that the field at the drain end of the gate be equal to
Em. The experimental (-) and calculated (- - -) I- V characteristics
for a 1 pm gate E-HEMT are shown in Fig. 16. Device parameters used in
the calculation are inserted. Reasonable agreement between experimental
. 300K L,j/Wo= 1/20 pm

s
a
4-
-
Em.2.8 KV/cm
s * 7000 c#/V.S
= 30 nm
w VT= 0.13 V
E
c 3- R ~ = R ~ =n ~ O
Drain voltage Vos (V)

FIG.16. Drain current-voltage characteristics of E-HEMT at 300 K., showing the experi-
mental (- ) and calculated (- - -) curves.
I ' I
- 1.5 - 1.0 -0.5 0 0.5

Threshold voltage VT (VI
FIG. 17. Vertical threshold sensitivity as a function of threshold voltage at the electron
concentration of 2 X 10'8 cm-3.
and calculated results is found. It is also noted in Fig. 16 that a HEMT with
a gate length as short as 1 pm, operating in the high average field region,
exhibits empirical square-law characteristics, i.e., IDS= K( V,, - VT)'.
Figure 17 shows the vertical threshold sensitivity calculated from Eq. (6)
at a carrier concentration of 2 X 10l8~ m - The ~ . threshold sensitivity is 70
mV/nm at a VT of 0.13 V. As is shown in Fig. 14a, the deviation in
threshold voltage over the wafer for the E-HEMT is 140 mV at VT of 0.13
V. This corresponds to a thickness deviation of only 2 nm over the wafer,
indicating excellent controllability of MBE growth and the device fabrica-
tion process. The dependence of the K factor and transconductance g, of
100 - :1000
W ~ = 2 0urn 1
50 - - 500
N
?
-
4
E
L
0
'0
c
V
s 5-
Y
* '
'\
5'"io lo
I< , ' l l B 1 ' I
0. I 0,5 I
Gate length L6 (vml
FIG. 18. Dependence of K factor and transconductance g,,, of E-HEMTs on gate length LG
at 77 and 300 K, respectively.
264 M. ABE et al.
IE!
r
I- o.:H
- 0 . 10 2 4 6
Gate length Ivm)

8 10
FIG.19. Dependence of threshold voltage on gate length at 77 and 300 K, respectively.
E-HEMTs on gate length were measured at both 77 and 300 K and are
plotted in Fig. 18. Dashed lines indicate the LEI dependence of the K factor
and g, expected from the gradual channel approximation. Below a 1 pm
gate length at 300 K, the K factor and g , deviate from the LEI dependence.
A velocity saturation effect and parasitic source resistances probably
play a significant role in these results. The 0.5 pm gate E-HEMT at 77 K
exhibits a g, of 500 mS/mm, which is the highest value ever reported for
any FET device.I3No significant variation in threshold voltages with gate
length was observed in the range from LG = 10 to 0.5 pm, as shown in Fig.
19. This horizontal sensitivity indicates that reducing the geometry of
HEMTs is an acceptable way to increase performance with no short chan-
nel effect problems.
IV. HEMT Integrated Circuits

The current implementations and recent advances of HEMT logic and
memory integrated circuits are reviewed in this section.
6. LOGICCIRCUITS
In 1981, HEMT ring oscillators with gate lengths of 1.7 pm demon-
strated a 17.1 ps switching delay with 0.96 mW power dissipation per gate
at 77 K as shown in Fig. 20a, indicating that a switching delay below 10 ps
will be achievable with 1 pm gate devices.8 Logic performance is also
evaluated by testing the 19-stage HEMT ring oscillator. Ring oscillators
with 0.5 pm gate HEMTs have achieved switchingdelays of 15 ps/gate with
a power dissipation of 1.2 mW/gate and 25 psigate with 0.17 mW/gate at
300 K.13
To evaluate the high-speed capability of HEMTs in complex logic cir-
cuits, a single-clocked divide-by-two circuit based on the master- slave
flip-flop consisting of eight DCFL NOR gates, one inverter, and four
(a) ' 0.2 mm'
(b) '0.2 mm '

FIG. 20. Logic circuits to evaluate the high-speed capability of HEMTs: (a) The first
27-stage HEMT ring-oscillator circuit demonstrated 17.1 ps switching delay in 1981, and (b)
single-clocked divide-by -two circuit based on the master-slave tXp-flop consisting of eight
DCFL NOR gates, one inverter, and four output buffers.
266 M. ABE et al.
output buffers, was fabricated. This circuit is shown in fig. 20b. The circuit
has a fan-out of up to 3 and 0.5 mm long interconnects, giving a more
meaningful indication of the overall performance of HEMT ICs than that
obtained with a simple ring oscillator. The basic gate consists of a 0.5 X 20
pmZ gate E-HEMT and saturated resistors as loads. Direct-writing eleo
tron-beam lithography and lift-off techniques were used throughout the
fabrication process. Divide-by-two operation is demonstrated at up to 8.9
GHz at 77 K and up to 5.5 GHz at 300 K.13Figure 2 1 shows the operating
wave forms of the freqency divider at 77 K. The input clock is 8.9 GHz at a
supply voltage V, of 0.96 V. The values of 8.9 and 5.5 GHz, respectively,
correspond to internal logical delays of 22 ps/gate with power dissipation of
2.8 mWfgate at 77 K, and 36 psfgate with power dissipation of 2.9 mWf
gate at 300 K, with an average fan-out of about 2. Recently, a frequency-
divider circuit composed of selectively doped heterojunction transistors
(SDHT) with 1 pm gate lengths was also fabricated, showing a maximum
clock frequency of 10.1 GHz at 77 K. The speed-power performances of
ring oscillator and frequency divider circuits are summarized in Tables I1
and 111.
Figure 22 compares switching delay and power dissipation of a variety of
frequency dividers.11J3J4~25 The switching speed of HEMT is roughly three
times as fast as that of a GaAs MESFET.
Input 7-
output -
50 mV I
H
Time 100 ps
FIG.2 1 . Waveforms of the divide- by-two operation of a frequency divider. The upper
signal shows the input clock with a frequency of 8.9 GHz. Horizontal scale is 100 ps/div.
lcq,
--
\
\\<?,\ \\<O
\<i/
1
v)
n
\To\ F
\ /
\
\
\
Y
\V \ \
\
B - \ \
\
\
\\4
IQ ' ' 1 '"" ' ' " 1 " ' *I
TABLE I1
RING-OSCILLATOR
SPEED-POWER FOR HEMT
PERFORMANCE
DEVICEAPPROACHES
~~ ~
Source (ref) Approach width

(pm pm)
dela
(ps!
G"ae x
bigth Switching Speed- Fan-in
p r d r /
(fJ) Fbrran~
( 8 ) H E M T ( 77K) 1 . 7 ~13 17 16 111
FuJitsu (13) HEMT ( 3 0 0 0.5 x 20 I5 18 111
HEMT (3ooK)0 . 5 ~20 25 4 111
(9) TEm(3OOK) 0.7 x 2 0 I8 17 111
AT a T SDHT ( R K I xi25 18 I4I I/ I
Bdl Lab.('O)SOHT (3OOKi I x125 30 I35 1/1
Rcckwell (11) HEW (3ooK) I x 20 I2 14 111
TABLE I11
FREQUENCY-DIVIDER FOR HEMT DEVICE
PERFORMANCE
APPROACHES
Device Circuit Mox.freq Td Pd-'td

(ref) approach approach ( G H t ) (PI (fJ)
( 77K) D-FF,I/E 5.9 I 70

AT a T I )rm SM(300K) (NOR) 3.7 54 173
268 M. ABE et al.
7. MEMORY
CIRCUITS
A HEMT 1k X 1b fully decoded static RAM has been successfully devel-
oped with E/D-type DCFL circuit configuration.26A microphotograph of
the RAM is shown in Fig. 23. The RAM is organized into 1024 words X 1
bit, and arranged as a 32 X 32 matrix. Using a D-HEMT for load devices,
E/D-type DCFL circuits were employed as the basic circuit. The memory
cell is a 6-transistor cross-coupled flip-flop circuit with switching devices
having gate lengths of 2.0 pm. For peripheral circuits, a 1.5 pm gate
1 rnrn '
FIG.23. Micrograph of HEMT 1 k X 1 b static RAM, which measures 3.0 X 2.9 mm2 and
contains 7244 E/DHEMTs.
-
BL GND BL
H
10 pm
FIG.24. Micrograph of memory cell in HEMT 1 kb sRAM, which measures 55 X 39 pm2.
switching device was chosen for performance reasons, and long-gate de-
vices were used as load devices. As the result of RAM layout design, the
chip size is 3.0 X 2.9 mm2. The RAM cell size is 55 X 39 pm2 (2145 ,urn2),
as shown in Fig. 24. The RAM has total device count of 7244, including
2452 D-type load devices. As a result of the high-power design of the
peripheral circuits, the total areas of the peripheral circuits is just the same
as the cell array.
The circuit diagram of the 1 kb RAM is shown in Fig. 25. The whole
circuit is constructed with E/D-type DCFL circuitry. The RAM requires
no synchronous mode operation and can operate fully statically. A bit line
pull-up scheme and a differential amplifier type sensing circuit are adopted
in order to fetch stored data quickly from the low-power memory cell. The
cell is assumed to consume the retaining power of 150 pW. The data
output circuits are designed to drive the large off-chip load of a 50 R
resistor and 15 pF capacitor the same as in the ECL LSI. The output buffer
has four amplifier stages with a final stage consisting of a push-pull circuit
constructed of high-current E-type HEMTs. The output device has a gate
270 M. ABE et al.
ut
FIG.25. Circuit diagram of the HEMT I kb sRAM.
width of 800 pm. In order to obtain high-speed operation, sufficiently high

operating current was assigned to peripheral circuits, especially to the
address buffer, word driver, and output buffer which have high wiring
capacitances. The partition of delay time, power dissipation, and also
device count for each circuit stage in the RAM design are shown in Fig. 26.
These results were obtained from circuit simulations performed by a
SPICE-I1 circuit simulator. The word driver dissipates 47% of the total
dissipation power. The entire peripheral circuit with 15% of the total device
count dissipates 85% of the total power, whereas the delay time of this
stage, from the opening of the transfer gate to the input of the sense
amplifier, forms 3 1% of the total delay. The total dissipation power per
chip is expected to be 1.0 W at 77 K in this design, and the row address
Delay
Power
Device
count I II Cell array
II
FIG.26. Partition of delay time, power dissipation, and device count for each circuit stage
in the RAM design.
access time is expected to be 450 ps. The DCFL circuit with HEMT
technology has a small logic swing of 0.9 V at 77 K and 0.7 V at 300 K. In
order to obtain enough noise margin and guarantee stable logic operation,
power lines have to be designed carefully to avoid voltage drops due to the
large operating current, especially in the design of the ground (GND) lines.
Line widths of the GND lines are from 50 to 200 pm, and the voltage drop
is limited to less than 50 mV. A separate line was used to supply power to
each circuit block; the cell array, row decoder, and colun decoder/output
buffer. This resulted in 23 power pads in RAM.
Basic read/write operation waveforms of the 1 kb static RAM at a
temperature of 77 K are shown in Fig. 27. Read and write operations with
“0” and “1” data for two different address points are performed. The
measurement is done with a supply voltage of 1.20 V, and the RAM
dissipates about 300 mA of total current. Amplitude for input signals: the
row address, data input (D-in), and write enable (WE), are all 1.0 V. The
test clock cycle is set to 10 kHz.The RAM can output a 0.55 V data output
Address
Din2 V I
WE
Dout
0.5 V I
H
100 ys
FIG.27. Read-write operation waveforms of the HEMT RAM at liquid nitrogen tempera-
ture. The top signal shows the address input; the second, data-input; the third, write -enable;
and the bottom, data-output.
272 M. ABE et al,
(D-out) signal. The D-out signal is measured with a 50 R output load.

Normal read/write operation was also confirmed at room temperature.
Dynamic performance such as the address access time of the HEMT
1 kb RAM was evaluated both at room temperature and liquid nitrogen
temperature. At room temperature, the wafer was tested with a probing
machine whose probing pins on a card were connected with coaxial cables
for high-frequency signals. The RAM chip was mounted in a flat package
and tested at liquid nitrogen temperature by immersing the mounted chip
into liquid nitrogen. The output signal from the chip was led to an oscillo-
scope whose input impedance was 50 R. The access time was measured by
applying an address pulse having a 2 ns rise time to a row address input. At
300 K, the row address access time was 3.4 ns. The drain supply voltage
was 1.30 V, and the chip dissipation power was 290 mW. The performance
was greatly improved when the chip was cooled to 77 K, as shown in Fig.
28. An access time of 0.87 ns was obtained at 77 K, where the supply
voltage was 1.60 V and the chip dissipation power was 360 mW.
A HEMT 4 k X 1 b fully decoded static RAM has also been successfully
fabricated and t e ~ t e d ~using
~ * ~the
’ technology described above. Figure 29 is
a micrograph of the 4 k X 1 b sRAM. The memory cell is 55 X 39 pm2,the
Address
200 m v I
output
200 mvT
H
Time 500 ps
FIG. 28. Oscillograph for memory address access operations. The upper signal shows
X-address input and the lower signal, output waveforms. The horizontal scale is 5 0 0 psfdiv.
H
1 rnrn
FIG.29. Micrograph of HEMT 4 k X 1 b static RAM, which measures 4.76 X 4.35 mmz
and contains 26864 E/J%HEMTs.
chip is 4.76 X 4.35 mm2, and 26,864 HEMTs are integrated in a 4 kbit
static RAM. Normal read/write operation was confirmed both at 300 and
77 K.The minimum address access time obtained was 2.0 ns, with a chip
dissipation power of 1.6 W and a supply voltage of 1.54 V. At 300 K,
typical address access time was 4.4 ns with a chip dissipation of 0.86 W.
Figure 30 shows the address access time and power dissipation of the
sRAM, compared with SiMOS, bipolar, and GaAs MESFET sRAMs. The
plot shows the performance of a HEMT 1 kb sRAM at 77 K and dotted
lines show the projected performances of 1 and 4 kb S U M S .By using 1
274 M. ABE et al.
- HEMT Rojected "\, IK

t 6 0 , 1 8 1 1 1 1 I I " ' # " ' ' ' "tuJ
0.0I 0.1 I 10
Power dissipation (W)
FIG.30. Address access time and power dissipationof the S U M , compared with Si MOS,
bipolar, and GaAs MESFET sRAMs.
pm gate devices and 2 pm design rule technology, subnanosecond address

access times can be projected for the 4 kb sRAM.
V. Future HEMT VLSI Prospects

Performance of HEMT VLSIs for future high-speed computers is pro-
jected and discussed, based on the results of HEMT performance described
above.'*'3
Modern computer systems are constructed by stacking printed circuit
boards. System delay mainly results from chip delay on the LSI chip and
external wiring delay between chips. Chip delay time is the sum of intrinsic
gate delay, logic layout delay on fan-out capability, and delay in the wiring
on the chip.' Chip delays are calculated based on experimental data for
HEMTs with a 1 pm gate length at 300 and 77 K, respectively. Here we
assume that fan-out is 3, Y is 10, C,,, is 100 fF/mm, average line length is 1
mm in the chip, and heat flux for liquid cooling is 20 W/cm2.System delay
is estimated from the sum of chip delay and external wiring delay of 1 ns,
depending on the length of the external wiring network. Figure 31 shows
chip and external wiring delays as functions of complexity, under a 0.5 pm
design rule HEMT technology. At lo4 gates, the chip delays are 70 ps at
300 K, and 40 ps at 77 K. Figure 32 shows the LSI complexity dependence
of system delays calculated for the 1 and 0.5 pm design rule HEMT
technologies, at 300 K (solid lines) and at 77 K (broken lines). For a 0.5
pm design rule HEMT technology under liquid nitrogen cooling condi-
tions, optimum system delay of 70 ps is achieved at around lo4 gate
integration. By applying a 0.5 pm design rule 10 k-gate HEMT LSIs to a
-
-
Y)
P
Gate /chip
FIG.31. Chip (-) and external wiring (- - -) delays calculated as a function of LSI
complexity,under 0.5 ,urn design rule HEMT technology.
large-scale computer, a system clock cycle time of 2 ns will be realized to

achieve computer performance of over 120 MIPS for future large-scale
computer requirements.
Figure 33 shows the progress of IC complexity. The complexity of Si
memory devices doubles each year, as seen from 4 to 256 K. Its progress is
slowing down a little at 1 Mbit. Si logic ICs are progressing from 8 to 32 bit
microprocessors,as seen from this figure. GaAs MESFET IC complexity is
growing approximately threefold each year. Since 1982, self-aligned en-
hancement-mode MESFET approaches are making it possible to increase
the complexity of 3 k gate logic and 4 k bit memory LSIs. Progressing
I000
0.5 prn rule
Liquid cooling
lot ' ' ' ' ' "'
Io3 10'
Gate /chip
FIG.32. System delay calculated as a function of LSI complexity, for 300 (-) and
77K(---).
276 M. ABE et al.
Year
FIG. 33. Evolution of IC complexity for logic (0)and memory (e),
based on Si, GaAs
MESFET, and HEMT technologies.
fourfold each year, HEMT will catch up with GaAs integration in about 1
year, and more complex HEMT LSIs will be developed in the near future.
VI. Summary
Current status and recent advances in HEMT technology for high-per-
formance VLSI were reviewed with the focus on material, self-alignment
device fabrication, and HEMT IC implementation.
HEMTs are very promising devices for VLSIs, especially operating at
liquid nitrogen temperatures, because of their ultra-high speed and low
power dissipation. The projected HEMT performance target suitable for
VLSIs is a fundamental switching delay below 10 ps with a power dissipa-
tion of about 100 pW per stage under 1 pm design rule technology. By
evaluating the gate length dependence of threshold voltage and K factor
of short-channel HEMTs, short-channel effects were found not to be a
problem in microstructures of submicrometer dimensions.
Master - slave flip-flop divide-by- two circuits achieved internal logic
delays of 22 ps/gate at 77 K and 36 psfgate at 300 K, at an average fan-out
of about 2, roughly three times faster than GaAs MESFET technology.
HEMT technology has been shown to have desirable features for high-per-
formance VLSI devices. A HEMT 1 kbit static RAM has been developed
and has achieved an address access time of 0.87 ns to demonstrate the
feasibility of high-performance VLSIs. Using the same technology, a
HEMT 4 Kb sRAM has also been successfully fabricated and normal
read/write operation confirmed. With the device technology of 1 pm gate
devices and a 2 pm line process, a HEMT 4 kb sRAM should achieve
subnanosecond access operation. Using the experimental data on HEMT

logic, we project an optimized system performance of 70 ps at 10 k gate
integration with a HEMT VLSI at liquid nitrogen temperature. This sys-
tem’s performance will achieve speeds higher than 120 MIPS for future
large-scale computer requirements.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors wish to thank Dr.M. Fukuta for encouragement and support. The authors
also wish to thank their colleagues,whose many contributions have made possible the results
described here. This work is supported by the Agency of Industrial Science and Technology,
MITI of Japan, in the frame of National Research and Development Project “Scientific
Computing Systems.”
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4. N. Yokoyama, H. Onodera, T. Shinoki, H. Ohnishi, H. Nishi, and A. Shibatomi, ZSSCC
Dig. Tech. Pap., p. 44 (1984).
5 . Y. Nakayama, K. Suyama, H. Shimizu, N. Yokoyama, A. Shibatomi, and H. Ishikawa,
ZSSCC Dig. Tech. Pap., p. 48 (1983).
6. R. Dingle, H. L. Stormer, A. C. Gossard, and W. Wiegmann, AppZ. Phys. Lett. 33, 665
( 1978).
7. T. Mimura, S. Hiyarnizu, T. Fujii, and K. Nanbu, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 19, L225 (1980).
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9. P. N. Tung, P. Delescluse, D. Delagebeaudeuf, M. Laviron, J. Chaplart, and N. T. Linh,
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Kastalsky, V. G. Keramidas, R. A. Kiehl, and P . O’Connor, Tech. Dig.-Znt. Electron
Devices Meet., p. 578 (1982).
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12. K. Nishiuchi, T. Mimura, S. Kuroda, S. Hiyamizu, H. Nishi, and M. Abe, 4lst Annu.
Dev. Res. Conf. IIA-8 (1983).
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Symp., Tech. Dig., p. 158 (1983).
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Dev. Res. ConJ, IIA-2 (1984).
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( 198 1).
16. S. Hiyamizu, Collect. Pap. Znt. Symp. Mol. Beam EpitMy Relat. Clean SurJ:Tech., 2nd.
1982. Pap. A-7-1 (1982).
17. S. Hiyamizu, T. Mimura, and T. Ishikawa, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 21, Suppl. 21-1, 161
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278 M. ABE et al.
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Abe, IEEE GaAs IC Symp., p. 30 (1984).
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CHAPTER 5
Nonlinear Optical Properties of Multiple

Quantum Well Structures for Optical Signal
Processing
D. S. Chemla and D. A . B. Miller
AT&T BELL LABORATORIES
HOLMDEL, NEW lERSEY 07733
P. W. Smith
BELL COMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH, INC.
HOLMDEL, NEW JERSEY 07733
I. Introduction
Optical processing of information has received increasing attention in
recent years. It has several potential advantages over electronic processing.
For example, optics should be ideal for handling large amounts of data in
parallel because it does not suffer from the same interconnection problems.
It is also in principle possible to make very fast optical switches, and optical
signal processing has obvious advantages when the signals are already in
the form of light. However, both analog and digital optical processing have
suffered from a shortage of suitable nonlinear materials from which low-
energy optical switches or signal amplifiers can be made. Without large
nonlinearities in convenient materials, the intriguing opportunities of opti-
cal processing cannot be exploited. It has recently been found, however,
that semiconductor quantum well material exhibits several interesting
nonlinear optical effects. Not only are these effects larger than comparable
effects in other materials, but they are seen at room temperature, and at
wavelength, power levels, and time scales compatible with laser diodes
and/or electronics. Furthermore, being made with semiconductor mate-
rials, quantum well structures can be fabricated with a high degree of
reproducibility, and the advanced technology of semiconductor prepara-
tion is available to assist in making devices.
The nonlinear optical effects utilized by various of the methods of
optical signal processing, whether analog or digital, are the variations of the
refractive index (n) or of the absorption coefficient (a)induced in a mate-
279
Copyright 0 1987 BeU Telephone Laboratories,Incorporated.
AU rightsof repduction in any form r e ~ e ~ e d .
280 D. S . CHEMLA eta/.
rial medium by an electromagneticperturbation. After traveling through a

length z in the medium, an optical field experiences a phase shift A$ given
bY
A 4 = ($n + f a) z
The shifts associated with an optical excitation E, correspond to nonlinear
optical effects, i.e., n + n(E,) and a + a(&). Those associated with a
-
static electric field E, correspond to electro-optic effects, e.g., electroab-
sorption, a a(Eo), or field-induced changes in refractive index,
n-n(E,). To be detected easily the phase shifts must be such that
-
Re(A4) - a or Im(A4) 1. To be of interest for practical applications, the
nonlinear refractive index ~ Z ( E , ,-~ n(0)
) or the nonlinear absorption coef-
ficient - a(0)should be large, fast, and convenient to use. In that
respect semiconductors, which are relatively polarizable, have received a
lot of attention.1-4 In the transparency domain high-field excitation and/or
long optical length are still necessary to produce substantial effects. In
order to increase the magnitude of the nonlinear responses, it is possible to
exploit the resonant enhancement obtained by using frequencies close to
optical transitions of the m e d i ~ m . Large
~ . ~ enhancements are observed in
the vicinity of steep and/or narrow electronic transitions such as those
associated with correlated electron- hole systems, i.e., excitons. Because
the interaction of camers with the vibrations of the crystal tends to destroy
the electron - hole correlation, in bulk semiconductors excitonic effects are
only seen at low temperature where the density of thermal phonons is
small. Very large nonlinear optical responses have been observed and
utilized in laboratory experiments in semiconductors at low temperature.
However, these inconvenient conditions have so far limited the utilization
of bulk semiconductors in practical applications.
Recently modern techniques of crystal growth such as molecular beam
epitaxy (MBE) or metal - organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD)
have permitted the fabrication of heterojunctions which are smooth down
to one atomic monolayer with perfectly controlled composition and dop-
ing concentration.6Using semiconductors exhibiting specific chemical and
crystallographic compatibility, it is possible to grow alternatively very thin
layers of each compound to form multiple quantum well structures7
(MQWS). Examples of these structures have been grown using a number of
I11- V, I1- VI, and IV - IV compounds. Because of the very small thickness
of the layers which can be achieved, quantum size effects occur that
provide MQWS with unusual electronic and optical properties8
Since the two compounds do not have the same energy gap, for undoped
samples the band structure exhibits a series of rectangular steps in real
5. MULTIPLE QUANTUM WELL STRUCTURES 281
space in the direction perpendicular to the layers. In certain systems, such

as GaAs/AlGaAs, the minimum of the conduction band and the maxi-
mum of the valence band occur in the same compound (Fig. 1). The
motion of the carriers is restricted in the direction of the normal of the
interfaces, z, but exhibits quasi-two-dimensional behavior in the plane of
the layers, xy. If the height and width of the potential barriers are large
enough, the quantization of energy in the z direction results in a discrete
spectrum and thus two-dimensional energy subbands. The large extension
of the envelope wave functions in the z direction and the associated energy
subbands are specific properties of MQWS that are most important for the
effects considered in this chapter. At the optical transitions between va-
lence and conduction subbands, excitonic effects are expected. Indeed they
are enhanced whenever the thickness of the low-gap compound is compa-
rable to or smaller than the electron-hole correlation distance, i.e., the
Bohr radius of the exciton in the host material. The artificial reduction of
the average distance between the electron and the hole corresponds to an
increase of the exciton binding energy. The exciton can be sufficiently
stabilized to be observable at room ternperat~re.~
Eg I
FIG. 1. Schematic of the band structure of a multiple quantum well structure, in real space
and along the normal of the layer. The dashed lines represent the carrier wave functions. The
cross-hatched circle and ellipse illustrate the bulk exciton and how it is shrunk by the carrier
confinement.
282 D. S. CHEMLA eta[.
Specifically, two properties of quantum wells which are relevant for

nonlinear optical devices are discussed in this review. First, quantum wells
show optical absorption saturation associated with the remarkably distinct
room-temperature excitonic resonance. Second, they show a large electric-
field dependence of the absorption, both associated with the excitonic
transition and also directly with the transition between two-dimensional
subbands. All these effects are seen near the optical absorption edge. The
work reviewed here is primarily,from recent experiments on GaAs/AlCaAs
MQWS. The chapter is organized as follows: In Section I1 we discuss the
linear absorption in MQWS with a particular emphasis on room-tempera-
ture effects. In Section I11 we present the measurements of nonlinear
optical effects in MQWS, including absorption saturation and four-wave
mixing. Finally, in Section IV we review the experimental and theoretical
studies of electroabsorption in MQWS, and we present the first example of
a new category of devices that exploits both the absorption saturation and
electroabsorption.
11. Linear Absorption in Multiple Quantum Well Structures

In this section we discuss the linear absorption in MQWS in the funda-
mental gap region. MQWS exhibit some very specific features intermediate
between two-dimensional and three-dimensional systems. In addition, be-
cause the normal to the layer defines a natural quantization axis, the
already complex valence-band structure of the host material is strongly
modified, giving rise to new selection rules for the optical transitions. We
will use descriptions of increasing complexity to approach the problem of
absorption by MQWS. We first analyze the case of an ideal 2D semicon-
ductor with a parabolic valence band and a parabolic conduction band.
Then we discuss the quantization of states in the direction perpendicular to
the layers and the consequences of this quantization for the band structure
in the plane of the layers. Finally, we address the problem of real excitons
in GaAs/AlGaAs MQWS with a special emphasis on the room-tempera-
ture properties.
1. THEORY
OF LINEAR
ABSORPTION
AND BANDSTRUCTURE
Let us first consider a purely two-dimensional electron- hole system.

The particles are bound to the x, y plane, and their dispersion is described
by parabolic bands:
The correspondingjoint density of states is a step function starting at Eo,

i.e.,
where pi is the reduced mass in the plane pi' = rn;' +

rn:', and 0 is the
Heaviside step function. The reduction of dimensionality transforms the
well-known parabolic profile of the absorption coefficient into a step of
constant height. As in the 3D problem, the Coulomb interaction between
the electron and the hole gives rise to excitonic effects. It is important to
note that only the motion of the particles is two dimensional; Coulomb
interaction is still three dimensional with an r-l dependence. It turns out
that the two-dimensional hydrogen atom problem can be solved exactly.'O
The main effect of the reduced dimensionality is to remove the wave-func-
tion dependence on the azimuthal angle 0, with the consequence that the
principal quantum number n becomes n - 4. For instance, the 2D Rydberg
series is written EiD= -R,,/(n - +)2, where R,, = e44/e2h2is the Rydberg
constant of the system. The oscillator strengths of the hydrogenic peaks
decrease more rapidly in 2D than in 3D, i.e., (n - 4)-3 versus c3. The
Coulomb enhancement of the absorption above the bandgap, which is
described by the Sommerfeld factor F(fiw)gives in 2D a rise from the value
of the steplike continuum far above the bandgap as the photon energy is
E:P E, c: El ti,
FIG.2. Schematic comparison of the absorption spectra of ideal three-dimensional and
two-dimensional semiconductors. (---), joint density of states. (-), absorption spectra
with Coulomb interaction.
TABLE I
CORRESPONDENCE BETWEENTHE PARAMETERS DESCRIBING EXCITONS
IN PURE THREE-DIMENSIONAL
A N D TWO-DIMENSIONAL
SEMICONDUCTORS~
3D 2D
Density of states
V
--E - E, ‘1’
2Z24Ry [ Ry 3
Energy
Oscillator strength f ,= -
2 IPJ2
-
nrn,&fio n3
Z p/fi
Sommerfeld factors
F(W) = sinh(z/m
~~ -
a The symbols used are defined as follows: rn, is the free-electron mass,
W is a reduced and normalized energy: W = ( E - E,)/Ry in 3D and W =
( E - E I I ) / R yin 2 D . The Sommerfeld factors F( W) give the absorption
enhancement in the continuum due to electron-hole correlation.
reduced to a value twice as large at the ionization limit (i.e., the bandgap),
as compared to the almost flat spectrum in 3D. The comparison between
the absorption spectra in ideal 2D and 3D semiconductors is illustrated in
Fig. 2, and the correspondence between the parameters describing 2D and
3D excitons is summarized in Table I.
In an actual system the electrons and holes are bound to layers of finite
thickness, and the energy has to be quantized both in the plane of layers
and perpendicular to it. In the case of undoped semiconductors and for
camers very tightly bound to the layers, one can approximate the potential
in the z direction by an infinitely deep square well, which gives an infinite
series of bound states for each particle:
wherej is an integer labeling the subbands, L, is the thickness of the layers,

and rn, is the mass in the direction normal to the layers. In this approxi-
mation the absorption spectra exhibit a series of steps starting at Eje- Ejh,
with the selection rule A j =j , -j h = 0 imposed by the symmetry of the
wave functions &.(ze) and rjh(zh).A more realistic model consists of a
potential well of finite depth; then the number of bound states is limited.
The corresponding wave functions have a sinusoidal dependence in the
well and exponential tails in the barrier regions. For a symmetric well the
bound-state energies Ej are solutions of
where ej = Ej/EY and v = V/EY are the normalized energies and potential.
There is always at least one bound state. This model is indeed better than
the infinitely deep well model; it, however, raises immediately two impor-
tant questions related to the masses of the electrons and holes. In a quan-
tum well structure a semiconductor layer of one compound is sandwiched
between layers of another compound. Because the carriers have different
effective masses in each compound, the proper boundary conditions at
the interface must be that the wave function and the probability current
(and not the derivative of the wave function) must be continuous at the
interface,'' i.e., ((z) and rn:' ay/ez. The consequences on the electron
states are not drastic; the second term of Eq. (6) is simply multiplied by
(rnAL/rnBL)1/2,where mA, and rn, are the effective masses in the two
compounds. For the holes the question is much more intricate. The va-
lence-band structure of the host material involves the J = 4 upper valence-
+
band multiplet and the J = lower valence band, which is depressed by the
spin orbit splitting. In the bulk GaAs the dispersion of the J = 3 multiplet is
given by12J3
+ +
E(k)= Ak2 -t [ B 2 P C2(k:k; + k;kz kzk;)]'/2 (7)
where the inverse mass band parameters are defined according to Dressel-
haus et al.I3;they are simply related to the Lutthger parameters12yl, y 2 , y3
and the free-electron mass m,. Along the 2 direction the masses to be used
in the quantization of the energies are given by (A f B) = h2(yl k 2y2)/rn0.
The degeneracy of the upper valence band is therefore lifted by the confine-
ment,14 giving two separated hole bands, a heavy hole with mirL= mo/
(yl - 2,) - 0.45% and a light hole with rn, = %/(yl + 2y2)- 0.08%.
Note that this definition relates to the 2 direction only. In the plane of the
layer the effective masses are much more complicated to determine. In the
case of the infinite well depth where the wave vector along 2 is perfectly
defined, the energy bands can be obtained by cutting the three-dimensional
286 D. S. CHEMLA et a/.
energy contour of the host material by the planes k, = f n/L,. This proce-
dure has been used to describe Si p-channel 1a~ers.I~ For finite well depth
the only rigorous approach is to solve exactly the 6 X 6 effective matrix
equation. State mixing is expected as soon as kx, # 0 with highly nonpar-
abolic bands for the motion of holes parallel to the layers; this has not been
satisfactorily described even with only one type of layer. Of course, the
boundary conditions are even less well described. Nevertheless, intuitively
,,
it can be expected that near k , = 0 the heavy-hole subband has mostly a
+
I+, k 4 > character, whereas the light hole one is mostly 13, k >.16 In that
case the selection rules imposed by symmetry are that the intensities of the
transition to the conduction band are proportional to f and for a field
parallel to the layers and, respectively, for the heavy- and the light-hole
subbands, and to 0 and 1 for a field perpendicular to the layers.17
2. QuAsI-2D EXCITONBINDINGENERGY
When the Coulomb interaction is accounted for, two types of excitons
can be formed with the two hole subbands.I4 The natural parameter for
measuring the amount of 2D nature of an exciton in a layer is LJa,, where
a,is the bulk exciton diameter. This latter is built up from the electron and
+
the isotropic part of the hole,18J9its reduced mass is p;; = my’ yl /mo,
and the 3D Bohr radius is a,= &h2/dp3,. In GaAs, Ry- 4.2 meV and
a,- 150 A.For very thick layers (L,/a,>> 1) the excitons are nearly three
dimensional, whereas for very thin layers (L,/ao< < 1) they approach their
2D limit.
The difference between the true Coulomb potential and the 2D limit is
+ +
AHc = (eZ/&)[(x2 y 2 z2)lI2- (x2 + y2)’/*] (8)
AHc can be treated as a perturbation to analyze the effect of a finite well
thickness. Its magnitude is of the order of R,,(L,/a,)2; it implies that the
binding energy is very sensitive to the well thickness.” In the intermediate
range (L,/ao - 1) the confinement reduces the average distance between
the electron and the hole, thus increasing the binding energy over that of
the bulk exciton. Let us note that the exciton wave function is an admix-
ture of states belonging to a domain of the Brillouin zone definedI k l s a; l ,
where a, is the exciton radius (which may not be 4).Thus, strictly
speaking, both excitons formed with the light and heavy hole utilize ad-
+
mixtures of the 14, -t$> and [$, f > states with complicated effective
masses. The choice of these effective masses to determine the binding
energies and the Bohr radius is critical. Up to now, approximate values16
have been used to calculate the binding energy El, by variational proce-
dures.21*22It is found that the enhancement is only substantial in the range
+ I (LJa,,)I2, for instance, for L, - 4 then El,- -2Ry. In the two

limits, 2D and 3D, it is found that a,&, = e2/2&.This relation can there-
fore be used to evaluate the exciton diameter from the binding energy. It is
found that the whole charge distribution shrinks rather than flattening,
giving ellipsoidal excitons with an aspect ratio close to unity. This can be
interpreted as being due to the fact that a flattened charge distribution
involves a mixture of high-lying states which are not energetically favor-
able. This discussion strictly applied to the case of a single quantum well.
In the case of a multilayer system, as the thickness of the layers decreases,
the exponential wave function tails extend more and more into the large-
gap compound, and their overlap eventually becomes large enough to give
extended states with again a 3D character. The binding energy then de-
creases toward that of the 3D exciton of the Altogether it is found
that in GaAs MQWS, the binding energy is typically maximum in the
range a,,/2 5 L, I a,,, for which -3Ry I E l , I -2Ry.
3. LOW-TEMPERATURE
EXPERIMENTAL
RESULTS
The low-temperature absorption spectroscopy of GaAs/Al,Ga, -As
MQWS indeed shows the steplike structure of the absorption edge with a
double exciton peak at each subband transition.l4rZ4 These measurements
were used to determine how the bandgap discontinuity AEg = 1.247x, is
shared between the valence and the conduction band. It was foundI4that
approximately 60%of the discontinuity occurs in the conduction band and
4090 in the valence band, which therefore exhibit much shallower wells.
However, very recent measurements on parabolic quantum wells tend to
indicate that the bandgap discontinuity is more equally divided between
the two bands.25The assignment of the light- and heavy-hole excitons to
+
valence-band states primarily of I$, +_ 4 > and 13, f > character was
obtained by spin polarization technique^.^^.^' Low-temperaturephotolumi-
nescence measurements on undoped and modulation-doped waveguide
samples have provided information on optical transition selection rules
with the wave vector along the plane of the layers and polarization parallel
and perpendicular to the layer^.^*,^^ It was found that close to lkl= 0 the
hole characters are indeed mostly M, = _+ 3 and 3z 4 for the heavy and light
-
holes, with an admixture 10- 20% of M, = k4 in the heavy hole depen-
dent on the well thickness and therefore also on the subband splitting.
However, for wave vectors parallel to the plane of the layers and of the
order of n/L, the admixture of M, = k3 and ++ states is almost com-
~ l e t e Measurements
.~~ in wave guides show that the ratio of oscillator
strength follows the trends indicated by the symmetry arguments,17but the
exact values actually depart slightly from the theoretical ones. For a field
288 D. S. CHEMLA ef af.
parallel to the layers it is found in undoped samples that the heavy-hole to

light-hole exciton oscillator strength ratio lies somewhere between 2.5 and
2, whereas it is predicted to be equal to 3. For a field perpendicular to the
layer, the heavy-hole oscillator strength is indeed reduced substantially, to
a value 0.03 to 0.1 times that for a field parallel to the layers.28The value of
the binding energy was evaluated from the observation of the IS to 2s
splitting,” confirming the large enhancement over that of the bulk com-
pound exciton. The width of the photoluminescence peak was found to
increase when the well thickness decreased. The result was interpreted as
being due to an inhomogeneous broadening of the transition induced by
fluctuations of the layer t h i c k n e s ~ . The
~ ~ *magnitude
~ of the inhomoge-
neous broadening was found to be consistent with an interface presenting
an islandlike structure, the islands being approximately one atomic layer
high and about 300 A in diameter. This interpretation is supported by
resonant Rayleigh scattering and hole-burning experiment^.^'-^^ They
show that within an inhomogeneous line there are two types of excitons:
the low-energy ones which are localized and have a very narrow homoge-
neous width, r, - 0.02 meV, and delocalized ones with homogeneous
widths, r, - 1.5 - 2 meV.
4. TEMPERATURE
DEPENDENCE
AND ROOM-TEMPERATURE
EXCITON
RESONANCES
The thermal broadening of the exciton peaks arises from the interaction
with thermal phonons, and in polar semiconductors it is dominated by the
exciton-LO phonon interaction. The effect of the layered structure of
MQWS on the exciton- LO phonon interaction has been investigated by
resonant Raman s ~ a t t e r i n g .It~ was
~ , ~inferred
~ from the cross-section dou-
ble-peak asymmetry that LO phonons couple excitons of different subband
origin (for examplej = 2 to 3), in sharp contrast with bulk semiconductors,
where only an intraband process exists. In addition, it was found that
low-lying excitons ( j = 1, 2) only interact with GaAs phonons because
their wave functions are well confined within these layers. It is only for
high states ( J = 3 or excitons lying above the bandgap discontinuity) that
interaction with Al,Ga, -As phonons are o b ~ e r v e d . ~ ~ , ~ ~
The confinement of excitons in the GaAs layers produces two specific
and complementary effects. It increases the binding energy and conse-
quently decreases the size of the exciton. It also changes the interaction
with polar phonons, which are restricted to those of the GaAs layers only.
This double feature is at the origin of the observation of exciton resonances
at room t e m p e r a t ~ r e ~and
, ~ ~abovem
- ~ ~ in the MQWS absorption spectra.
This is shown in Fig. 3, where the absorption coefficient at 300 K of a 3.2
PHOTON ENERGY (eV)

1.4 1.5 1.6
050 800
WAVELENGTH (nm)
FIG.3. Room-temperature absorption spectra of a 3.2 pm thi.ck high-purity GaAs sample
and of an MQW sample consisting of 71 periods of 102 A GaAs layers and 207 A
Ab,,Gk,7,,,Aslayers. Insert:Temperature dependenceof the linewidth of thej = 1 heavy-hole
exciton. (-), the fit discussed in the text.
pm thick high-quality GaAs sample is compared to that of a MQWS

consisting of 77 periods of alternate 102 A GaAs layers and 207 A
Al,,28G%.,2Aslayers. On the GaAs sample absorption coefficient one can
observe a small bump just at the band edge which is the remains of the
excitonic resonance. In the MQWS spectrum two clear resonances, corre-
sponding to the heavy- and light-hole excitons, are seen followed by an
almost flat continuum and the onset of the j = 2 resonances. The insert
shows the variation of the j = 1 heavy-hole exciton width r for tempera-
tures ranging between liquid helium and room temperature, as measured
on the low-energy side of the resonance. It is approximatelyconstant under
150 K and increases with temperature thereafter. The solid line is a se-
miempirical fit involving two parameters r, and r,, corresponding to a
constant inhomogeneous term and a term proportional to the density of
thermal LO phonons of GaAs layers, i.e.,
r(T) = r, + rPh/[exp(fiRm/kT)- 11 (9)
where kR, = 36 meV = 428 K is appropriate for the GaAs LO phonons.

The fitted value, ro= 2 meV, is in good agreement with the low-tempera-
~ , ~of~ rph
ture luminescence r e s ~ l t s . ~That , ~=
~ 5, ~meV, somewhat smaller
than that of bulk GaAs4' (rph - 7 meV), is consistent with a reduced
thermal phonon broading. The line shape of the resonance is rather un-
usual for a Wannier exciton. In fact, the low-energy edge is too sharp to
describe the resonance by a simple Lorentzian line shape. An excellent
empirical fit has been foundm by using Gaussian line shapes for the exci-
tons and a broadened two-dimensional continuum. This type of fit is very
convenient to discuss data; however, one should avoid extracting precise
conclusions from it, especially considering that the line shape of excitons in
MQWS is not yet understood. It should be noted that other systems such as
disordered molecular crystals exhibit excitonic peaks with Gaussian line
shapes or more complex (Gaussian on the low-energy side and
Lorentzian on the high-energy side). As an illustration of the parameters
obtained by our fitting procedure, for a sample consisting of 65 periods of
96 A GaAs layers and 98 A Ak,,G%,,As layers, one finds for the two
-
excitons a line width r - 3 meV, a separation fiQ, - fiR& 8.5 meV, a
binding energy for the heavy-hole exciton E k - 10 meV, and a ratio of
oscillator strengthf,/f, - 2.
At this point it is important to discuss the very special situation in which
excitons find themselves at room temperature. It is characterized by the
inequality
where fiRLo- 36 meV, k T - 25 meV, Ek- 10 meV, and r 3 meV. -

First, because El, > r, the exciton peak is well resolved from the contin-
uum. Then because kQm > E,,, any LO-phonon exciton collision results
in the exciton ionization. The mean time to LO-phonon ionization AtT,
can be evaluated from the uncertainty principle and the thermal contribu-
tion to the exciton width i.e., T ( T )- roin Fig. 2. It is foundmthat at room
temperature AtT - 0.4 ps. This means that, once an exciton is created by a
photon absorption, it lives less than half a picosecond before being disso-
ciated into a free electron and a free hole by the thermal vibrations. Finally,
-
because kT 2.5E,,, very few excitons are reformed from the electron-
hole plasma. To support this conclusion let us consider the thermodynami-
cal equilibrium between a steady-state population of excitons (for instance,
in a sample under constant optical excitation) and the electron hole
plasma, i.e.,
The exciton, electron, and hole areal densities at equilibrium are N,, N,,
N,,. Let No be the areal density of exciton generated by the absorption of a
constant flux of photon No = z q w L , I / h w , where z is the exciton lifetime,
aQW the absorption coefficient in the GaAs layers, and I and hw the photon
intensity and energy. The particle conservation condition is No.= N, -tNh,
the neutrality condition, N, = Nh and the equilibrium condition, i.e., the
Saha equation adapted to a two-dimensional system, N,Nh/Nx = (m:kT/
zh2) exp(- E,,/kT). These three relations completely determine N, and
N,, giving an ionization ratio N,/No which is always very large. It varies
from 1 for small No to 0.7 for large No, i.e., corresponding to a probability
to find one carrier in an exciton area of 50%. Note that this simple
evaluation in fact underestimates the ionization ratio since it neglects a
number of other channels through which the number of nonionized exci-
tons can be reduced.
5. SUMMARY
To summarize this section, we can conclude that the confinement of
excitons in narrow layers thinner than the host material exciton diameter
increases the exciton binding energy by a substantial amount (2.5 to 3) and
it restricts the exciton-LO phonon interaction, resulting in a slightly
smaller thermal broadening (- 40%). The combination of the two effects
makes it possible to observe exciton resonances at room temperature.
However, once generated, excitons have a rather short lifetime, of the order
of half a picosecond, before being ionized into a free electron and a free
hole.
111. Excitonic Nonlinear Optical Effects in Multiple Quantum

Well Structures
6 . NONLINEAR A N D REFRACTION
ABSORPTION DUE TO
EXCITONSIN SEMICONDUCTORS
The refractive index and absorption coefficient of semiconductors ex-
hibit large variations under optical excitation. For fields of moderate mag-
nitude these effects are described by an expansion of the polarization
density in powers of the fields. The relevant series expansion for nonlinear
absorption and refraction is
P(w)= p ( w ) E ( w ) + x‘3’(- w, w’, - w’)lE(w’)l2E(w)
0; (12)
This is equivalent to saying that the dielectric constant is field dependent,

292 D. S . CHEMLA ef al
ie.,
8= 1 s 4n(X(*)+ ,(3)142) (13)
where the frequency indices have been dropped for simplicity. The com-
plex wave vector is
0 2n i
-Ji=-n+-a!
C 1 2
Using Eqs. (1 3) and (14) one finds for small values of $3)IE12 that the
refractive index and absorption coefficient depend on the intensity accord-
ing to
n(1)= n + nzz, a(1)= a! + 0 2 1 (15)
with
The structure of the nonlinear susceptibility of semiconductors near exci-

tonic resonances has been analyzed in Chemla and Maruani.’ It exhibits
strong enhancement when the field frequencies are close to excitonic
transitions, and given rise to very large nonlinear effects which have been
observed and utilized at low temperature in high-purity crystal^.^^,^ Under
these circumstances the transitions are no more virtual, and large changes
of populations can occur. A review of the mechanisms involved in the
nonlinear optical properties of excited bulk semiconductors is given in
Miller et aL3 Close to the bandgap, exciton screening and bandgap renor-
malization are the most relevant processes to consider. At low temperature,
where excitons are stable, the screening by neutral particles is rather
weak:’ and it is only at high density that an effective screening of the
Coulomb interaction by a charged electron -hole plasma occurs; the
plasma is created through collision-induced exciton ionization. Exciton
resonances then disappear, giving large changes in the absorption and
refraction. Direct screening of excitons by the electron -hole plasma is
observed when the carriers are directly created by excitation well above the
bandgap. In this case it is customary to introduce the parameters and
oeh,which characterize the variation of the refractive index and of the
absorption coefficient induced by one electron - hole pair. Similarly to Eq.
( 15) one writes
n ( N ) = n + n,,N, a ( N ) = (Y -k O h N (17)
where N is the carrier density. (The correspondence between n2, a2and
neb, oeh is discussed in Ref. 40.) Saturation of excitonic absorption in
- n=1 UNPUMPED ABSORPTION

1.2
1.0
0
0.8
pc
0.6
rn
* 0.4
0.2
-
n
1.51 1.54 1.57 1.60
ENERGY (eV)
FIG.4. Absorption spectra of an MQW sample consisting of 156 periods of 205 A GaAs
layers and 224 A AI,,,G%,,As layers before (-) -
and at later times ( * ; ---) following
excitation about 130 meV above the bandgap.
MQWS at low temperature by high excitation above the bandgap were

observed in investigations of the dynamics of screening using ultrashort
light p ~ l s e s . 4For
~ ~a~carrier
~ density - 5 X 10" cm-* complete bleaching
of the j = 1 exciton resonance is obtained. The recovery of the absorption
was used to measure the cooling rate of the camers injected about 130
meV above the gap (Fig. 4). The cooling occurs in approximately 100 ps.
7. OBSERVATIONS OF NONLINEAR
EXCITONIC
EFFECTS
In the case of room-temperature exciton resonances observed in MQWS,
a new situation occurs. Large absorption is observed at the exciton reso-
nances just as for the low-temperature bulk semiconductors. However,
because the excitons are very quickly ionized by thermal phonons, a
charged electron - hole plasma is generated just as for above-bandgapexci-
tation. Therefore, for excitation with long optical pulses or cw laser
sources, the nonlinearities result from the conjunction of two factors, the
concentration of a large oscillator strength in narrow energy bands and the
saturation by the plasma.
Saturation of excitonic absorption at room temperature in MQWS has
been observed under moderate intensities using cw laser excitation at
re~onance~,~' and above the bandgap.40 Figure 5b shows the intensity
dependence of the optical absorption at the heavy-hole exciton peak of the
MQWS sample whose low-intensity absorption spectrum is given in Fig. 3.
For comparison, Fig. 5a shows the result of a similar measurement on the
high-purity GaAs sample whose absorption spectrum is also given in Fig. 3.
The solid curves are semiempirical Lorentzian saturation fits to the data.
294 D. S. CHEMLA eta1
INCIDENT POWER (mW)

0.01 0.1 1 10
v)
v)
W
Z
Y
2
r 0
0.2 t- \
00
t' I I I
i
I I
100 1000 10,000 100,000
EFFECTIVE AVERAGE INTENSITY (W/cm2)
FIG.5. Intensity dependence of the absorption at the peak of the exciton resonance for (a)
the GaAs and (b) MQW samples whose absorption spectra are shown in Fig. 2. (-), the
empirical fits discussed in the text.
For GaAs the saturation is well described by a constant absorption plus a

saturable one with a saturation intensity of 4.4 kW/cm2, i.e., a1 = 0.5 +
+
1 S / (1 Z/4.4 X lo3).The fit obtained for the MQWS sample corresponds
to two saturable species, one with a very low saturation intensity about one
order of magnitude lower than for GaAs, I, = 580 W/cm2,and another one
with a much larger saturation intensity Z, = 44 kW/cm2, i.e., a1 = 0.35/
+ + +
( 1 Z/580) 0.43/( 1 1/44 X lo3).This behavior is interpreted as being
due to a low-intensity saturation of the exciton superimposed on that of
transitions more difficult to saturate, most likely interband transitions,
which, because of bandgap renormalization shifts below the position for-
merly occupied by the resonance. Confirmation of the easy saturation of
MQWS exciton absorption was obtained using a picosecond tunable laser;
at resonance the saturation intensity was found to be Z, = 500 W/cm2, in
excellent agreement with the cw measurement. The very low value of I,

indicates that cw diode lasers can be used to saturate exciton absorption in
MQWS. This is demonstrated in Fig. 6, which shows absorption spectra
measured with a tunable dye laser at very low power ( I - 1.6 W/cm2)
without (dashed line) and with (solid line) pumping from a diode laser
beam. The MQWS sample consists of 65 periods of 96 A GaAs and 98 A
AL,zsG%.,zAslayers; it is more recent and of better quality than that from
which Figs. 3 and 5 were obtained. The rapid oscillations are due to
Fabry-Perot interferences in the thin glass disc covering the sample. In
this experiment the cw laser diode intensity incident on the sample was 800
W/cm2. It was operating well above the exciton resonance, at fia = 1.492
eV. Note that in this case the photocarriers are directly generated as an
electron- hole plasma. It can be seen in Fig. 6 that the exciton saturation
corresponds to an increased transmission at the resonances. However, it is
accompanied by broadening and/or shifts because the two curves cross
z
2 .5
t
a
0
cn
m
a
I I 1 I 1
4.440 1.490
PHOTON ENERGY
FIG. 6. Absorption spectra of an MQW sample consisting of 65' periods of 96 A GaAs
layers and 98 A AI,,,G%.,Aslayers With (-) and without (---) a pumping beam from a cw
laser diode operating 42 meV above the first exciton resonance. The intensity of the pumping
beam is I = 800 W/cmZ.The fast oscillations in these spectra are Fabry-Perot fringes in a
thin glass plate covering the sample.
296 D. S. CHEMLA eta/.
below the resonance, where a spectral region exhibits a decrease in trans-

mission. The saturation intensity was obtained from measurements of this
-
type at lower pump power, and it was found to be I, 300 W/cmZ.In all
cases the number of free carriers which were generated was in the range
1-3 X 1010cm-2.
An accurate measurement of the nonlinearities across the j = 1 absorp-
tion edge was obtained by pump-probe experiments using a tunable pico-
second dye laser.50In such experiments it is possible to determine simulta-
neously the transmission spectrum, the nonlinear transmission spectrum,
and that of the diffraction efficiency on the light-induced refractive and
absorptive coherent gratings generated by the pump-probe interfer-
ence.5,51,52 An example of the raw data is shown in Fig. 7a-c. The picose-
cond excitation also gives access to the absorption recovery time, from
which one can deduce the recombination lifetime T~ and the diffusion
coefficient. It was found that at room temperature Z , - 30 ns and D - 13
cm2/s. If one assumes that the diffusion is ambipolar and limited by the
hole diffusion, this value corresponds to a hole mobility p h - 260 cm2/V s,
in good agreement with the measurements on high-purity bulk GaAs at
room temperature. The spectra of Fig, 7b and c give an independent
+
determination of the parameters a& and a = #(27r/lr/A)ne,, (i/2)aehl.'" At
the peak of the heavy-hole exciton resonance it is found that a,, - 7 X
cm-2 or a2- 40 cm/W. This corresponds to a saturation intensity
I, = 300 W/cmZ.The saturation intensities measured at the exciton reso-
nance or far above the bandgap are in excellent agreement, showing that
the saturation is the same whether the carriers are directly created or
generated through exciton ionization by thermal phonons.
Using the semiempirical fit described in Section 11, it was determined
what changes in the parameters describing the two excitons and the con-
tinuum could reproduce the nonlinear transmission spectrum.40It was
found that an excellent fit to the experimental data could be obtained by
neglecting the variations in the continuum parameters and assuming a loss
of absorption at the exciton peaks of the order of 5% with a small broaden-
ing of the heavy-exciton peak, consistent with a fairly constant area of the
resonance. Both excitons experience a very small shift (- - 5 X eV).
The fact that the contribution of the continuum saturation is not impor-
tant shows that at the intensity at which the experiment was performed
saturation of interband transitions was not yet reached. The fitting proce-
dure used accounted for the change in absorption as the dye laser was
tuned across the resonances,'" confirming again that the effect of the pump
is directly proportional to the number of carriers it generates. The excellent
agreement of the fit for the linear and nonlinear absorption is shown in Fig.
8a and b. A more severe test of the accuracy of this description was
- I I 1 I I I 1 J
I EXCITON RESONANCES
-
-
I
0
-0.2
1.5
I .45 1.46 1.47 4.48

PHOTON ENERGY (eV)
FIG.7. Raw data obtained by pumpprobe experiments on the sample described in Fig. 5.
(a) Linear transmission:(b) nonlinear transmission;diffiction efficiency on the light-induced
grating. For (b) and (c) the pump and probe beam powers were -300 and -60 p W ,
respectively.
298 D. S . CHEMLA eta[.
io.0 -
0
$
1
7.5 -
-
-zap
0
1.0
0.5
2
I 0
0
z
2-0.5
I-
-1.0
z
-? 1.0
d 0.8
2
z
0.6
$ 0.4
PHOTON ENERGY ( e V )
FIG.8. Comparison of the experimental data of Fig. 6 , corrected for the small variations of
the laser power, with the semiempirical fit for (a) the linear absorption and (b) nonlinear
absorption. (-) in (c ) is obtained by the Kramers-Kronig inversion discussed in the
text.
obtained in the following way. From the variation of the parameters

describing the nonlinear absorption, the nonlinear refractive index nehwas
calculated by Kramers- Kronig inversions at a fixed number of photocar-
riers.40The corresponding spectra of fseh and neh are shown in Fig. 9. They
determine completely the nonlinear susceptibility in the fundamental
bandgap region and therefore must reproduce the diffraction efficiency
I
.5 -
5
f
I I
g
* o I I I
h
c
b' -.5 -
-1.0 L
-1.0
-.5 -
I
I i
.5 -
1.0 -
FIG.9. Spectra of the imaginary and real parts of the nonlinearity of the MQW sample. ,
o
and nd describe, respectively, the change of absorption and the change of refractive index
induced by one electron-hole pair.
spectrum of Fig. 8c. In the small-signal regime it is given by
where I, = ( 1 - @')/a is the effective interaction length accounting for the

linear absorption, N ( o ) is the number of photocarriers generated, and K is
a constant. The excellent agreement with the experimental spectrum
shown in Fig. 8c is obtained by assuming that only 70% of the photocar-
riers actually contribute to the diffraction. Note that the exact value of
N ( o )only affects the amplitude of the &&action efficiency spectrum. This
efficiency can be reduced by a number of effects, and the accuracy of 30%
is well within the experimental uncertainty. Most important is the fact that
the very highly structured spectra ceh(u)) and neh(o)very accurately repro-
duced the experimental diffraction efficiency spectrum. The maximum
value of refractive nonlinearity occurs below the heavy-hole exciton reso-
nance, in fact, close to the energy where the curve of ceh(w)crosses zero.
The nonlinear refractive index is very large at this point: neh - 3.7 X
-
cm3 or n2 2 X cm2/W. This corresponds for y3)to a maximum
value of I&l- 6X esu, that is, about lo6 times that of silicon at
room temperaturess3or lo4 times that of CuCl at liquid helium tempera-
It is worth noting that, although the nonlinear absorption is impor-
tant only in the exciton peak region, the nonlinear refraction extends far
from the resonance and is still large in the transparency domain.
8. ORIGINOF EXCITONIC
SATURATION
AT ROOM
TEMPERATURE
A detailed description of the origin of the nonlinear effect in MQWS
must use many-body theory. Two-dimensional bandgap renormalization
and Coulomb interaction screening by an exciton-electron hole gas must
be accounted for. However, a simple, almost mechanical, model accounts
rather well for the magnitude of the nonlinearities and describes the essen-
tial mechanisms responsible for saturation, i.e., Pauli exclusion. It is based
on the assumptions that the thermodynamic equilibrium Eq. (1 1) describes
correctly the population and that electrons or holes act as point defects
which sufficiently perturb the semiconductor that excitons cannot be cre-
ated within a certain area of the defect. A simplistic evaluation uses the
exciton area as a good measure of the region perturbed by a point defect.
At low excitation where the carriers are independent an analytical expres-
sion for the absorption coefficient can be obtained.40 It has the usual
+
Lorentzian saturation functional form a(Z)= a( 1 Z/Z,)-I with a very
simple expression for the saturation intensity:
where 0law is the absorption coefficient in the quantum well, z and Ax are
the exciton lifetime and area, and fiw the energy of the incident photons.
The physical interpretation of this expression is that the absorption is
reduced by a factor two for an intensity incident on the sample such that
either one electron or one hole is created in one exciton area per lifetime.
The values obtained by this model for the two samples discussed above
(I, - 490, - 190 W/cm2)compare well with the measured values (I, - 500
and - 300 W/cm2).As stated above, a correct theory explaining the spectra
of the real and imaginary part of the nonlinearity (Fig. 9) would be much
more elaborate.
9. APPLICATIONS
MQWS have already been utilized in applicationswhere large changes of
absorption or refractive index can be achieved with low optical excitation.
Nonlinear optical processes such as degenerate four-wave mixing are
usually observed in solids only in rather long samples and under intense
excitation. Because of their huge linearities, MQWS can be used with path
lengths of only a few pm. Also, because of the compatibility with laser
diode wavelengths and powers, MQWS are very attractive for integrated
optical circuits. In order to demonstrate this potential, degenerate four-
wave mixing experiments were performeds4in a 1.25 pm MQWS using a
cw laser diode operating at power varying from values as low as Pp 0.1 -
mW (I, - 0.8 W/cm2) to Pp - 2.5 mW (I, - 20 W/cm2). Figure 10 shows
a typical power dependence of the forward DFWM signal. This curve was
taken at 14.7"C sample temperature, which was the sample temperature
30 I I I I
I I I /' 1
I TEST BEAM
POWER 400pW
'1
/
0 I 2 3
PUMP POWER (mW)
FIG.10. Degenerate four-wave mixing signal found using a diode laser source on an MQW
sample. The dashed line is a theoretical fit showing quadratric fit behavior up to -2 mW
pump power with a small linear background (shown separately as -*-). Saturation of the
nonlinearity at higher pump power shows up as a deviation from the theoretical curve.
for which the maximum signal was obtained, although a signal could be
observed between 6 and 22°C. The curve has been fitted at low powers
with a quadratic power dependence (as would be expected for this DFWM
configuration) and a small linear background term to account for scattered
light. The curve shown in Fig. 10 was extended to relatively high power
levels to show the roll-off of the signal at high powers due to saturation of
the nonlinearity. The quadratic behavior of the DWFM at low powers has,
however, been checked down to < 100 pW pump power. The diffraction
efficiency(i.e., the forward reflectivity of the test beam) in Fig. 10 rises to
5X The corrections for single surface reflections at each interface
raise this to 5 X diffraction efficiency inside the crystal. The nonlin-
earities measured in these experiments are in excellent agreement with
those deduced from the picosecond measurements.
Recently, we have performed experiments in which MQW samples have
been used as external saturable absorber elements to mode lock a semicon-
ductor diode laser.
Most previous attempts to mode lock diode lasers with a saturable
absorber have utilized absorption produced by optical damage. By aging a
laser to the point of severe degradation, pulses as short as 1.3 ps have been
obtained for a short time before laser fai1u1-e.~~ Bursts of subpicosecond
pulses have been obtained by proton bombarding one end facet of a laser.56
Recently, 35 ps pulses have been produced in a GaAlAs laser with nonuni-
form current inje~tion.~’
In order to characterize the physical properties of a material for use as a
saturable absorber, it is desirable to have a configuration in which the
absorber is completely independent of the laser structure. In this way one
can study the physical mechanisms of absorber saturation and recovery,
and tailor the absorber to act effectively to mode lock a diode laser.
H a d 8 has analyzed the conditions necessary for mode locking a homo-
geneously broadened laser with a saturable absorber having a relaxation
time longer than the pulse width. He showed that the relaxation time of the
absorber must be faster than that of the gain and that one must have
GAIAA OGIAG (19)
where 0, and uGare the optical absorption cross sections of the absorber
and gain media, respectively, and A , and AG are the cross-sectional areas of
the laser beam in the absorber and gain media.
For the MQW samples we have studied, saturation takes place at optical
intensities about a factor of 30 lower than those required to saturate the
band-to-band transition. Thus, for an MQW absorber we have 0, >>
a,. The recombination time of photoexcited carriers in the MQW sample
is much longer (- 30 ns) than the gain recovery time (- 2 ns). In order to
FIG.1 1. Schematic of the mode-locking setup.
reduce the absorption recovery time below 2 ns, the saturating beam must
be tightly focused on the absorber. The diffision of carriers out of this
excited region then determines the recovery time. Our measurements of
diffusion lead us to project a recovery time of -3 ns for a 2 pm spot size.
Experiments were performed using the setup shown in Fig. 11. The laser
was a commercial laser diode with one facet antireflection coated. The
anamorphic prism served to convert the output beam to an approximately
circular cross section, which allows tight focusing on the absorber. The
MQW absorber consisted of 47 layers of 98 A GaAs and 100 a of
G%.,,Al,,29As epoxied to a high-reflectivity mirror. The unsaturated reflec-
tivity of the mirror-absorber combination was 25% at the exciton peak.
With the beam focused to - 1 pm spot size on the absorber, stable mode
locking was obtained, as shown by the autocorrelation trace in Fig. 12. The
autocorrelation pulse width corresponds to 1.6 ps pulses and the pulse
spacing was 1 ns, which means that there were two equally spaced pulses
circulating in the laser resonator. Further improvements in this mode-
DELAY TIME
FIG. 12. Autocorrelation trace of mode-locked output pulse.
locked behavior are expected with MQW samples specially tailored for
mode-locking experiments.
Optical bistability has also been demonstrated using an MQW sample as
the nonlinear element in a Fabry-Perot r e s o n a t ~ r Although
.~~ the ob-
served behavior reported in Gibbs et aLs9may be due in part to saturation
of the band-to-band absorption, in principle the large effective dipole
matrix element of the exciton absorption should permit very low switching
energies for MQW devices.60 It is shown in Sm h@
ti' that, in principle,
switching energies as low as J should be achievable in high-finesse
resonant cavities; these are the lowest limits so far predicted for any
all-optical switch, and reflect the very large absolute size of the nonlineari-
ties in the MQWS.
IV. Variation of Optical Properties Induced by a Static Field

10. INTRODUCTION
The MQW possesses interesting optical properties with an applied elec-
tric field, showing large changes in absorption near the band edge for only
moderate electric fields.61-64The reason for such large effects is the pres-
ence of large envelope wave functions (e.g., - 100 A) with correspondingly
-
small associated energies (e.g., 10 meV) which are consequently easily
perturbed; this is true both for the excitonic envelope functions and the
particle in a box envelope functions of the individual electrons and holes
[especially in the first ( j = 1) confined state]. Clearly we should expect
large changes in these wave functions when the applied potential across the
wave function is comparable to the unperturbed ground-state energy. 10
mV across 100 A corresponds to lo4 V/cm or 1 V/,um. Such fields are
readily obtainable in micrometer-sized ~ a m p l e s ~inl -the ~ ~laboratory with
some care to prevent excessive ohmic heating. These fields are lower than
those normally required to observe the Franz-Keldysh effect65seen in
bulk semiconductors (e.g., > lo5V/cm) where it is necessary to perturb the
wave function within a unit cell of the crystal. Since the optical conse-
quences of the electric field are readily seen at room temperature in
micrometers of optical thickness, new practical devices are possible with
the MQW which were not conceivable with bulk semiconductors. The
general behavior of the near-band-edge absorption with field now appears
to be ~ n d e r s t o o dwith
, ~ ~ distinct effects for fields parallel and perpendicu-
lar to the layers, and the first speculative devices have now been demon-
strated.62,66We discuss both the physics of the effects and the devices
below. To date, only the effects on absorption have been measured di-
rectly, but changes in refractive index comparable with those seen in the
nonlinear optics experiments (see Section I11 above) are to be expected and
may be calculated from the absorption changes using the Kramer - Kronig
relations.
FIELDPARALLEL
1 1. ELECTRIC TO THE LAYERS
With the electric field parallel to the layers, we should not expect the
field to perturb the wave functions perpendicular to the layers directly (i.e.,
the particle-in-a-box wave functions). However, the exciton wave function
of the relative motion of electrons and holes clearly should be perturbed,
just as any atom would be. In principle, two consequences should follow
from the application of this field63:(1) The exciton should be polarized,
resulting in a decrease of the energy of the system with the exciton peak
moving to lower photon energies; this would be the same as the quadratic
Stark effect, although it should be noted that this Stark effect would be on
the ground (i.e., 1s-like) state of the exciton rather than between two
different orbital states, as is normal in atomic spectroscopy, as the exciton
is being created rather than being raised to an excited state from the
exciton ground state. (2) The exciton once created should be field ionized
(in the presence of an electric field, there are no bound states of the
system); i.e., the electron and hole should tunnel away from one another
toward the electrodes, resulting in a broadening of the exciton resonance
(sometimes called a Stark broadening) due to the reduction in the exciton
lifetime.
The first observations of electric field effects on the near-band-edge
absorption showed a large Stark-like effect on the exciton peaks6'; later
results with improved electrode geometrics6*showed that such effects are
due to perpendicular fields (see below, Section 12). The predominant
optical effect of parallel fields (at least at room temperature) is a broaden-
ing of the excitonic peaks which is ascribed to the reduction of exciton
lifetime due to field ionization,63i.e., Stark broadening. Figure 13 shows
experimental absorption spectra63taken for various parallel field strengths
for a sample with 95 A GaAs layers. At zero field, the two exciton peaks are
clearly resolved as usual. With 1.6 X lo4 V/cm (16 mV in 100 A), the
peaks have broadened so much that they have merged, and by 4.8 X lo4
V/cm, the peaks have been totally destroyed, although increased absorp-
tion is seen both above and below the nominal bandgap energy. The
behavior at high fields is difficult to analyze theoretically, and this has so
far not been attempted. However, at low fields the field ionization rate has
been calculated theoretically for a two-dimensional e ~ c i t o nThe. ~ ~rate is
considerably lower than that for the 3D exciton, partly because of the
difference in binding energy and partly because of geometrical factors. This
calculation is in order of magnitude agreement with the measured broad-
306 D. S. CHEMLA el a[.
L 10000
i
w0
1
i
i
Lc
W
0
0
5000
0
k
a
5:
m
a
0
1.43 1.48
PHOTON ENERGY (eV)
FIG. 13. Absorption spectra for electric fields d parallel to the quantum well layers. (a)
6 = 0; (b) & = 1.6 X lo4 V/cm; (c) & = 4.8 X 104 V/cm. The insert shows figuratively the
distortion of the electron-hole Coulomb potential with the applied field.
ening of the exciton at low fields with, for example, field ionization times
of the order of picoseconds expected for fields lo4 V/cm.-
12. ELECTRIC
FIELDPERPENDICULAR
TO THE LAYERS
With the electric field perpendicular to the layers, there are several
possible sources of perturbation of excitonic or even simple interband
absorption. Again, we can divide these into two categories. ( I ) The wave
functions, both of the individual particles (electrons and holes) and of the
relative motion of electrons and holes in excitons, can be polarized just as
in the Stark effect, resulting in an overall decrease of the energy of the
system and a shift of the absorption spectrum. (2) Electrons and holes can
be field emitted from their potential wells (i.e., tunnel out of their wells)
and excitons can be field ionized, resulting in lifetime reductions and
consequent broadening of spectral features. In general, experiments show
that the dominant effectis a shift of the spectrum, although some broaden-
ing is also observed e~perimentally.~~
Figure 14 shows measured absorption spectra for 95 A GaAs wells with
electric field perpendicular to the layers.63These measurements were made
with the MQW in the depletion region of a reverse-biased p- i- n diode to
minimize conduction. The field is consequently not totally uniform within
the MQW, but, despite this, the exciton peaks remain resolvable up to very
high fields (- 1O5 V/cm), and large shifts of the absorption to lower photon
-
energies are seen. With fields greater than lo5V/cm the exciton peaks are
no longer resolvable, and there is some theoretical indication that, at these
fields and above, the holes can tunnel rapidly out of the weW3 so that
broadening due to shortening of carrier or exciton lifetimes may be signifi-
cant. However, it is difficult in these results to separate broadening due to
lifetime effects from broadening due to field inhomogeneity.
1.43 4.48
PHOTON ENERGY (eV)
FIG.14. Absorption spectra for electric fields C perpendicularto the quantum well layers.
(a) 8 = 1 X LO4 V/cm; (b) C = 4.7 X 104 V/cm; (c) C = 7.3 X 104 V/cm. The insert shows
figuratively the distortionsof the quantum well potentials with the applied field.
As there are several possible contributions to the energy shifts in the

spectrum, it is useful to write the Hamiltonian for the envelope wave
functions, Hen,,explicitly for a given electron and hole:
where
are the kinetic operators for electrons (e)and holes (h) in the z direction
perpendicular to the layers, ze and zh being the z coordinates of electron
and hole, using the appropriate perpendicular effective masses me, and
mu; V,(z,) and the vh(zh)are builtin rectangular quantum-well potentials
for electrons and holes;
are the potential energies for electron and hole, respectively, in the field &
in the z direction;
is the kinetic energy of relative motion of electrons and holes [r = (x, -

xh)% + (ye - yh)9,where (xe,ye) and (xh,yh) are the coordinates of electron
and hole in the plane of the layers] with p,,being the reduced mass in the
plane; and
-e2
veh(r)=
E J(ze- zh )* + rz
is the Coulomb potential energy of electron and hole. Only the center-of-
mass kinetic energy of electron and hole in the plane has been neglected in
Eq. (20),as negligible momentum is transferred to this motion under direct
optical excitation.
Solving for the eigenvalues of Eq. (20) would give the energy of an
exciton peak relative to the bulk bandgap energy. Various parts of this
Hamiltonian have been treated separately. HmzC+ V,(z,) (and the equiva-
lent for holes) is just the usual particle-in-a-box Hamiltonian at zero field
+ + +
and is easily solved exactly.’ HKEze V,(z,) HKEsh v,(zh) HKEreh + +
V,h(r) should give the zero-field energy of the exciton relative to the band
edge and hence, by subtracting the exact particle-in-a-box energies of the
appropriate electron and hole states, the zero-field exciton binding energy
EB. This problem has been tackled using ~ a r i a t i o n a l , ~ l -perturbative,m
~~,~’
+ +
and adiabaW8 techniques. HmZ, Ve(ze) Hsz, (and the equivalent for
holes) would give the energy of the electron (or hole) in the skewed
potential well, which is the total potential energy in the presence of the
electric field (see the insert in Fig. 14). This has been approached variation-
ally for both finite and infinite has been solved exactly for the
infinite well (giving Airy functions as the wave function^),^^ and the energy
has been calculated exactly for a specific finite-well structure by looking for
tunneling resonance^.^^ In the total problem, many of these effects are
coupled. In particular, with an applied field, the electrons and holes tend to
move to opposite sides of the wells, resulting in reduced Coulomb binding
between electron and hole (i.e., contributing an increase in the energy of
the system overall). One approach to solving the entire Hamiltonian of Eq.
(20) has been taken using a variational technique63in which the variational
wave function is separable with the z wave functions being the “exact”
solutions for electrons and holes separately in the field and the radial wave
function being a 1s-like orbit whose radius is variationally adjusted. This
calculation at least estimates the increase of energy of the system due to the
reduced electron- hole Coulomb binding. It also predicts incidentally that
the exciton orbit should get larger with applied field with an associated
decrease in electron - hole kinetic energy.
The overall result of these calculations for the 95 A wells used in the
experiments is that the dominant effect for fields of lo4 to lo5V/cm is the
shift of the hole levels in the skewed quantum well. The hole levels are
more easily perturbed than the electron levels for two reasons: for the
heavy holes the larger effective mass gives lower zero-field energy; for
heavy holes and especially light holes, the wave functions penetrate signifi-
cantly into the barriers, giving larger overall wave functions which are
therefore more easily perturbed. The electron levels with their higher
energies are comparatively much less perturbed by the fields. It turns
that the infinite-well model of the particles in a skewed well gives very good
estimates of the overall shifts of the absorption, provided only that a larger
effective well width is used to account for the penetration of wave functions
into the barriers; the effective widths used are those which give the correct
zero-field energies for electrons and holes. The resulting calculated shifts of
the bands63are slightly larger than the observed shifts of the exciton
resonance^:^ and this discrepancy can be reduced by including the change
in electron-hole Coulomb and kinetic energy discussed above. This
change in electron-hole binding energy is most important at low fields; it
tends to saturate out at high fields to a constant value.63It is coincidental
that the light-hole and heavy-hole subbands (and consequently the asso-
ciated excitons) move at approximately the same rate with field in the
310 D. S. CHEMLA et a1
-
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Y
-10
I-
LL
r
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Y
U
W
n
z
0
0
-20
X
w
hh
-30'
0
' ' ' I '
5
I I
I
I
ELECTRIC FIELD ( 1 0 4 ~ / c m )
FIG. 15. Shift of the position of light-hole (Ih, 0)and heavy-hole (hh, X) exciton peaks with
applied field perpendicular to 95 A GaAs quantum w e k 3 Points are experimental, lines are
theoretical. (---), calculations including only the shift of the electron and hole subbands.
(-) include the correction to the exciton binding energy due to the movement of electrons
and holes to opposite sides of the wells. There are no fitted parameters in the theory.
sample measured63; different valence-band potential well depths would

give different relative rates. Figure 15 shows the measured shifts of light-
and heavy-hole excitons for 95 A
wells, compared with the tunneling
resonance calculations of the shift of the exciton with and without the
correction due to the change of binding of electrons and holes as they move
to opposite sides to the well. The agreement is good, especially as there are
no adjustable parameters in the theory.
One remarkable feature of the spectra in Fig. 14 is that the exciton
-
resonances remain well resolved even up to fields lo5 V/cm, which are
well above those which gave strong field ionization for parallel fields; the
rationalization of this is that the walls of the quantum wells prevent the
electron and hole from escaping from one another.
5. MULTIPLE QUANTUM WELL STRUCTURES 31 1
13. APPLICATIONS
a. Optical Modulators
With absorption coefficient changes - 5000- 10,000 cm-I it is possible
to alter the transmission of a light beam significantlyin only micrometer of
thickness. This can be exploited to make novel high-speed electroabsorp-
tive modulators62with very small active volumes and low power require-
ments. While such devices are in an early stage, they offer many attractive
features: the small size possible offerslow capacitance and also avoids the
difficulty of matching optical and electrical propagation velocities encoun-
tered at high frequencies with conventional electrooptk modulators. The
M APGaAs
CONTACT ETCH s s CONTACT
METAL LIGHT STOP L L LIGHT
OUT B A B - IN
-w
0 u c u
F T F
F I F
E V E
R E R
n+ n+ i i i p' p+
d
I I"
V/cm
5 ~ 1 - 0 ~
V/c m
c
I I
I 1 2
FIG. 16. Schematic diagram of the p- i- n multiplequantum-well modulator with the
p - i - n layer thicknesses exaggerated for clarity.* Device diameter is 600 pm and total thick-
ness -4 pm. The MQW is sandwiched between superlattice (SL) buffer layers. The insert
shows the field distribution inside the device for 0 and 8 V reverse bias.
small sizes and moderate drive voltage also imply that only very small
energies may be required to drive these modulators.
The structure of the first device to be tested as a high-speed modulator is
shown schematically in Fig. 16. This is a p-i-n diode as used for the
perpendicular field measurements discussed above. When operating at
photon energies below the bandgap (e.g., 1.446 eV), it is possible to change
the transmission of the sample by a factor of - 2 with 8 V applied reverse
bias even in this thin sample. The response of this device was tested down
-
to RC-time-constant-limited response times 2 ns with a 50 R load resist-
ance. This first device was much larger in area (600 p m diameter) than is
necessary for optical modulation (e.g., 10 pm diameter) and consequently
had a large capacitance (-20 pF). Smaller devices should exhibit much
faster response. Indeed, fast modulation using a smaller device (95 pm
diameter) was recently demonstrated. The device was driven with a comb
generator, which provides 8 V electrical pulses with a measured full width
at half-maximum of 120 ps, to modulate the output of a cw single-mode
GaAs diode laser. Light pulses of 170 ps width were observed. The slight
broadening can be easily explained by the nonlinearity of the detection
system, as well as by that of the modulator itself. One important conse-
quence of the observation that the primary shifting effect is due to band
states rather than being purely an excitonic effect is that other quantum-
well systems that have too low a material quality to display exciton reso-
nances may still be useful as modulators of this type. This is particularly
important for longer wavelengths.
Devices
b. Self-Electrooptic-Eflect
It is observed experimentally that the p-i-n diode is also an efficient
photodete~tor.6~ Above-2 V reverse bias when the depletion region ex-
tends all the way through the MQW region, within experimental error
approximately one photocarrier is collected for every photon absorbed,
regardless of photon energy or reverse bias. This is interesting in itself as a
detector. However, it also opens up interesting possibilities in which the
same material functions simultaneously as both optical modulator and
detector. When connected in an external electrical circuit, the detected
light will give a photocurrent, which in turn, through the electrical circuit,
will change the voltage across the device and hence its absorption, hence
changing the detected light and so on in a feedback loop. Such devices
using MQW material have been called self-Electrooptic-effect devices
(SEEDS).~~
The first such device to be demonstratedMconnects the p-i-n diode
through a series resistor to a constant voltage reverse bias supply. The
wavelength of the incident light is chosen near to the position of the larger
(heavy-hole) exciton resonance at zero bias. With no light incident, all the
bias voltage is dropped across the diode, shifting the exciton peaks to lower
energy and reducing the absorption at the operating wavelength. With
increasing incident light power, photocurrent is generated by the remain-
ing absorption, resulting in a voltage drop across the resistor and reducing
the voltage across the diode. As the power is increased further, the exciton
peaks start to move back over the operating wavelength, giving increased
absorption and a further increase in photocurrent. Under the right condi-
t ~ n ~this , ~
process
~ , becomes
~ ~ regenerative, leading to switching into a
high-absorption, low-reverse-bias state. This results in a bistable optical
input-output characteristic, as shown in Fig. 17. This ingut/output charac-
teristic can be modeled theoreticalIf6 from the measured voltage depen-
dence of the responsivity and transmission of the diode, with good agree-
ment with experiment, as shown in Fig. 17.
Optically bistable (OB) devices have received considerable attention as
possible ways of implementing optical logic s y ~ t e m s .Optical
~ ~ . ~ ~logic in
principle has some advantages over electronic logic, especially in the area
3o EXPERIMENT
n
0 20 40 60 80 100
INPUT POWER, P ( p W )
FIG.17. Theory and experiment for a SEED optically bistable device for a 1 MR load
resistor.
314 D. S. CHEMLA ef a/.
of parallel processing, but few optical devices have demonstrated switching

energies low enough to make them of practical interest7*;those that have
low switching energies have required Fabry - Perot resonators to achieve
low switching energie~,’~ thus complicating fabrication and operation.
(The nonlinear optical properties of the MQW discussed above in Section
I11 actually already make it one of the most attractive materials for such
Fabry-Perot switches.) The OB SEED, however, is an example of a re-
cently discovered class of optical bistability which does not require cavi-
tie^,'^,^' and the intrinsic optical switching energy of this device even
without cavities is >30 times lower per unit area (-4fJ/pmZ) than any
previously demonstrated OB device at a comparable wavelength. The first
device is, however, much larger than required (600 pm) and only has a
moderately low switching energy (- 1 nJ). Importantly for practical appli-
cations, it also operates over a wide range of conditions depending on
resistance and wavelength from 670 nW switching power at 1.5 ms switch-
ing time to 400 ns at 3.7 mW (with this switching speed limited only by
power). The absence of cavities makes this device relatively simple to
fabricate and operate, and smaller devices should have proportionately
lower switching energies and probably much faster switching speeds. This
also is the subject of current research. However, the SEED certainly offers
some interesting new prospects for optical switching and signal processing
devices, and has significantly reduced switching energy limits for optical
devices. As high operating energies have been a major problem for both
analog and digital optical processing devices, the MQW electric field effects
may be able to make a significant contribution to optical processing.
V. Conclusion
The work reviewed in this article demonstrates that the quantum well
materials show a variety of large nonlinear optical effects. Importantly for
practical applications, these effects can be seen at room temperature and
are eminently compatible with convenient light sources such as laser
diodes and also, in the case of the electroabsorptiveeffects, with semicon-
ductor electronics.
In all cases, the effects result directly from the quantum mechanical
confinement within the quantum well layers. The existence of room-tem-
perature exciton resonances, without which room-temperature excitonic
nonlinear absorption, nonlinear refraction, and parallel field Stark broad-
ening would be impractical, results primarily from the increase in exciton
binding energy with confinement. The bandgap shrinkage with perpendic-
ular fields, which is, of all these effects, the only one truly unique to
quantum wells at any temperature, results primarily from the perturbation

of the large envelope functions of the particle-in-a-box states.
The effects discussed here are also large enough to have significant
implications for nonlinear optical processing- a field which has been
especially inhibited by the shortage of materials with suitable nonlineari-
ties. For example, the absolute size of the excitonic nonlinear absorption
and nonlinear refraction is so large that they give the lowest scaled operat-
ing energies of any room-temperature all-optical bistable switch. While
such scalings do not represent any current practical devices, they do give a
good relative measure of the sizes of nonlinearities in different materials.
The electroabsorptive effects are so large that it is possible to make high-
speed optical modulators with dimensions on a scale of micrometers. This
is a totally new opportunity in optical modulation, as it reduces the limit-
ing operating energy of an optical modulator by orders of magnitude. This
low modulation energy is one of the principal reasons for the low-energy
operation of the SEED hybrid bistable optical switch, which has an operat-
ing energy per unit area six times smaller than any other bistable optical
switch at a comparable wavelength despite the fact that it uses no resonant
cavity.
It will be apparent to the reader that the work reviewed here is very
recent at the time of writing. This makes it difficult to obtain an accurate
historical perspective on the significance of the nonlinear effects and the
devices which can be made using them. The device opportunities which
present themselves are particularly difficult to judge at this stage, because
for the most part the quantum wells offer completely new classes of optical
devices. This uncertainty in itself makes these effects particularly exciting
for possible practical applications, and there can be little doubt that some
genuinely new opportunities are now available for optical devices. We
believe that this is a very appropriate time to write this review, because the
basic physics of the effects is apparently understood and the first specula-
tive devices have been demonstrated.
Finally, it is worth noting that the work reviewed here represents only
one small comer of the total field of physical systems that can be made
using the current advanced semiconductor fabrication techniques. The
experiments reported here, for example, are mostly performed on G A S /
GaAlAs quantum wells with - 100 A layers. Other material systems, layer
dimensions, and layer sequences remain to be explored for their nonlinear
optical properties, and doubtless many new physical phenomena remain to
be investigated and applied. The limited experience with even the GaAs/
GaAlAs system is, however, very encouraging and hoped to have ramifica-
tions well beyond the field of semiconductor physics.
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CHAPTER 6
Graded-Gap and Superlattice Devices by

Bandgap Engineering
Federico Capasso
MURRAY HILL, NEW JERSEY 07974
I. Introduction: Bandgap Engineering

The advent of molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) has made possible the
development of a new class of materials and heterojunctions with unique
electronic and optical properties. Most notable among these are: hetero-
junction and doping superlattices, modulation-doped superlattices, and
strained layer and variable gap superlattices. The investigation of the novel
physical phenomena made possible by such structures has proceeded in
parallel with their exploitation in novel devices. As a result a new approach
or philosophy to designing heterojunction semiconductordevices, bandgap
engineering, has gradually emerged (F. Capasso, 1983a,b; 1984a).
The starting point of bandgap engineering is the realization of the ex-
tremely large number of combinations made possible by the above-men-
tioned superlattices and heterojunction structures. This allows one to de-
sign a large variety of new energy band diagrams. In particular, through the
use of bandgap grading, one can obtain, starting from a basic energy band
diagram, practically arbitrary and continuous variation of this diagram.
Thus the transport and optical properties of a semiconductor structure can
be modified and tailored to a specific device application. One of the most
powerful consequences of bandgap engineering is the ability of indepen-
dently tuning the transport properties of electron and holes, using quasi-
electric fields in graded gap materials and the difference between conduc-
tion- and valence-band discontinuitiesin a given heterojunction.
An excellent example of bandgap engineering is the development of the
concept of the staircase solid-state photomultiplier, starting from a quan-
tum well reverse-biased diode, as discussed in Section IV.
Band discontinuities also play a key role in other devices, such as real-
space transfer structures and heterojunction bipolar transistors, by confin-
ing camers to certain layers (Sections I1 and VI).
319
Copyright 0 1987 Bell Telephone Laboratories, Incorporated.
320 FEDERICO CAPASSO
Some of the most intriguing applications of bandgap engineering are

graded-gap superlattices, discussed in Section IV, and the design of three-
dimensional energy band diagrams (Section 111). Resonant tunneling
transistors and tunneling phenomena in superlatticesare discussed in Sec-
tions VI and VII.
The last section of this chapter discusses a technique to modify barrier
heights and band discontinuities, recently introduced by the author. This
method should prove extremely useful in the deisgn of novel devices.
11. Real-Space Transfer Structures

Real-space transfer is a new phenomenon first proposed and discovered
by Hess and co-workers (1979; Keever et al., 1981) at the University of
Illinois. Real-space transfer can be defined as the transfer, by thermionic
emission, of hot electrons between layers of different semiconductors. In
equilibrium the electrons reside in the layers with the lowest conduction-
band energy. Within picoseconds the electrons can be heated by electric
fields parallel to the heterolayers to energies exceeding the band-edge
discontinuities and subsequently transferred to a different semiconductor
layer. Storage and switching effects can be achieved in this way. In addi-
tion, if the layers into which electrons transfer are of lower mobility than
the layers in which they originally reside, negative differential resistance
will occur (Hess et al., 1979). The latter effect was first demonstrated in
AlGaAs/GaAs modulation-doped heterostructures (Keever et al., 198I).
Figure 1 shows the doping, mobility, and conduction band edge energy
profile of modulation-doped material. The AlGaAs layers are intentionally
doped with donors to densities in the lOI7/cm3 range, while the GaAs
layers contain only low concentrations of background impurities (5lo1’/
cm3);the layer thicknesses are typically a few 100 A. At thermal equilib-
rium electrons reside at the bottom of the GaAs wells, spatially separated
from their parent donors in the AlGaAs. The spatial separation greatly
enhances the mobility of electrons parallel to the layers, especially at low
temperatures (577 K), since it reduces Coulomb scattering from the ion-
ized impurities (Dingle et al., 1978).
Although to observe real-space transfer effects modulation doping is not
essential, from a conceptual and tutorial point of view it is simple to
explain the effect as the reverse process of modulation doping. One may
ask in fact whether electrons in modulation-doped layers can be made to
reunite with their parent donors. This can be done by applying a high
electric field (> lo3 V/cm) parallel to the interfaces of the structure of Fig.
2. The band-bending due to the charge present in the layers is not shown
for simplicity. Electrons in the GaAs layer will be heated by the field and
gain energy. When their energy exceeds the barrier height given by the
6. GRADED-GAP AND SUPERLATTICE DEVICES 321
conduction-band discontinuity of =0.2 eV, electrons are no more con-

fined in the GaAs layers and may diffuse into the neighboring AlGaAs
layers. Since these layers have much lower mobility than the GaAs layer,
the real-space transfer effect may be used to produce negative differential
resistance.
It is important to note that this effect represents the real-space analog of
the transferred electron effect (or the Hilsum - Ridley -Watkins mecha-
nism) which is the basis of Gunn devices. Negative differential resistance in
these devices is due to transfer of hot electrons from the high-mobility
central valley in direct-gap I11- V materials, to higher-lying low-mobility
satellite valleys. Here the T - L valley separation controls the threshold for
negative differential resistance, while in real-space transfer devices it is
controlled by the conduction-band discontinuity at the interface between
the AlGaAs and the GaAs layers. By changing the A1 concentrations in the
AlGaAs layers the discontinuity can be varied. In addition, the magnitude
of the negative resistance effect can be increased by incorporating more
U
7 GAS
FIG.1. Illustration of modulationdoping technique.
LOW ELECTRIC FIELD
HIGH ELECTRIC FIELD
x A5
FIG.2. Pictorial representation of real-space transfer. For low parallel electric fields elec-
trons are confined to the GaAs layers; at high fields they transfer into the AlGaAs layers by
themionic emission (courtesyof K. Hess).
donors in the AlGaAs layers. These features provide greater flexibility in

device design with respect to Gunn devices.
Negative differential resistance in real-space transfer devices has recently
been used to implement an oscillator (Coleman et al., 1982).
Another interesting application of real-space transfer involves fast
switching and storage of electrons in GaAs/Al,Ga, -,As heterojunction
layers (Keever et al., 1982). Electrons are initially in a “high-field” GaAs
layer and are subsequently heated by the field and transfer by thermonic
emission to the AlGaAs neighboring layers. Suppose now that on the other
side of the AlGaAs layers there are “low-field GaAs layers.” The electrons
scattered into the AlGaAs from the “high-field” layer may transfer into the
“low-field layers” and lose their energy via phonon emission. Thus they
become trapped as long as the temperature is not high enough for them to
escape by thermionic emission. Therefore, the selective application of a
high field to a group of layers allows switching and storage of electrons in
the heterostructure; switching times d 1 ns have been observed (Keever et
al., 1982).
One of the attractive features of the real-space transfer mechanism is its
high speed. There are typically four time constants involved: The time
required for heating of the electrons to the temperature T,, the transfer
time to the wide gap layers, the transfer time of the electrons back into the
starting layers, and the cooling time. The heating and the cooling time are
typically of the order of the energy relaxation time in GaAs for electron
energies of the order of A E,, (0.1 -0.2 eV), i.e., a few picoseconds. The two
transfer times can be estimated from the formula, obtained from ther-
mionic emission theory (Hess et al., 1979),
where A* is the Richardson constant, m* the electron effective mass, mo

the free-electron mass, (b the barrier height to overcome in the transfer
process, N , the density of states in the layer from which electrons transfer,
and L the thickness of this layer or the electron mean-free path, whichever
is smaller.
For T, in GaAs = 500 K, 4 = 0.2 eV, and L = 400 A, the transfer time
into the AlGaAs is = 35 ps. In the case of transfer back into the GaAs layer,
the barrier is due to the space-charge potential of the ionized donors in
the AIGaAs. The electron temperature in the AlGaAs is close to the lattice
temperature TL because of the low mobility. For 4 / k T = 4 and T, =
300 K one has t , = 0.3 ns for the transfer time back into GaAs.
In the real-space transfer negative differential resistance devices of the
type discussed by Hess ( 1983), the relevant time is therefore the sum of the
four previously estimated time constants, since electrons have to cycle back
and forth constantly between the high- and low-mobility layers. It is clear
that the dominant of the four time constants is the time to transfer back
into the GaAs.
An analytical model of real-space transfer valid for thick layers has been
recently given by Shichijo et al. (1980). The Boltzmann equation was
solved, assuming a position-dependent electron temperature and a quasi-
Fermi level in the Al,Ga, -,As and a position-independent electron tem-
perature and quasi-Fermi level in the GaAs layer. Conduction of hot
electrons from the GaAs into the Al,Ga,-,As and the reverse flow of cold
carriers back into the GaAs layer were taken into account. The variation of
the fraction of electrons in the AlGaAs layer with increased field is clearly
illustrated in Fig. 3 with the mobility of the AlGaAs layer as a parameter.
The thickness of the GaAs is 0.1 pm and that of the AlGaAs, 1 pm, while
the bqrrier height is 0.25 eV. The threshold field for transfer is = 3 X lo3
V/cm and the transfer is smaller for higher mobility. This is physically
intuitive; if the mobility in the AlGaAs is higher, electrons in this material
will be heated to higher temperatures by electronic heat conduction due to
1 1 1 1 ) 1 1 1 1 ~ 1 l *
-
L, = o t p m , L~ = i p m
A E = 25omeV
-
-
t-
V
w
-
0
-
IL
I I I I I I I I I I I I
0 5 10
FIG. 3. Fraction of electrons in the GaAs layer as a function of electric field for various
mobilities in the Al,Ga,_,As. L, and L, are, respectively, the GaAs and AlGaAs layer
thicknesses (from Shichijo ef al., 1980).
hot electrons injected from the GaAs and by the electric field. This in turn
will increase the hot electron diffusion coefficient in the AlGaAs, which in
turn increases the “backflow” of electrons into the GaAs, thus reducing the
percentage of electrons transferred into the A1,Ga -,As.
The analog with the Gunn effect here is again evident. Calculations of
the current-voltage characteristic for this case (Fig. 4) show that the
highest peak- to-valley ratio is obtained for the lowest AlGaAs mobility
(50 cm2/s V); it becomes unity instead for p = 500 cm2/s V. The above
analytical model does not take into account the band bending caused by
the ionized donors. These donors create an electric field which would tend
to attract the hot electrons into the AlGaAs layer, thus increasing the
transfer efficiency.
1 . NEGATIVE RESISTANCE
DIFFERENTIAL FIELD-EFFECT
TRANSISTOR
Recently Kastalsky and Luryi ( 1983) proposed and demonstrated a new
class of charge injection devices, utilizing real-space transfer. In these
structures this effect gives rise to charge injection between the conducting
layers, isolated by a potential barrier and separately contacted.
Figure 5 illustrates a typical charge injection device and its band dia-
gram. It consists essentially of a three-terminal device with the electrodes
L 1 = 0.1p m
Lp=ipm
A E = 250 meV
1 1 1 1 l 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
5 10 5
ELECTRIC FIELD, F (kv/cm)
FIG. 4. Current-voltage characteristics for a Hess-type real-space transfer device with
various values of electron mobility in the AlGaAs layer (from Shichijo et al., 1980).
labeled source (S), drain (D), and substrate (SUB). The source-to-drain
voltage creates a parallel electric field which heats the electrons in the
channel, causing charge injection by real-space transfer into the heavily
doped conducting substrate, across the graded-gap AlGaAs barrier. Al-
though the graded barrier may slightly increase the transfer speed, its use is
not essential for most applications, and a rectangular barrier may do just as
well. The gate electrode serves the purpose of concentrating the source-to-
drain field in a 1 pm region under the gate notch. However, most of these
devices can also be operated without gate metallization or at zero gate
voltage. One use of the above structure is as a negative differential resist-
ance field-effect transistor (NERFET) (Kastalsky et al., 1984a,b).
In this device hot-electron injection from the channel across the graded-
gap barrier is accompanied by a pronounced negative differential resist-
I- 4Pm 4 ELECTRON
ENERGY
'Pm 7
n-GoAs
CAP L/AYER vc
i
S'
4
VD
I !
-- I
---
1 i E,
%ub
FIG. 5. Device structure and band diagram of the negative-differential-resistancefield-ef-
fect transistor (NERFET) (from Kastalski et al. 1984a).
ance (NDR) in the source- to-drain circuit, observed both at 300 K and at
low temperature. This is illustrated in Fig. 6 for several substrate biases.
The NDR in the NERFET is due to two interdependent mechanisms: (1)
the diversion of current from the channel into the substrate following
hot-electron injection, and (2) the channel depletion due the negative
dynamically stored charge in the graded-gap barrier, which screens the
channel from the positive substrate bias. To understand the latter effect,
consider that the hot electrons emitted over the barrier drift in the graded-
gap layer (at the saturated drift velocity) toward the substrate. They consti-
tute therefore a negative space charge dynamically stored in the barrier,
which repels the electrons in the channels towards the source, thus deplet-
ing the channel. This further lowers the drain current, thus increasing the
peak-to-valley ratio. The strong dependence of the NDR on the substrate
voltage (Fig. 6) is strong evidence of the charge storage effect. Note that
NDR is obtained only when VsuB 5 2; this is because electrons, dynami-
cally stored in the barrier, create a space-charge potential Acy which op-
poses further charge injection; to overcome this additional barrier the
substrate bias must exceed Acy, which is =2 V for the devices of Fig. 6. The
increase in the peak current in Fig. 6 is a manifestation of the increased
electron density in the channel. As the substrate bias is increased, the NDR
becomes more pronounced and the FET drain current saturates at a lower
value (Fig. 6). This is due to the charge dynamically stored in the bamer,
which increases with substrate bias, and increasingly depletes the channel.
FIG.6. Current - voltage characteristic(drain current versus source-to-drain voltage) in the

NEFWET for different substrate bias voltages. The gate voltage is zero and the temperature,
77 K (from Kastalski et ul., 1984a).
As pointed out by Luryi and Kastalsky (1985), “we can regard A y as a

threshold shift in a field-effect transistor in which V,, plays the role of a
gate bias. Due to the dynamically stored charge, the FET drain current
saturates at a lower value corresponding to Vslb - Ay.” The rising portion
of the I- V curves at high drain voltage after saturation in Fig. 6 is due to
the onset of thermionic emission of cold electrons from the substrate into
the channel.
Figure 7 shows the drain and substrate current versus drain voltage for a
NERFET. The device has no gate. The substrate current in general in-
creases with drain voltage in the NDR region except for a small drop right
at the onset of NDR. The latter effect appears to be associated with the
formation of a high-field domain in the channel near the drain. In the
saturation region also the substrate current saturates as expected, while at
higher voltages it decreases in correspondence to the emission of cold
electrons from the substrate back into the channel.
' '.:s;.h y I q " D

......
: : : : : 'S'UB:::::::.:.
......
..._...........
DRAIN VOLTAGE
FIG.7. Substrate (Isnb) and drain (ID)currents in a NERFET versus the source-to-drain
voltage at a fixed substrate bias ( Vaub
= 4 V) (from Luryi et al., 1984a).
The substrate current in a NERFET is concentrated in a narrow strip

running along a direction perpendicular to the channel and located in the
high-field domain. From simple current continuity considerations it is easy
to show that the charge density in the high-field domain decays exponen-
tially from the beginning of the domain towards the drain with a charac-
teristic length determined by the barrier height v/ and the hot-electron
temperature T,. For ty = 0.3 eV and T, = I500 K, this length is = 1000 A
(Kastalsky et al., 1984a; Luryi and Kastalsky, 1985).
TRANSISTOR
2. CHARGE-INJECTION
The same structure previously discussed can also be operated as a new
kind of transistor (charge-injection transistor or CHINT) (Luryi et al.,
1984a). The CHINT principle is illustrated in Fig. 8 by analogy with a
vacuum diode. The channel plays the role of a cathode whose hot-electron
temperature is controlled by the source-to-drain voltage. The second con-
ducting layer, separated from the first by a potential barrier, acts like an
anode. The anode (substrate) current is varied by changing the substrate
bias and saturates at a level determined by the cathode temperature. At
77 K power gain was demonstrated experimentally in a CHINT utilizing
the structure of Fig. 5.
The speed limitations of the CHINT and the NERTET are due to: (1) to
transit time through the high-field domain in the channel and the graded-
gap barrier, amounting to a total of a few picoseconds, (2) the energy
SECOND CONDUCTING
LAYER (ANODE)
t
CHANNEL
F
S
CHANNEL
(CATHODE)
Y
ANODE VOLTAGE
FIG. 8. Illustration of the charge-injection transistor principle. The channel serves as a
cathode whose effective electron temperature is controlled by the source-todrain field. The
second conducting layer, separated by a potential barrier, as an anode and is biased
positively. The anode current as a function of the anode voltage saturates at a value deter-
mined by the cathode temperature (from Luryi et al., 1984a).
relaxation time, = 1 ps, required to establish the electron temperature.

Thus these devices are intrinsically faster than the original ones proposed
by Hess, since the speed-limiting process of transfering back into the GaAs
channel is eliminated.
3. MEMORY
DEVICES
If the substrate in a NERFET (or CHINT) is kept floating, the hot-elec-
tron injection produces a negative charge in the substrate and raises its
potential. In steady state the emission of cold electrons from the substrate
will balance hot-electron injection from the channel. If the source-to-drain
voltage is not removed, charge will be retained in the substrate for a time
controlled by the cold thermionic emission. This memory effect was dem-
onstrated recently (Luryi et al., 1984b) and can be the basis of a hot-elec-
tron erasable programmable random access memory (Luryi and Kastalsky,
r (cClAS
UNDOPED
CHANNEL
AkOAS BARRIER
INSULATING SUBSTRATE
FIG.9. Structure and energy diagram of the hot-electron erasable programmable random-
access memory. The thickness (- 1000 A) and doping level in the second conducting layer are
chosen so that this layer can be depleted by the guard-gate field (from Luryi and Kastalsky,
1985).
1985), shown in Fig. 9. The device is grown on a semi-insulatingsubstrate

and contains a main GaAs channel (modulation doped as in a NERFET)
and a second GaAs conducting channel contacted by a Schottky guardgate
G, as in a MESFET, and by a deep drain D,, which is positively biased
with respect to the source. When the guard gate voltage is negative, the
second conducting channel can be charged up via hot-electron transfer by
applying a voltage between D, and S (Write). This will deplete the main
channel. Information is read by measuring the channel resistance. The
information can be erased by applying a positive voltage to G, this dis-
charges the second conducting layer through D,. All logic operations of
this device have high speed.
4. TUNNELING
REAL-SPACE
TRANSFER
DEVICES
Real-space transfer between different layers can also be achieved by
tunneling. This was recently demonstrated by Kirchoefer et al. (1984),
using the bilevel quantum-well structure of Fig. 10, The deep well is of
GaAs, while the shallow one is of A10.06Ga0.94A~. Because the energy
separation between the first quantum states of the two wells is larger than
the linewidth of these states, the wavefunctions of the ground states of the
wells have negligible overlap and in equilibrium electrons will reside in the
GaAs well. When a parallel field is applied, electrons can gain sufficient
energy to tunnel into the first subband of the A1,,Gao.94As well. Since this
layer has lower mobility than GaAs, negative differential resistance should
be observed. This was experimentally demonstrated using a superlattice of
bilevel quantum wells like the ones of Fig. 10, with bamer and well
thicknesses of 80 A.
FIG.10. Band diagram of a bilevel quantum well structure used in the tunneling real-space
transfer device. Electrons transfer by tunneling from state v, to state y2 after application of
an electric field parallel to the layer (from Kirchoefer et al., 1984).
111. Channeling Diodes

The real-space transfer effect previously discussed relies on the parallel
transport of electrons and their thermionic emission over heterojunction
barriers into layers of different bandgaps. In this section we examine
another class of devices (channeling diodes) in which a high electric field is
applied parallel to a set of n and p layers (in general, but not necessarily, of
different bandgap) to achieve real-space transfer of one type of carrier
(electrons or holes) and therefore spatial separation of electron and holes.
The devices are now based on a new method of achieving total depletion
of a large volume of semiconductor material and have many interesting
applications (Capasso, 1982a,b; Capasso et al., 1982a,d). Some of these
include ultra-low-capacitance p - i- n detectors, photocapacitive devices,
and a new avalanche photodiode with ultra-low avalanche noise.
5. ULTRA-LOW p - i - n PHOTODIODES
CAPACITANCE AND
DETECTORS
PHOTOCAPACITIVE
Figure 1 1 shows a cross-section of the channeling diode. This consists of
several abrupt p - n junctions. The layers are lattice matched to a semi-in-
sulating substrate. The p + and n+ regions, which extend perpendicular to
the layers, can be obtained by ion implantation, or by etching and epitaxial
regrowth techniques. The voltage source supplying the reverse bias is
connected between the p+ and the n+ regions. We assume, for simplicity,
332 FEDERJCO CAPASSO
r
L
r SEMI- INSULATING SUBSTRATE t
FIG. 11. Cross section of channeling diode under different reverse-bias conditions. The
shaded portions of the layers represent the depletion region, while the white ones the unde-
pleted portions. V,, is the voltage at which the layers are completely depleted. Any further
increase in reverse bias adds a constant field E parallel to the device length. Quai doping
levels (p = n) have been assumed (from Capasso, 1982b).
equal doping levels (n = p = N) for the n and p layers. The three center
layers have thickness d, while the topmost and bottommost p layers have
thickness d/2;the layer length is L (<< d), and the sensitive area is assumed
rectangular with dimensions L and L'. For zero bias the p and n layers are
in general only partially depleted, as shown in Fig. 1 la.
The shaded areas denote the space-charge regions. The undepleted por-
tions of the p and n layers (white areas) are at the same potential of the p +
and n+ end regions, respectively, so that the structure appears as a single
interdigitated p- n junction. Because of this geometry, when a reverse bias

is applied between the p + and n+ regions, this potential difference will
appear across every p- n junction, thus increasing the space-charge region
thickness (Fig. I 1b). The bias is then further increased until all the p and n
layers are completely depleted at a voltage V = V,, (Fig. 1lc). At this
point, analogously to ap+-i-n+ diode, any further increase in the reverse
bias will only add a constant electric field E parallel to the length L of the
layers. The capacitance of this novel structure has an interesting depen-
dence on the applied voltage. For voltages < Ve, the capacitance is essen-
tially that of the four p-n junction capacitors in parallel (since L >> d).
Thus
C' = 4&,LL'/ w (2)
where W is the depletion layer width of each p-n junction (the dielectric
constants of the n and p layers of different bandgap have been assumed
equal). As the reverse voltage is increased and approaches V,,, the capaci-
tance decreases toward the value
C,, = 4&,LL'/d (3)
At the punch-through voltage Vpa the capacitance drops abruptly from this
relatively large value to
since the layers have been completely depleted and the residual capacitance
is that of the "p+-i-n+ diode" formed by the p + and n+ regions. The
capacitance is thus reduced by a factor (LID)', which for typical dimen-
sions is 2 100. For L = L ' = 50 pm CV,", 5 pF. Note that in the
general case of different acceptor and donor concentrations N,, N A , the
thicknesses of the center p layer and of the NN layers (d,, and dp)should be
in the ratio
d?l/dp = NAIND (5)
and the topmost and bottommost p layer should have a thickness dJ2, to
ensure complete depletion of all the p and n layers. For a three-layer
structure the p + and n+ regions may be obtained via ion implantation of
relatively light ions such as Be, Mg, or Si. Schemes using etching and
epitaxial regrowth techniques are also possible, as described below.
The above novel steplike C- V characteristics has been experimentally
verified on three-layer p- n -p structuresgrown by LPE and MBE (Capasso
et al., 1982a). The center layer is of n-GaAs doped to 5 X 10'5/cm3and is
= 1.5 pm thick. The two p layes are of A10.,,Gao.55Asdoped to = 5 X
0 1 2 3 4 6 6 7 8 9 1 0
REVERSE BIAS (VOLTS)
FIG. 12. Experimental C- Vcharacteristic of channeling diodes, measured at 1 MHz, from
LPE (A) and MBE (B)-grown wafers (from Capasso et a[., 1982a).
cm3 and of half the thickness of the center layer. The area between the p +
and n+ regions is typicaly cm2.The transverse p + and n+ regions were
obtained by etching and LPE regrowth of A10.,Gao~80As.Figure 12 shows
the typical experimental C- Y curves measured at 1 MHz for three-layer
structures grown by LPE (A) and MBE (B). The C-V characteristics
display three distinct regions: first, a decrease in capacitance with increas-
ing reverse bias described by a linear 1/C2 versus V plot, typical of an
abrupt p - n junction diode. This is followed by a large decrease in capaci-
tance (= 1 pF) over a small voltage range (= 0.15 V) and by a region of
ultrasmall nearly constant capacitance (0.05 pF). The punch-through volt-
age and the overall C- Y curve is consistent with the above doping and
layer thicknesses and reproduces the expected behavior very well.
It is important to point out that the ultrasmall capacitance of this
structure above punch-through is largely independent of the detector area
between the p + and n+ regions, which can be very large, and of the doping
of the layers. It is also worth noting that for a large change in capacitance
complete depletion of all the layers is not required. Assume, for example,
that for the device in Fig. 11 the donor concentration is greater than the
acceptor concentration; in this situation only the p layers will be com-
pletely depleted. The residual capacitance is that formed by the two unde-
pleted sections of the II layers with the p+ region. This capacitance is still
much smaller than that before punch-through.
The channeling diode can be used as an ultrasensitive photocapacitive
detector (Capasso et al., 1982d). The capacitance of these devices was
measured at 1 MHz as a function of reverse bias for different incident
intensities (Fig. 13). A 2 mW He-Ne laser attenuated with neutral density
filters was used as the light source. The top Alo.45Gao.55Aslayer is transpar-
ent to the 1 = 6328 A radiation.
The other C- Vcurves were obtained by varying the incident laser power
over four orders of magnitude from 20 pW to 200 nW. Note the increase
of the punch-through voltage with increasing power and the larger varia-
tions in capacitance (0.6 - 1.O pF) (with respect to the “dark capacitance”)
produced by the low optical power levels used. It is clear that this device
can be used as an ultrahigh-sensitivity photocapacitance detector. The
essential features of this novel photocapacitance phenomenon can be easily
interpreted with the aid of Fig. 1 1.
Assume that the device is biased at or slightly above the punch-through
voltage. When light shines on the device, the photogenerated electrons and
holes are spatially separated and collected in the depleted n and p layers,
respectively, thereby partially neutralizing the ionized donor and acceptor
space charge. The net effect is that the width of the depletion layer is
reduced (Fig. 1 1b); this produces a large increase in capacitance. An addi-
I I I I I I I I
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 25 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5
REVERSE BIAS (VOLTS)
FIG. 13. C- V characteristics of the channeling photodiode, for optical power levels in the
range from 20 pW to 200 nW (from Capasso ef al., 1982b).
tional voltage is thus required to deplete the layers. This explains the shift
of the punch-through voltage with increasing optical power. The ultrahigh
sensitivity of the structure is due to two factors. First, even a small (510%)
reduction of the depletion layer width produced by a very low incident
power is sufficient to cause a large change in capacitance. Second, the
spatial separation of optically generated electrons and holes greatly in-
creases their recombination lifetime so that substantial quasi-stable excess
densities of electrons and holes are present in the layers to compensate the
ionized space charge. The increase in lifetime due to the spatial separation
of the electrons and holes was first discussed by Dohler in the context of
n-i-p-i superlattices (1972).
It is important to stress that to operate this detector as an ultra-low-ca-
pacitance, low-punch-through voltage p - i-n photodiode, it must be
biased at voltages such that the capacitance is not affected by the incident
light. It is worth emphasizing the unique features and important differ-
ences of this structure with respect to conventional p - i - n diodes. The
novel interdigitated p - n junction scheme allows one to achieve an ultra-
small capacitance, largely independent of the detector area between the p+
and n+ regions of the layers’ doping. Thus the sensitive area can be
maintained reasonably large and the doping moderately high. Note that
conventionalp - i- n’s require very low doping levels and small areas. The
p and n layers can also have the same bandgap for the above applications.
Horikoshi et al. (1984) have reported on a GaAs channeling p - i - n
diode with low capacitance responding at wavelengths longer than the
bandgap of GaAs. This is due to the extremely thin highly doped n and p
layers, which create a very high electric field normal to the layers. This
gives rise to a large electroabsorption at sub-bandgap photon energies; the
Franz-Keldysh effect is also enhanced by band tailing due to statistical
fluctuations of the doping in the highly doped layers.
6. CHANNELING PHOTODIODES
AVALANCHE
To operate the device as a new avalanche photodiode with high alp
ratio, the p layers should have a wider gap than the n ones. The ionization
rates for electrons (a)and holes (p)must be very different from each other
to minimize the avalanche noise (McIntyre, 1966). To understand the
avalanche photodetector operation consider the three-dimensional picture
of the APD band diagram. This is illustrated in Fig. 14 for voltages > VP*.
The parallel field E is assumed high enough to cause ionization.
Suppose that radiation of suitable wavelength is absorbed in the lower-
gap layer, thus creating electron- hole pairs. The p - n heterojunctions
serve to confine electrons to the narrow-bandgap layers while sweeping
FIG. 14. Band diagram of a channelingavalanche photodiode (from Capasm 1982a).
holes out into the contiguous wider-bandgap p layers where they are con-
fined by the potential. The parallel electric field E causes electrons confined
to the narrow-bandgap layers to impact ionize. Holes generated in this way
are swept out in the surrounding higher-gap layers before undergoing
ionizing collisions in the narrower-gap layers since the layer thickness is
made much smaller than the hole ionization distance 1//3. In conclusion,
electrons and hole impact ionize in spatially separated regions of different
bandgap. The holes in the wider-gap layers impact ionize at a much smaller
rate compared to electrons in the relatively low-gap material, due to the
exponential dependence of a,/3 on the bandgap, so that a//3can be made
extremely large.
In order for the device to operate in the described mode, several condi-
tions should be met. First, the potential well confining the electrons in the
narrow-gap layer should be equal to or greater than the electron ionization
energy, so that electrons do not escape the potential wells before impact
ionizing. A similar condition is required for holes in the wider-gap layers.
It is also necessary that holes created by incident photons or by electron
impact ionization are swept out of the lower-gap layers in a time short with
respect to the average time between ionizing collisions in these layers, so
that they will not avalanche in the low-gap material.
Finally, it is necessary that when the layers are completely depleted the
maximum field perpendicular to the plane of the layers be smaller than the
avalanche threshold field E ~ so, that no multiplication occurs perpendicu-
lar to the layers. Detail design considerations for this structure have been
given by Capasso (1982b); recently Brennan (1985) presented an optimiza-
tion of the channeling APD based on a Monte Carlo simulation.
IV. Low-Noise Muhilayer Avalanche Photodiodes and

Solid-state Photomultipliers
A comprehensive theory of avalanche noise in APDs was developed by
McIntyre in 1966. The noise of an APD per unit bandwidth can be
described by the formula
where e is the electron charge, z p h is the unmultiplied photocurrent (signal),

(M) is the average avalanche gain, and F is the excess noise factor. For
simplicity, the device’s dark current is neglected.
In p - n and p - i- n reverse-biased photodiodes withoug gain, (M) = 1,
F = 1, and the well-known shot-noise formula will indicate the device’s
noise performance. In the avalanche process, if every injected photocarrier
underwent the same gain M, the factor F would be unity, and the resulting
noise power would only be the input shot noise due to the random amval
of signal photons, multiplied by the gain squared. The avalanche process is,
instead, intrinsically statistical, so that individual camers generally have
different avalanche gains characterized by a distribution with an average
(M). This causes additional noise, called avalanche excess noise, which is
conveniently expressed by the F factor in Eq. (6).
As briefly mentioned in the previous section, it can be shown that F is
related to the ratio of ionization coefficients (a//?) for electrons and holes
and to the gain (M). The ionization coefficient is defined as the average
number of secondary pairs created per unit length by impact ionization by
an electron or hole along the direction of the electric field. a and /? stand,
respectively, for electron and hole ionization rates, and the ratio of ioniza-
tion coefficients k = a/P.
The ionization rates in all known semiconductorsincrease exponentially
with increasing applied electric field and with decreasing ionization thresh-
old energy Ei. This is the minimum energy required by an electron or a
hole to create an electron- hole pair by impact ionization, and is in general
greater than the bandgap of the semiconductor. For a detailed discussion of
ionization rates, of threshold energies, and in general of the physics of
avalanche photodiodes, the reader is referred to a recent review by the
author (Capasso, 1985).
The excess noise factor F is strongly dependent on a//?. To achieve a low
F, not only must a and p be as different as possible, but also the avalanche
process must be initiated by the carrier with the higher ionization coeffi-
cient. To understand this, consider electron- hole pairs created when
a! = p. If the pair is created by an electron, then there will be another pair
generated by the newly created hole traveling in the opposite direction.
This strong feedback effect amplifies noise fluctuations, and the situation is
unfavorable for low noise detection.
The feedback effect can be eliminated if only one type of carrier can
impact ionize. With such a limitation, the excess noise factor can be shown
to attain a constant value of 2 at gains greater than 10. Thus, even in an
ideal APD where only one type of carrier can ionize, one cannot reduce the
avalanche noise below such a limit if a reasonable gain (M 5 10) is to be
maintained.
The designer, therefore, faces the challenge of finding suitable materials
with a large difference between a! and p. Silicon, for example, has a much
greater than /3, and is widely used to make low-noise APDs for systems
operating at wavelengthsbelow 1.1 pm.Si APDs with k values greater than
100 have been reported.
The advent of communication systems that exploit the low-dispersion
and low-loss regions of present fibers has stimulated considerable work to
develop low-noise APDs for the 1.3 and 1.55 pm regions. Although im-
pressive results have been reported, especially as far as the dark current and
the gain are concerned, no APD capable of matching the noise perform-
ance of Si APDs has yet been demonstrated.
Most materials currently available in the longer-wavelength regions do
not have the desirable large difference between a and p. For example, InP,
currently used as the avalanche layer in heterojunction APDs operating at
1.3 to 1.6 pm, has k = 0.3-0.4; germanium APDs have k = 2 (Capasso,
1985).
The lack of suitable materials raises the question: Is it possible to artifi-
cially enhance the ratio of ionization coefficients using bulk constituents
having comparable CLI and p? A second question is whether it is possible to
think of the solid-state equivalent of a PMT, which has the characteristic,
not available in an APD, of having virtually noise-free gain up to the
highest multiplications (approximately 106).
Several schemes have either been proposed or demonstrated that either
enhance or inhibit ionization from one type of carrier. These proposed
techniques include developing the following structures: graded-gap APDs,
which exploit the difference between the ionization energies and the quasi-
electric fields for electrons and holes in graded-gap materials; multiquan-
tum well and staircase APDs, which have a large difference between the
ionization energies for electrons and holes created by the asymmetry be-
tween the conduction- and valence-band-edge discontinuities in many

111- V heterojunctions; and channeling APDs, which use the spatial separa-
tion of electrons and holes in materials of different bandgap via n - p - n - p
structures to enhance the orlp ratio. The latter devices have been discussed
in the previous section.
All these new schemes seek to reduce avalanche noise by modifying the
conventional energy-band diagram of a reverse-biased p- n junction. Such
modifications affect the electron and hole ionization rates, and they are
carried out by tailoring both the composition and doping of the semicon-
ductor alloys that constitute the avalanche region.
7. GRADED-GAP PHOTODIODES
AVALANCHE
This device is probably the simplest scheme for enhancing the a!/p ratio
(Capasso et al., 1982~).It is essentially a reverse-biased p- i-n diode. The
high-field i region, a few hundred nanometers in width, consists of a
variable-gap material and is sandwiched between heavily doped p + and n+
regions.
The mechanism that enhances a!//? is illustrated by the energy-band
diagram of the graded high-field layer in Fig. 15. Assume that avalanche is
initiated by an electron- hole pair (1 - 1’) excited, for example, by a photon
inside the graded region. Electron 1 is accelerated by the electric field
toward regions of lower bandgap and generates an electron-hole pair
(2- 2’) by impact ionization, after an average distance 1/a.Hole 1’, on the
other hand, drifts in the opposite direction toward a higher-bandgap region
and creates an electron - hole pair (3- 3’) after a distance 1/p. Thus, the
effective ionization threshold energy for electrons is smaller than that for
holes.
Every electron- hole pair generated by impact ionization will create
additional electron- hole pairs. Since the ionization rates increase expo-
nentially with decreasing ionization energy, the ionization rates ratio crlp is
expected to be enhanced. To achieve minimum excess noise, the avalanche
should always be initiated by the carrier with the highest ionization coeffi-
cient. In this case, to achieve pure electron injection, the p + region, which
is in contact with the high-gap portion of the i layer, should serve as the
absorption layer. Since there is no electric field in this region, this layer
could be graded also; this would allow injection in the high-field layer by
drift rather than diffusion without sacrificing speed.
For an experimental graded-gap device, the i region was graded from
Alo.4sGao.ssAs to GaAs over a distance of 0.4 pm. Note that in the AlGaAs
and GaAs bulk constituents of this graded region, a! is comparable to p.
FIG. 15. Band diagram of graded-bandgap avalanche photodiode showing impact ioniza-
tion by the initial electron-hole pair 1 - I’ (from Capasso et al.. 1982~).
The p + and n+ layers were, respectively, Alo.45Gao.55As and GaAs. By

measuring the multiplication under condigons of pure electron and hole
injection, respectively, an effective ratio Z//3approximately equal to seven
a
at a gain of five was estimated, where C and are suitable spatial averages
of the ionization rates. It was found that C/p decreases with increasing
graded layer width. A limitation of this structure is, however, that a large
a//3can be obtained only at relatively modest gains.
8. MULTI-QUANTUM-WELL PHOTODIODE
AVALANCHE
Capasso et al. (198 1, 1982b)first demonstrated experimentallythat in an
AlGaAs/GaAs multi-quantum well structure the effective impact ioniza-
tion rates for electrons and holes are very different (a//3= 8), although they
are comparable in the basic bulk materials (a = 2/3 in GaAs). This effect is
attributed to the difference between the conduction- and valence-band-
edge discontinuities at the Alo.,5Gao.55As/GaAsinterface, a feature com-
mon to several lattice-matched heterojunctions of use in long-wavelength
FIG. 16. Band diagram of multiquantum well avalanche photodiode.
1.3 pm detectors (A10~481no,52As/Gao~4,1no~,3As; AlSb/GaSb, HgCdTe/

CdTe). This makes possible the development of low-noise APDs in these
materials. The enhancement of a/j3 in a quantum well structure was first
predicted by Chin er al. (1980).
To understand the multi-quantum well APD, consider (Fig. 16) the
energy-band diagram of the structure implemented by Capasso et al.
(1981). Because of the very low doped material, the field is constant across
the 2.5 pm long depletion layer. This consists of alternating GaAs (450 A)
and Alo,45Gao.55As (550 A) layers, for a total of 25 periods; for illustrative
purposes, assume a field F = 2.7 X lo5V/cm; at this value a sizeable
multiplication was observed. For F > 1O5 V/cm, electrons gain between
collisions an energy greater than the average energy lost per phonon scat-
tering event (E P )(= 2 1 meV). Thus carriers are strongly heated by the field
and can gain the ionization energy. In Al,Ga, -,As/GaAs heterojunctions
the conduction-band discontinuity A E , amounts to = 60%of the bandgap
difference (Miller et al., 1984a,b; Wang et al., 1984; Arnold et al., 1984).
Consider now a hot electron accelerating in an AlGaAs barrier layer.
When it enters the GaAs well, it abruptly gains an energy equal to the
conduction-band-edge discontiniuty A E, = 0.38 eV. It is important to
stress the ballistic nature of this energy gain. Given the abruptness of the
heterointerface, it occurs over a distance much smaller than the phonon
scattering mean free path so that the average distance required to reach the
ionization threshold is greatly reduced (aenhanced). Since A E, > A E, =
0.23 eV, electrons enter the GaAs well with higher kinetic energy than do
holes and are therefore much more likely to produce electron- hole pairs in
the GaAs (impact ionization assisted by band-edge discontinuities). There-
fore, a steplike band structure as shown in Fig. 16, where the discontinuity
in the conduction band is greater than that in the valence band, will
enhance the ionization rate ratio a/j?considerably over the value in bulk
GaAs, since Orlp increases roughly exponentially with A EJA E,.
Electrons that have impact ionized in the GaAs easily get out of the well;
the voltage drop across the well is > 1 V. In addition, at fields 2 lo5 V/cm
in GaAs, the average electron energy is 20.6 eV (Shichijo and Hess, 1981)
so that electron-trapping effects in the wells are negligible.
The effective ionization rates are plotted in Fig. 17 versus reciprocal
electric field l / in
~ the range (2.1-2.7) X lo5 V/cm. For example, at E =
I/E cm/v I
and holes (p) versus reciprocal electric
FIG.17. Measured ionization rates for electrons (a)
field in a quantum well APD (from Capasso et al., 1982b).
2.5 X lo5 V/cm, C Y / =~ 8 and the measured electron initiated gain is

M e = 10. This gives, according to MacIntyre’s theory, an excess-noise
factor F = 2.9 for electron-initiated multiplication, which represents nearly
a factor of 3 reduction in the excess noise factor F with respect to a GaAs
APD (a= 2p) operating at the same gain. The superlattice APD concept
may be extended to other heterojunctions with an asymmetry between the
conduction- and valence-band discontinuities such as AlGaAsSb/GaSb or
AlIn GaAs/InGaAs (lattice matched to InP). Detectors made of such mate-
rials would be sensitive to wavelengths in the low-dispersion, low-loss
window ( 1.3- 1.6 pm) of optical fibers.
Other authors have observed an enhancement of the alp ratio in
AlGaAs/GaAs superlattices (Juang et al., 1985); Osaka el al. (1986) have
reported an enhancement of p by a factor of four over the bulk value
in G ~ J ~ . , 3 A sin InP/G%.471%.,,As superlattices due to the large
AEv(=0.4 eV). Monte Carlo simulations have confirmed the electron ion-
ization rate enhancement in AlGaAs/GaAs superlattices (Brennan et al.,
1985); calculations by Ridley (1986) of CY and 3/ give excellent agreement
with the experimental values of Capasso et al. (198 I).
One potential problem in the superlattice APD is the trapping of elec-
trons in the well. For very large band-edge discontintuities. This problem
can be avoided by inserting a compositionally graded layer between the
well and the barrier layers. The resulting bandgap grading smoothens out
the barrier (Fig. 18).
9. STAIRCASE
SOLID-STATE
PHOTOMULTIPLIERS
This recently disclosed device (Capasso et al., 1982e, 1983a; Capasso
and Tsang, 1982; Williams et al., 1982) is also based on the physical
concept of impact ionization assisted by band discontinuity. In the stair-
case APD, however, the entire ionization energy may be acquired at the
conduction-band steps. This device offers two other features that distin-
guish it from any other APD; the low operating voltage, on the order of 5 to
10 V, and the noise-free gain.
Figure 19a shows the energy-band diagram of the graded-gap multilayer
material (assumed of very low background doping or intrinsic) at zero
applied field. Each stage is linearly graded in composition from a low (EJ
to a high (E,) bandgap, with an abrupt step back to low-bandgap material.
The conduction-band discontinuity shown accounts for most of the band-
gap difference. The materials are chosen for a conduction-band discontinu-
ity equal to or greater than the electron ionization energy Eiein the low-gap
material immediately following the step.
The band structure of the complete staircase detector under bias is
\ "+
FIG. 18. Band diagram of a superlattice avalanche photodiode with graded regions to
eliminateelectron trapping (from Capasso et al., 1983a).
shown in Fig. 19b. Consider a photoelectron generated next to the p +

contact. Under the combination of the bias field E and the grading field
A EJt, it drifts towards the first conduction-band step. The combined field
E - ( A E J j ) is small enough so that the electron does not impact ionize
before it reaches the step. After the step, since A E , = E,, the electron
impact ionizes; this ballistic ionization process is repeated in each stage.
Ideally, the avalanche gain per stage is exactly two; each electron impact
ionizes once after each conduction-band step. In practice, the gain is 2 - 8,
where 6is the fraction of electrons that do not impact ionize. The total gain
of the structure is then (M) = (2 - qN,where N is the number of stages.
Any residual hole-initiated ionization can only be caused by the applied
electric field E, which is chosen so that holes cannot ionize; the valence-
band steps are of the wrong sign to assist ionization. However, for electron
FIG. 19. Band diagram of staircase solid-state photomultiplier.The arrows in the valence
band simply indicate that holes do not impact ionize (from Capasso el al.. 1983a).
transport across the graded region, this bias field E must be sufficiently high
to cancel the AEJI conduction-band quasi-electric field and provide a
small extra component to assure drift, rather than diffusion transport. In
conclusion, only electrons impact ionize in this structure.
Note the low operating voltage of this device. From Fig. 19b it can be
seen that the reverse-bias voltage is equal to the energy separation, ex-
pressed in volts, between the Fermi levels (dashed horizontal lines) in the
p + and n+ region. This separation is approximately equal to A E , times the
number of stages. For AEc = 1 eV and N = 5, this corresponds to a bias
slightly in excess of 5 V. The gain at this voltage under optimal operating
conditions would be approximately equal to 32. This bias voltage is signifi-
cantly smaller than in conventional APDs, which have bias voltages from
50 up to several hundred volts.
The physical reason for this low operating voltage is that the ionization
energy is delivered abruptly to the electrons by the conduction-band steps,
rather than gradually via the applied field, as in a conventional APD. Thus,
the competing energy losses by phonon emission are much smaller, and
most of the applied voltage is used to create electron-hole pairs. This
low-voltage operation also minimizes the device leakage current.
The staircase APDs excess noise factor can be calculated and is plotted
in Fig. 20 as a function of gain per stage for a different number of stages
(Capasso, 1983c; Capasso et al., 1983a). The plot shows that if most of the
carriers ionize at each step (multiplication per stage =2), the excess noise
factor is nearly unity, and independent of the number of stages. In this
limit, the residual excess avalanche noise is caused by the small fraction of
electrons at each stage that do not impact ionize. This implies that the
multiplication process is virtually noise-free even at high gain, similar to
the performance of a photomultiplier (PMT).
The avalanche process in the staircase structure is much less random
than in a conventional APD. This explains why the staircase APD intrinsi-
cally has a much lower noise. The multiplication occurs only at well-de-
fined positions in space (at the conduction-band steps), and if the device is
properly designed, most carriers ionize at each step. Thus, the statistical
STAIRCASE APD
100 1.25 1.50 1.75 2.0

MULTIPLICATION PER STAGE
FIG.20. Excess noise factor of the staircase solid-state photomultiplieras a function of the
gain per stage for different number of stages. Note that if most electrons ionize at each stage
(gain per stage =2), the multiplicationprocess is noise-free even at high gain (from Capasso et
al., 1983a).
variations of the gain are very small, causing the excess noise factor to be
near unity. In a conventional APD, carriers can ionize essentially any-
where within the avalanche region, resulting in more random avalanche,
larger gain fluctuations, and higher excess noise. The staircase structure’s
noise performance, therefore, is not described by the earlier theory of
McIntyre ( 1966).
The staircase APD and the PMT have some structural similarities, and
they also have the common feature of nearly noise-free multiplication at
large gain. However, the formulas for the excess noise factor for the stair-
case and PMT are different. In the staircase APD, an electron usually
creates no more than one electron-hole pair per dynode so that the excess
noise factor is only due to those camers that cannot ionize, In a practical
PMT, the number of electron-hole pairs created per dynode is always
greater than two.
The most interesting and potentially useful material to fabricate the
staircase APD is HgxCd,-xTe. In this material system, the bandgap can be
vaned from 0 eV (in HgTe, a semimetal)to 1.6 eV (in CdTe), and is always
direct. Heterojunctions of this material system have essentially all the
bandgap difference in the conduction band. These material features permit
an extra degree of freedom in designing a staircase detector. By making
optimum use of the large conduction-band difference at the step, a multi-
plication per stage greater than two can be achieved with the Hg,Cdl -,Te
material system. Gains as high as lo’ as possible, similar to those in many
PMTs.
A final consideration in designing staircase APDs is that electrons do not
necessarily impact ionize as soon as they reach the conduction-band step.
In fact, electrons will impact ionize after a distance on the order of Ai,
FIG.2 1 . Band diagram of a staircase detector with ungraded sections to increase ionization
probability after the steps (from Capasso ef al., 1983a).
which is the finite ionization mean free path. Typically liis 5- 10 nm in

most 111- V semiconductors. Thus, it is advisable to insert ungraded layers
having a thickness corresponding to a few libetween the steps and the
graded regions, as shown in Fig. 21. This will maximize the ionization
probability.
Although the staircase APD represents a conceptual breakthrough, the
practical implementation will require extremely good control of some of
the material parameters. The interfaces must not only be abrupt over an
atomic scale, but they must also be defect-free. In addition, it is absolutely
essential that the background doping be as low as possible to achieve a
constant electric field in the graded region.These material characteristics
are difficult to achieve in HgCdTe.
10. THE BANDDISCONTINUITY:
IMPACT IONIZATION ACROSS
A NEWSOLID-STATE PHOTOMULTIPLIER
Recently we have observed a new avalanche phenomenon in superlat-
tices, namely, the impact ionization across band discontinuities of camers
confined in the wells (Capasso et al., 1986). This phenomenon, indepen-
dently predicted by Chwang and Hess (1986), could lead to a new type of
solid-state PMT. This effect is illustrated in Fig. 22a. Consider a multiple
quantum well structure with n-type doped wells and undoped bamers.
Electrons from the parent donors can remain confined in the wells even in
the presence of a relatively strong electric field, provided the barriers are
thick enough to minimize tunneling. Consider now a hot electron in a
barrier layer. When it enters the well with sufficient energy, it can impact
ionize one of the bound carriers out of the well. In this ionization effect
-
only one type of carrier is created so that the positive feedback of impact
HOT ELECTRON
&
(a) (b)
FIG.22. Impact ionization across the band discontinuity.(a) Quantum wells are doped. (b)
Wells are undoped; shown is the ionization across band discontinuities of carriers dynami-
cally stored in the wells. These carriers originate from thermal generation processes via deep
levels.
ionizing holes is eliminated, leading to the possibility of a quiet avalanche

with small excess noise. Of course, in this case, one must constantly supply
the electrons in the wells by applying suitable selective contacts to the well
regions. From a conceptual point of view, this effect has some similarities
with the impact ionization of deep levels in the sense that the well may be
treated as an artificial trap. It is important to point out that doped wells are
not required for observation of the effect. Due to the thermal generation of
electrons and holes in the well layers (which gives rise to bulk dark cur-
rent), relatively large electron and hole densities can be dynamically stored
in the wells if the band discontinuities are appreciably larger than the
average energies of the carriers in the wells. This situation may occur in the
high field region of certain quantum well p - i - n photodiodes such as the
ones investigated by Capasso et al. (1 986c), and is illustrated in Fig. 22b.
HOT HOLE
FIG.23. (a) Band structure of a multiple graded well photomultiplier (the graded regions
are shaded). (b) Mechanism of hole multiplication by impact ionization across the valence
band discontinuity.
6. GRADED-GAP AND SUPERLATTICEDEVICES 351
3.0 - - 30
R407
2 5 - T = 90K - 25
f = 200HZ
- HOLE INJECTION
-2 2.0 - --- ELECTRON

INJECTION
- 20
I : - 2
t - - - 0
z
w - - 5
g 1.5-
3 -
-15
-
3a
u I-
0 - - 1
t- 3
o
I
- - I
a -
1.0 - - 40
0.5 -
0 u -5
_ _ _ - -1~ ~
FIG.24. Reverse bias photocurrent and corresponding multiplication factors under condi-
tions of pure electron and pure hole injection for the multiple graded well device of Fig. 23.
These structurescontain an Ab.4,1~.~2As/Gao.4,1%.53As superlattice in the i

region, with barriers and well thicknesses in the 100-500 A range. A large
ratio of the multiplications for holes and electrons was observed @&/Me),
implying that holes ionize at a significantly higher rate than the electrons in
these structures. A similar effect has been found in p- i- n diodes contain-
ing AlSb/GaSb (Capasso et al., 1986~).A systematic study of the tempera-
ture and chopping frequency dependence of the multiplication showed
conclusively that the observed effect is not a band-to-band process. Also,
deep-level ionization could be ruled out, since it would require unrealisti-
cally large densities of such centers ( Z 10'' ~ m - ~By
) . appropriately grading
the interface of the wells, the storage of electrons can be eliminated, while
holes are still confined (Fig. 23). This should maximize the ionization rate
ratio, by minimizing electron-initiated multiplication. This structure was
grown by MBE in the AlInAs/GaInAs system (Allam et al., 1987). The
structures consisted of three period superlattices, placed in the i region of a
p - i - n photodiode, with 50 1 A Ab.481%.52As barriers, 292 A Gao.471n,,53As
wells, and 1022 A graded regions. The graded regions were grown linearly
graded and lattice matched to InP by computer-controlled MBE. For

hole-initiated multiplication, avalanche gain occurs at a reverse bias of 7 V
and reaches -20 at - 12 V, at a temperature of - 100 K. For electrons, the
multiplication is less than 1.4, resulting in an ionization rate ratio p/
cu(=M,, - l/M, - 1) in excess of 50 (Fig. 24). This is the highest value
measured in a III-V material.
The low breakdown field and the observed frequency and temperature
dependence of this effect show that band-to-band ionization is not respon-
sible for the gain. The multiplication is caused by ionization across the
band-edge discontinuity of carriers dynamically stored in the wells. The
siored carriers arise from thermally generated dark currents which provide
a “reservoir” of carriers at the well-to-bamer interface, which can be
ionized out of the well by carriers heated by the electric field in the barrier
layers (Fig. 23).
Beyond a reverse bias of - 5 V, there is no confinement of electrons in
the wells, due to the grading, and thus there is no multiplication of elec-
trons by this process. The onset of electron multiplication occurs at a field
of - 1.5 X lo5V cm-*, where bulk ionization occurs. Thus we have ob-
served near single-carrier-type multiplication of holes by ionization over
the discontinuity with feedback provided by band-to-band ionization of
electrons.
V. Other Device Applications of Staircase Band Diagrams and

Variable-Gap Superlattices
Staircase potentials such as the solid-state PMT represent some of the
most exciting applications of bandgap engineering. In this section another
device application of this concept to ultra-high-speed devices will be pre-
sented. Sawtooth structures in general are very interesting from both a
physics and a device point of view because of their lack of reflection
symmetry, which leads to polarization effects useful, for example, in novel
displacement current photodetectors.
The growth of such graded-gap structures or superlattices, often of very
short period, represents a real challenge for the MBE crystal grower. Not
only is a computer-controlled MBE system a must, but also new tech-
niques to achieve such short-distance compositional grading are necessary.
One such technique is the recently introduced pulsed-beam method (Ka-
wabe et al., 1982), by which, e.g., a variable-gap alloy is grown by alterna-
tively opening (and closing) the aluminum and gallium ovens with the
shutters. The result is an AlAs/GaAs superlattice with ultrathin constant
period (-20 A) but varying ratio of AlAs to GaAs layer thicknesses. The
local bandgap is therefore that of the alloy corresponding to the local
average composition determined by the thicknesses of the AlAs and the
GaAs. Since the period of the superlattice is much smaller than the de
Broglie wavelengths of the carriers, the material behaves basically like a
variable-gap ordered alloy. Such techniques have been used recently to
grow parabolic quantum wells (Miller et al., 1984a,b).
In subsections 13 and 14 we shall discuss applications of variable-gap
ordered alloys to negative differential resistance devices and high-speed
photodetectgrs.
11. REPEATED OVERSHOOT
VELOCITY DEVICES
Other interesting applicationsof staircase potentials have been proposed.
We shall discuss here the repeated velocity overshoot device. This structure
offers the potential for achieving average drift velocities (-2-3 X lo7/
cm s) in excess of the maximum steady-state velocity over distances greater
than 1 pm (Cooper et al., 1982; Capasso, 1983a).
Figure 25 shows a general type of staircase potential structure. The
corresponding electric field, shown in Fig. 25b, consist of a series of high-
field regions of value E, and width d superimposed upon a background
field E,. The background field E, is chosen so that the steady-state elec-
tron-energy distribution is not excessively broadened beyond its thermal
equilibrium value, but at the same time the average drift velocity is still
relatively high. Electrons, upon entering the high-field regions, rapidly gain
energy and momentum, so that the drift velocity overshoots the steady-
state value. The energy and momentum are then allowed to relax in the
subsequent low-field region. With the staircase structure repeated velocity
9 I ‘-7
I X
,
FIG. 25. Principle of repeated velocity overshoot. (a) Staircase potential and (b) the
corresponding electric field. (c) The ensemble velocity as a function of position is also
illustrated schematically (from Cooper ef al., 1982).
,-Ga As
/ f A'0.2 Ga 0.8As
FIG.26. Band diagram of a graded-gap repeated velocity overshoot device (from Cooper et
al., 1982).
overshoot can be achieved (Fig. 2%). A graded-gap AlGaAs structure with

energy steps AW= 0.2 eV could be used for this purpose (Fig. 26). Alter-
natively one can use a biased n- i - p - i structure.
POLARIZATION
12. ELECTRICAL EFFECTSIN SAWTOOTH
SUPERLATTICES
The rectifying properties of graded-gap single and multiple triangular
barriers were first reported by Allyn et al. (1 980). Sawtooth superlattices
also have other intriguing physical properties, such as the possibility of
generating a transient macroscopic electrical polarization extending over
many periods of the superlattice (Capasso et al., 1983a). This effect is a
direct consequence of the lack of reflection symmetry. The energy-band
diagram of a sawtooth p-type superlattice is sketched in Fig. 27a. The layer
thicknesses are typically a few hundred angstroms, and a suitable material
is graded-gap Al,Ga,_,As. The superlattice is sandwiched between two
high-doped p + contact regions. Let us assume that electron- hole pairs are
excited by a very short pulse, as shown in Fig. 27a. Electrons experience a
substantially higher quasi-electric field (typically = 1O5 V/cm) than holes.
Therefore, electrons separate from holes and reach the low-gap side in a
subpicosecond time (< s). This sets up an electrical polarization in
the sawtooth structure, which results in the appearance of a voltage across
the device terminals (Fig. 27b). This macroscopic dipole moment and its
associated voltage subsequently decay in time by a combination of (1)
0 0 0 0 0
FIG. 27. Formation and decay of the macroscopic electrical polarization in a sawtooth
superlattice (from Capasso et a/.. 1983~).
FIG. 28. Pulse response of a sawtooth superlattice device to a 4ps laser pulse (from
Capasso et a/., 1983~).
dielectric relation and (2) hole drift under the action of the internal electric
field produced by the separation of electrons and holes (Fig. 1 lc). This
polarization phenomenon has recently been observed in AlGaAs sawtooth
superlattices. The transient photovoltage showed a decay time of = 150 ps
(Fig. 28) (Capasso et al., 1983~).
DEVICES
13. CHIRPSUPERLATTICE
This new negative differential resistance structure was proposed by Na-
kagawa et al.( 1983). Figure 29 shows the chirp device. The superlattice is
composed of alternating thin layers (550 A) of two different semiconduc-
tors with gradually changing periodicity, to give a variable gap. The emitter
and collector are heavily doped n-type. Figure 30 shows the band diagram
of the ground-state conduction miniband of the chirp superlattice without
and with bias field EB.With a small voltage applied the electrons can be
transmitted through the superlattice by resonant tunneling through the
first allowed miniband and the current is relatively high. As the bias is
increased, at some point the first minigap lies horizontally, and perfect
reflection is achieved since there is no allowed state in the superlattice for
the impinging electrons. At this bias field EB the current reaches a mini-
mum and then rises again if the applied voltage is further increased. Thus
negative differential resistance should be possible. The above considera-
tions assume that all the electrons propagate ballisticaly; anelastic phonon
scattering processes may, however, contribute to current leakage, decreas-
ing the peak-to-valley ratio. Negative differential resistance in a chirp
device has recently been observed by Nakagawa et al. (1 985).
OHMIC CONTACTS
COLLECTOR
CHIRP SUPERLATTICE
i 1 1 1 1 J .
\ / I \
n+-a b o b a b ab Q b a n+-b
\ /
V
N OR NON-DOPED
FIG.29. Schematicsof chirp superlattice device (from Nakagawa et af.,1983).
/MINI-GAP
- X
___)
(0) (b)
FIG.30. Band diagram of a CHIRP device (a) without the bias field and (b) with the bias
field (from Nakagawa et a[., 1983).
14. PSEUDO-QUATERNARY
SEMICONDUCTORS:
APPLICATIONS
TO HIGH-SPEED
DETECTORS
Recently Capasso et al. (1984b) have demonstrated a new superlattice
(pseudo-quaternary GaInAsP) capable of conveniently replacing conven-
tional GaInAsP semiconductors in a variety of device applications. It is
important to recall that these quaternary materials play a key role in
optoelectronic devices for the 1.3- 1.6 pm low-loss, low-disperson window
of silica fibers.
The concept of a psuedo-quaternary GaInAsP semiconductor is easily
explained. Consider a multilayer structure of alternated Ga,,,lnO,,,As and
InP. If the layer thicknesses are sufficiently thin (typically a few tens of
angstroms), one is in the superlattice regime. One of the consequences is
that this novel material now has its own bandgap, intermediate between
that of Gao.4,1no.s3Asand InP. In the limit of layer thicknesses of the order
of a few monolayers, the energy bandgap can be approximated by the
expression
+ E,(InP)UInP)
EB= Eg(Gao.471n0.,3As)L(Ga~.471n~.,3As) (7)
L(Ga0.47In0.53As) + L(InP)
where the L’s are the layer thicknesses.
These superlattices can be regarded as novel pseudo-quaternary GaIn-
,
ASPsemiconductors. In fact, similarly to Ga -,In,As -,P. alloys, they are
grown lattice matched to InP and their bandgap can be vaned between that
of InP and that of Gao,71no.,3As. The latter is done by adjusting the ratio of
the Gao,471no,,3,As and InP layer thicknesses. Pseudoquaternary GaInAsP
is particularly suited to replace variable-gap Ga -,In,Asl -yPy. Such alloys
are very difficult to grow since the mole fraction x (or y ) must be contin-
uously varied while maintaining lattice matching to InP.
Figure 31a shows a schematic of the energy-band diagram of undoped

(nominally intrinsic) graded-gap pseudo-quaternary GaInAsP. The struc-
ture consists of alternated ultrathin layers of InP and Gap.471no.53As and
was grown by a new vapor-phase epitaxial growth technique (levitation
epitaxy) (Cox, 1984). Other techniques such as molecular-beam epitaxy or
metal -organic chemical vapor deposition may also be suitable to grow
such superlattices. From Fig. 3 la it is clear that the duty factor of the InP
and Gao.471no,,3As layer is gradually varied, while keeping constant the
period of the superlattice. As a result the average composition and bandgap
(dashed lines in Fig. 3 la) of the material are also spatially graded between
the two extreme points (InP and Gao,71no.5,As). In our structure both ten
and twenty periods (1 period = 60 A) were used. The InP layer thickness
was linearly decreased with distance from = 50 A to = 5 A, while corre-
spondingly increasing the Gao.471no.s3As thickness to keep the superlattice
period constant (= 60 A).
The graded-gap superlattice was incorporated in a long-wavelength InP/
Ga0.q71n0.53As avalanche photodiode, as shown in Fig. 3 1b. This device is
- - - - - _
f
Ga0.471n0.53AS (a)
P+ I n+ i
0 DISTANCE
FIG.3 1 . (a) Band diagram of a pseudo-quaternary graded-gapsemiconductor.(---) repre-
sents the average bandgap seen by the carriers. (b) and (c) are a schematic and the electric-
field profile of a high-low avalanche photodiode using the pseudoquaternary layer to
achieve high speed (from Capasso ef a/., 1984b).
basically a photodetector with separate absorption (Ga,,In0~,,As) and

multiplication (InP) layers and a high - low electric-field profile (Hi - LO
SAM APD). This profile (Fig. 3 lc) is achieved by a thin doping spike in the
ultralow-doped InP layer and considerably improves the device perfonn-
ance compared to conventional SAM APDs (Capasso et al., 1984a). The
Gao.471no.s3As absorption layer is undoped (n = 1 X 1015/cm3)and 2.5 pm
thick. The n+ doping spike thickness and camer concentration were varied
in the 500-200 A and 5 X 1017- 1017/cm3ranges, respectively (depending
on the wafer), while maintaining the same camer sheet density ( ~ 2 . X 5
1012/cm2). The n+ spike was separated from the superlattice by an undoped
700- 1000 A thick InP spacer layer. The pi region was defined by Zn
diffusion in the 3 pm thick low camer density (n- = 10L4/cm3) InP layer.
The junction depth was varied from 0.8 to 2.5 pm. Similar devices, but
without the superlattice region, were also grown.
Previous pulse response studies of conventional SAM APDs with abrupt
InP/Gao,471no,,,Asheterojunctions found a long (>10 ns) tail in the fall
time of the detector due to the pileup of holes at the heterointerface
(Forrest et al., 1982). This is caused by the large valence-band discontinu-
ity (e0.45 eV). It has been proposed that this problem can be eliminated
by inserting between the InP and Gao.471no.53As region a Ga, -xInxAs,-yPy
layer of intermediate bandgap (Campbell et al., 1983). This quaternary
layer is replaced in our structure, by the InP/Gao,471no.53As variable-gap
superlattice. This not only offers the advantage of avoiding the growth of
the critical, independently lattice-matched GaInAsP quaternary layer, but
also may lead to an optimum “smoothing out” of the valence-band barrier
for reproducible high-speed operation. This feature is essential for HI- LO
SAM APDs s i q e the heterointerface electric field is lower than in conven-
tional SAM devices.
For the pulse response measurement we used a 1.55 pm GaInAsP driven
by a pulse pattern generator. Figure 32 shows the response to a 2 ns laser
pulse of a HI-LO SAM APD with (a) and without (b) a 1300 A thick
superlattice. Both devices had similar doping profiles and breakdown volt-
ages (=80 V) and were biased at - 65.5 V. At this voItage the ternary layer
was completely depleted in both devices and the measured external quan-
tum efficiency ~ 7 0 % The. results of Fig. 32 were reproduced in many
devices on several wafers. The long tail in Fig. 32b is due to the pileup
effect of holes associated with the abruptness of the heterointerface.
In the devices with the graded-gap superlattice (Fig. 32a) there is no long
tail. In this case the height of the barrier seen by the holes is no more the
valence-band discontinuity A Ev but
A E = AE, - eeiL (8)
FIG. 32. Pulse response of a high-low SAM avalanche detector (a) with graded gap
superlattice and (b) without to a = 2 ns, L = 1.55 pm laser pulse. The bias voltage is -65.5 V
for both devices. Time scale 2 ns/div (from Capasso et a/., 1984b).
where ei is value of the electric field at the InP/superlattice interface and L

the thickness of the pseudo-quaternary layer. The devices are biased at a
voltage such that ei > AEv/eL so that A E = 0 and no trapping occurs. In
the devices with no superlattice, A E = A Ev for every ei so that long tails in
the pulse response are observed at all voltages.
VI. New Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors
The essential feature of the heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT)
relies upon a wide-bandgap emitter wherein part of the energy bandgap
differencebetween the emitter and base is used to suppress hole injection.
This allows the base to be more heavily doped than the emitter, leading to a
low base resistance and emitter-base capacitance, both of which are neces-
sary for high-frequency operation, while still maintaining a high emitter
injection efficiency (Kroemer, 1982).
Bandgap engineering can be used to design new HBTs. The bandgap can
be graded in the base to achieve a significant improvement in the speed.
This device, along with electron velocity measurements in graded-gap
p+-AlGaAs, is discussed in this section.
A quantum well, or a superlattice in the base layer, on the other hand,
makes possible an entire new class of negative differential resistance de-
vices, based on resonant tunneling. These functional devices can have
interesting applications in multiple-state logic, and in other signal process-
ing applications.
Tailoring the bandgap in the emitter of a bipolar, on the other hand, may
help maximize the injection efficiency and minimize the collector emitter
offset voltage.
15. THEGRADED-GAP
BASETRANSISTOR
Kroemer (1957) first proposed the use of a graded-gap p-type layer for
the base of a bipolar transistor, to reduce the minority camer (electron)
transit time in the base (Fig. 33a). When the base-emitter and base-
collector junctions are, respectively, forward and revem biased, electrons
are injected from the emitter into the base and move over to the collector
layer.
With no grading in the heavily doped pbase, minority carriers (elec-
trons) are transported by diffusion, a relatively slow process. In addition, a
fraction of the injected electrons recombine with holes in the base, thus
reducing the base transport factor.
The presence of bandgap grading in the base creates a quasi-electric field
acting on the electrons. These therefore move predominantly by drift (if
the field is sufficiently strong), leading to a higher velocity in the base.
It can easily be shown that the ratio of the base transit times for an
ungraded bipolar and a bipolar with a graded base is (Hayes el al., 1983a)
where Eg2- E,, is the bandgap difference across the base, T the lattice
........................ (b)
1
FIG.33. Band-diagram of graded-gap base bipolar transistor (a) with graded emitter-base
electron interface, and (b) with ballistic launching ramp for even higher velocity in the base.
temperature, and q,and z; the base transit times for the transistor without
and with grading in the base, respectively. Although Eq. (9) is rigorous only
in the limit E,, - Eg2= kT, it can be employed as a useful “rule of thumb”
in cases where E,, - E , is several times kT.Thus the bandgap difference
must be made as large as possible, without exceeding the intervalley energy
separation (AErL)of the material with gap E,, which would result in a
strong reduction of the electron velocity and in the nonvalidity of Eq. (9).
Using E,, - Eg2= 0.2 eV, the transit time is reduced by a factor of -4 at
300 K over a bipolar with an ungraded base of the same thickness. This
allows a precious tradeoff against the base resistance (&), making possible
an increase of the base thickness and a consequent reduction of Rb, while
still keeping a reasonable base transit time. This will increase the maxi-
mum oscillation frequency of the transistor,f , .
The bandgap E,,,on the emitter side of the base, should be smaller than
the gap of the emitter to avoid back-injection of holes into the emitter and
reduction in the current gain. Thus the structures of Fig. 30 combine the
advantages of the wide-gap emitter bipolar (Kroemer, 1982) with that of a
graded base. The emitter base junction in this case may be either graded
(Fig. 33a) or abrupt (Fig. 33b). The latter structure in fact may allow even
higher velocities in the base compared to that of Fig. 33a (Capasso et al.,
1983b). With the abrupt emitter, electrons can be launched ballistically in
the base with initial velocities 2 5 X lo7 cm/s; the quasi-field in the base
maintains the velocity high, thus giving a shorter base transit time than the
graded emitter bipolar (Fig. 33a).
Recently Capasso et al. (1983b) demonstrated that the quasi-field in the

base strongly reduces slow diffusion effects. They measured the response
time of a phototransistor with a 0.45 pm wide graded-gap base to a short
picosecond laser pulse absorbed in the base layer. The symmetric ultrafast
(FWHM = 40 ps) scope limited pulse response gives evidence that trans-
port in the base is drift limited and is not broadened by diffusion.
Operation of a graded-base three-terminal bipolar transistor was also
demonstrated (Hayes et al., 1983a; Miller et al., 1983). The latter authors
reported a cutoff frequencyf, = 16 GHz in an 800 A base device.
More recently, high-current-gain graded-base bipolars with good high-
frequency performance have been reported (Malik et al., 1985). The base
layer was linearly graded over 1800 A from x = 0 to 0.1, resulting in a
quasi-electric field of 5.6 kV/cm and was doped with Be to p = 5 X
lot8~ m - The
~ . emitter- base junction was graded over 500 A from x = 0.1
to 0.25 to enhance hole confinement in the base. The 0.2pm thick
A1,,,Ga,,,As emitter and the 0.5 pm thick collector were doped n-type at
2 X lo', and 2 X 10l6~ m - ~respectively.
, The Al,Ga,-,As layers were
grown at a substrate temperature of 700"C. It was found that this high
growth temperature resulted in better Al,Ga,-,As quality, as determined
by photoluminescence. However, it is known that significant Be diffusion
FIG.34. Common-emitter characteristics of a graded-base (= 2000 A) bipolar transistor

(from Malik ef al., 1985).
occurs during MBE growth at high substrate temperature and at high

doping levels ( p > 10l8cm-9. SIMS data also indicated a misplacement of
the p-n junction into the wide-bandgap emitter at 700" C substrate growth
temperatures. Therefore, it was determined empirically that the insertion
of an undoped setback layer of 200 - 500 A between the base and emitter to
compensate for the Be diffusion resulted in significantly increased current
gains. Zn diffusion was used to contact the base and provided a low base
contact resistance.
The common emitter I- V characteristics of a test transistor with an
emitter area of 7.5 X cm2 is shown in Fig. 34. It is seen that the
current gain increases with higher current levels and that the collector
current exhibits flat output characteristics. The maximum differential dc
current gain is 1 150, obtained at a collector current density of J, = 1.1 X
lo3 A cm-*, which is the highest yet reported for graded-bandgap base
HBTs. The slight negative resistance effects at high collector currents is due
to thermal heating. A small offset voltage of about 0.2 V is also evident.
FREQUENCY ( G H z )
FIG. 35. Current gain and maximum available power gain versus frequency of a graded-
base bipolar transistor (from Malik et aZ., 1985).
The maximum V, for these devices before collector breakdown was about
8 V.
These high gains were obtained with a dopant setback layer in the base of
300 .k and can be compared with previous work which consistently re-
sulted in current gains of < 100 in HBTs without the setback layer (Hayes
et al., 1983a; Miller et al., 1983). Several transistor wafers were processed
with undoped setback layers in the base of 200-500 A, and all exhibited
gain enhancement.
High-frequency graded-bandgap base HBTs were fabricated using the Zn
diffusion process. A single 5 p m wide emitter stripe contact with dual
adjacent base contacts was used. The areas of the emitter and collector
junctions were approximately 2.3 X and 1.8 X lo-’ cm2,respectively.
The transistors were wire bonded in a microwave package and automated
s-parameter measurements were made with an HP 8409 network analyzer.
The frequency dependence of the small-signal current gain and power gain
(for a transistor biased at I , = 20 mA, and V , = 3 V) are shown in Fig. 35.
The transistor has a current gain cutoff frequencyf, = 5 GHz and a maxi-
mum oscillation frequency off- = 2.5 GHz. Large-signal pulse measure-
ments resulted in rise times of 7r- 150 ps and pulsed collector currents of
I , > 100 mA, which is useful for high-current laser drivers.
16. ELECTRON
VELOCITY
MEASUREMENTS
IN VARIABLE-GAP
AlGaAs
Recently Levine et al. (1982, 1983), using an all-optical method, mea-
sured for the first time the electron velocity in a heavily p+-doped compo-
sitionally graded Al,Ga,-,As layer, similar to the base of the bipolar
transistor illustrated in Fig. 30.
The energy-band diagram of the sample is sketched in Fig. 36, along with
the principle of the experimental method. The measurement technique is a
“pump and probe” scheme. The pump laser beam, transmitted through
one of the AlGaAs window layers, is absorbed in the first few thousand
angstroms of the graded layer. Optically generated electrons, under the
action of the quasi-electric field, drifi towards the right in Fig. 36 and
accumulate at the end of the graded layer. This produces a refractive index
change at the interface with the second window layer. This refractive index
variation produces a reflectivity change that can be probed with the
counter propagating probe laser beam. This reflectivity change is measured
as a function of the delay between pump and probe beam using phase-sen-
sitive detection techniques. The reflectivity data are shown in Fig. 37 for a
sample with a 1 pm thick transport layer, graded from A10.,Gao.9Asto
GaAs and doped to p = 2 X 101*/cm3.This corresponds to a quasi-field of
1.2 kV/cm. The laser pulse width was 15 ps, and the time 0 in Fig. 37
WNDOW LAYER WINDOW LAYER

A10.4Ga0.6As Al0.4Ga0.6As
--
GRADEDTRANSPORTLAYER
EV
Alo.,Gao.,As - 6aAs
'P
FIG. 36. Band diagram of sample used for electron velocity measurements.
- 20 0 20 40 60 80 100 120
TIME DELAY ( p s e c )
FIG. 37. Normalized experimental results for pumpinduced reflectivity change versus
time delay obtained in 1 pm thick graded-gap p+-AlGaAs at a quasielectric field F = I .2 kV/
cm (From Levine eta/., 1982).
represents the center of the pump pulse as determined by two-photon

absorption in a GaP crystal cemented near the sample. The transit time is
approximately given by the shift of the half-height of the reflectivity curve
from zero, which is 7 = 33 ps. Taking as the drift length the graded-layer
thickness minus the absorption length of the pump beam ( l / a= 2500 A),
one estimates a minority carrier velocity 2.3 X lo6cm/s.
In these relatively thick samples diffusion effects are important and
cause a spread in the arrival time of electrons at the end of the sample,
given roughly by the 10-90% rise time of the reflectivity curve, i.e., 63 ps.
It is interesting to note that the drift mobility obtained from the mea-
surement is pLd= v,/F = 1900 cm2/V s, which is comparable to the usual
electron mobility of 2200 cmZ/Vs in GaAs at the doping level of the
graded layer in GaAs.
Electron velocity measurements were also made in a 0.42pm thick
strongly graded (F= 8.8 kV/cm) highly doped (p = 4 X 10l8cm-9
Al,Ga,-,As layer, graded from A10.3Ga0.7Asto GaAs. A transit time of
only 1.7 ps was measured, more than an order of magnitude shorter than
that for F = 1.2 kV/cm, as shown in Fig. 38, corresponding roughly to a
velocity v = 2.5 X lo7cm/sec. The velocity can be obtained rigorously and
1.2
t
~ 1.0-
t.
+ 0.8-
0
w
LL
w
IX 0.6
0.6-
n
w
tJ! 0.4-
Q
2
cr
0
z 0.2-
0 I
-4 -2 0 2 4 6 8 I0
T I M E DELAY (Psec)
FIG. 38. Normalized experimental reflectivity change Venus time delay measured in a
0.4pm thick graded-gap p+-AlGaAs layer at a quasi-electric field F = 8.8 kV/cm (from
Levine ef al., 1983).
accurately (*lo% error) from the reflectivity data by solving the drift
diffusion equation and taking into account the effects of the pump absorp-
tion length (especially important in the thin sample), and the partial pene-
tration of the probe beam in the graded material (Levine et al., 1983).
Including all these effects, one finds that the reflectivity data can be fitted
using only one adjustable parameter, the electron drift velocity. This veloc-
ity is u = 2.8 X lo6 cm/s for F = 1.2 kV/cm and p = 2 X 1018/cm3;and
v = 1.8 X lo7cm/s for I:= 8.8 kV/cm and p = 4 X 1018/cm3.
We see that when we increased the quasi-field from 1.2 to 8.8 kV/cm (a
factor of 7.3) the velocity increased from 2.8 X lo6 to 1.8 X lo7 cm/s (a
factor of 6.5). That is, we observed the approximate validity of the relation
v = p F. In fact, using p = 1700 cm2/V s (for p = 4 X lot8cm-9 we calcu-
late u = 1.5 X lo7 cm/s for F = 8.8 kV/cm, in reasonable agreement with
the experiment. It is worth noting that this measured velocity of 1.8 X lo7
cm/s (in the quasifield)) is significantly larger than that for pure undoped
GaAs, where u = 1.2 X lo7 cm/s for an ordinary electric field of 8.8 kV/
cm. In fact, the measured high velocity is comparable to the peak velocity
reached in GaAs for F = 3.5 kV/cm before the intervalley transfer occurs
from the central to the L valley. It is noteworthy that our measured
velocity is also comparable to the maximum possible phonon-limited
velocity in the central valley of GaAs. This is given by V,, = [(E,/m*)
tanh(EP/2kT)]'/*= 2.3 X lo7 cm/s, where E , = 35 meV is the optical
phonon energy and the effective mass m* = 0.067 mo.
This high velocity can be understood without reference to transient
effects since the transit time is much larger than the momentum relaxation
time of 0.3 ps. The large velocity results from the fact that the electrons
spend most of their time in the high-velocity central valley rather than in
the low-velocity L valley. This may result from the injected electron den-
sity being so much less than the hole doping density that the strong hole
scattering can rapidly cool the electrons without excessively heating the
holes. Furthermore, the electrons remain in the central valley throughout
their transit across the graded layer since the total conduction-band-edge
drop ( A E c= 0.37 eV) is comparable to the GaAs T - L separation
= 0.33 eV) and therefore they do not have sufficient excess energy
for significant transfer to the L valley.
17. EMITTER
GRADING
IN HETEROJUNCTION
BIPOLAR
TRANSISTORS
In this section we discuss in detail the emitter grading problem in HBTs.
The performances of recently developed A10.481no.s2As/Gao,,71no~,3As bi-
polars with graded and ungraded emitters are compared, and the optimum
way to grade the emitter is discussed.
Most of the work on MBE-grown heterojunction bipolar transistors has
concentrated on the AlGaAslGaAs system. Recently the first vertical n-
p - n Alo.4aIno.52As/Gao.471no.53As
heterojunction bipolar transistors grown
by MBE with high current gain have been reported (Malik et al., 1983).
The (Al,In)As/(Ga,In)As layers were grown by molecular-beam epitaxy
(MBE) lattice matched to a Fe-doped semi-insulating InP substrate. Two
HBT structures were grown: the first with an abrupt emitter of
A10.4aIn0.52Ason a Gao.471n,,,,As base, and a second with a graded emitter
comprising a quaternary layer of AlInGaAs of width 600 A, linearly graded
(a) ABRUPT EMITTER
(b) GRADED EMITTER
HETEROJUNCTION BIPOLAR TRANSISTOR

FIG. 39. Band diagrams under equilibrium of heterojunction bipolar with (a) abrupt
emitter and (b) graded emitter. Note the elimination of the conduction-bandnotch through
the use of a graded emitter and the increase of the emitter-base valence-band barrier (from
Malik et al.. 1983).
between the two ternary layers, and an A10.481n0.52A~ layer. Grading from
Gao,471no.53As to Alo,481no,,,Aswas achieved by slmultaneously lowering
the Ga and raising the A1 oven temperatures in such a manner as to keep
the total group-I11 flux constant during the transition.
It should be noted that this is the first use of a graded quaternary alloy in
a device structure. The energy-band diagram for the abrupt and graded
emitter transistors are shown in Fig. 39a and b, respectively. It is seen that
the effect of the grading is to eliminate the conduction-band notch in the
emitter junction. This in turn leads to a larger emitter-base valence-band
barrier under forward-bias injection. The following material parameters
were used in both types of transistors. The A10.481n0.52A~ emitter and
Ga0.471n0.53A~ collector were doped n-type with Sn at levels of 5 X lOI7 and
5 X 10l6~ m - Recent
~. experimental determination of the band-edge dis-
continuities in the Alo,4,1no~5,As/Gao,471no~53As heterojunction indicates
that A E , = 0.50 eV and AE, = 0.20 eV (People el al., 1983).This value of
A E , is large enough to allow the use of an abrupt A10.481n0.52A~/
Ga0.471n0.53As emitter at 300 K. Nevertheless, a current gain increase by a
factor of 2 is achieved through the use of the graded-gap emitter, which is
attributed to a larger valence-band difference between the emitter and base
under forward-bias injection. This increase is clearly shown in Fig. 40. It is
apparent from Fig. 40a and b that there is a relatively large collector-
emitter offset voltage. This voltage is equal to the difference between the
builtin potential for the emitter- base p - n junction and that of the base -
collector p - n junction. No such offset is therefore present in homojunc-
tion bipolars.
We have recently shown that by appropriately grading the emitter near
the interface with the base, such offset can be reduced and even totally
FIG. 40. Common-emitter characteristics of the A1,,Ino,,,As/Gao,,In,,,As heterojunc-

tion bipolar transitors with (a) abrupt emitter and (b) graded emitter at 300 K (from Malik et
aL, 1983).
eliminated (Hayes et al., 1983b). The other advantage of grading the

emitter is of course that the potential spike in the conduction band can be
reduced, thus increasing the injection efficiency. The conduction-band
potential is the result of the sum of two potentials: the electrostatic poten-
tial (b, equal to Vbi (the built-in potential)- V, (the base-emitter volt-
age), which vanes parabolically with distance (if the doping is uniform) and
the grading potential (bf. If linear grading is used, there is always unwanted
structure in the conduction band (spikes or notches, Fig. 41). It now
becomes obvious that any structure can be eliminated by grading with the
complementary function of the electrostatic potential in the emitter region
(a)
VsE = 1.35V
-0.1 -
-
-0.2 1.2v
-0.3 - LINEAR GRADING
WIDTH = 150 1
1.05V
-0.4 -
->
-
W
w 0.1 - BASE EMITTER (b)
a
2 0.4-
z
0
0
(C 1
0.1 - BASE EMITTER
0 -
VBE= 1.35V
-0.1 -
-0.2 - 1.2v
-o,3 - PARABOLIC
GRADING
1.05V
-0.4 - WIDTH = 500 i
I I I I I I 1
10
FIG.41. Conduction-bandedge versus distance from the p+-n base-emitter junction for
three different linear grading widths at different base-emitter forward bias voltages (from
Hayes ef a/.. 1983b).
-w 0.1 - BASE EMITTER

I
(3
?I 0-
2 -0.1 - VBE= 1.35V
U
m -0.2- 1.2v
z
0 -0.3-
I-
$ -0.4 - 1.05V
D
-0.5 I I I I I I I
U13 I A N G C PMUM p - l l J U N L I I U N I A J
FIG.42. Conductio?-band edge versus distance from the p+-njunction, using a parabolic
allv mded laver 500 A wide at different forward bias voltages (from Haves et ul.,1983b).
(1 - &J over the depletion layer width corresponding to a forward-bias

equivalent to the base bandgap (Fig. 42). Note that in this case if the
base-emitter junction is forward biased at 1.42 eV, the two potentials
(grading and electrostatic) cancel each other out and one attains the flat-
band condition with a built-in voltage for the base-emitter equivalent to
the bandgap in the base (= 1.42 eV).
An HBT with such a parabolic grading has been fabricated, using MBE,
with a Ga,,Al,,As emitter and a GaAs base and collector (Hayes et al.,
1983b). A schematic diagram of the transistor structure and the common-
emitter characteristic is shown in Fig. 43a and b, respectively. The
emitter-base junction was graded from x = 0 to 0.3 on the emitter side
over a distance of 600 A, the parabolic grading function being approxi-
mated by linear grading over nine regions. It can be seen from the charac-
teristics shown in Fig. 43b that the offset is very small, about 0.03. Vir-
tually identical characteristics with offsets 50.03 V were obtained for all
devices on the wafer.
TRANSISTORS
18. RESONANTTUNNELING WITH QUANTUM-
WELLBASE
In this section, we discuss a new class of resonant tunneling heterojunc-
tion devices which consist of heterojunction bipolar transistors, with a
quantum well and a double barrier, or a superlattice in the base region (F.
Capasso and R. A. Kiehl, 1985).
Pioneering work on resonant tunneling through a heterostructure quan-
tum well was first done by Tsu and Esaki (1973) and Chang et al. (1974).
Miniband conduction in a superlattice, a particular case of resonant tun-
neling, was investigated by Esaki and Chang (1974) and Tsu et al. (1979).
More recently, Sollner et al. demonstrated resonant tunneling in AlGaAs/
a r
I AU-Sn I n = 2 x10'8crn-3
x *O 300A
X = 0.30-0 500;
n = 2 x iof?cm-3
x.o.30 3000i PARABOLIC GRADING
x=o
.
Au - Sn1 x=o n = 3 x-6101
x=o
FIG.43. (a) Schematic diagram of AIGaAs/GaAs bipolar transistor that has a parabolic
grading width of 600 A at the base-emitter junction; (b) common-emitter characteristics of
the transistor shown in (a). Note the negligible offset voltage (from Hayes et al.. 1983b).
GaAs double bamers at terahertz frequencies (1983) and a quantum well

oscillator operating at 18 GHz (1984). In the above experiments, resonant
tunneling was obtained by applying a voltage to the double barrier, to
achieve matching between the Fermi level in the cathode and the resonant
states of the well.
Recently, however, Ricco and Azbel (1984) have pointed out that in
order to achieve unity transmission at all the resonance peaks, the trans-
mission of the left and right barrier must be equal at all the quasi-eigenstate
energies. This is physically identical to that which occurs in a Fabry-Perot
resonator, with which resonant tunneling structures share profound analo-
gies. If the transmissions of the two mirrors are made sufficiently different,
the transmission at the resonant frequencies decreases significantly below
unity. Application of an electric field to a symmetric double barrier intro-
duces a difference between the transmission of the two barriers, thus
decreasing below unity the overall transmission at the resonance peaks.
Unity transmission can be achieved only if the two barriers have different
thicknesses; however, using this procedure one can only optimize the
transmission of one of the resonance peaks.
Recently, F. Capasso and R. A. Kiehl(l985) have proposed a new class
of structures where resonant tunneling through a symmetric double barrier
is achieved for the first time, not by application of an electric field, but by
high-energy injection. This method does not alter the transmission of the
two barriers and therefore should lead to unity transmission at all reso-
nance peaks.
Figure 44a shows the equilibrium band diagram of one of the devices.
The structure is a heterojunction bipolar transistor with a degenerately
doped abrupt emitter and a symmetric double barrier in the base. The
base - emitter and base - collector junctions are then, respectively, forward
and reverse biased. As the base-emitter voltage is increased, the energy
difference between the Fermi level in the emitter and the first resonant
state of the quantum well decreases. When these two levels are matched,
electrons tunneling from the emitter region are injected in the first state of
the well and undergo resonant tunneling through the double barrier with
near-unity transmission probability. Off resonance the transmission proba-
bility is typically << 1 and equal to the product of the transmission coeffi-
cients of the two barriers without the quantum well (Ricco and Azbel,
1984). The collector current as a function of the base-emitter voltage VBE
exhibits a series of peaks corresponding to the various quasi-stationary
states of the well. Multiple negative conductancein the collector circuit can
therefore be achieved. As a result of symmetry of the double barrier under
operating conditions, current densities, negative conductance, and peak-
to-valley ratios much larger than in conventional resonant tunneling struc-
6.
-a
GRADED-GAP AND SUPERLATTICE DEVICES
-------
L
375
FIG.44. Band diagram of the resonant tunneling transistor (RTT) with tunneling emitter
under different bias conditions: (a) in equilibrium; (b) resonant tunneling through the first
level in the well; (c) resonant tunneling through the second level (not in scale) (from F.
Capasso and R. A. Kiehl, 1985).
tures should be possible. Thus, RTTs have potential for high-performance

oscillators.
The device of Fig. 44 can be implemented with AlGaAs/GaAs grown by
molecular-beam epitaxy. The wide-gap degeneratedly doped emitter
( N Ek 1 X lO”/cm3) would consist typically of Al,Ga,-,As (x 2 0.3) to
ensure sufficient hole confinement in the base and high injection effi-
ciency. The double barrier in the center of the base region consists of a
GaAs well (typical thickness range 30-60 A) and of Al,Ga,-,As
(0.3 5 x 5 1) rectangular barriers of equal thickness (typically 15 -50 A).
For example, for two rectangular barriers, height 0.24 eV (corresponding
to A130Ga0.70As), width 20 A and separation 30 A, the first level has an
energy El = 1 19 meV. The double barrier and the well should be un-
doped with ultra-low carrier concentration to minimize scattering and
recombination. This is important since for high transmission wave-func-
tion coherence must be maintained. Alloy disorder in the barrier may
contribute to scattering of the injected electrons. This can be minimized by
the use of AlAs barriers.
The rest of the base layer outside the barrier region is instead heavily
doped ( 10l8Ip I5 X 10’8/cm3)and its total thickness should be typically
2000 A to provide the required low base resistance. The thickness of the
base region between the double barrier and the emitter should be smaller
than the scattering mean free path of the electron injected from the emitter
but greater than the zero-bias depletion width on the p side. A good choice
for this thickness is = 500- 1000 A, which also minimizes quantum-size
effects in this region.
To achieve high current at resonance, the width of the resonant peak
should be of order of or less than the width of the energy distribution of the
electrons in the emitter, which at 77 K is comparable to the degeneracy
(EF- E,). Assuming a GaAs well width = 30 A and A10.30Ga0.,0As bamers
20 A thick, one obtains A El = 50 meV for the energy width of the first
resonance. If the emitter doping level is 2 X 1018/cm3,the degeneracy
EF- Ec is = 50 meV A E l so that most electrons leaving the emitter will
3
resonantly tunnel through the well.

With a tunneling emitter doped to 2 1OI8/cm3,collector current densities
at resonance 2 lo4 A/cm2 are estimated for the case of negligible electron
recombination in the base.
To minimize thermionic emission of the electrons from the emitter and
scattering effects in the base, these devices are preferably operating at 77 K.
The peak-to-valley ratio, i.e., the ratio of the currents at and off reso-
nance, is given by i= l / T i , where TB is the barrier transmission coefficient
(Ricco and Azbel, 1984). For the previously considered example, this gives
a peak-to-valley ratio of ~ 3 6 .
An alternative injection method is the nearly abrupt emitter, which can
be used to bailistically launch electrons into the resonant state with high
momentum coherence. The grading (= 150 A) of the A10.3Gao,,Asemitter
is essential in order to be able to vary the energy of the injected electrons
over a significant range as the base-emitter voltage VB, is increased,
especially if the base doping is much higher than the emitter doping. As
VBEis increased, the top of the launching ramp eventually reaches the same
energy of the resonant state so that electrons can be ballistically launched
into the resonant state (Fig. 45a).
If several peaks in the collector current versus emitter-base voltage are
desired, which is important for several device applications, the well should
be relatively thick (100- 200 A) and the barriers should have a high A1
concentration. To achieve equally spaced resonances in the collector cur-
rent, the rectangular quantum well in the base should be replaced by a
parabolic one (Fig. 45b). Parabolic quantum wells have been recently
realized in the AlGaAs system (Miller et al., 1984a).Assuming the depth of
the parabolic well to be 0.43 eV (corresponding to grading from AlAs to
GaAs) and its width 400 A,one finds that the first state is at an energy of
11 meV from the bottom of the well and that the resonant states are
separated by = 33.4 meV. This gives a total of 12 states in the well.
-
6. GRADED-GAP A N D SUPERLATTICE DEVICES 377
L
FIG. 45. (a) Band diagram of RTT with graded emitter (at resonance). Electrons are
ballistically launched into the first quasi-eigenstate of the well. (b) RTT with parabolic
quantum well in the base and tunneling emitter. (c) RTT with superlattice base (from
Capasso and Kiehl, 1985).
Finally, in Fig. 4% we illustrate another application, that of studying

high-energy injection and transport in the minibands of a superlattice,
using ballistic launching. Minibands are formed when the barriers are
sufficiently thin that the quasi-eigenstatesof the wells are strongly coupled.
For example, in an AlAs/GaAs superlattice with 40 A barriers and wells,
the first miniband E, is 0.1 eV from the bottom of the wells and the second
one and 0.36 eV. The widths of these two minibands are, respectively, = 10
and = 50 meV. To achieve ballistic launching into the first excited state of
the superlattice, it is necessary to choose an emitter composition such that
AE, = E2 = 0.36 eV. Alo.sGao.sAswould be the choice.
It is important to mention the time dependence of resonant tunneling.
This feature has been stressed clearly only recently by Ricco and Azbel
(1984). To achieve resonant tunneling the electron probability density Iv12
must be peaked in the well. Therefore, if initially there are no electrons in
the double barrier and the carriers are made to tunnel by applying a
positive base-emitter voltage, it takes a certain time constant to build up
the probability density in the well, via multiple reflections, and to achieve
high transmission at resonance. An identical situation is present in an
optical Fabry-Perot. The above time constant z, is of the order of h/A E,
BINARY C
OUTPUT
ANALOG
INPUT “i
FIG.46. (a) Schematic of multiple-valued voltage transfer characteristics of the RTT and
corresponding circuit diagram; (b) parity generator circuit; (c) analog-to-digital converter
circuit (from Capasso and Kiehl, 1985).
where A E is the width of the resonant state. For A E = 50 meV (as for one
of the structures previously discussed) z, = 1 X s. Note, however,
that z, increases exponentially with barrier thickness. After a time of the
order of a few tohas elapsed, a quasi steady state has been reached whereby
electrons continuously enter in the well and exit from it to maintain a
constant electron density in the well. The “traversal time” of an electron
through the barriers (Buttiker and Landauer, 1982) is significantly shorter
than zo for the range of thicknesses and barrier heights of interest here.
A particularly interesting heterojunction for RTTs is A1,~,,Ino~,,As/

Gao,,,Ino.,,As because of the large conduction-band discontinuity (A E, =
0.55 eV) and the low Gao,,Ino.,,As electron effective mass (m*= 0.041).
The multiple resonant characteristic of the RTT is of interest for a
variety of signal processing and logic applications. One class of applications
takes advantage of the ability to achieve a multiple-valued voltage transfer
characteristic with an RTT, as shown in Fig. 46a. In this configuration, the
output voltage Votakes on one of two values in accordance with the level of
the input voltage q.Thus the device provides a binary digital output for an
analog input, or a multiple-valued digital input. This function, which is
that of a threshold (or voting) logic gate, is useful for a variety of signal
processing applications. For example, a single device of this sort can be
used to provide a parity generator as used in error detection circuits. In this
application, the binary bits of a digital word are added in a resistive
network at the input of the RTT, as depicted in Fig. 46b. This produces a
binary output having a value that depends on whether the total number of
ones in the input word is odd or even. The advantage of this approach over
conventional circuits is that the RTT implementation should be extremely
fast since it uses a single high-speed switching device. Conventional tran-
sistor implementations require complex circuitry involving many logic
gates with a consequent reduction in speed. By combining a number of
RTTs in a parallel array, an A-to-D converter could also be realized. In
I RL2
L
"in
"CE
FIG.47. Current-voltage characteristic with multiple-valued negative resistance. R,, and
R,, indicate load lines. Stable states are denoted by circles (from Capasso and Kiehl, 1985).
this application, the analog input is simultaneously applied to an array of

RTTs having different voltage scaling networks, as shown in Fig. 46c,
thereby producing an interlaced pattern of harmonically related transfer
characteristics. Similar to the functioning of conventional successive-ap-
proximation A- to - D converters, the outputs of the RTT array constitute
a binary code representing the quantized analog input level. Again, the
circuitry involved in this approach is simple and should be very fast.
A second class of applications takes advantage of the ability to achieve a
multiple-valued negative resistance characteristic. This type of characteris-
tic is achieved at the emitter- collector terminals by holding the base -
collector junction at a fixed bias V,, as shown in Fig. 47. With V , fixed,
variations in V, produce variations in V,, which cause the collector
current to peak as V, crosses a tunneling resonance. When connected to a
resistive load as shown by R,, in Fig. 47, a device having N stable states is
produced, where N is the number of resonant peaks. The state of this latch
can be set by momentarily applying a voltage Vk to the circuit, forcing the
operating point to that of the open circle in Fig. 47. When the input line is
opened, it can easily be shown that the operating point moves along the
indicated trajectory, finally latching at State 2. Thus, the RTT in this
configuration can serve as an N-state memory element, providing the
possibility of extremely high-density data 'storage. Memories of this sort
and other circuits based on a multiple-valued negative resistance, such as
counters, multipliers, and dividers, have been of interest for some time
(Rine, 1977). However, since no physical device exhibiting multiple-val-
ued negative resistance previously existed, such circuits were possible only
with combinations of binary devices, such as conventional tunnel diodes.
In order to achieve N states, N two-state devices were connected, resulting
in a complex configuration with reduced density and speed. Because it
allows multiple-valued negative resistance to be achieved in a single physi-
cal element, the RTT could offer significant advantages.
Shortly after this initial proposal, Yokoyama et al. (1985) reported the
low-temperature operation (70 K) of a unipolar resonant tunneling (RT)
hot-electron transistor (RHET). This structure contains a double barrier in
the emitter.
Recently, Capasso et al. (1 986b) demonstrated the room-temperature
operation of the first RT bipolar transistor (RTBT). The band diagram of
the transistor under operating conditions is sketched in Fig. 48, along with
the schematics of the composition and doping profile of the structure
(bottom). The double barrier consists of a 74 A undoped GaAs quantum
well sandwiched between the two undoped 2 1.5 A AlAs barriers, and the
AlGaAs graded emitter is doped to 3 X lOI7 ~ m - The ~ . portion of the base
(Ab.07G%.93A~) adjacent to the emitter was anodically etched off, while the
rest of the base was contacted using AuBe. These base processing steps are
essential for the operation of the device. The emitter area is -2 X
1 0 - ~cm2.
There is an essential difference with respect to the previously discussed
RT transistors which rely on quasi-ballistic or hot-electron transport
through the base. These schemes place stringent constraints on the design
and make it difficult to achieve room-temperature operation due to the
small electron mean free path (5500 A at 300 K), since electrons that have
suffered a few phonon collisions cannot reach the collector. The key to the
present structure is that electrons are thermally injected into and trans-
ported through the base, thus making the device operation much less
critical. This new approach has allowed us to achieve for the first time RT
transistor action at room temperature. Thermal injection is achieved by
adjusting the alloy composition of the portion of the base adjacent to the
emitter in such a way that the conduction band in this region lines up with
the bottom of the ground-state subband of the quantum well (Fig. 48a).
For a 74 A well and 2 1.5 A AlAs barriers, the first quantized energy level is
El = 65 meV. Thus the A1 mole fraction was chosen to be x = 0.07 (corre-
sponding to E, = 1.52 1 eV), so that A E, = El. This equality need not be
rigorously satisfied for the device to operate in the desired mode, as long as
El does not exceed AE, by more than a few kT. The quantum well is
undoped; nevertheless it is easy to show that there is a high concentration
(=7 X 10" cm-*) two-dimensional hole gas in the well. These holes have
transferred from the nearby Al,-,0,G%.93A~region, by tunneling through the
AlAs barrier, in order to achieve Fermi-level line-up in the base. Consider a
common emitter bias configuration. Initially the collector- emitter voltage
VcEand the base current IB are chosen in such a way that the base-emitter
and the base- collector junctions are respectively forward and reversed
biased. If V, is kept constant and the base current IB is increased, the
base-emitter potential also increases until a flat-band condition in the
emitter region is reached [Fig. 48b (left)]. In going from the band configu-
ration of Fig. 48a to that of Fig. 48b, the device behaves like a conventional
transistor with the collector current increasing with the base current [Figs.
48a,b (right)]. The slope of this curve is, of course, the current gain /3 of the
device. In this region of operation electrons in the emitter overcome, by
thermionic injection, the barrier of the base-emitter junction and undergo
RT through the double barrier. If the base current is now further increased
above the value IBmcorresponding to the flat-band condition, the addi-
tional potential difference drops primarily across the first semi-insulating
AlAs barrier (Fig. 48c), between the contacted and uncontacted portions of
the base, since the highly doped emitter is now fully conducting. This
pushes the conduction band edge in the A&,07G%.93A~ above the first
-
I EMITTER I BASE I COLLECTOR I
X 0
dopant n
FIG.48. Energ{-band diagrams of the resonant tunneling bipolar transistor (RTBT) and
corresponding schematics of collector current Zc for different base currents ZB at a fixed
collector emitter voltage VCE (not to scale). As ZB is increased the device first behaves as a
conventional bipolar transistor with current gain (a), until near flat-band conditions in the
emitter are achieved (b). For ZB> ZeTH, a potential difference develops across the AlAs barrier
between the contacted and uncontacted regions of the base. This raises the conduction-band
edge in the emitter above the first resonance of the well, thus quenching resonant tunneling
and the collector current ZE. Shown also is the composition and doping profile of the
structure; u stands for unintentionally doped.
energy level of the well, thus quenching the RT. The net effect is that the
base transport factor and the current gain are greatly reduced. This causes
an abrupt drop of the collector current as the base current exceeds a certain
threshold value ZBm [Fig. 48c (right)]. The devices were biased in a com-
mon emitter configuration at 300 K and the I - V characteristics were
displayed on a curve tracer. For base currents 52.5 mA, the transistor
exhibits normal characteristics, while for IBz 2.5 mA, the behavior pre-
viously discussed was observed. Figure 49 shows the collector current
versus base current at V, = 12 V, as obtained from the common emitter
B A S E CURRENT, mA
FIG.49. Collector current versus base current of the RTBT in the common-emitterconfig-
uration at room temperature with the collector-emitter voltage held constant. The line
connectingthe data points is drawn only to guide the eye.
characteristics. The collector current increases with the base current and
there is clear evidence of current gain (/I= 7 for lc > 4 mA). As the base
current exceeds 2.5 mA, there is a drop in Ic, because the current gain is
quenched by the suppression of RT. Single-frequency oscillations (at
25 MHz, limited by the probe stage) have been observed in these devices
when biased in the negative conductance region of the characteristics.
VII. Sequential Resonant Tunneling and Effective Mass

Filtering in Superlattices
In a strong electric field in a superlattice the miniband picture breaks
down when the potential drop across the superlattice period exceeds the
miniband width. When this condition is satisfied the quantum states be-
come localized in the individual wells. In this limit an enhanced electron
current will flow at sharply defined values of the external field, when
ground state in the nth well is degenerate with the first or second excited
+
state in the (n 1)th well, as illustrated in Fig. 50a. Under such condi-
tions, the current is due to electron tunneling between the adjacent wells
+
with a subsequent de-excitation in the (n 1)th well, by emission of
FIG. 50. (a) Band diagram of sequential resonant tunneling. (b) Band diagram of new
infrared laser band on sequential resonant tunneling.
$ 2
[L
[L
3
0
0
!-
0
I
O-1
OO 2 4 6 8 10
REVERSE EIAS,(V)
FIG.5 1. Photocurrent-voltage characteristic at 1 = 0.6.328 pm (pure electron injection)
for a superlattice of ~,,,Ilb,,,As/G~,,I~.,~Aswith 138 A thick wells and barriers and 35
periods. The arrows indicate that the peaks correspond to resonant tunneling between the
+
ground state of the nth well and the first two excited stages of the (n 1)th weU.
phonons. In other words, electron propagation through the entire superlat-

tice involves sequential RT.
Experimental difficulties in studying this phenomenon are usually asso-
ciated with the nonuniformity of the electric field across the superlattice
and the instabilities generated by negative differential conductivity. To
ensure a strictly controlled and spatially uniform electric field, Capasso et
af.(1986a) placed the superlattice in the n- (5lOI4 ~ m - ~region ) of a
reverse-bias p + - n-- n+ junction. This structure allowed for the first time
to observe the sequential RT. Two NDR peaks observed in the photocur-
rent characteristics, Fig. 5 I , correspond to the resonances shown schemat-
ically in Fig. 50. For the sequential RT regime, there is the possibility of a
laser action at the intersubband transition frequency-an effect not yet
observed experimentally in superlattice (Fig. 50b).
Capasso et al. (1985b), recently reported the observation of a new ex-
tremely large photocurrent amplification phenomenon at very low voltage
in a superlattice of Ab,4gIno.52As/Gao.471no.~3As in the quantum coupling
regime (35 A wells, 35 A barriers). Room-temperature responsivities at
A = 1.3 pm are typically 2 X lo3 and 300 A/W, at 0.3 V and 0.08 V bias,
a)
FIG.52. Band diagram showing effective mass filtering effect in the case of (a) phonon-as-
sisted tunneling; (b) miniband conduction.
respectively, while the highest measured value is 4 X lo3A/W, corre-

sponding to a current gain of 2 X lo4. This effect, which represents a new
quantum-type photoconductivity, is caused by the extremely large differ-
ence in the tunneling rates of electrons and heavy holes through the
superlattice layers (efective muss filtering; Fig. 5 1). When thickness and
compositional fluctuations cause fluctuations in the subband energies of
the order of or greater than the miniband width AE, miniband conduction
cannot be sustained and hence conduction will proceed by phonon-assisted
tunneling between adjacent wells (hopping conduction). Since electrons
have a much smaller mass than heavy holes, their tunneling rate between
adjacent wells is much larger (efective mass Jiltering). Photogenerated
holes therefore remain relatively localized in the wells (their hopping prob-
ability is negligible), while electrons propagate through the superlattice
(Fig. 52). This effective mass filtering effect produces a photocurrent gain,
given by the ratio of the lifetime to the electron transit time. The gain
strongly decreased with increasing A&.481h.52A~ barrier layer thickness and
becomes unity when this exceeds 100 A.
This confirms effective mass
filtering as the origin of the large gain, since, as the barriers are made
thicker, electrons also eventually tend to become localized, thus decreasing

the tunneling probability and increasing the recombination rate. The tem-
perature dependence of the responsivity conclusively confirmed hopping
conduction.
For superlattices made of the same two materials with wider electron
minibands (achieved by using thinner barriers), the electron transport is by
miniband conduction, while holes are still localized (Fig. 52b). Such super-
lattice effective mass filters will have a much greater gain - bandwidth
product than the other kind (Fig. 52a) due to the much shorter electron
transit time.
VIII. Doping Interface Dipoles: Tunable Heterojunction

Barrier Heights and Band-Edge Discontinuities
It is clear from the material presented in the previous sections that band
discontinuities and, in general, barrier heights, play a central role in the
design of novel heterojunction devices. For example, their knowledge is
absolutely essential for devices such as NERFETs, multilayer APDs, and
heterojunction bipolar transistors. If a technique were available to artifi-
cially and controllably vary band offsets and barrier heights at abrupt
heterojunctions, this would give the device physicist tremendous flexibility
in device design, as well as many novel opportunities.
Recently Capasso et al. (1985a) demonstrated for the first time that
barrier heights and band discontinuitiesat an abrupt, intrinsic heterojunc-
tion can be tuned via the use of a doping interface dipole (DID) grown by
MBE.
This concept is illustrated in Fig. 53. Figure 53a represents the band
diagram of an abrupt heterojunction. The material is assumed to be un-
doped (ideally intrinsic) so that we can neglect band-bending effects over
the short distance (a few hundred A) shown here.
We next assume to introduce in situ, during the growth of a second
identical heterojunction, one sheet of acceptors and one sheet of donors, of
identical doping concentrations, at the same distance d/2 (5100 A) from
the interface (Fig. 53b). The doping density Nis in the 1 X 10”- 1 X lOI9/
cm3 range, while the sheets’ thickness t is kept small enough so that both
are depleted of carriers (t 5 100 A). The DID is therefore a microscopic
capacitor. The electric field between the plates is G / E , where CT = eNt. There
is a potential difference A @ = (a/&)dbetween the two plates of the capaci-
tor. Thus the DID produces abrupt potential variations across a hetero-
junction interface by shifting the relative positions of the valence and
conduction bands in the two semiconductors outside the dipole region
(Fig. 53c). This is done without changing the electric field outside the DID.
FIG.53. (A) Band diagram of an intrinsic heterojunction. (B) Schematics of doping inter-
face dipole. c is the sheet charge density and A @ the dipole potential difference. (C) Band
diagram of an intrinsic heterojunction with doping interface dipole. For simplicity of illustra-
is assumed small compared to A@
tion, the potential drop across each charge sheet [)(u/e)f]
(from Capasso ef al., 1985).
The valence-band barrier height at the heterojunction is increased by the

+ +
DID to a value A E, e A CD ( n / / ~ )If t .A CD is dropped over a distance of a
few atomic layers and the total potential drop across the charge sheets
[ = ( a / ~ )ist ]small compared to A@, the valence-band discontinuity has
effectively been increased by e A CD.
The DID reduces the energy difference between the conduction-band
edges on both sides of the heterointerface to A E, - e ACD. On the low-gap
side of the heterojunction, a triangular quantum well is formed. Since
typically the electric field in this region is 2 lo5 V/cm and e ACD = 0.1 -
0.2 eV, the bottom of the first quantum subband E, lies near the top of the
well. Therefore the thermal activation barrier seen by an electron on the
low-gap side of the heterojunction is = A E, - e ACD/2.
Electrons can also tunnel through the thin (5100 A) triangular bamer,
and this further reduces the effective barrier height. In the limit of a DID a
few atomic layers thick and of potential A@, the triangular barrier is totally
transparent and the conduction-band discontinuity is lowered to A E, -
e ACD. By inverting the position of the donor and acceptor sheets, one can
instead increase the conduction-band discontinuity and decrease the va-
lence-band one.
Note that experimental evidence suggests that “natural” dipoles may
occur at polar heterojunction interfaces, causing the orientation depen-

dence of band discontinuities (Grant et al., 1983). Interface defects may
also produce dipoles capable of altering band discontinuities (Zur et a).,
1983).
To verify the barrier lowering due to the DID, we have grown by MBE
heterojunction AlGaAs/GaAs p- i- n diodes on ptype (100) GaAs sub-
strates. Two types of structureswere grown: one with and the other without
dipole. The one with dipole consists of four GaAs layers first, p+ > 10l8/
cm3(5000 A),undoped (5000 A), p+ = 5 X 1017/cm3(100 A), forming the
negatively charged sheet of the dipole, and undoped (100 A), followed by
four A10.26Ga0.74A~ layers, undoped (100 A), n+ = 5 X 10i7/cm3(100 A),
forming the positively charged sheet of the dipole, undoped (5000 A), and
n+ 2 1018/cm3(5000 A). The second type of structure is identical, with the
exception that it does not have DID. They were grown consecutively in the
MBE chamber without breaking the vacuum to ensure virtually identical
growth conditions. Beryllium was used for the p-type dopant and silicon
for the n-type. The substrate temperature was held at 590" C during
growth. The background doping of the undoped layers is 5 loi4~ m - It ~ is
.
important to note that the charged sheets were introduced by controlling
the aperture of the shutters of the ovens, without interrupting the growth of
the GaAs and AlGaAs layers. This minimizes the formation of defects in
the interface region.
The solid and dashed lines in Fig. 54a are, respectively, the band diagram
of the diodes at zero applied bias, with and without dipole (not to scale). In
the structure with the DID the electric field inside the dipole layer is
strongly increased while it is slightly (= 10%)decreased outside the dipole
(compared to the structure without dipole) since the potential drop across
the depleted i layer is identical to that of the diodes without dipole. Figure
54b gives the conduction-band diagram (to scale) near the interfaces for the
cases with and without dipole. The potential of the dipole is A@ = 0.14 V;
for A E, we have used the value 0.2 eV, followingthe new band line-ups for
AIGaAs/GaAs. The bamer height EBis about a factor of 2 smaller than in
the case without dipole (=AE,).
We have measured the photocollection efficiency of the two structures;
light chopped at 1 KHz and incident on the AlGaAs side of the diode was
used and the short-circuit photocurrent was measured with a lock-in.
Absolute efficiencydata were obtained by comparing the photoresponse to
that of a calibrated Si photodiode. In Fig. 55 we have plotted the external
quantum, efficiency q as a function of wavelength for devices with and
without dipole. In the ones without dipole q is very small (52%) for
2 2 7100 A; this wavelength corresponds to the bandgap of the
A10.26Ga0,74A~ layer as determined by photoluminescence measurements.
At wavelengths longer than this and shorter than -8500 A,photons are
I
AE,= 0.2ev
I
-300
I I
-100
I
0
I
100
1 I
300
1
DISTANCE t i ,
FIG. 54. (a) (-) and (---) represent, respectively, the band diagram of the p-i-n
diodes with and without interface dipole (not in scale). (b) Band diagram of the conduction
band near the heterointerface of the diodes with dipole and without (in scale) (from Capasso
ef al., 1985).
0.3 -
-
>
V
z
2- 0.2 -
L
LL
w -
5I-
2 0.1 -
4
1
0
FIG. 55. External quantum efficiency of the heterojunctions with (-) and without
(---) dipole at zero bias versus photon energy; T = 300 K, zero bias voltage. Illumination is
from the wide-gap side of the heterojunction (from Capasso ef al., 1985).
6. GRADED-GAP AND SUPERLATTICE DEVICES 39 1
absorbed partly in the GaAs electric field region and partly in the p+-GaAs
layer within a diffusion length from the depletion layer. Thus most of the
photoinjected electrons reach the heterojunction interface and have to
surmount the heterobanier of height A E, = 0.2 eV to give rise to a photo-
current. Thermionic emission limits therefore the collection efficiency,
which is proportional to exp(-AE,)/kT (Te Velde, 1973; Shik and
Shmartsev, 1984). This explains the low efficiency for 1 > 7 100 A,since
A E, is significantly greater than kT.
For 1< 7 100 A the light is increasingly absorbed in the AlGaAs as the
photon energy increases, and the quantum efficiency becomes much larger
than for 1 > 7100 A since most of the photocarriers do not have to sur-
mount the heterojunction barrier to be collected, For 1 < 6250 A the
quantum efficiency decreases, since losses due to recombination of photo-
generated holes in the n+-AlGaAslayer and to surface recombination start
to dominate (Womac and Rediker, 1972). The above behavior of the
efficiency is consistent with predictions for abrupt AlGaAslGaAs hetero-
junctions without interface charges.
The solid curve in Fig. 55 is the photoresponse in the presence of the
DID. A striking difference is noted compared to the case with no dipole.
I
. . *.
1
0 0 0
.
0 0
0
0
0
0 0.2 0.4 0-6 0.0 1.0

FORWARD B I A S ( V O L T S )
FIG. 56. External quantum efficiency at 1 = 8000 A versus forward bias voltage of the
diodes (0)with and @) without dipoles. T = 300 K (from Capasso el a[., 1985).
While the quantum efficiencies for A 5 7 100 A are comparable, at longer

wavelengths it is enhanced by a factor as high as one order of magnitude in
the structures with dipoles. This effect was reproduced in four sets of
samples.
The physical interpretation is simple. The barrier height E , has been
lowered by =87 meV (Fig. 55b), which enhances thermionic emission
across the barrier. Tunneling through the thin triangular barrier and hot-
electron effects due to the smaller reflection coefficient also contribute to
the enhanced collection efficiency.
Figure 56 shows the quantum efficiency versus forward vias at IE =
8000 A for the two structures. It decreases first gradually and then rapidly
above a certain cutoff voltage. This behavior, due to band flattening, is well
known and has been observed previously. The efficiency rapidly increased
with reverse voltage in both structures and then saturated. Above 10 V the
quantum efficiency in the energy range 1.5 - 1.7 eV was identical in both
structures and -60%. This is expected, since at fields > lo5 V/cm the
electrons acquire so much energy that the barrier height is no more a
significant limiting factor to the efficiency.
The smallest size of the DID depends on the diffusion coefficient of the
dopants, which depends on the doping density, the substrate temperature,
and the growth time. For Si and Be in the AlGaAs/GaAs system, one
should be able to place the doping sheets as close as 10 A,for substrate
temperatures 5 600" C and growth times of < f h without significant inter-
diffusion.
The DID concept may have important implications for the design of
new heterojunction devices. For example, dipoles at the band steps of
superlattice or staircase avalanche photodiodes may be used to further
increase electron-impact ionization and to eliminate hole pile-up at the
interfaces. Other areas of applications include heterojunction lasers and
real-space transfer devices.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author is indebted to S. Luryi, A. Kastalski, K. Hess, S. Forrest, B. Ridley, R. J. Malik,
and R. A. Kiehl for many fruitful discussions.
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SEMICONDUflORS AND SEMIMETAU, VOL. 24
CHAPTER 7
Quantum Confinement Heterostructure

Semiconductor Lasers
W. T. Tsang
HOLMDEL, NEW JERSEY 07733
I. Introduction
The two-dimensional nature of electron motion in quantum well hetero-
structures produces several unique and important features in semiconduc-
tor lasers. For instance, these quantum-size effects shorten the emission
due to the radiative transition between confined states and
significantly reduce the threshold current densityg-l3and its temperature
dependence14-l9 (when properly designed) as a result of the modification in
the density-of-states function of the electrons. This modification is brought
about by the decreased dimensionaIity of the free-electron motion from
three dimensional to two dimensional.
11. Theory of Quantum Confinement Heterosbucture Lasers:

Quantum Well, Quantum Wire, and Quantum Bubble Lasers
1 . DENSITY-OF-STATE
FUNCTIONS
Quantum confinement of electrons or holes (charge cariers) arises from a
potential well in the band edges when the well width L, is of the order of
the de Broglie wavelength & of the camers. Figure la shows a schematic
diagram of a conventional double-heterostructure (DH) laser, in which the
active layer has all three dimensions larger than ;1, of the carriers. The
corresponding density-of-state function due to electron motion in the x, y,
and z directions is schematically shown in Fig. Ib and expressed as follows:
where m: is the electron effective mass, E is the energy measured from the
conduction-band edge E,, and A is Planck's constant. pi3)(E)is a parabolic
function. By reducing the active layer thickness I,, to the order of ;1, as
397
Copyright 0 1987 Bell Telephone Laboratones,Inmmratcd.
Au rights of reproduction in any form m c m d .
398 W. T. TSANG
(0) DH (b) ENERGY
tg
(el Q W i
p oooooooo
(g) QB
?
(f)
(h)
FIG. 1. (a) Schematic diagram of a conventional DH laser in which the active layer has all
three dimensions larger than the de Broglie wavelength A, of the camers. (b) The correspond-
ing density-of-state function. (c) A two-dimensional quantum well laser structure. (d) The
corresponding density-of-state function. (e) A quantum Wire laser structure. (f) The corre-
sponding density-of-state function. (g) A quantum bubble laser structure. (h) The corre-
sponding density-of-state function.
shown in Fig. lc, a two-dimensional (2D) quantum well (QW) heterostruc-

ture laser is realized. The corresponding density-of-state function due to
confined electron motion in the z direct is shown schematically in Fig. Id
and is given by'
where H ( E ) is a unit step function with H ( E 2 EiZ)= 1 and

H(E < E&) = 0. E L denote the quantized energy levels with quantum
7. QUANTUM CONFINEMENT HETEROSTRUCTURE LASERS 399
10 100 1000 OD
V,(h2/2mL:) 4
FIG.2. The calculated energy level of a particle in a symmetrical rectangular potential well
of depth V,.
number n. In this case, the pi2)(E)becomes a step-type function. In the case

of a symmetrical rectangular potential well of depth Voand width L,, E & is
given by
where F takes account of the finite depth V,. Figure 2 shows the calculated
energy level of a particle in a symmetrical rectangular potential well of
depth VO. For all positive values of Vothere will be at least one bound state.
When Vo-+ 03, F i n Eq. (3) equals 1. The electron energies due to motion
in the x and y directions remain the same as in the bulk. Thus, the electron
bound energy states in the conduction band are given by
E'= E& +-
2m:
(k: + k;)
fi2
(4)
400 W. T. TSANG
where ki = nn/ai and ai is the lattice constant in the i direction. Since there
are heavy and light holes in the valence band, the hole bound energy states
are given by
x2
where E z and EE are given by similar equations to Eq. (3) with parameter
values for holes, m& and m;"hare effective masses of heavy and light holes,
respectively.
For QWs with a parabolic shape, Miller et a1.*O generated these para-
bolic compositional profiles by alternate deposition of thin undoped layers
of GaAs and Al,Gal-,As of varying thickness. Computer control was
employed in the deposition. The relative thicknesses of the Al,Ga,-,As
layers increased quadratically with distance from the well centers, while
that of the GaAs layers decreased. An example is shown in Fig. 3a. With
parabolic wells
E& = (n - +)Awm (7)
where again n = 1, 2, 3, etc., and w, = a e / m : with k, equal to the curva-
ture of the parabolic well. Defining the curvature k, by the potential height
of the finite parabolic well at z = k LJ2, namely, Q,AE,, where AE, is
the total energy-gap discontinuity between the GaAs at the bottom of the
wells and the Al,Ga,-,As at the top of the wells and Q,is the fraction of
A E, for the ith particle well, Eq. (7) becomes
Similar equations can be obtained for heavy and light holes. Figure 3b
shows the 5 K excitation spectrum from such a parabolic quantum well.
The various exciton transition peaks are indicated by Figs. 3a and c. With
such parabolic wells, Miller et aL2' also show that the energy-gap disconti-
nuity between GaAs and AlGaAs layers is evenly split between the electron
and valence-band wells instead of the previously observed value of 85%-
15% split.2
Therefore, as a result of quantization of the particle motion normal to
the film, discrete bound states will emerge, and the energy of the lowest
state will be higher than the band edge of the bulk materials and increase as
L, is decreased.
0.1 5
-300 -200 -100 0 100 200 300
ANGSTROM
FIG.3. (a) Parabolic compositional profiles generated by alternate deposition of thin layers
of GaAs and AI,Ga,-,As of varying thickness. The relative thickness of the AI,Ga,-,As
layers increased quadratically with distance from the well center. The quantum levels for an
electron are also shown in the parabolic well. (b) The 5 K excitation spectrum from a
parabolic quantum well. (c) The quantum levels of heavy and light holes in a parabolic well.
Similarly, one can further limit the motion of the carriers in the L,,
direction, as shown by the quantum wire (QWi) laser depicted in Fig. le. In
this case the density-of-state function is given byI9
and shown schematically in Fig. 1f.

402 W. T. TSANG
In this case, the p f ) ( E )becomes almost like discrete spikes beginning to

resemble the discrete levels in conventional gas and solid-state lasers. Such
semiconductor quantum-wire lasers are expected to resemble more closely,
in particular, the spectral linewidth of gas and solid-state lasers than the
conventional DH and QW lasers.
Finally, if one further limits the carrier motion in the L, direction, as
shown by the quantum bubble (QB) laser in Fig. Ig, the density-of-state
function will be given byI9
PiO’(E)= c 1
n,l,k ( L z LY LX)
d(E - Egz - E$ - EL), (10)
where 6 ( E ) is a delta function, Egz, E f ; , and E L denote the quantized

energy levels with quantum numbers n, 1, and k, and are given by the form
of Eq. (3). In this case, the density-of-state function is truly discrete, as
shown in Fig. I h, and so the QB laser should behave similarly to conven-
tional gas and solid-state lasers, even more so than QWi lasers.
2. GAINSPECTRA OF QUANTUMCONFINEMENT
HETEROSTRUCTURE LASERS
Theoretically, because of the modification of density of states from the
parabolic distribution in bulk material, as in conventional DH lasers, to
the staircase distribution in the QW heterostructure (Fig. 4a), the injected
carrier distribution, and hence the gain spectra,22-26will be different in
both cases, as depicted in Figs. 4b and c, respectively. For the laser to lase,
the overall cavity losses are about the same in both the DH and QW lasers;
the modification of the density of states in the QW lasers should require
that fewer carriers be injected for the laser to reach threshold. This means
that the threshold current for the QW laser should be lower than the
conventional DH laser. Further, the spectral gain profile should be nar-
rower.
In fact, if one uses the “no k-selection rule,” the gain coefficient g ( E ) of
the i-dimensional quantum confined laser for photon energy E can be
formally expressed as
X [f,(E’)--f,(E’ - E ) ]dE”
where n, is the refractive index, c the velocity of light, Eg the energy gap,
and Mi)a constant representing the probability of dipole transitions.f , ( E )
andf,(E) are the distribution functions of electrons and holes, respectively.
30
I I
-E
El E2’4E4
n=z.ox~0‘*cm-3(BULK)
n=1.4x10”%m-3 (OUANTUM WELL)
-
W NEEDED TO REACH THE SAME
PEAK GAIN IN ( C )
g
2-
c-
z
Lo-
W
A C
3
urn
u
I-
E
c1
E
0
ELECTRON ENERGY
FIG.4. (a) Schematic diagrams of the density of states for bulk material and QW hetero-
structures. (b) The distribution of inected carriers in bulk and QW structures needed to
achieve the same peak gain spectra as shown in (c).
The corresponding electron distributions and gain spectra for QWi and
QB lasers are also schematically shown in Fig. 5a-d. It is seen that the
threshold current should decrease with increasing degree of confinement of
carrier motion provided other threshold-affecting factors were maintained
the same. More importantly, the gain spectrum becomes a discrete level
(&function-like) in the case of QB lasers. This indeed approached the
discrete-level nature of conventional gas and solid-state lasers. also
calculated the gain spectrum sensitivity to camer density in QW lasers as a
function of well thickness.
F
t
u)
2
W
n
z
0
a
c
0
w
-I
w
ENERGY, E
ENERGY, E
(a)
ENERGY, E
ENERGY, E
(bl
FIG.5. The electron density distributions and gain spectra for (a) QWi and (b) QB lasers
are shown schematically.
In Fig. 6 the derivative of the peak gain with respect to electron density,
dg/dn, evaluated at threshold, is plotted against well width. The value
obtained for the bulk case is also shown for comparison. It is seen that the
gain is much more sensitive to changes in electron density in the quantum
well case than in the bulk. Indeed, the sensitivity in the extreme quantum
limit (L, --* 0) is almost an order of magnitude greater than that in the
bulk. This means that good optical confinement is not as critical for
optimizing the threshold current for narrow quantum wells as for conven-
tional DH structures.
It is worthwhile appreciating how the difference in sensitivity of peak
gain to electron concentration between quantum wells and bulk structures
comes about. This difference is related to the difference dependence of the
density of states on photon energy in the quantum well and the bulk. The
sensitivity of the gain to electron density is determined by the relative size
of the density in energy of those states contributing to the gain and the
average of the density of states over the thermal electron and hole distribu-
tions. For the bulk this ratio is much smaller than in a narrow quantum
well. Support for this interpretation is seen in the calculated curves. As the
quantum well width increases, the fraction of carriers occupying higher
quantum well subbands and hence regions of higher density of states
increases, and hence the sensitivity of the peak gain to changes in electron
density decreases. No such calculation has been made for QWi and QB
lasers yet. But it is easy to see that dg/dn will be drastically larger in these
two cases.
0 100 200
WELL WIDTH, i
FIG.6 . The derivative of the peak gain with respect to electron density, dgldn, evaluated at
threshold, is plotted against well thickness.
406 W. T. TSANG
3. TEMPERATURE
DEPENDENCE
OF THRESHOLD
CURRENT
The temperature dependence of the threshold currents of conventional
DH, quantum well,'* quantum wire, and quantum bubble lasers have been
theoretically calculated. Arakawa and SakakiI9 have found theoretically
that the threshold current density Jthof a quatum well laser is proportional
to Tln(T/const) near room temperature, whereas J* for a QB laser is
independent of T. Figure 7 shows their calculated results for T near room
temperature for all four types of semiconductor lasers. It is seen clearly that
the temperature dependence of Jthdepends drastically on the degree of
confinement of the carrier motion. If the results are expressed in terms of
Jth = J, exp(T/To), To values for conventional DH, quantum well, quan-
tum wire, and quantum bubble lasers are 104, 285, 481, and 00, respec-
tively. Again, the quantum bubble semiconductor laser behaves like con-
ventional gas and solid-state lasers.
1.5
I=
I-
z
w
(L
(L
3
0
n 0
-I
0
I
u)
w
a
I
t-
n
w
N-
-I
a
I
U
0
z
0.5
-40 -20 0 20 40 60
TEMPERATURE ("C)
FIG.7. Numerical example of J, calculated for (a) DH laser, To= 104"C, (b) QW laser,
To= 285"C, (c)QWi laser, To= 48 I T , and (d) QB laser, To= m. J, is normalized by J, at
0°C.
The reason for such a dramatic increase in To can be understood as

follows: for a conventional DH laser, the intrinsic (those not due to a
leakage over the barrier and Auger processes) temperature dependence of
Jth is ascribed to the thermal spreading of the injected carriers over a wider
energy range of states, which leads to decreases of the maximum gain
g(E,,) at a given injection level. Consequently, in quantum well lasers,
where pi2)(E)and pL2)(E)are steplike, the effect of such thermal spreading
is expected to be smaller. In the case of quantum wire lasers, one expects a
further suppression of the temperature effect because pil)(E)has a spikelike
structure and is a decreasing function of E. In quantum bubble lasers, the
thermal spreading of carriers should vanish because the state density is
d-function-like. Hence, the temperature dependence of Jth will totally dis-
appear, as long as the electron population in the higher subbands remains
regligibly small.
4. QUANTUM AND DYNAMICS
NOISE IN QUANTUM
HETEROSTRUCTURE
CONFINEMENT LASERS
Both the broad-band modulation and low-noise characteristics of semi-
conductor lasers are desirable features for use as optical communication
sources. Two important parameters which have determined, at least in the
past, such properties are the relaxation oscillation frequency,f,,which sets
the useful direct modulation bandwidth, and the linewidth enhancement
factor a,which determines the relation of AM to FM modulation indices
as well as the degree to which spectral purity is degraded by amplitude
phase coupling. The expressions forf, and a are given by27,28
where P,o,and z are the photon density, frequency, and passive cavity
lifetime of the lasing mode; is the nonresonant value of the refractive
index; n is the carrier density; and XR(n) and XI@)are the real and imagi-
nary parts of the complex susceptibilities of the active medium. Their
derivatives with respect to the carrier density are given, re~pectively,?~
by
408 W. T. TSANG
where El and T2are the lasing photon energy and the collisional broaden-
ing time due to carrier-carrier and carrier-phonon interaction, and
gi(E)is the gain envelope function, which is given by Eq. (1 1).
Figure 8 shows the calculated results for a andf, as a function of well
width L, in GaAs. In this calculation, the maximum internal gain that is
necessary for laser oscillation is assumed to be 100 cm-I. The broken lines
gives the values for a conventional DH laser. In the calculation off, we
have assumed z = 2.6 ps, T2= 0.2 ps, and P = 3.8 X 1013~ m - As ~ . shown
in the figure, it should be possible to doublef, in a quantum well over its
value in conventional DH lasers using L, < 80 A.For the range of L,, a is
also reduced. This latter result was also found by Burt,= who, however, did
not estimate the value of a at El. It should be noted that a also contains a
free-carrier plasma dispersion contribution which was neglected in this
calculation by Arakawa et a/.23 Figure 9 shows the calculated values off,
and a as a function of L, (= LJ for a quantum wire laser. These results
indicate thatf, can be made about three times larger than that of a DH laser
and a can be substantially reduced. Thus, the calculated results suggest
that a quantum wire structure should prove effective for improving quan-
tum noise characteristics and dynamics.
Of the three types of quantum confinement heterostructuresemiconduc-
tor lasers discussed above, only the QW lasers have been demonstrated so
c
l5 c 3.0 u
a
-
H
I 0
W
t-
c)
* b
2
5 10 t-
z
2 W
W I
3 w
U 0
W 2.0 z
a
LL
a
I
z z
W
0 5 I
l- t-
a
X
U
0
J 3
W w
K I
J
I
I
J 1.0
50 4 00 200
WELL WIDTH d)
FIG.8. The calculated results for a and f, as a function of well width L, in GaAs for a
quantum well laser.
1.0
50 100 200
WELL WIDTH t i )
FIG.9. The calculated values forf, and a as a function of L, (L,,= L,) for a quantum wire
laser.
far. This is because at present the fabrication of the other two types of lasers
is still technologically difficult, even with the most advanced epitaxial
growth and device processing technologies. However, the quantum wire
and quantum bubble semiconductor laser structures can be effectively
achieved if one places conventional DH lasers or quantum well lasers in a
strong magnetic field, in which the electron motion is confined in two
dimensions. However, such lasers will only be useful for investigation
purposes but not as practical devices. Therefore, in the following, only
quantum well heterostructure lasers, which have been most successfully
prepared by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE)29 and organometallic vapor
phase epitaxy, (OM-VPE)30will be presented. Up to now, most of the
studies have been on the threshold current density reduction, the tempera-
ture dependence of &, the achievement of visible emission, and reliability.
Rather few studies have been made on the dynamic and spectral purity
properties.
111. Short-Wavelength (- 0.68 -0.85 pm) Quantum Well

Heterostructure Lasers
The emission wavelength of a quantum well heterostructure laser can be
varied by the well thickness, as discussed above. A calculated example is
400 - I t I I I I
AlAs-GaAs ENERGY BANDS

300 -
200 -
c
2
r 100 -
W
(z
Y O
w
400
200
0 40 80 4 20 160
WELL SIZE. Lz ci,
FIG. 10. The lowest (n = 1 ) confined-particle energy bands for electron (e), heavy holes
(hh), and light holes (Ih) as a function of well thickness L, for GaAs wells coupled by AlAs
bamers of thickness L, = 20 A.
m
I
800
c
:
v
r
I-
(3
z
w
750 - 20 WELLS
> clcl 0 0 CALCULATION
s rn
IL
W
v)
4
700 - 5 z 0 . 4 5
650 1 I I I I I I I I
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
WELL WIDTH, L z , (i)
FIG. 1 1 . Plot of emission wavelength as a function of well width. The crosses are the
calculated wavelengths of n = 1 (e-hh) transitions for each sample.
shown in Fig. 10 for the lowest ( n = 1) confined-particle energy bands

(“minibands”) for electrons, heavy holes, and light holes as a function of
well thickness L, for GaAs quantum wells coupled by AlAs barriers of size
LB= 20 A.31Indeed, Woodridge et al.,32by using MBE, have prepared
current-injection lasers with multiple quantum wells as thin as 13 A and
obtained lasing at the shortest wavelength of 7040 A (300 K). Their results
of lasing wavelength as a function of well thickness are given in Fig. 11 for
-
multiquantum well lasers with 80 A AL.MG~.MAs barrier and cladding
layers. Also plotted is the calculated wavelength for n = l(e-hh) transi-
tions for each sample. It can be seen that for a given well width the
measured emission wavelength is longer than the calculated transition
1- L A
FIG. 12. Schematic diagram showing the layer structure and doping levels of the MQW
lasers. The multilayers were unintentionallydoped. The SEM photograph is of the cleaved
cross-sectional view of the actualMQW laser structure at high magnification. There are 14
-
GaAs quantum wells each - 136 A thick and I3 Ab.2,G%,7fisbarriers each 130 A thick.
412 W. T. TSANG
-
wavelength by 150-200 A over the whole range of well widths studied
and that this cannot be accounted for by uncertainty in the well thickness.
This difference is larger than the exciton binding energy and varies from
sample to sample, so that Woodridge et al.32concluded that the participa-
tion of LO phonons in the emission process is also unlikely. Reabsorption
in the cavity or effective gap shrinkage at high injection may account for
these observations.
3.0
N
E
a
-
x
7
f
>
t-
gj 2.0
2
w
n
n
_J
3
0
I
0
W
[r
I
k-
I
k-
2
2
[r
1.0
3
0
0 I I
0.1 0.2
T O T A L G a A s ACTIVE M A T E R I A L ( p m )
FIG.13. Summary of the distribution, as represented by the shaded region, of the Ja’s of all
the MQW wafers grown by MBE during a period of about one and half years. The (0)and (A)
represent Ja’s of two systematic consecutiveseries of MQW wafers. (-) represents the best
average J,,, of standard DH lasers having A&,,,G%.,As cladding layers grown also by MBE.
5. DEVICE
CHARACTERISTICS MULTI-
OF CONVENTIONAL
QUANTUMWELLHETEROSTRUCTURE
LASERS
The ability of MBE to prepare ultrathin (5200 A) GaAs and
Al,Ga,-,As layers with the latter free of alloy clusters33resulted in the
preparation of high-quality multi-quantum well (MQW) heterostructure
lasers3-9,14,34,35(Fig. 12). In these conventional MQW laser^,^,'^*'^ the bar-
riers and the cladding layers have the same AlAs composition, x 2 0.3.
With these MQW lasers, an extensive study has been made on the device
characteristic^.^ Wafers with different numbers of wells and different well
and barrier thicknesses have been investigated. These results showed that
threshold current densities Jthas low as the lowest J, (800 A cm-2) ob-
tained from standard DH lasers36with approximately the same AlAs com-
position in the cladding layers were obtained despite the reduced optical
confinement factor r and the increased number of interfaces (Fig. 13).
Significant beam-width reduction in the direction perpendicular to the
junction plane was obtained. Half-power full widths as narow as 15 wereO
measured for some MQW wafer^.^ Extensive studiesNon spectral behavior

have been carried out by Holonyak and co-workers on MQW lasers pre-
pared by OM-VPE by Dupuise and Dapkins.
CHARACTERISTICS OF MODIFIED
6 . DEVICE MULTI-
QUANTUMWELLHETEROSTRUCTURE LASERS
a. Laser Layer Structure and Threshold Current Density
Theoretically, because of the modification of the density of states in
quantum well lasers, the Jtbof quantum well lasers should be lower than
that obtainable with DH lasers. However, the experimental results shown
in Fig. 13 do not reflect such impr~vement.~ This has been found by Tsang
to be related to the injection efficiency of the carriers over the various
barriers in MQW lasers!
In order to determine the optimal barrier height of the Al,Ga,-,As
barrier layers for obtaining low Jtb,a series of eight-well MQW laser wafers
with Al,Ga,-,As (0.3 5 y 5 0.35) was grown. In this series, all the layer
structures were maintained approximately the same, whereas only the
AlAs composition x in the Al,Ga,-,As barrier layers was varied (Fig. 14).
It is seen that indeed the averaged Jthdoes vary with the barrier height of
the Al,Ga,-,As barrier layers, as shown in Fig, 15, in which the average Jth
of each wafer is plotted against the AlAs composition x (and the barrier
height) of the Al,Ga,-,As barrier layers of that wafer. As the AlAs compo-
sition x increases from 0.08, the Jthdecreases first significantly to a mini-
mum at about x = 0.2 (the cross over point of the two dashed lines) and
then increases with increasing x for x greater than -0.2. Such behavior can
414 W. T. TSANG
A t , Ga +x As EARRIERS
J ' -
\\! t
GaAs WELLS
FIG.14. Schematicenergy-band diagram of the modified MQW laser.
be understood in the following manner. The Jthdecreases with increasing x

at first because of two possible reasons:
( 1 ) As the barrier height of the Al,Ga,-,As barrier layers increases, the

modification of the density of states becomes increasingly significant. Spe-
cifically, the density of states increases with increasing depth of the wells.
This increased density of states leads to a corresponding lowering of the
threshold needed for achieving population inversion. This effect is ex-
pected to continue for all x but gradually saturates for large x.
(2) As observed by P e t r ~ f f in, ~ ~contrast to regular DH, the MQW
structure shows that the dislocations are not behaving as nonradiative
BARRIER H E I G H T OF T H E GaAS/A!2xGa1-xAS
M U L T I L A Y E R S (mev)
0 100 2 00 300 400
N
- 2.0
I
E
0
a 1.0
5 0.8
I
-k 0.6
D
w
$ 0.4
(L
w
>
4
0.2 I I I
0 0.1 0.2 0.3
AeAS M O L E F R A C T I O N X I N AJ2,Gal-,As
BARRIER LAYERS
FIG. 15. Shows the variation of the average J,,, of several wafers as a function of their
respective AlAs composition x (and barrier height) in the AI,Ga, -,As barrier layers.
centers. This effect is believed to be related to the two-dimensional nature

of the carrier ~onfinement.~~ As the well depth is increased by increasing x,
the increased two dimensionality due to camer confinement decreases the
effectiveness of any dislocations present as nonradiative centers. The re-
sultant lowering of Jtbwith increasing x will be faster, will gradually slow
down after a certain x, but will continue to decrease. However, the present
results show a turnover at x of about 0.2. The increase of Jtbwith increasing
x beyond 0.2 can be understood as follows, As the barrier height becomes
too high, it becomes increasingly difficult for the carriers to pass over the
barrier and be injected into the next well. This decreasing carrier-injection
efficiency with increasing x results in increasing Jtb.It is interesting and
-
important to note that the turnover point occurs at x 0.2, a lower limit of
AlAs composition in the cladding layers above which serious carrier leak-
age over the barrier into the cladding layer is avoided in regular DH lasers
when operating near room temperature. This observation provides strong
support for the previously described model.
By further optimizing the barrier and well thicknesses and increasing the
AlAs mole fraction in the cladding layer to y - 0.45, an extremely low Jtb
of 250 A cmb2 (average value) for broad-area Fabry-Perot diodes of
200 X 380 pm2 was 0btained.4'~ Such an extremely low Jtbis to be com-
pared with - 800 A cm2 for the previous conventional MQW lasers3 and
for otherwise similar-geometry DH lasers.36 Gain-guided proton-bom-
barded stripe-geometry lasers fabricated from these MMQW wafers have a
-
cw threshold current of - 30 mA instead of 80 mA,38 compared with
typical conventional MQW and nonoptimized DH laser wafers also pre-
pared by MBE.3,36Such a cw threshold still represents a very significant
reduction even when compared with the median value of 70 mA of the best
LPE and MBE DH laser wafers.39Since these lasers are shallow proton-
bombarded gain-guided stripe-geometry lasers, the component of thresh-
old current due to lateral current spreading in the cladding layers and
camer out-diffusion in the active layers is expected to be about the same in
all three types of lasers. This constant component makes the threshold
reduction appear smaller in stripe-geometry lasers than in broad-area
lasers.
The net optical gain and carrier lifetime at threshold as a function of
injection current and temperature are also measured for single-quantum
well (SQW) and modified MQW (MMQW) heterostructure lasersm Figure
16 shows such an example. It is seen that the rates of change of net gain
with respect to injection current are significantly enhanced in QW hetero-
structure lasers (10 cm-' mA-' for MMQW lasers and 3.8 cm-I mA-' for
SQW lasers) compared to the DH laser, which is -2 cm-' mA-'. These
416 W. T. TSANG
I
O C
-20 -
- MMQW
+--
-E
V
iocm-1 mA-f
Z
a
-40-
0
+
W
2
-60 -
DH LASER
-80
20 30 40 50 60 70
CURRENT (mA)
FIG. 16. The net optical gain as a function of injection current for a single quantum well
and a modified multiquantum well heterostructure laser.
p - G a As
P-GaQ55A'0.45 A s
n -GaAs
p -G a0.55A I 0.45As
MQW LAYER
n-Gaa55 A 1 o . d ~
n-GaAs SUB
"&--
I (
0 0.2 0.45
51 nm
FIG. 17. A schematic diagram of an MMQW guided-index GaAs/AlGaAs visible (7800 A)

laser.
- 4 0 -20 0 20 40
0 50400450 -40 -20 0 20 4 0

( 0 1 CURRENT(mA) (b) ANGLE(DEG)
FIG. 18. (a) cw light-current characteristics for a visible MMQW laser. (b) Far-field pat-
terns for the same laser.
enhanced rates of QW lasers over DH lasers are consistent with the reduced
threshold currents of the former and theoretical calculations of BurtzZas
depicted in Fig. 6.
High-quality MMQW lasers have also been prepared by OM-VPE for
visible and high-power ~ p e r a t i o n .Figure
~ ~ ~ ~17
' shows a schematic diagram
of an MMQW index-guided visible (7800 A) GaAsIAlGaAslaser prepared
by OM-VPE. Low threshold current (35 mA) and high output power (up to
40 mW cw) in the fundamental transverse mode as shown in Fig. 18 were
~btained.'~
W ACTIVE LAYER
PROTON \ h-0% 6A'0.4AS
IMPLANT b-GoAs
FIG.19. Schematic of a coupled multiple-stripe MMQW laser.
418 W. T. TSANG
Because of the excellent material uniformity prepared by OM-VPE and

MBE, coupled multiple-stripe MMQW lasers were fabricated by Scifres et
uL4' from OM-VPE-grown wafers, as shown in Fig. 19 for very high output
power operations. Cw output power up to 400 mW and pulsed (75 ns)
output power of 2.1 W from an uncoated mirror facet have been obtained.
The threshold currents are of the order of -300-330 mA pulsed and
-
320 - 350 mA cw, corresponding to Jtb of 1.2- 1.3 kA/cm2 over a 250 -
100,urn area.
2 .o
:::I
0.3
0
,
20 40
I
60 80
,
100
,
120
HEAT-SINK TEMPERATURE ( " C )
4.0
(b)
-f
?- 3.0 - -
b)
W
9
r
-I
0
0 -
n r
u
To= 2 2 OK
2.0 I I I I I
0 20 40 60 80
TEMPERATURE ( " C )
FIG.20. Threshold-temperature dependence of a proton-bombarded stripe-geometry laser
(0,MQW 18 18-2; A, MQW 18 18-4) and (b) (0)buried MQW laser and (0)buried DH laser
under cw operation.
b. TemperatureDependence of Threshold Current

With A1,Ga,~,As/A1,Gal~,As QW heterostructure lasers it is also gen-
erally observed that the threshold temperature dependence is less sensitive
than in conventional DH lasers in both broad-area and stripe-geometry
A Toin the range 1 7 0 - 2 5 0 K is quite typical. Figure 20 shows
the threshold temperature dependence of a porton-bombarded stripe-
geomtry laser,16 a buried MQW laser,42and a buried DH laser under cw
operation. The increased Toobserved in broad-area diodes is also preserved
regardless of the stripe geometry used. Such an improvement in Toappears
to be consistent with expectations from the modification of the density-of-
state function for quantum well lasers. However, a To as low as 80 K has
also been observed in otherwise low-threshold MQW laser wafers. It ap-
pears that the value of To may depend to some extent on the layer struc-
tures, as suggested by theoretical treatment^.^^ In fact, it has been found
experimentally that Todid indeed depend on the well thickness.
c. Reliability of Quantum Well Lasers
Preliminary cw accelerated aging results (in dry nitrogen, 70°Cambient,
at a constant power output of 3 mW per mirror) on 5 pm shallow proton-
bombarded uncoated stripe-geometry lasers fabricated from conventional
MQW wafers prepared with GaAs wells are shown in Fig. 2 1. Even though
the MQW lasers have pure GaAs wells and more interfaces, a median
lasing lifetime of - 5000 h at 70°C was obtained.29
Proton-bombarded stripe-geometry GaAs/AslGaAs laser diodes with
MMQW active layers grown by OM-VPE have been operated contin-
uously at 5 mW/facet for over 1 8 0 0 h at 70°C with an average degradation
rate of 3.5Yo/kh and over 1 1 0 0 h at 100°Cwith an average degradation rate
of - 13%/kh.44Uomi et all3 also reported more than 1100 h of constant
power operation of 20 mW at 70°C with their index-guided MMQW lasers
prepared by OM-VPE emitting at 7800 A.
CHARACTERISTICS OF GRADED-INDEX
7. DEVICE
SEPARATE
WAVEGUIDE CONFINEMENT
HETEROSTRUCTURE
QUANTUMWELLLASERS
As was first demonstrated by T ~ a n g , ~the
. ~ability
, ~ ~ to profile the AlAs
composition of the epilayers by MBE also made possible the preparation of
a heterostructure semiconducting laser with graded-index waveguide and
separate carrier and optical confinements (GRIN-SCH),S*6,39 as shown in
Fig. 22. Such structure not only provides separate confinement of light and
carriers to provide further optimization possibilities for Jth, but also an
arbitrarily graded-index profile outside the camer-confinement region.
420 W. T. TSANG
POWER LIFETIME OF-0.87,um LASERS
W
z
t 100-
w
!k ---A10.08G00.92 A s
A ACTIVE LAYER
K (MBE)
W
A FAILED CONVENTIONAL
v)
a
-I
A ALIVE ] MOWLASERS
(MBE)
10 -
L I I 1 , l l I , J , , , ,,
39
FIG. 21. Log-normal plot of 70°C cw aging results of MBE-grown conventional MQW
lasers.
The combination of graded index and the use of very thin camer-confine-
ment regions, even into the quantum-well regime, produces the GRIN-
SCH structure and permits the .I totcontinue
h decreasing with decreasing d
even for d 5 700 A.It has been shown that the threshold current density Jth
of broad-area Fabry-Perot DH lasers can be described by
with the gain -current relation assuming the linear form

U N i.PiwN ,P- AL;Ga;-iAS

N2 Nz-yPx py-2 pz
n , p a n,p- GOAS
A"B
(b)
FIG.22. Energy-band diagram of a GRIN-SCH laser: Nipi stands for N,P - Al,Ga,-iAs;
n,p stands for n,pGaAs; CB, conduction band; VB,valence band.
In Eqs. (16) and (17), d is the active layer thickness in micrometers, q the
internal quantum efficiency at threshold; aiincludes all the internal optical
losses; r is the optical confinement factor; L the cavity length; R the power
reflectance of the mirror (assumed identical for both end mirrors);,,g the
gain coefficient; p the gain factor; Jnomthe nominal current density for a 1
pm thick active layer and unity quantum efficiency; and Jo the value of
Jnomat which g,, is linearly extrapolated to zero.
It is interesting to compare the optical confinement factor achieved in
these GRIN-SCH single-quantum well laser structures with conventional
single-quantum well structures. For a parabolically graded-index profile,
the optical field is approximately Gaussian. With proper normalization
factors, the confinement factor can be shown to be
r= (d/w,) (18)
where d is the active region width and Wois the Gaussian beam radius. For
d = 100 A and W, = 2336 A,we find = 0.034.
By comparison, the confinement factor in a conventional single quan-
tum well is given by
r = 100 X d2/G (19)
422 W. T. TSANG
where x is the composition of the barrier AlxGa,-,As and A,, is the lasing
frequency. In that case, we find for d = 100 A, r = 0.0026. Thus, the use
of the graded-index separate confinement structure represents a 13-times
improvement in optical confinement over the conventional single-quan-
tum well structure.
From Eq. (1 6) it is seen that the Jth of a laser is due to three different
contributions. The first term is the intrinsic term. The second term is the
internal loss term, with aigiven by
+ +
ai= Tar, + (1 - T)afc,, a, a, (20)
arc (cm-') = 3 X lo-% +
7 X 10-'*p (21)
In Eqs. (20) and (21), arcis the free-carrier absorption loss in the active
-
layer and at threshold is 10 cm-'; arc,,is the free-carrier loss in the
adjacent AlxGa,-,As cladding layers and for the usual doping concentra-
tions (- lo1*~ m - ~is )- 10 crn-'; asis the optical scattering loss due to
irregularities at the heterointerfaces or within the waveguide region (mea-
sured losses of - 12 cm-l can be accounted for by a roughness amplitude of
only 100 A in conventional LPE-grown DH lasers); and a, is the coupling
loss when the optical field spreads beyond the AlxGa1-,As cladding layers
and is usually negligible when the AlXGal-,As cladding layers are thick
-
(-2 pm). Thus, the measured ol, so far is typically 10-20 cm-' in
LPE-grown lasers. The third term is the mirror loss term, which is -30
cm-' for L = 380 pm and R = 0.32. The values of Jo/q and l / $ ?that best
fit the experimental results, especially when d 2 1000 A, are 4500 and 20,
respectively, as suggested by case^.^' Using these values and an aiof 10
cm-', the relative importance of the three terms in Eq. ( 16) is shown in Fig.
23 by the solid curves as a function of GaAs active layer thickness d for DH
lasers with Ab,3Gh.,A~cladding layers. It is seen that for the usually used
active layer thickness of k 1000 A, the main contribution to Julcomes from
the intrinsic linear term. Both the internal loss and mirror loss terms
remain relatively unchanged and unimportant in this regime. However, for
d 5 700 A,the contribution to Jth due to the mirror loss and internal loss
terms becomes dominant and increases rapidly with decreasing d as a
result of decreasing optical confinement I'. The effect on nonradiative
recombination velocity at the interfaces are neglected.* Included in Fig.
23, as shown by the dashed curves, are the mirror loss and the internal loss
terms calculated for a graded-index waveguide separate confinement het-
erostructure (GRIN-SCH) laser with the minimum beam width W, = pm.
The inset depicts the energy-band diagram of the GRIN-SCH laser. The
same parameter values as those used in the previous DH laser except r,
which is calculated for the parabolically graded waveguide, are used in
obtaining the previous curves. The intrinsic term remains the same. For
ACTIVE LAYER THICKNESS d ( p )

FIG.23. Relative importance of the contributions to Jta by the intrinsic, the internal loss,
and the mirror loss terms: (-), calculated for regular DH lasers; (- - -), GRIN-SCH
lasers. Both use previously determined parameter values as described in the text. ( * . * ),
calculated for GRIN-SCH lasers using the parameter values determined in this experiment.
The symbols I, A, and M refer to the first (intrinsic), second (internal loss), and third (mirror
loss) terms, respectively, of Eq. (16).
d 5 700 A, although both the mirror loss and internal loss terms remain
dominant over the intrinsic term, they are significantly reduced from those
of DH lasers and stay almost constant with decreasing d. These result from
an increased r and the feature that d/T remains almost constant in the
GRIN-SCH lasers in the very thin d regime. By comparison of the DH
424 W. T. TSANG
lasers, the present calculation shows that (1) a reduction in Jthis obtained
only when d is thinner than certain value d, depending on the W, of the
GRIN-SCH laser; and (2) for the same W, the Jtbof the GRIN-SCH lasers
should continue to decrease with decreasing d even when d 5 d,. Indeed,
both features have been confirmed by experimental results. Had a super-
linear gain - current been assumed in Eqs. ( 16) and ( 17), the decrease of Jth
with decreasing d would have been even more drastic.
In fact, the presence of the quantum size effect in such a thin active layer
regime, as discussed in Section 11, will significantly increase the gain coeffi-
cient G. Kasemset et aL4’ have calculated the gain-current relation for
QW heterostructure lasers. For a typical well width of 100 ,h, the gain-
current relation is shown in Fig. 24. Presented also in the figure for
comparison is the gain - current relation for normal heterostructure lasers
(i.e., one which does not show quantum size effects). It can be seen that the
use of the quantum well structure results in a significant enhancement of
the optical gain at any particular injection level. This is due primarily to
the increased density of states at the lasing energy achieved by quantiza-
tion, as discussed in Section 11. Such an effect has not been included in the
calculation of the intrinsic term in Fig. 23.
The effect of an enhanced carrier transport to, and confinement in, the
quantum well, due to electrons “funneling” by the graded composition
’
/’
0 I
Zx?03 4x?O3 6x403 8x1~1~ 404
(,,,J A /cm2.pm)
FIG.24. Optical gain as a function of normalized current density in a 100 A quantum well
laser and that of the normal double heterostructure laser. (-), calculated values for the
100 A quantum well; (- - -), calculated values for normal DH lasers, both of which assume
parabolic bands with the k selection rule.
regions has also not been taken into account in calculating the curves in
Fig. 23. This effect may actually be important in reducing the threshold
current and increasing the Toof the GRIN-SCH quantum well lasers.
Further reduction in the Jthof the GRIN-SCH lasers can also come from
optimization of the mirror loss and/or the internal loss terms. The mirror
loss term can be reduced by having long L and reflective mirror coatings;
however, these are only external structural variations. Extremely low-
threshold GRIN-SCH lasers with single and double active layers (layer
thickness 200-400 A) were prepared first by MBE.6 As a result of an
increased optical confinement, a significant reduction in the internal loss cui
is 5 3 cm-I, and the gain constant p is 0.08-0.12. The internal loss a; is
reduced by having the p and n-Al,Ga,-,As cladding layers doped to
- 10'' ~ r n -and
~ both the active layer and the graded-index waveguide
layer undoped (- 1014- 1015 ~ m - ~ The ) . quantity d/T is increased due to
the use of GRIN structure. The present measured values for j? of 0.8 -0.12
is also larger than those estimated by Stem (1973) in his calculations. This
can be the combined result of the quantum size effect and increased
efficiency in utilizing the injected carriers due to the built-in graded band-
gap layers on both sides of the active layer, which essentially funnels the
camers into the active layer. The increased p as discussed earlier in relation
to Eq. (16) and Fig. 23 is particularly advantageous for lasers with very thin
active layers. Plotted in Fig. 23, as given by the dotted curves, is the relative
importance of three different contributionsto J& using the various parame-
ter values determined experimentally and to Jthusing the various parame-
ter values determined experimentally and with L = 380 pm. As a result of
reduced ai and increased gain constant p, the internal loss term is negligi-
ble. Although the mirror loss term remains dominant, its magnitude is also
significantly reduced due to increased /I.
Threshold current densities similar to those obtained here, -250
Acm-2, have also been obtained by Yamakoshi et U I . ' ~with ~ MBE, as
shown in Fig. 25, in which the threshold current density of GRIN-SCH
lasers is plotted as a function of L, for different AlGaAs cladding layers.
Similar results have also been obtained by several groups with OM-
VPE.'0,47,4s The results obtained by Hersee et a1.'O are shown in Fig. 26. It is
also shown that there is a significant reduction in Jthof GRIN-SCH lasers
over the conventional SCH structure. They also show that the temperature
dependence of Jtb,To decreases with decreasng L, and is substantially
higher for GRIN-SCH than for conventional SCH lasers, as shown in
Fig. 27.
Recently Fuji et ~ 1by. incorporating
~ a superlattice buffer layer below
the GRIN-SCH layers, as shown in Fig. 28, have obtained an average Jthof
190 A/cm2 for broad-area Fabry-Perot lasers with a cavity length of 450
426 W. T. TSANG
1500 r
r II II 1
1
67
-2
67
\
a
E
--v--EC
>
f 1000 - vE-
V
--IF- -
z
L
W
n
I-
I-
2
W
a
a
3
0 500 -
0
-1
0
I
v)
w
a
I
I
I- L= 4 0 0 p m
0’ I I 1
pm and an internal quantum efficiency of - 95%. Such a Jtbrepresents the

lowest value obtained thus far in any laser structure. Figure 29 gives the
variation of Jtbwith cavity length for DH, conventional multi-quantum
well, GRIN-SCH, and superlattice-buffer-layered GRIN-SCH AlGaAs/
GaAs lasers.
::I ;
0
10
,
20
I
40 60 100
, ,
200 4000600
QUANTUM WELL THICKNESS L, (A)
, , ,~
FIG.26. Threshold current density as a function of well width in GRIN-SCHe(X,x = 0.4;
A,x = 0.6)and SCH (0,x = 0.4) lasers prepared by OM-VPE. L = 4000-5000 A; x, = 0.18.
200
150
-
Y
1
c 100
50
B xc'0.4 GRIN-SCH
I
100
I
200
L,d)
I
300 400
I
'
FIG.27. Variation of Towith well width for SCH and GRIN-SCH lasers.
Since the layer thicknesses, materials, and heterointerface qualities of

MBE-grown lasers are so uniform, lasing-power distribution across the
entire width of the broad-area lasers is always extremely uniform and not
of isolated filaments. As a result, a very high output power (pulsed) of 4 -
W per facet from 20 X 380 fim2 broad-area lasers has been obtained with
-GaAs (0.5pm. 1 x l 0 ~ ~ c m - ~ )
-AIxGal-,As ( 1 . 3 p m , Ix101ecm-3)
-AIGaAs (0.2p m , 3 x 1 0 1 7 c m - 3 )
NDOPED GaAs (Lz : 6 n m )
-AIGaAs (0.2prn, 3 X 1 0 1 7 c m - 3 )
-AI,Ga+,As (1.3 p m , 1 X 1 0 1 8 c m - 3 )
a A s (15 n m l - A I G a A s ( 1 5 n m ) ( 5 + 5 )
-GaAs (3.0pm, 2 ~ l O ~ ~ c m - ~ )
AI,Gal-,As ( X -0.7)
A '0.lBGaO.Bz As
GaAs
FIG. 28. A schematic diagram of a GaAs/AIGaAs GRIN-SCH laser structure with a

superlattice buffer layer and the corresponding energy-band diagram.
428 W. T. TSANG
300
GRIN-SCH I
2 2 00
W
P
I-
Z
W
a
a:
2
“ 4 00
0 TSANG
A HERSEE e t . a l . MO-CVD
0
0 10 20 30
I / L ( l n l / R ) cm-’
FIG.29. The variation of J& with cavity length. An average Ju, is plotted as a function of
(l/L)ln( I/R). GRIN-SCH lasers with superlattice (0)and without a superlattice buffer layer
(O), a), Heme et a/.lo (A).
SCH lasers.49What is more important is that all this power is concentrated

in a single spot of 30” (0,) by 5” (el,),as shown in Fig. 30. Although high
output powers are obtained in array lasers of both gain- and index-guided
type^,^,^^ the far-field patterns tend to be double lobed. For gain-guided
array lasers under high injection levels for high output powers, the lateral
current spreading and carrier out-diffusion processesSZare expected to
smear out the individual laser stripes, resulting, in actuality, in a broad-
area laser. Thus, for the purpose of high output powers, one can employ
MBE- or OM-VPE-grown laser wafers and simply form broad-area (250
pm) stripe lasers. This will yield a single-spotted far-field pattern with
narrow beam divergence.
The GRIN-SCH laser wafers just described were also processed into cw
stripe-geometry lasers. The cw electrooptical characteristics of proton-de-
heated stripe-geometry lasers fabricated from GRIN-SCH wafers were
studied39and compared with similar geometry lasers fabricated from LPE-
and MBE-grown DH wafers with standard composition. Lasers were fabri-
cated into a 5 pm wide stripe geometry using shallow proton irradiation
and 380 pm long optical cavities. The same processing and characterizing
procedures were employed for both GRIN-SCH and DH lasers. The cw
light-current (L-I) characteristic from each mirror was linear up to 10
mW per mirror. In addition, the “tracking” of the light outputs from both
A
I 2.65 A
(c)
0.63
x 1.0
0.55
0.52
0.47
--20" 0"
L
20'
I
-40'
1
-ZOO
I
Oo
I
20 40"
I
FIG. 30. Far-field intensity distributions at current levels near and above lasing in (a), (b)
parallel and (c), (d) perpendicular directions to the junction plane of a typical symmetric SCH
laser 200 prn wide and 380 p m long prepared by MBE; the threshold current was 0.42 A.
mirrors up to 10 mW cw per mirror were significantly better than that of

similar geometry LPE- or MBE-grown regular DH lasers fabricated during
the same time period.
In Fig. 3 1, the cw threshold distribution at 30°C of GRIN-SCH proton-
bombarded stripe-geometry lasers is compared with those of the lowest
threshold wafers of MBE- and LPE-grown DH lasers. It is seen from Fig. 3 1
110 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 1
0
g 100
(u
70-
z
w
(L
5 60-
V
n
J 50-
0
I
cn
40-
I-
I I I I I I I I I I I 1 1 1 1 J
0.01 1 2 5 10 203040506070 80 90 95 9899
CUMULATIVE ('10)
FIG.31. The cw threshold distribution at 30°C of GRIN-SCH proton-bombardedstripge-
ometry lasers compared with those of the lowest threshold wafers of MBE- and LPE-grown
DH lasers.
UNDOPED
FIG. 32. Schematic diagram of a GRIN-SCH DH laser prepared by hybrid-crystal growth.

2c
*
PULSED CURRENT ( m a )
20 30
s
c
A
& -3E
0
n n
0
u_ a
z
\
u
n
W
fa
g 1c w
a
I-
z
a
3 b-
n 2
b- a
3
0 I-
2
0 0
w
v, 3
-1
3
a
d c CURRENT (mA)
FIG. 33. Light-current characteristics of a GRIN-SCH BH laser under cw and pulsed
conditions.
that there is a significant reduction, by - 25%,to 52 mA dc in the median

cw threshold current of the GRIN-SCH stripe lasers. This occurs because
the current components (carrier out-diffusion and lateral current spread-
ing) not contributing directly to the lasing are to first order fixed by the
structure. The percentage reduction in the current component producing
the lasing threshold should be even larger for the GRIN-SCH wafers. This
larger reduction can be made more readily apparent by fabricating buried-
GRIN-SCH lasers, as is shown next. In addition, these lower thresolds were
achieved without compromising the improved distribution (a = 3.4 mA
dc) available using MBE growth procedures. That is, even though the
active layers are 200-400 A and the structure far more complex, the
similarity of the 0’s indicates that the same degree of control and reproduc-
ibility in material quality and layer thickness uniformity is still well main-
432 W. T. TSANG
P LASER
'G2
_K Ql
UNDOPED
GaAs 1
'n+-GaAs
S.I.GoAs SUB.
/
RIDGE WAVEGUIDE -x
0 0.18 0.45
n-AIGaAs
n+-GaAs
---
-+
FIG.34. (a) Equivalent circuit of a monolithic laser driver. (b) Cross-sectional structure of
GRIN-SCH laser/MESFET driver circuit monolithically integrated on a semi-insulating
substrate.
tained. As mentioned before, wafer uniformity can be further improved by

having continuous substrate rotation during growth.
Buried-heterostructure (BH) lasers operating in the fundamental trans-
verse mode fabricated from GRIN-SCH wafers have cw thresholds as low
as 2.5 mA (Fig. 32). This is the lowest ever reported for any laser. The
active stripe is zs 3 pm in width and 250 pm long. An external differential
quantum efficiency as high as 80% was obtained. Compared with regular
three-layer BH the threshold currents have been significantly
reduced, and more important, output powers of 20 mW per mirror (Fig.
33) have been obtained, a considerable increase over regular three-layer
BH lasers of similar stripe widths ( 5 mW per mirror). The output powers
are similar to those obtained from large optical waveguide BH laser^,^^-^^
but the threshold current of the present GRIN-SCH BH lasers is signifi-
cantly lower. (Threshold is - 10 mA for W = 1 pm; 30 mA for W = 3 pm;
a- -
300K
7- -
-
t-
W
6-
u
i?
\ 5 -
z
-
E
2 4-
t-
3
0
5(3 3-
J
2- -
1-
-
0
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
values
FIG.35. Relationship of light output as a function of input voltage V,, at various values of
ofL I
VG3.The bias current of the laser is set at onehalf of the threshold current by Q, .
434 W. T. TSANG
L = 300 pm for four-layer buried optical waveguide (BOG) lasers,54and

-23 mA for five-layer BOG laserP with W- 2 ,um and L = 380 pm.)
Because of the extremely low threshold currents achievable with GRIN-
SCH lasers, this laser structure proves to be particularly suitable for inte-
gration with other optoelectronic devices. As a demonstration, Sanada et
have achieved monolithic integration of a GRIN-SCH laser with a
driver circuit on a GaAs substrate. Figure 34a shows the equivalent circuit
of the monolithic laser driver, while Fig. 34b shows the cross-sectional
structure of GRIN-SCH laser/MESFET driver circuit monolithically inte-
grated on a semi-insulating substrate. The measured relationship of light
output is a function of input voltage V,, at various values of V,, .The bias
current of the laser is set at one-half of the threshold current by Q1and is
shown in Fig. 35.
Using the GRIN-SCH single-quantum well (6 nm thick) structure, the
integrated laser has exhibited room-temperature cw operation characteris-
tics with an extremely low threshold current of 15 mA as well as a high
quantum efficiency of 50%. Measurements have also shown the conversion
ratio of laser output power to input gate voltage of 4.3 mW/V, and the
turn-on and turn-off time of the light output of 400 and 900 ps, respec-
tively, demonstrating high-sensitivity and fast-response performance of the
present monolithic laser driver.
IV. Long-Wavelength ( A - 1.3 - 1.6 pm) Quantum Well

8. IQ.,,G%.~~As-I~P
QUANTUM
WELLS
/ I ~ PL, as small as 25 A
Quantum well structures of I Q . ~ , G % . ~ ~ A s with
have been prepared by Razeghi and Hirtz5*using low-pressure OM-VPE
Figure 36 shows the Auger spectrum of a chemically etched level which
cuts all four 1~.~,Ga,,,~As layers of the four IQ,,G%,~,As well separated
by InP barrier layers. The 2 K photoluminescence spectrum of the sample
from the four different wells as excited with a Nd-YAg laser at 1 170 meV is
shown in Fig. 37. Such quantum wells have also been prepared by hydride
vapor phase e p i t a ~ y . ~ ~
Tsanga has also prepared current-injection IQ.~~G%.~, As/InP quantum
well lasers using MBE. A scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of a
G%,47 As/InP MQW heterostructure (layers chemically delineated to
enhance the heterointerfaces) is shown in Fig. 38. The Ga,-,4,1q.s3As wells
are - 250 A,and the InP barriers are - 330 A for this wafer. Lasers with
such well thicknesses did not show any significant upward energy shift at
room temperature. Thus, results from a wafer with a well thickness of
K
w
(3
3
a
0 100 200 300 400 500
(pm)
FIG. 36. Auger spectrum of a chemically etched level which cuts all four Ga,,In,,,As
layers of the four-well G%.47
In,,,,As/InP sample.
- 70 A are presented in the following discussion. Although the layers of the

wafer shown in Fig. 38 are too thick to produce an observable quantum
size effect, it is seen that they are very smooth and uniform is thickness.
Figure 39a shows the L-I curves of a laser diode at various heat-sink
temperatures fabricated from a MQW laser wafer having four
-
Gq,, Iq,s3Aswells of 70 A and InP bamers of - 150 A.These thickness
were estimated from growth-rate measurements. The room-temperature
(24°C)threshold is about 2.7 kA cm-*, which is about 15%lower than that
of AlGaInAs/InP DH lased1emitting at 1.5 pm also prepared by MBE. In
the temperature range 10- 75 "C, the threshold temperature dependence
can be described very closely by a single dependence with T0-45 K, as
shown in Fig. 39b. The usually observed breaking point in threshold
temperature dependence?' i.e., different Tofor the low- and high-tempera-
436 W. T. TSANG
I I I I I I
Ga0471n0.53As-1np
T= 2K
C 598
700 800 900 1000

PHOTON ENERGY ( m e V )
FIG.37. Photoluminescence spectrum of a Ga.4,1n,,s3As/InP sample measured at 2 K
with excitation at 1170 meV (Nd:YAG laser, 20 mW focused beam).Well assignments are
indicated above each peak. Note that the peaks assoCiated with the 25 and 50 I\ wells are
clearly multicomponent i? nature. The full width at half-maximum of the lowest energy peak
(associated with the 200 A well) is 8.3 meV. The inset schematically illustrates the sample
structure.
FIG. 38. An SEM p h o t o p p h of a G~,4,1n,,s,N/InP MQW heterostructure with four

Ga,,471q,53A~ - -
wells of 250 A and three InP barriers of 330 A. The cladding layers are InP
the structure is grown by MBE.
a 7
10
2 1 G00.47In0,~3As(~70%)/InP(-1 5 0 % )
-
;
i 7-
D
6 - MQW LASER
-I 5 -
0
x 4 -
v)
w
P
I
3-
I-
&w 2-
P
[L
3
V
1 I I I I I I I
ture regions, was not observed or at least was not as obvious in these MQW
lasers. However, the Tomeasured is not higher than for AlGaInAs/InP DH
where To- 40 K for temperatures between 10 and 45"C, also
prepared by MBE and emitting at 1.5 pm. It has been suggested from
theoretical s t ~ d i e sthat , ~ ~Toof the 1.3 - 1.5 pm MQW lasers should be
~ ~ the
438 W. T. TSANG
significantly increased as a result of the reduced-phase space for Auger

recombination processes. However, the present initial results with
G%.471q,53As/InPMQW lasers do not show such improvement. One
obvious reason is that the present MQW lasers, as indicated by the still
high-threshold current density (2.7 kA cm-2), instead of less than 1 kA
cm-2, is still not perfect enough; another reason is that the layer structures
are not of the right design to reveal such predicted improvement. Theoreti-
cal studies by S ~ g i m u r indicate
a ~ ~ that the Auger component of the thresh-
old current and its temperature dependence strongly depend on QW struc-
ture. The other explanation comes from a theoretical investigation by
B ~ r twhose
, ~ preliminary prediction indicates that the ratio of the Auger
recombination rates in bulk (DH lasers) to that in two-dimensional con-
fined structures (QW lasers) may actually be proportional to (EJkT)'/2,
where E, is the activation energy of the Auger process involved in the bulk,
k the Boltzmann constant, and T the temperature. It is seen that if E, is
comparable to kT (-24 meV at room temperature), then (EJkT)'/2is
approximately unity, and no significant improvement in To can be ex-
pected for QW lasers. The question of To in 1.3- 1.6 pm QW lasers is
therefore still quite complex and unclear both theoretically and experi-
mentally. Current injection InGaAsP/InP quantum well lasers have also
been prepared by LPE recently.65(See Appendix for further discussion.)
9. II~o.~~G~,,,,As-
In,,,2Ab,4,As QUANTUMWELLS
Temkin et ~ 1 investigated
. ~ ~ the properties of MBE-grown
I Q . ~ ~ GA
%s./~I ~ , ~ ~ A ~ , ,multi-quantum
As well lasers. These devices,
operating at room temperature in the 1.5- 1.6 pm range, have well thick-
p -1nGoAs
p-In P
p - I n AlAs
n-InAIAs
n -1nP
n - I n P SUB
FIG.40. Structure of MBE-grown InGaAs/InGaA1As/InAls/InPMMQW laser.

nesses as low as 80-90 A and barrier thicknesses as low as 30 A. In the

broad-area devices with a total active layer thickness of 0.14 pm, they have
observed threshold current density as low as 2.4 kA/cm2.
Kawamura et al.,67using MBE, also obtained current-injectionInGaAs/
InGaAlAs/InAlAs modified multi-quantum well lasers operating at
1.57pm. This MMQW laser is composed of InGaAs wells. The InGaAlAs
quaternary barriers and InAlAs and InP cladding layers are as shown in
Fig. 40.
Photoluminescence (4 K) as short as 9668 A,equivalent to 0.474 eV
above the band gap of I%.53Ga,,.47As,has been obtained by Welch et a1.68
from a single quantum well of 15 A prepared by MBE with I%.szAb,48As
cladding layers.
In addition to InGaAs/InAlAs quantum wells, optically pumped GaSb/
Al,,6Ga,,4As MQW lasers operating at - 1.5 pm have also been obtained by
Temkin and T ~ a n gusing
~ ~ MBE. Superlattices of GaSb/AlSb have also
been investigated.
-
V. Very-Long-Wavelength ( A 2.5-30 pm) Quantum Well
Lead-salt diode lasers provide tunable laser sources in the 2.5 - 30 pm
wavelength range. The entire wavelength range can be covered with
PbSnSe, PbSSe, and PbCdS diodes. Alternatively, PbSnTe/PbSnYbTe can
be used for wavelengths in the 6- 30 pm range, and a new material,
PbEuSeTe, can be used to cover the 2.6-6.6pm wavelength range.70*71
Molecular beam epitaxial (MBE) growth of Pb,-,EuxSeYTel-, lattices
matched to PbTe substrates has been used to fabricate double-heterojunc-
tion diode lasers with - 1.5 pm wide active regions operating up to 147 K
cw (180 K pulsed). This is the highest cw operating temperature ever
achieved with lead-salt diode lasers.'l
Recently, Partin7* prepared single-quantum well lead-chalcogenide
lasers by MBE. The dopant and composition (x) profiles of a Pbl-,Eu,
Se,,Te,-,, diode laser are shown in Figs. 41a and b, respectively. The
selenium concentration was adjusted to obtain lattice matching between
the PbEuSeTe layers and the PbTe substrate. This laser structure has a
PbTe single-quantum-well active region of thickness I,= 300 A. The
Pb1-,EuxSeyTe,-, confinement layers have x = 0.018 near the active re-
gion, yielding an increase in energy band gap of 99 meV at 80 K. The
europium concentration was increased further from the active region to
form a separate optical cavity structure, since the index of refraction of
PbEuSeTe decreases with increasing europium concentration. Mesa stripe-
geometry diode lasers were fabricated as previously reported using an
440 W. T. TSANG
0 5 10
(a) DEPTH ( p m )
I I
(b) DEPTH ( pm)

FIG. 41. (a) Dopant profde an4 (b) europium concentrations versus depth for a single
quantum well laser with L, = 300 A.
anodic oxide for electrical in~ulation.’~ The stripe widths for these lasers
were 16-22 pm, and the cleaved cavity lengths were 325-450 pm.
The threshold current for a 300 A quantum well active region is shown
as a function of temperature in Fig. 42. Pulsed ( 1 ps, 1 kHz) and cw data
are shown for transitions between the n = 1 states in the conduction and
valence bands. Below about 130 K, a mode with much higher photon
energy (corresponding to transitions between n = 2 states) was observed at
a higher “threshold” current. This n = 2 threshold current decreases with
increasing temperature until it becomes approximately equal to the n = 1
threshold at 140 K (pulsed). Above this temperature, the n = 2 threshold
current increased rapidly, and the n = 1 transition was not observed.
The PbTe quantum well width L, was varied in the sequence 300,600,
1200, 2500 A in a series of otherwise similar growths. The high-tempera-
ture performance improved up to L, = 1200 A. The threshold of a laser
with this value of L, is shown as a function of temperature in Fig. 43. The
10'
Lz = 300A
E p , PULSED
--a I0 0
W
K
K
3
V
D
10'
0 I00 200
TEMPERATURE (K)
FIG.42. Threshold current versus temperature for a laser with L, = 300 A.
cw and pulsed curves have a kink at about 100 K, apparently caused by a

switch from laser operation between n = 1 states at low temperature to
operation between n = 2 states at high temperature. However, laser opera-
tion was observed from 13 K (at 6.45 pm wavelength) up to 174 K cw (at
4.4 1 pm) and to 24 I K pulsed (at 4.0 1 pm). These are the highest operating
temperatures ever observed for lead-salt diode lasers. The operating tem-
perature of the 300 A quantum well lasers was probably limited by leakage
current out of the well.
Pulsed operation at temperatures as high as 235 K has also been ob-
tained with a GRIN-SCH Pb,-,Eu,Se/Pb,-,Sn,Se laser, as shown in Fig.
44, by Norton et ~21.'~These lasers were prepared by MBE. The quantum
-
well is 1000 A.
442 W. T. TSANG
I I I I I
I I I I I
0 100 200 300

TEMPERATURE ( K )
FIG.43. Threshold current versus temperature for a laser with L, = 1200 A.
'"8/;;;....
A
Pb+xEu,Se Pb+,Eu,Se
EgPb4-ySnySe EFFECTS
FIG.44. A GRIN-SCH Pb,-,Eu,Se/Pb,-,Sn,Se laser prepared by MBE.

VI. Summary
The theoretical analyses of the density-of-state functions, the spectral
gain, the temperature dependence of threshold currents, the quantum
noise and dynamic characteristics of quantum confinement heterostruc-
ture lasers, as well as quantum well, quantum wire, and quantum bubble
lasers, were reviewed. Because of the decreased dimensionality of the
carrier motion from three dimensional to two dimensional (quantum well
laser) to one dimensional (quantum wire laser) to zero dimensional (quan-
tum bubble laser), successive significant modifications result in the den-
sity-of-state function as the dimensionality decreases. This modification
results in a shortened emission wavelength due to radiative between con-
fined states, and significantly reduces the width of the gain spectrum, the
threshold current density, and its temperature dependence, and improves
the quantum noise and dynamic characteristics. In the case of quantum
bubble laser, the performance characteristics should almost completely
resemble those of a conventional gas or solid-state laser due to the fact that
the density-of-state function becomes 6-function-like.
-
Experimental results from short-wavelength (A 0.68-0.85 pm), long-
-
wavelength (A - 1.3- 1.6 pm), and very-long-wavelength (A 2.5 -30 pm)
quantum well heterostructure lasers were reivewed. These include quan-
tum well lasers from AlGaAs/GaAs, InGaAs/InP, InGaAs/InAlAs, Al-
GaSb/GaSb, PbEuSeTe/PbTe, and PbEuSe/PbSnSe heterostructures. Of
the various types of quantum well laser structures, the modified multi-
quantum well heterostructure and in particular the GRIN-SCH quantum-
well laser have been established widely to give the lowest threshold current
density ever achieved with semiconductor lasers. For instance, J,,, of 190
A/cmZhas been obtained in broad-area Fabry - Perot GRIN-SCH diodes of
AlGaAs/GaAs with a cavity length of 450 pm, and a threshold current as
low as 2.5 mA has been obtained with GRIN-SCH buried heterostructure
lasers. An internal quantum efficiency as high as 95% has been obtained
with GRIN-SCH AlGaAs/GaAs lasers. Though theoretical analysis shows
that further significant improvement in laser performance can be expected
with quantum wire and quantum bubble semiconductor lasers, at present
no such laser structures have been constructed due to a lack of suitable
material preparation and fabrication technologies.
Appendix
Very recently, high-quality Ga,,47 Iq,,,As/InP quantum wells have also
been prepared by a new epitaxial technique, chemical-beam epitaxy
(CBE).* Results obtained on Gao.47I%,,As/InP current-injection lasers
showed that there was a definite improvement in To.
444 W. T. TSANG
In all kinds of chemical vapor deposition (CVD), because the pressure

inside the reactor is typically greater than- torr and up to atmo-
spheric, the flow of the gaseous reactants is viscous. If, however, the
pressure is sufficiently reduced (down to < tom) so that the mean-free
paths between molecular collisions becomes longer than the source inlet
and substrate distance, the gas transport becomes a molecular beam. Such
thin-film deposition process is called chemical beam deposition or chemi-
cal-beam epitaxy7’ if the thin film is an epitaxial layer. Thus, CBE is the
newest development in epitaxial growth technology. It combines many
important advantages of molecular beam epitaxy (MBE)76and organome-
t a l k chemical vapor deposition (OM-CVD),’7 both of which were first
developed in 1968. And, therefore, it promises to advance the epitaxial
technology beyond both techniques.
In CBE, unlike MBE, which employs atomic beams (e.g., Al, Ga, and In)
evaporated at high temperature from elemental sources, all the sources are
gaseous at room temperature. They can be organometallic or inorganome-
tallic compounds. For 111-V semiconductors the Al, Ga, and In are de-
rived by the pyrolysis of their organometallic compounds, e.g., trimethyla-
luminum, triethylgallium, and trimethylindium, at the heated substrate
surface. The As2 and P2 are obtained by thermal decomposition of their
hydrides passing through a heated baffled cell. The use of hydrides was first
introduced into the MBE process in 1974 by Moms and Fukui7*and later
applied to the growth of GaAs and InGaAsP by Calawa and P a n i ~ h . ~ ~
Unlike OM-CVD, in which the chemicals reach the substrate surface by
diffusing through a stagnant gas boundary layer above the substrate, the
chemicals in CBE are admitted into the high-vacuum growth chamber in
the form of a beam. Further, in OM-CVD, most of the pyrolysis of the
organometallics is believed to occur in the gas phase, while in CBE there is
no gas-phase reaction. Therefore, comparing with MBE, the main advan-
tages include: (1) the use of room-temperature gaseous group-I11 organo-
metallic sources, which simplifies multiwafer scale-up; (2) semi-infinite
source supply and precision electronic flow control with instant flux re-
sponse (which is suitable for the production environment); (3) a single
goup-I11 beam that guarantees material composition uniformity; (4) no
oval defects even at high growth rates (important for integrated-circuit
applications); and ( 5 ) high growth rates if desired. Comparing with OM-
CVD, these include: (1) no flow pattern problem encountered in multi-
wafer scale-up; (2) the beam nature produces very abrupt heterointerfaces
and ultrathin layers conveniently; (3) clean growth environment; (4) easy
implementation of in situ diagnostic instrumentation, e.g., RHEED and
RGA; (5) compatible with other high-vacuum thin-film processing tech-
niques, e.g., metal evaporation, ion-beam milling, and ion implantation.
A gas-handling system75 similar to that employed in organometallic

chemical-vapor deposition (OM-CVD) with precision electronic mass flow
controllers was used for controlling the flow rates of the various gases
admitted into the growth chamber, as shown in Fig. 45. Hydrogen was
used as the carrier gas for transporting the low-vapor-pressure group-111
alkyls. Separate gas inlets were used for group111 organometallics and
groupV hydrides. A low-pressure arsine (ASH,) and phosphine (PH,)
~ r a c k e rwith
~ ~ a, ~reduced
~ input pressure of - 200 torr (in fact, - 40 torr is
sufficient) maintained on the high-pressure side of the electronic mass flow
controller was used. The cracking temperature was 920°C. Complete -
decomposition of arsine and phosphine into arsenic, phosphorous, and
hydrogen was routinely achieved, as observed by the absence of arsine and
phosphine peaks inside the growth chamber with an in situ residue gas
analyzer.
Triethylgallium (Et,Ga) maintained at 30 "C, triemethylindium (MetJn)
at 3 7 T , and trimethylaluminum (Met,Al) at 25°C were used. The Et,Ga,
Met31n,and Met,Al flows were combined to form a single emerging beam,
RHEED GUN
LIQUID NITROGEN
COOLED SHROUDS
/
CONVENTIONAL
+H2 MBE OVEN
RHEEDSCREEN
0PRECISION ELECTRONIC MASS I
FLOW METER RESIDUAL GAS
@ VALVE ANALYZER
FIG.45. Gas-handling system and growth chamber with in situ surface diagnostic capabili-
ties incorporated into a CBE system and atomic beams of Be and Sn for p and n-type
dopings, respectively.
446 W. T. TSANG
impinging by line of sight onto the heated substrate surface. This automati-
cally guarantees composition uniformity.80The typical growth rates were
3.65 pm/h for GaInAs and 1.5-2.5 pm/h for InP, although even higher
rates have been achieved. Such growth rates are higher than those typically
used in MBE. The growth temperatures were usually - 550- 580°C. Ele-
mental Be and Sn were used as the p- and n-type dopant, respectively. Note
that the use of CBE allows the use of evaporated atomic beams as dopants.
Gas source dopants can also be used. Continuous growth was employed at
the interfaces by switching out and in the appropriate gas components.
Before the growth of GaInAs/InP double-heterostructure and quantum
well laser wafers, the technique was first studied by investigating its ability
to grow high-quality InP and G%.47In,,,,As epilayedl and quantum well
structures**lattice matched to InP substrates. Excellent material quality
and heterointerfaces were obtained. Typical 2 pm thick undoped InP
layers were n-type - 5 X lo1,- 1 X 10l6 cm-, with a 300 K mobility of
-4500 cm2/V s and a 77 K mobility of - 30,000 cm2 V-’ s-l. Typical 2 - 5
pm thick G%.47I%,,As epilayers with no two-dimensional electron-gas
effect have mobilities of 10,000- 12,000 and 40,000- 57,000 cm2/V s at
300 and 77 K with n = 5 X 1014-5 X lo1, cmb3. Bulk G%.471%,,,Asepi-
layers also show a very intence efficient luminescence exciton peak with
linewidths as narrow as 1.2 meV, which is equivalent to the calculated
intrinsic (full width at half-maximum, FWHM) alloy broadening for
G%.471q,53A~ (1.3 meV). Such a linewidth is the narrowest ever measured
for any alloy semiconductors, including AIxGal-,As with x > 0.1.
One extreme way of testing the technique is to evaluate the quality of the
quantum well (QW) heterostructures grown by it. High-quality QWs
should have smooth and abrupt (“squareness” of the QW) interfaces, few
background impurities, and a high PL efficiency. In order to facilitate the
study of more than one quantum well simultaneously, multilayer struc-
tures consisting of a 0.5pm InP buffer, a 0.2pm G%.471~.,3As control
layer, plus G%.47III,,~~ASquantum wells of different thicknesses alternated
with 700 A InP barriers were grown on InP(Fe) substrates. The 0.2 pm
thick G%.47I%.,,As control layer (behaving as a bulk material) served as a
reference wavelength in the photoluminescence (PL) spectrum from which
the upshifts of the quantum wells can be calculated precisely. The quan-
tum well thicknss was determined from transmission electron microscopy
(TEM) measurements and from the steady-state growth rate. In CBE, this
latter process was found to be very reliable and reproducible from run to
run. Photoluminescence measurements were made at 2 K using the
647.1 nm line of an Kr ion laser as the optical pump. The pumping power
used typically ranged from 0.1 to 10 pW over a pumping area of 50 pm in
diameter. Very sharp intense efficient luminescence peaks due to excitonic
I I I I I
Ga47InwAs/InP QUANTUMWELLS
T =2K
.I
I 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6
WAVELENGTH X (pm)
FIG. 46. A typical photoluminesce.nce spectrum from a stack of quantum wells with
different thicknesses separated by 700 A InP barriers at 2 K. The pumping power is 1 pW and
the pumping area is of - 50 Grn diameter (Ref. 82).
transitions in the quantum wells were obtained, as shown by a typical

example in Fig. 46.With the 10 A well, the emission peak has been shifted
from 1.57 pm (the bulk Ga,-,471n,-,,3As reference) to 1.17 pm. Note that,
with a growth rate of 3.6 pm/h employed in the present experiment, the 10
A well required a growth time of only 1 s, yet extremely sharp and intense
luminescence was obtained, indicating that the heterointerfaces were ex-
tremely uniform and smooth. Separate samples with 6 A wells have also
been successful grown with similar luminescence quality and with an
emission peak at 1.09 pm. Further, such results have been reproduced
from run to run. It should be pointed out that all the CBE-grown wells
exhibited a single sharp peak due to excitonic transitions. No extrinsic
transition peaks were observed, indicating the purity of the material. Fig-
ure 47 represents a comparison of PL linewidths (FWHM) as a function of
quantum well thickness for the best published G~.4,1~.5,As/InP83-87
quantum wells grown by either OM-CVD or MBE. It is clear that the
present quantum wells have significantly narrower PL linewidths than any
of the previous G%.471q,3As quantum wells ever reported at all well
thicknesses. Such high-quality quantum wells achieved with CBE indisput-
ably demonstrated the superiority of this technique over OM-CVD and
MBE in producing highquality G%.47 I%.,,As/InP quantum wells. The
low-temperature PL linewidth for Ga,,47 1q,53Assingle quantum wells are
448 W. T. TSANG
100
- 1
T=2-4K
l l l ~ l 1 1 1 ~ 1 1 1 1 ( 1 1 1 1 1 '
a0 W CBE (Tsang et. al.)

- MBE (Marsh et. al.)
60 - 0
A GSMBE (Panish et. al.)
- 0 LPOMCVD (Rezeghi et. al.)
40 A Atm-OMCVD (Miller et. al.)
?&
v
2i
F
:
w
z
20
-.'pi, A':
::
t',
.
N
'N.
0
--.-- -I
c
J
w
0
z 10 -- /"'"--
.*
BROADENING
w
0
m a -D 4
:
'
O
DUE TO
w \ BAND-FILLING
z - m
=
3 6 -
-
\
** . . **** , .
..-* M
O
A
P
0
$ 4
- CBE GalnAsllnP
- .<. /
D-.-
BROADENING
-
2 INTRINSIC
ALLOY
BROADENING\
/. DUE TO
A~,=a,/2
--.--
.---- 0.
9.
1 I I I I I I I I I I I I I L t 0 * L l I I I
0 50 100 150 200
WIDTH OF QUANTUM WELL L, (A)
FIG. 47. Represents a compilation of PL linewidths (FWHM) as a function of weU thick-
ness for the best published Gq,,,In,,,,As/InP quantum wells grown by OM-CVD and MBE
together with present results grown by CBE. (- - -), calculated broadening due to band
filling impurities. A sheet carrier density of 2 X 10" cm-2 was used. (. * .), calculated
broadening due to "effective" interface roughness, L,, of 4 2 , assuming finite-height barriers
(Ref. 82).
determined by three major contributions,i.e., alloy broadening,88broaden-

ing due to geometric well-width fluctuation^,*^^^^-^^ and broadening due to
an equilibrium concentration of carriers (band-filling effects) and defects
associated with the heterointerfaces.88In G~.471q,,,As/InP quantum
wells, alloy broadening dominates for well thicknesses of L, Z 50 A and
amounts to about 1.3 meV. Alloy broadening becomes reduced though not
negligible in narrow wells because the electronic wave function spreads
more into the InP cladding layer. We have measured a value of 1.3 meV in
extremely high-quality G%.47 I Q . ~ ~ Abulk
S layers.8* The dashed curve
shown in Fig. 47 was calculated by Welch et dg8 for broadening due to an
equilibrium number of carriers produced from impurities in the well and/
or the barrier layers. A sheet carrier density of 2 X 10” cm-2 was used. The
dotted curve was the calculated linewidth broadening, A E, due to a total
(both heterointerfaces) geometric well-width fluctuation, L,, of one mono-
layer (a,,/2 = 2.93 A) using the relationship AE = [d(AE,,)/dL,]AL,. Elh
is the energy upshift due to quantum size effect in wells with finite-height
barriers. For narrow wells (550 A) broadening due to well-width fluctua-
tion becomes very severe and is the dominant contribution to PL line-
widths. Our linewidths are far significantly narrower than the calculated
broadening. Neglecting contributions due to alloy broadening in narrow
wells, we estimated an “effective” interface roughness of 0.124, which can
be interpreted as showing that the quantum well was largely consisting of a
big domain of the same thickness L, perforated with a small fraction of
+
small domains of (L, ~ , / 2 ) From
. the above discussions, we conclude
that our quantum wells have extremely flat heterointerfaces, no band
filling due to background impurities, and a minimal alloy broadening of
- 1.3 meV for wells 250 A. This is further supported by the results of
excitation ~pectroscopy~~ obtained from GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells also
grown with the same technique, which show an abrupt heterointerface
smooth to within one monolayer. In Fig. 48, we show the measured PL
energy upshifts, A Elh, of five different Ga,,471%.,3As/InP quantum well
samples, each having stacks of quantum wells of different thicknesses as
thin as 6 A as a function of well thicknesses. The three solid curves were
calculated with different ratios of conduction-band edge differences to
valance-band edge differences,A EJ A E,. For the first time, experimental
values agree well with the theoretical curves. Further, the extreme consist-
ency and well-behaved nature of the various different samples prove the
reliability of the data and the reproducibility of the growth technique.
Based on the present data alone, it is difficult to determine the actual
A EJA E, ratio.
From the above results on bulk G%.471~,,As and InP epilayers and
Ga,,471%.,3As/InP quantum wells, we are confident that CBE is capable of
producing extremely high-quality materials and heterointerfaces. We shall
next present our results on G%.47I%,,As/InP DH and QW lasers.
Quantum-well lasers, although more complex than DH lasers, are of
great interest because they offer emission wavelength tunability through
well thickness adjustment^:^ lower threshold:’ reduced threshold-temper-
ature dependen~e,9~.~~ narrower gain spectra,99and an enhanced rate of
450 W. T. TSANG
350
-z 300
W
Q
t-
250
i
W
B2O0
w
V
z
$150
w
z
5
3 100
P
ea
50
0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
THICKNESS OF QUANTUM WELL L, (2)
FIG.48. The measured PL energy upshifts of five different Ga,,,,Iq,,,As/InP quantum-
well samples (symbols) each having stacks of quantum wells of different thicknesses as a
function of well thickness. The three (-) were calculated with different ratios of
dispersion relation was taken to be of parabolic shape (Ref. 82).
A E J A E,. The G ~ o .III,,~~AS
~,
change of peak gain with respect to changes in injected carrier den-

sity.lOO.'O1a1 these unique properties have been well studied and confirmed
to a large extent in GaAs/Al,Ga,-,As MQW laser^.^^-^^* On the other
hand, MQW lasers with Gao.471q,,3Aswells having Ab.481~,52As or InP
barriers prepared by MBE,'08-111atmospheric or low-pressure OM-
CVD, * L 2 ~ 1 1and
3 hydride vapor-phase epitaxy114have scarcely been studied.
Their threshold current densities were typically at least two to three times
larger than in DH lasers, and no improvement in threshold-temperature
dependence has been reported to date except in those prepared by liquid-
phase epitaxy (LPE).1'5*'16 Note that in these LPE MQW lasers, GaInAsP
quantum wells were employed in order to avoid melt-back problems dur-
ing the growth of the InP barriers. Here, we shall show that low-threshold
G%.471%.53As/InP MQW lasers can be grown by CBE and that there is a

definite improvement in the threshold-temperature dependence when
compared with similarly grown G%.47I%,53As/InPDH lasers.
Both DH and MQW laser wafers were grown under similar conditions.
For DH wafers, the materials employed were four-layer epitaxial structures
-
of 2.0 pm n-InP (- 1 X loL8~ r n - ~ confinement
, layer), - 0.1 -- 0.3 pm
undoped G%.471%,53As (- 1 X loi5 ~ m - ~ active
, layer), -3.0 pm p-InP
(-8 X lOI7 ~ m - ~confinement
, layer) and -0.1 pm P + - G % , ~ ~ I % . ~ ~ A S
(-5 X loi8~ m - cap ~ , layer). For MQW laser wafers, the layer structures
were the same except the active layer was replaced with an active region
comprising typically 4 - 8 G%.47IQ,,~As wells of 70 - 150 A thick separ-
ated by InP barriers of 150 A.Note that, unlike LPE, no anti-melt-back
GaInAsP layer was needed above the G%.471%,53As active layer. Figure 49
shows the Auger depth profile of a DN sample. It is clear that the composi-
tion switching at the heterointerfaceswas abrupt to within the resolution of
the Auger profiling limit and there was no composition transients. The dc
drift in signal is due to a drifl in the ion current collecting system.
For current threshold density (&) evaluation, broad-area lasers were
fabricated from each wafer. The area of the diodes was 375 X 200pm2with
two cleaved mirrors and two scribed sidewalls in order to avoid internal
circulating modes. The current pulses were - 100 ns- 1 p s and lo3 pulses
per second.
Figure 50a shows the light output versus pulsed current amplitude for a
typical DH laser at different heat-sink temperatures. A plot of the threshold
0 7 14 21 28 35 42 49 56 63 70
SPUTTER TIME (min ), 750%/min
FIG.49. The Auger depth profile of a DH laser wafer. The slight dc drift in signal is due to
a drift in the ion current collecting system.
452 W. T. TSANG
1
TEMP.('C)= 2' 612518 25 '
I I
0 1 2 3
PULSED CURRENT (AMP)
4.O I I I I I - ]
3.0
2Y 2 2.0
1.0
0-
5 0.5
(b)
0.1 I I I I I I
0 12.5 25.0 37.5 50.0 62.5 75.0
HEAT-SINK TEMPERATURE ("C)
FIG.50. (a) The light output versus pulsed current amplitude for a typical Ga.4,1n,,53As/
InP DH laser at different heat-sink temperatures. (b) A plot of the threshold current versus
heat-sink temperature.
4
MOW LASER
-t
s3
m
-a
a
I-
=)
a
I-
3 2
0
t
r
(3
-I
-
n
0 I 2 3
PULSED CURRENT (AMP)
0.1 '
0
I I I I
12.5 25.0 37.5 50.0 62.5
I
75.0
I 1
HEAT-SINK TEMPERATURE ("C)

FIG.51. (a) The light output versus pulsed current amplitude for a typical Ga,,,.,,Iq,53As!
InP MQW laser at different heat-sink temperatures. This wafer has 8 quantum wells of 70 A
separated by 150 A InP barriers. (b) A plot of the threshold current as a function of heat-sink
temperature. (- - - ), replotted from Fig. 5 I b for a DH laser.
454 W. T. TSANG
current, I,, versus heat-sink temperature is given in Fig. 50b. It is seen that
in the temperature range of 2 -6O"C, the threshold-temperature depen-
dence can be exactly described by a single dependence relation,
a exp(T/To), with To= 45 K. For G%.471q,,3As/InP DH laser
wafers, the emission wavelengths ranged from 1.68 to 1.72 ,urn, depending
on the degree of lattice matching. The best wafers have an average thresh-
old current density Jthof 1.3 kA/cm2 at 25 "C for an active layer thickness
of - 0.3 pm. We believe that this Jth is the lowest value reported thus far for
G%.47I%.,,As/InP DH lasers. The differential quantum efficiency was as
-
high as 18%per facet.
Multi-quantum well laser wafers were evaluated in the same manner.
Figure 51a shows the light output versus pulsed current amplitude for a
typical MQW laser at different heat-sink temperatures. This laser wafer has
8 quantum wells of 70 A separated by 150 A barriers resulting in an
emission of 1.47 pm.This represents an energy upshift of 100 meV due -
to quantum size effects, in reasonable agreement with low-temperature
photoluminescence measurements on single quantum wells.82A plot of the
threshold-temperaturedependence is given in Fig. 5 1b. In the temperature
range of 2-80°C, a To of 80 K was obtained. The dashed curve is the
threshold-temperature dependence of a G%,4,1n0.,~As/InPDH laser re-
plotted for convenience of comparison. At 25"C, the averaged J, was as
low as 1.5 kA/cm2, and the differential quantum efficiency was - 18% per
facet, Again, we believe this J, to be the lowest reported for Gh,47 I%,,,As/
InP MQW lasers grown by any technique. Table I lists some of our better
DH and MQW laser wafers grown during this period. It is quite evident
that the T,'s for MQW lasers are in general about 1.5 -2 times higher than
for DH lasers. This represent the first conclusive comparison performed.
TABLE I
SOMEOF THE BETTERDH AND MQW LASERWAFERS
GROWN BY CBE AND THEIR
PERFORMANCE
CHARACTERISTICS~
Laser No. of QW or active Jth To Lasing

type QWs thickness(& (kA/cm2) (K) (pm)
DH - 1000 1.6 37 1.68

DH - 3000 1.3 45 1.72
MQW 8 70 1.5 80 1.47
MQW 5 80 2. I 75 1.50
MQW 6 100 1.75 75 1.54
MQW 4 150 1.6 65 1.60
-
a The InP barriers are 150 A in all NQW laser wafers.

r I I
.
U I I r
Ga0,471n0,53 As/InP
LASERS
-t MOW
z LASER
a
m
I- 4 . 2 X I ~ n
-a*
P
Irr
v)
z
w
+-
f
t
3
n
J
I-
3
0
17,160 17,250 17,330 14,650 14 '50

WAVELENGTH t i ) WAVELENGTH t i )
FIG.52. A comparison of the lasing spectra at room temperature under pulsed operation at
- 50 Zthfor (a) DH and (b) MQW lasers.
The Jth's are also substantially lower than for previously reported MQW
lasers. Previously, by MBE growth, Tsang1Ioobtained a Jthof -2.7 ka/cm2,
Temkin et al.'O* obtained -2.4 kA/cm2, Asahi et all@'obtained -3.5
-
kA/cm2, and Panish et al."' obtained 3.5 kA/cm2. By OM-CVD, Nelson
et al.lI3reported a Jth of 7.5 kA/cm2.
A comparison of the lasing spectra at room temperature under pulsed
-
operation at 1.2 Ithis given in Fig. 52a and b for a DH and a MQW laser,
respectively. Such spectra were rather characteristic for each type. As
previously observed,110.'13 it is seen that the MQW laser spectrum (broad-
area diode) shows a substantial reduction in spectral envelope width when
compared with that of the DH laser. This narrowing of emission spectral
envelope is believed to be related to the gain narrowing due to the modifi-
cation of the density of state in quantum well structures.
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Hijikata, Proc. 2nd Internati. Conf: Modulated Semicond. Structures, p. 322, Kyoto
(Sept. 1985).
92. L. Goldstein, Y. Horikoshi, S. Tarucha, and H. Okamoto, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 22, 1489.
93. B. Devaud, J. Y. Emery, A. Chomette, B. Lambert, and M. Dandel, Appl. Phys. Lett. 45,
1078 (1984).
94. W. T. Tsang and R. C. Miller, Appl. Phys. Lett. (May 12, 1986).
95. R. Dingle, W. Wiegmann, and C. H. Henry, Phys. Rev.Lett. 33,827 ( 1 974).
97. W. T. Tsang, C. Weisbuch, R. C. Miller, and R. Dingle, Appl. Phys. Letr. 35,673 (1979).
98. N. Holonyak, Jr., R. M. Kolbas, R. D. Dupuis, and P. D. Dapkus, ZEEE J. Quantum
Electron. QE-16, 170 (1980).
99. R. Dingle and C. H. Henry, U.S. Patent No. 3,982,207 (September 21, 1976).
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102. H. Temkin, K. Alavi, W. R. Wagner, T. P. Pearsall, and A. Y. Cho, Appl. Phys. Lett. 42,
845 (1983).
103. H. Asahi, Y. Kawamura, and K. Wakita,, 9th Internat. Semicond. Laser Conf: Proc. 82,
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525 (1985).
CHAPTER 8
Principles and Applications of

Semiconductor Strained-Layer Superlattices
G. C.Osbourn, P. L. Gourley, I. J. Fritz, R. M . Biefild, L. R.
Dawson, and T. E. Zipperian
SANDIA NATIONAL LABORATORIES
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO 81 185
I. Introduction
The advent of techniques for growing semiconductor multilayer struc-
tures with layer thicknesses approaching atomic dimensions has provided
new systems for both basic physics studies and device applications. Most of
the work involving these thin-layered structures, called quantum wells or
superlattices, has been restricted to layer materials with lattice constants
that are equal to within about a tenth of a percent (e.g., GaAs/AlGaAs).
However, it is now recognized that interesting and useful quantum well/
superlattice structures can also be grown from a much larger set of mate-
rials that have lattice-constant mismatches in the percent range. This
broader class of new semiconductor structures, called strained-layersuper-
lattices (SLSs), offers a wealth of properties with which to study materials
physics or design devices. This article reviews recent developments in the
SLS field and consists of: a background section on the structural features
and crystal growth of SLSs; a section discussing some general features of
the electronic properties of SLSs along with specific examples from the
GaAsP, InGaAs, and InAsSb systems; and a section dealing with device
concepts and experimental results on several SLS prototype devices. The
large body of work on the closely lattice-matched systems is covered else-
where in this volume and will not be discussed in detail in this article.
11. Background
1. ELASTICSTRAINACCOMMODATION
Early work on mismatched semiconductor multilayers with layer thick-
nesses 2 1000 A and lattice mismatches 20.1%indicated that the differ-
ence in lattice constants is accommodated primarily by misfit dislocations
459
Copyright 0 1987 Bell Telephone Laboratories, Incorporatad.
All rights of reproduction in any fonn reserved.
460 G . c. OSBOURN et al.
at the layer interfaces.' These misfit dislocations are defects which severely
degrade the electronic properties of the multilayers and render them use-
less for many applications. As a result, significant lattice mismatch usually
cannot be tolerated in multilayers with layer thicknesses 2 1000 A.Work
on mismatched multilayer structures with layer thicknesses less than a few
hundred angstroms revealed a different behavior. For layer thicknesses less
than a certain critical thickness h,, it is energetically favorable to totally
accommodate the lattice mismatch with uniform elastic ~ t r a i n s . ~ This
.~
behavior is illustrated schematically in Fig. 1. Since no misfit defects are
generated in this case, these strained-layer structures can have good crys-
talline qualitf and exhibit interesting electronic proper tie^.^ Values of h,
as a function of lattice mismatch have. been estimated using simple
model^,^,^ and the result of Matthews and Blakeslee is shown as the solid
line in Fig. 2. Recent experimental determinations of crystalline quality as
a function of layer thickness and strain have been carried out in the
InGaAsIGaAs system: and Fig. 2 also summarizes those results. Here we
see the InGaAs layer thickness plotted versus the InGaAs layer strain for a
variety of SLS samples. Samples with high crystalline quality, as deter-
j -1 Thin, mismatched
layers
I
I I
, u p e r l a t t i c e : rnisma t c h
accommodated by
strain
2 Graded layer
1
1 Substrate
5
FIG. 1. Schematic illustration of tetragonally strained layers in an SLS structure. Also
shown are the graded layer and substrate on which the SLS is grown.
8. STRAINED-LAYER SUPERLATTICES 461
InGaA./QaA. .
SLS.
a
W
lo1 I
10-2 10-1
STRAIN
FIG.2. Plot of InGaAs layer thickness versus strain for InXGa,-,As/GaAs SLSs. Solid
plotting symbols: highquality material. Open plotting symbols samples with structural
defects. (-), theoretical expression proposed by Matthews and Blakesee.
mined by electrical or optical techniques, are shown with solid plotting

symbols, whereas poorquality samples are indicated by open symbols. We
see that this expression is in excellent agreement with the data, as the
theoretical line exactly separates the high- and low-quality samples. How-
ever, experimental values in the SiGe system' appear to be an order of
magnitude larger than these theoretical estimates. This is probably indica-
tive of metastable SLS growth resulting from the lower growth tempera-
tures used in SiGe epitaxy and the large energy barriers against dislocation
formation?
GROWTH
2. CRYSTAL
The techniques of metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD)
and molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) have been used to prepare strained-
layer superlattices (SLSs) because of their demonstrated capability for
growing very thin (<50 A) Both techniques are capable of pro-
ducing abrupt interfaces and layers which are uniform in composition and
thickness and contain very few defects.l0 Abrupt doping profiles can a!so
be obtained using these techniques.
MOCVD was used to prepare SLSs in the GaAs/GaP system. Although
the detailed growth procedures have been published elsewhere, I certain
462 G. c. OSBOURN et al.
aspects of the SLS preparation will be emphasized here. The epitaxial
layers were grown on GaP or GaAs substrates by decomposing a mixture of
trimethylgallium, phosphine, and arsine in a hydrogen carrier gas. Usually
the SLSs were grown on either a graded alloy layer whose composition was
varied continuously from that of the substrate to the average composition
of the SLS (as indicated schematically in Fig. 1) or on top of a buffer layer
of a fixed composition approximately equal to the average of the SLS. The
graded or buffer layer was used to minimize the misfit dislocations due to
lattice mismatch between the SLS and the substrate. The SLS would then
be grown on top of the graded or buffer layer by growing a thin layer of
either GaAs or Gap, purging the reaction chamber with a mixture of ASH3
and PH3, and then growing a thin GaAs,P,-, layer. The growth of the
layers was controlled by turning off and on the trimethylgallium source.
The layer thicknesses were varied by changing the growth time. The growth
rate of the superlattice was found to be very similar to the growth rate of
the graded and/or buffer layers. The conditions used for the preparation of
SLSs in which layers of Gap or GaAs were alternated with GaAs, -xPx were
very similar except for the growth temperature. A temperature of 800-
825 C was used for the GaP SLS, while a temperature of 700- 750"C was
used for GaAs. If GaAs was present as one layer in the SLS, disordered
layers were obtained at 2 800" C. Growth of SLSs containing layers of GaP
at temperatures 5 750" C resulted in poor surface morphology and hillock
formation due to preferential nucleation or island growth.12 Since it was
not possible to change the growth temperature during the preparation of an
SLS, the growth of alloys with x = 0.5 resulted in somewhat lower-quality
SLSs.
Molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) has been used to prepare Ino.2Gao.8As/
GaAs SLS structures. General features of the MBE technique for GaAs/
AlGaAs growth have been reviewed elsewhere and will not be presented
here.g In the growth of In,Ga,-,As alloys, both In and Ga stick at the
surface and await the arrival of As atoms (from As, molecules) to complete
their nearest-neighbor bonding. The ratio of the In and Ga fluxes deter-
mines the composition x, while the sum of the fluxes determines the
growth rate. Some downward adjustment in growth temperature from the
optimal value for GaAs growth must be made to allow for the weaker
In-As bond and a stronger tendency to lose As at elevated temperature.
This usually presents no particular problem until thin, multilayer struc-
tures are required, as in GaAs/Ino.,Gao.,As SLSs, making it impractical to
cycle the substrate temperature to prowde the optimum growth tempera-
ture for each material. The optimum growth temperatures for GaAs (near
580" C) and Ino.,Gao,,As (below 500" C) differ greatly. The unavoidable
compromise is usually resolved by favoring the lower-bandgap material
(here, Ino.2Ga,,As), since camer populations will shift toward these re-
gions and, for most electronic and optical functions, high material quality
is most important there. The growth conditions settled upon for most of
the G a A ~ / 1 n ~ . ~ G aSLS
~ , ~structures
As reported here are a growth tempera-
ture of 500" C, and a growth rate of 0.7 pm/h. This growth temperature is
somewhat above the optimum for this alloy, and requires a corresponding
increase in V :I11 flux ratio to more than 5 : 1 to stabilize the surface. The
alternate layers are grown by computer-controlled opening and closing of
the In shutter only, so that growth rate and V/III flux ratio are not strictly
constant. These multilayers were grown on InGaAs buffer/GaAs substrate
structures.
The presence of interfacial strain appears to cause no problems in the
growth of G a A ~ / 1 n ~ . ~ G a ~SLS
. ~ Amaterial.
s In situ RHEED (reflection
high-energy electron diffraction) measurements show well-defined, well-
streaked patterns throughout the growth sequence, even immediately after
the opening and closing of shutters to cycle between GaAs and
Ino.2Gao.8AS growth. However, when greater strain is induced by attempt-
ing to grow structures with greater compositional difference, as in GaAs/
Ino,,Gao,As SLSs, the RHEED patterns become spotty, consistent with
nonplanar growth, which we strongly suspect is due to island formation
within the epitaxial layers. Island growth under certain growth conditions
has also been observed in SiGe SLS growth by MBE.'
3. STRUCTURAL
CHARACTERIZATION
Elastic strain accommodation and crystal quality can be evaluated using
structural characterization tools. The techniques of transmission electron
microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction, and ion channeling have been used
to characterize the structure of the SLSs prepared by MOCVD and MBE.
The results of TEM for a typical GaAs,P,-,/Gap SLS sample are
illustrated in Fig. 3. This micrograph was taken at right angles to the
growth direction so that the layer thickness could be determined directly
from the micrograph (see Ref. 1 1 for sample preparation). The micrograph
illustrates the quality and uniformity of the SLS. Similar micrographs are
obtained at other positions for the same sample. The micrograph presented
in Fig. 4 is a { I 11> lattice image of a GaAs,P,-,/Gap SLS. The { 1 1 1>
lattice fringes can be seen to pass without interruption through the succes-
sive light and dark Gap and GaAs,P, -, layers. The continuity of the { 111>
lattice fringes is evidence for the coherent growth of the successive layers.
TEM has also been used to examine the proposal of Matthews and
Blakeslee4 that dislocation propagation from underlying graded, buffer,
and substrate layers can be blocked by certain SLS structures." Recent
results confirm that dislocations from the graded or buffer layers are driven
FIG.3. Transmission electron micrograph (TEM) of a GaP/GaAs,,,P,,, SLS grown on

GaAs0,,,P,,, buffer layer taken at right angles to the growth direction. The layers are 230 A
thick.
to the edge of the sample by the SLS. The dislocation densities were
observed to decrease from 2 X lo9 cm-* to less than lo5 ~ m - ~ . ' ~
The SLS samples are routinely examined by x-ray diffraction to deter-
mine layer thickness, composition, and quality. As illustrated in Fig. 1,the
layer strains induced by the lattice mismatch between the superlattice
layers result in a tegragonal distortion of the individual layers. This distor-
tion, together with the periodicity of the superlattice, results in the ob-
served satellite peaks around the (400) substrate reflection. Analysis of the
X-ray diffraction pattern for an SLS gives directly the average composition
of the SLS and the repeat distance of the SLS layers."J4 If the ratios of the
individual layer thicknesses are known, then the tetragonal lattice con-
stants can be calculated using the elastic constants of the binary and the
alloy involved in the SLS and the known average composition. If the SLS is
grown on top of the buffer layer, an additional peak is present besides the
superlattice and substrate peaks. Further peaks arise from the presence of a
graded layer. A detailed curve-fitting analysis of double-crystal X-ray rock-
ing spectra gives the SLS repeat distance and the profiles of perpendicular
and parallel strains and compositional variation^.'^ SLS results from this
last techniaue yield layer-strain values that are consistent with strain ac-
commodation of the lattice mismatch.14
Structural characterization techniques have also been employed to ex-
amine the structural stability of SLSs. Many SLS structures have been
grown and appear to be stable for at least several years under ambient
conditions. However, it is of further importance to investigate the long-
term stability of SLS structures under the influence of various external
stresses such as high current density, high temperature, etc., which can
occur in certain kinds of devices. Studies in this area have begun only
recently, and conclusive results have not been obtained yet. Meaningful
studies of material stability generally involve the life-testing of a large
number of device structures, and great care must be taken to ascertain
whether any observed failures are due to instability of the SLS material
itself or to other causes such as those often encountered in devices fabri-
cated from bulk material.
Some recent work which reflects favorably on the stability of SLSs was
carried out by Myers and co-workers.'6 This work involved the doping of
GaAs,P,-,/GaP SLSs by implantation of Be+ ions followed by con-
trolled-atmosphere annealing. Two SLS structures were studied, each hav-
ing fifteen periods ofequal-thickness(- 175 A) alternating layers of GaAsP
and Gap. The compositions of the alloy layers in two samples were
x = 0.15 and 0.20, corresponding to mismatches of 0.56% and 0.74%,
respectively. The Be+ implants were done at 75 keV to a dose of 1 X
IOl5 cm-2. Annealing was done at 825°C for 10 minutes in an overpressure
FIG.4. High resolutionelectron micrograph of the ( 1 1 1) lattice fringes of the same SLS as
in Fig. 3. The ( 1 1 1 ) lattice fringes are the diagonal lines passing through the GaF'/GaAsP
interface.
+
of AsH3 PH3 in a H2 carrier. Hall-effect measurements showed that the
originally n-type SLSs were converted to p-type by the implantation and
annealing, and that acceptor activation and mobilities were compared to
values expected for type-converted GaP-based alloys. Furthermore, depth-
resolved structural characterization by ion channeling demonstrated that
there was no signficiant intermixing between adjacent layers in the struc-
ture, and that there was no loss of strain in the SLS. These results show that
implantation technology can be applied to SLSs and reflect favorably on
the stability of SLSs under the quite severe stresses produced by particle
bombardment and thermal cycling.
111. Electronic Properties

4. GENERAL
FEATURES
Much of the motivation for studying high-quality SLS structures results
from the wide range of electronic properties that can be obtained from this
new class of materials. This wide range is a consequence of the flexibility in
the choice of mismatched layer materials, the influence of quantum size
effects, and the effects of layer strains. As a result, SLS electronic properties
can be tailored through the appropriate choice of SLS structure^.'^
One example of this tailorability is the capability of independently vary-
ing the bandgap (EJ and lattice constant (a'? in SLSs grown from mis-
matched ternary alloys.I8 Note that this capability does not exist for the
bulk materials from which the SLS is grown. Theoretical and experimental
values of E, and ull are compared in Fig. 5 for GaP/GaAsP and G a s /
GaAsP SLSs. The experimental values (circles) represent photolumines-
cence measurements of E, for structureswith SLS layer thicknesses 2 60 A.
Lattice-constant values were measured using X-ray diffraction. Other de-
tails of this figure are discussed later in this section. Although only one set
of SLS structures is examined in the figure, theoretical results indicate that
all SLS E , values between those shown and the bulk alloy values can be
obtained. These specific SLS results are representative of a general feature
of ternary SLSs.
The large tetragonal elastic strains in the SLS layers can produce marked
effects on the electronic properties. The hydrostatic component of the
strain causes shifts in the bulk energy levels of the layers, and the uniaxial
component causes splittings of certain degenerate levels (e.g., the m, = kj,
k4 valence-band maxima). These bulk energy shifts in turn alter the band
structure of the SLS through their effects on the quantum-well structure.
The resulting energy levels of the SLS are therefore determined by: the
particular bulk quantum-well structure associated with the flexible choice
468 G.C. OSBOURN et al.
LATTICE CONSTANT (&

5.46 5.50 5.54 5.58 5.62
1 I I I I I 1 1 I
2.8
T = 295K
2.6
2.4
2.2
2.0
1.8
1.6
~.
1.4
I I I 1 I I I I I I
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.o
AVERAGE COMPOSITION ?
FIG.5. Summary of measured transition energies for both GaP/GaAs,P,-, (type 11) and
GaAs/GaAs,P,-, (type I) as a function of average composition X ~ x / 2(type 11) or X=
+
( 1 x)/2 (type I). These SLS structures have layer thicknesses 5 60 A. The lattice constant
parallel to the interfaces is also labeled on the top horizontal axis. The corresponding curves
for the bulk alloy transitions are also included for comparison.
of layer materials, the additional strain modifications of the well structure,

and quantum size effects5*’’The energy versus wave-vector dispersion of
the SLS bands can be modified from bulk values in the layer planes as well
as along the growth direction. For example, the uniaxial strain component
significantly alters the bulkI9 and SLS valence-band effective masseszo*zl
near the valence-band maxima. These effectsprovide novel ways in which
to tailor the SLS optical and transport properties.
Another interesting feature of multilayer structures is the existence of
nonzero optical matrix elements which are zero in bulk materials. In
particular, certain indirect-gap optical transitions in bulk materials (va-
lence band to [OOl] [OOi] conduction-band minima) become direct transi-
tions in the (001) superlattice due to zone-folding effects. The optical
matrix elements associated with these zone-folded transitions are no longer
zero due to the symmetry breaking provided by the layered nature of the
structure. Enhanced optical absorption can result from this effect.
5. SPECIFIC
MATERIAL
SYSTEMS
In this section we will discuss the SLS electronic properties of specific
material systems. We will first consider SLSs fabricated in the GaAsP alloy
system. These SLSs have a number of interesting features. The X I-r15 and
r,-rl5 energy gaps are 1.907 and 1.425 eV for GaAs and 2.26 and 3. I eV
for GaP. The fundamental energy gap in GaAs,P,-, changes from indirect
to direct for x > 0.54. Recent experiments indicate the GaAs rI5 valence
band lies 0.6 eV higher than the corresponding band in GaPF2This gives
rise to type-I superlattices (i.e., electrons and holes localized in the GaAs
layers) for GaAs/GaAs,P,-,. These superlatticesare similar to those in the
AlGaAs/GaAs system. Alternately, GaP/GaAs,P, -, superlattices with
x < 0.54 have holes localized in the GaP layers and electrons localized the
GaAsP layers. This spatial separation of carrier types is similar to that
occumng in the InAs/GaSb superlattices, which are classified as type-I1
superlattices. The most general form of these superlattices can be repre-
,
sented as GaAs,, P ,- /GaAs,P, -x2. Two limiting forms have been inves-
tigated experimentally: GaP/GaAs,P and GaAs/GaAsZl -,.
To understand the energy levels of these SLSs it is instructive to consider
a heterojunction with coherently strained layers. A type-11, (100) Gap/
GaAsP heterojunction will be considered here, but the results of the
present discussion are easily extended to type-I heterojunctions. The lattice
constant of GaAs is 3.6% larger than that of Gap. Thus the arsenic-rich
layer is subjected to biaxial compression while the GaP layer is under
biaxial tension. These strains can be resolved into hydrostatic and uniaxial
strain components. The hydrostatic component &h shifts the “center of
gravity” of a given bulk band, while the uniaxial component E , splits
degenerate bulk bands. Since the signs of E, and &h are opposite for the two
layers, so are the shifts and splittings. In Fig. 6 we have schematically
represented these strain-induced modifications of the rl and XI bulk
conduction bands and the r, and degenerate r, bulk valence bands. Note
that the six equivalent XIbulk-band minima are split into two equivalent
band minima for k along [OOl] and [OOT] (perpendicular to the interfaces)
and four equivalent minima for k along [IOO], [TOO], [OlO], and [OTO]
bands. The former two minima are zone folded to the r point of the SLS
Brillouin zone (for structures with an even number of 111-V monolayers
per unit cell5),while the latter four minima are folded to other indirect-
--
band minima in the SLS zone.
GaP GaAs P,,,
,x
----
100,010 J
'I
/A
i\
I
001 I': I
I
I, I
UNSTRAINED I
I I
I I I
'
I
BIAXIAL
TENSION
I
I BlAXlAL
I
I
I
I CoMPRESS'oN UNSTRAINED
I I I
I I I
I I I
I I I
---
___LI
11/2,*1/2>
1 -x 0 r7
8. STRAINED-LAYER SUPERLATTICES 47 1
Three sets of valence-band quantum wells and hole states are indicated
in Fig. 7 for the GaAsP/GaP SLSs. The upper two sets [labeled P(3) and
rv(+)] derive from the highest-lying zone-center Ts valence-band maxima
of the bulk, which have spin quantum numbers m, = A $ and -++, respec-
tively. These states are degeneratein the bulk, but split by strain in the SLS.
The states labeled P(so) derive from the bulk r, split-off bands. It is
important to note that the hole effectivemasses transverse to the superlat-
tice direction are substantially altered from the bulk value^.'^*^' This results
in large changes in the transverse mobilities and densities of hole states. A
highly schematic representation of the important GaAsP/GaP quantum
well transitions resulting from the strained heterostructures is also shown
in Fig. 7.
Associated with each periodic potential of a given symmetry there exists
a well-defined ground-state energy level as well as higher-lying levels. For
the particular heterojunction illustrated in Fig. 6 the lowest electron level
and highest hole level occur in alternate layers. This spatial separation due
to the “staggering” of the energy gap gives rise to an effective bandgap that
is lower than the bandgap of either bulk layer material. Because of this
particular arrangement of quantum wells, a simple picture can be used to
interpret the results of optical In this picture the transitions that
rc Conduction
band
states
XC
band
rv(112) states
-- -- -- --
Ga(As,P) Gap Ga(As,P) Gap
FIG.7. Schematic of quantum well structure and energy levels for a GaAsP/GaP SLS.
define the main features in optical luminescence and absorption occur

between the lowest energy states in each well. These transitions determine
the onset energies above which new sets of quantum well transitions can
occur. The details of other higher-lying transitions within the same wells
will be smeared out by the spatial separation of the wells and by alloy
broadening. The six lowest transitions are indicated in Fig. 7 and are
+ +
labeled E g l ,E,, E , A,, Eol,Eoz,and E , A, in Table I. Other transi-
tions involving the indirect [TOO], [loo], [OlO], and [OTO] minima are also
listed for completeness. These are expected to be weak transitions and are
not experimentally observed.
The lowest three transitions in Fig. 7 are expected to be enhanced
through the zone-folding/symmetry-reduction effect; however, spatial sep-
aration of the electron and hole wells will also significantly reduce these
oscillator strengths near the bandgap energy. At higher energies, transitions
involving states which are more delocalized (and therefore have larger
matrix-element overlaps) become accessible. In particular, detailed tight-
binding studies indicate that SLS valence-band states associated with the
split-off wells can have significant amplitude in the barrier layers due to
valence-band mixing.24It is expected that these transitions will exhibit a
net enhancement of the absorption coefficient due to zone folding.
In contrast, the GaAs/GaAs,P,-, SLS systems with x < 0.3 result in
electron and hole quantum wells both in the GaAs layers. These structures
can exhibit a series of quantum well transitions which are not affected by
spatial separation and which are not significantly broadened by the alloy
fluctuations in the alloy barrier layers. The energies of the SLS states have
been calculated for both the type-I and type-I1 cases using an effective-mass
(Kronig-Penney) model, with barrier heights at each of the high-sym-
metry points determined by the band offset^.'^-^^
TABLE I
OF OPTICAL
SUMMARY TRANSITIONS
Conduction-bandstates
Valence-band X , folded [001];=

states X,[0011" X,[010],[ 1001b rl' [olol,r l W b
rw -%I Weak, not observed E,, weak, not ObServed
rvw Esz Weak, not Observed Eo2 Weak, not observed
rv(w) Eg A, + Weak, not observed +
E, A, Weak, not observed
r? Normally indirect transitions, but direct in SLS due to zone folding.

Indirect transitions.
Direct transitions.
We have measured the transition energies in many different MOCVD

Ga(As,P) SLSs using photoluminescence (PL), photocurrent, absorption,
and excitation spectroscopies. The details of these experiments have been
discussed p r e v i ~ u s l y . ~ For
~ ~ ~the ~ * SLSs with x = 0.2, PL spectra
~ -type-I1
always exhibit a dominant band-edge peak due to the transitions Eg, and
EB2,which are sometimes resolved. In addition, much weaker Eor EO2 +
transitions (not resolved) are always observed at higher energy.
The PL spectrum for a type-I1 SLS with x = 0.4 is shown in Fig. 8. The
band-edge emission again shows Eg,and E , transitions in x = 0.2 samples
but shifted to lower energy due to the higher As concentration in the alloy
layers. At higher energies, Fig. 8 reveals a weak emission peak at an energy
+
correspondingto the Eg A. transition. At even higher energies there is no
+
evidence of the E,, EO2transitions. This is in contrast to spectra for
x = 0.2 samples. Apparently, the emission strength shifts from the
+ +
Eol EO2transitions to the Eo A. transition with increasing x. This
effect is not fully understood and will be discussed shortly.
The optical properties of GaAsP/GaP SLSs have also been investigated
using photocurrent spectroscopy.26This technique provides a convenient
means of obtaining information about optical absorption of thin epitaxial
structureswithout the necessity of removing their substrates. In our photo-
current studies we used samples similar to those described above, which
-
had undoped SLSs of 0.5 - 1.5 pm total thickness, lattice-matchingbuffer
layers (also undoped) of 1-3 pm thickness, and n-type Gap substrates.
Ohmic contacts were alloyed into the substrates, and thin, semitransparent
Au dots were evaporated directly onto the SLSs. The SLSs were illumi-
nated, through the Au films, by monochromatic light. In the photocurrent
1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4

PHOTON ENERGY (eV)
FIG.8. Photoluminescence spectrum of SLS with x = 0.4. The peaks near 2.0 and 2.2 eV
are due to the SLS,while the structure near 2.1 eV is associated with the underlying buffer
layer.
technique, free electrons and holes generated by optical absorption are

separated by the built-in field produced by the metal-semiconductor
Schottky barrier and thereby produce current in an external circuit. Only
camers generated in or near the depletion region of the Schottky bamer
are collected, so that substrate contributions to the photocurrent are dis-
criminated against. In some of the spectra, features due to the buffer layer
were observed and corrected for, as was discussed in a previous publica-
tion.26
Room-temperaturephotocurrent data from a GaAs,P, -,/Gap SLS with
320 A thick layers and fifteen superlattice periods are shown in Fig. 9. The
top part of this figure is a logarithmic plot of photocurrent versus photon
energy, whereas the bottom part shows the derivative of the photocurrent.
The photocurrent spectrum has distinct onset features of 2.05, 2.25, and
2.53 eV. These energies agree quite well with the theoretically predicted
transition energies of 2.09 eV for the transition Egl, 2.24 eV for the transi-
+
tion Eg A,,, and 2.53 eV for the transition E,, . The theoretically pre-
dicted energies are indicated by arrows on the figure. We note that the
closely spaced Eg, and EB2transitions are not separately resolved in the
room-temperature photocurrent spectra. A striking feature of Fig. 9 is that
the photocurrent at 2.2 eV (after saturation of the band-edge transition) is
more than a factor of ten weaker than the photocurrent at 2.5 eV (after
saturation of the transition from the split-off valence band, but before any
transitions to the higher-lying conduction-band states). This feature of the
data supports the idea discussed above that delocalization of the quantum
I
1.9 2.1 2.3 2.5 2.7
PHOTON ENERGY (ev)
FIG.9. Photocurrent spectrum (top) and its derivative (bottom) for a typical GaAsP/GaP
SLS.
well states derived from the split-off valence band should lead to an en-
+
hanced transition strength for the E, A. transition compared with the
Egl and Egztransitions.
The relative oscillator strengths for the various FaP/GaAs,P --x SLS
transitions in samples with x = 0.2 and 0.4 have also been examined by
absorption spectroscopy. Shown in Fig. 1Oa is the measured absorption
coefficient (solid line labeled SLS 434) for an undoped GaP/GaAso,.,Po,,
SLS with 180 A thick layers. Also shown are curves for the absorption
coefficient of a direct-gap material (curve labeled 1) and an indirect-gap
material (curve labeled 2). The latter two curves are actually absorption
curves for GaAs and Gap, respectively, which have been shifted in energy
to align the onset of absorption with the SLS band edge. It is apparent that
near the band edge at 1.95 eV, the SLS absorption is not enhanced with
+
respect to the indirect-gap material. However, near the E, A. transition
at 2.05 eV, there is a significant increase in the oscillator strength-
comparable to that for the direct-gap material. This increase in oscillator
strength suggests that this SLS transition has become direct due to the zone
folding of [OOl], [OOi] conduction-band states to the Brillouin zone center.
The observed weak oscillator strength for the E, transitions is due to the
spatial separation of electron and hole states that give rise to this transition.
To increase the spatial overlap of electrons and holes in these states, SLS
samples were grown with lower As content in the alloy layers. This has the
effect of lowering the quantum-well barriers which confine the electrons
and holes. The absorption spectrum for such a sample is shown in Fig. lob.
The measured absorption coefficient near the band edge (hv = 2.15 eV) for
this sample with x = 0.2 is enhanced about 10 times over that of the SLSs
with x = 0.4.These data indicate that the strength of the band-edge ab-
sorption can be adjusted by changing the As composition in the alloy layer.
Although the band-edge absorption in Fig. 10b has been increased, the
+
E, A. transition near 2.35 eV is about 6 times weaker than the corre-
sponding transition near 2.1 eV in Fig. 1Oa. These data indicate that the
+
E, A. transition strength is increased with increasing As composition
from x = 0.2 to 0.4. This is exactly the same result noted earlier in the
discussion of the PL data. The presence of this interesting effect in both
absorption and emission data underscores the need for a more detailed
band-structure treatment of optical matrix elements as a function of energy
and structure in these SLS systems. It should be noted that calculational
techniques have recently been developedzgfor lattice-matched systems
which will allow these types of studies in the GaP/GaAsP system.
In Fig. 11 we show the compositional dependence of the onset features
observed in the photocurrent experiments. This figure contains informa-
tion similar to the left-hand part of Fig. 5, with the addition of data on the
5
10
T=295 K
1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 3.0

PHOTON ENERGY (eV)
FIG.10. (a) Absorption spectrum for SLS 434 along with those for direct-gap GaAs (curve
1 ) and indirect-gap GaP (curve 2). The latter two curves have been shifted in energy to align
the energy gaps at 1.92 eV equal to that for the SLS. (b) Absorption spectra of SLS 449 with
x = 0.2.
transitions from the split-off valence-band states. Again we have used

bands to indicate the range of energies predicted for a range of layer
thicknesses from 60 A to the infinite-thickness limit. A typical pair of
experimental error bars is shown on one point. The uncertainty in compo-
sition is due mainly to the fact that there is some variation in composition
across the wafer, and different pieces of the wafer were used for the X-ray
and photocurrent studies. The vertical error bars come from the uncer-
1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 3.0

PHOTON ENERGY (eV)
FIG. 10 (Continued
tainty in precisely determining on-set energies for the relatively broad

features observed. In general, the observed features agree with the experi-
mental predictions within experimental uncertainty.
Up to this point, all of the optical data have been for type41 SLS
samples. Results have also been obtained for type-I GaAs/GaAs,P,-,
SLSs. These samples are electronically similar to the well-known GAS/
Al,Ga,-,As superlattices where the electrons and hole states are direct in
both real and momentum space. Aside from the obvious chemical differ-
ence, the primary difference is the presence of the large biaxial strain in the
2.8
2.6
2.4
w
2.2
2.0
1.8
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
X
FIG. 1 1 . Energy of onset features observed in photocurrent spectra of GaAs,P,-,/Gap
SLSs as a function of x compared to theoretical predictions.
GaAs/GaAs,P,-, SLSs. We have studied these SLSs with PL and excita-

tion spectroscopies.22A low-temperature PL spectrum from such a sample
A
having x = 0.56 and equal layer thicknesses of 210 is shown in Fig. 12.
The spectrum shows a very strong band-edge emission peak. The peak
energy is shifted approximately 40 meV above the GaAs band edge. This is
a direct consequence of hydrostatic compression arising from the large
lattice mismatch (- 2%) between alternating layers. The peak full width at
half-maximum is considerably narrower (- 6 meV) in the strained binary
GaAs layers of this sample than that in the type-I1 sample of Fig. 8, which
is likely broadened by ternary alloy disorder.
At higher temperatures, additional emission peaks are present in the PL
spectrum. These peaks are due to parity-allowed transitions between ex-
cited electron and hole states localized in quantum wells. At room temper-
T=42K
L(11)
2 . 2
1.50 155 1.60
PHOTON P E R O Y (eV)
FIG.12. Low-temperature photoluminescence spectra of SLS 679 at two different levels of
laser irradiance. The large peak is associated with excitonic recombination and is shifted
-40 meV from similar emission in bulk GaAs (indicated by the arrow).The schematic at the
left shows the effect of biaxial compressive strain on the conduction (CB) and valence (VB)
bands.
ature several of these transitions can be observed. The observed transition

energies are in agreement with Kronig - Penney calculations.
Figure 13 shows an excitation spectrum of the same SLS. To obtain this
spectrum, the PL was detected at a fixed wavelength while the excitation
laser wavelength was scanned. The spectrum shows a number of transi-
tions, including strong parity-allowed transitions, as well as some weaker
transitions which were not observed in the PL spectra. These weaker peaks
may be associated with parity-forbidden transitions. The two peaks labeled
1 and I’ involve the stress-split It,t)and It,+)hole states, respectively. The
energy separation between these two peaks is primarily due to the large
(- 40 meV) valence-band splitting. Their relative intensity is altered from
that expected from lattice-matched superlattices due to the uniaxial strain
modification of the valence-band densities of states. These effects are in
qualitative agreement with the stress-dependent effective-mass theory for
degenerate valence bands. l9
To summarize the results of the optical transitions for both type-I1
GaP/GaAs,P --x and type-I GaAs/GaAs,P --x SLS, we have plotted the
optical transition energies as a function of average As composition Tin Fig.
+ +
5 , where F= (xldl x,d,)/(dl dz).In the indirect-gap range TS 0.5, the
ENERGY (absome urits,ev)
1.55 1.60 1.65 1.70
I I ' SLS 67914
-i 80-
-
E 40- I 80
3
20 20
0 ' I I I
0
0 50 100 150
ENERGY blative units, mev)
FIG. 13. Excitation spectrum for SLS 679 with d = 230 A (upper trace) with detection at
1.545 eV (for the n = 1 peak) and 1.554 eV (for higher-energy peaks). The peaks correspond
to transitions between quantum well states for electrons and holes. The peak labels are
defined by the quantum well states. The upper horizontal scale applies t? the upper trace
only. The lower trace is the excitation spectrum for SLS 680 with d = 202 A. The two t r a m
have been aligned at the n = I transitions to show the effect of layer thickness on the
transition energies. The lower scale is in energy units relative to the n = 1 transition energy.
bandgap for the SLS is lower than that for a GaAs,P,-, alloy of the same
composition due to the staggering of quantum wells for electrons and
holes. In the direct range x 2 0.5, the SLS bandgap is higher than that for
GaAs, due to the compressive hydrostatic strain component present in the
GaAs layers.
Various transport studies have been carried out in the GaAsP systems.
To investigate the electrical characteristics of these SLSs electrical trans-
port measurements (Hall effect and conductivity) have been made on
various samples. The measurements were made by the standard Van der
Pauw technique on structures similar to those discussed above with regard
to the optical studies. Special care must be taken in these measurements to
ensure that the properties of the SLS alone are being measured without any
contribution from the underlying substrate or buffer layer. In general the
SLS can be isolated electrically from the rest of the structure by having the
substrate plus buffer be of the opposite camer type from the SLS.
Some typical electrical results are shown in Table 11. The first five
samples listed are GaAs,P,-,/Gap SLSs with x between 0.16 and 0.3.
TABLE 11
TRANSPORT
DATAOBTAINED
FROM HALL MEASUREMENTS SLS SAMPLES
ON SELECTED OF THE
TYPEGaAs,P,-,/GaPOR GaAs,-,,P,/GaAs
Layer
Sample thickness Numberof Doping T n orp Y
number Composition (A) SLSperiods profile" (K) (cm-') (cmz/V s)
~~~
553 x=0.16 160 20 UD 300 p = 1 . 8 1017

~ 50
602 x=0.16 I60 20 UD 300 p = 1 . 4 1017
~ 55
600 x = 0.24 170 20 UD 300 n=2.1 x 1017 157
60 1 x = 0.28 230 20 UD 300 n = 4 . 9 X 1017 183
607 x = 0.30 I20 20 UD 300 n = 1.1 x 1017 182
737 y = 0.33 210 40 MD 300 p = 1.1 x 1017 220
77 p = 7.6 X 10l6 805
737 y = 0.22 180 40 MD 300 p = 1.8 x 1017 209
77 p = 1.0 x 1017 I240
826 y = 0.2 190 35 MD 300 n = 1.1 x 1017 5750
77 n = 1.1 x 1017 25000
865 y = 0.2 I70 35 MD 300 n = 1.2 X 1OI6 6200
77 n = 1.2 X 10I6 26000
UD, uniform doping; MD, modulation doping.
These structures were uniformly doped with Zn for the p-type samples and
with Se for the n-type samples. Doping levels were in the low 10'' cm-3
range. The observed hole mobilities of 50 and 55 cm2/V s are somewhat
lower than would be expected based on mobilities in bulk GaAsP alloys.
The reason for this is not known, but a similar discrepancy has been
observed for uniformly doped AlGaAs/GaAs superlattices. On the other
hand, the mobilities of the three n-type samples (samples 600, 60 1, and
607) are comparable to bulk values.
Results for four GaAs,P,-,/GaAs SLSs are shown in the bottom part of
Table 11. Modulation doping, with the donors confined to the central 25%
of the wide-gap GaAsP alloy layers, was utilized for these samples. The
mobilities of the two p-type samples, both at room temperature and at
liquid nitrogen temperature, are comparable to literature values for bulk
GaAs. The use of modulation doping should make it possible to study
high-mobility hole transport in GaAs at low temperature without the
limitations caused by carrier freeze-out and impurity banding that are
encountered in bulk material. The mobilities observed for the modulation-
doped n-type samples are comparable to those observed in similar
AlGaAs/GaAs superlattices.m
The anisotropic nature of minority carrier diffusion in these SLSs has
been quantitatively examined using optical technique^.^' Diffusion lengths
perpendicular and parallel to the interfaces (L, and L!, respectively) have
been measured in (001) GaAs,,P,, /Gap SLSs. Recent band-offset mea-
surements2’ indicate that carrier motion perpendicular to the interfaces
should be inhibited for both electrons and holes. The measurement of L ,
allows a determination of whether tunneling or thermionic emission is
important for the perpendicular direction. In contrast, the parallel trans-
port should provide a test of the crystalline quality of the strained bulk
materials which comprise the layers.
The crystals examined in these experiments were composed of alternat-
ing, equally thick layers of Gap and GaAs,P -,, where the composition x
is nominally 0.2. We find that the perpendicular diffusion length
(- 0.1 pm) is more than an order of magnitude smaller than the parallel
diffusion length (- I .5 pm). The measured values are summarized in Table
111. The parallel diffusion length is comparable to that measured in the
bulk materials that compose the SLS. The small value for the perpendicu-
lar diffusion length is consistent with the existence of large potential bar-
riers in both the conduction and valence bands that inhibit transport
normal to the SLS interfaces.
TABLE III
SUMMARY OF PARALLEL AND PERPENDICULAR MINORITY CARRIER DIFFUSION
LENGTHS FOR GaP/GaAs,,P,, SLS
~ ~ ~~~~ ~~~~
Parallel Diffision Lengths

Sample X= x/2 Layer thickness (A) Doping (cm-3) Lll(pm)
449 0.096 320 Undoped 1.6

553 0.084 150 p , mid-10I7 1.5
554 0.08 1 150 n, mid-10” 1.5
598 -0.1 250 n, low-10‘8 1.4
606 0.079 360 n, low-10‘8 1.5
642 0.096 60 Undoped 1.6
Perpendicular Diffision Lengths

Sample Junction type x Layer thickness (A) LL(pm)
553 p s ~(1s x 10’7 on 0.084 150 0.12

n-buffer (1 X 1Ol8)
561 n-SLS(1 X 101*)onpSLS 0.119 100 0.06
(1 x 10”)
564 pSLS (1 X 10”) on n-SLS 0.070 260 0.08
( 5 x 1017)
There are several conclusions to be made from these observations. First,

the lateral transport properties are not degraded in these highly strained
materials. This is of particular interest for SLS p-type materials where the
layer strain splits the heavy- and light-hole bands and alters the lateral
masses. The lowest band can be either light or heavy depending on the sign
of the layer shear strain. Second, the perpendicular transport, as expected,
is largely inhibited by the potential barriers. Estimated values of the per-
pendicular masses are much too large to account for the observed values of
LL and reveal that thermionic emission is likely responsible for the ob-
served values. Thus, it would be interesting to study LI versus tempera-
ture. The short values for L , indicate that surface recombination in SLS
structures is largely eliminated. This is an attractive feature for several
device applications, such as emitters and detectors.
The electronic properties of SLSs grown in the GaAs/InGaAs system
have also been studied experimentally and theoretically. These samples
were grown by MBE, as discussed in a previous section. The emphasis in
this work has been on the transport properties of these structures.
Photocurrent spectroscopy has been used to investigate the band-edge
optical absorption of a number of In,Ga, -,As/GaAs SLSs with x = 0.2. A
typical spectrum3*(obtained at room temperature) is shown in Fig. 14. In
this spectrum we note a sharp onset of photocurrent at 1.26 eV, which we
interpret as the fundamental bandgap of the SLS. For the particular struo
ture used to obtain the spectrum.of Fig. 14 a theoretically calculated gap of
1.26 eV has been obtained, in good agreement with the measured result.
Most of the samples studies showed some structure above the bandgap,
such as can be seen in Fig. 14 above 1.3 eV. This structure has not been
investigated in detail yet, but it is anticipated that features due to higher-
lying subbands of the SLS as well as absorption features in the buffer and
substrate may be observed.
The large electron mobility of InGaAs alloys suggeststhat InGaAs/GaAs
SLSs have potential applications in high-speed devices. To obtain the best
possible electrical transport characteristicsit is desirable to use modulation
doping to separate the carriers from their parent donors or acceptors.
,
Modulation doping has been achieved in In,Ga -,As/GaAs SLSs using Si
donors for n-type material33and Be acceptors for p-type.** A schematic
representation of two doping schemes used to study n-type SLSs with
x = 0.2 is given in Fig. 15. As indicated, samples with both uniform and
modulation doping were grown. The modulation-doped structures had
120 A layer thicknesses and 45 A spacer layers between the Si donors and
the undoped quantum wells. Figure 16 is a plot of room temperature Hall
mobility versus average carrier concentration for the two series of sam-
p l e ~ A. ~significant
~ enhancement in mobility of the modulation-doped
I I
1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5

PHOTON ENERGY (ev)
FIG. 14. Typical room-temperaturephotocurrent spectrum of an In,,2Ga,,~,As/GaAs SLS
showing a sharp band-edge feature at 1.26 eV.
Uniform doping Modulation doping

(UD) (MD)
vB -- GaAs InGaAs GaAs InGaAs

FIG. 15. Illustration of uniform- and modulation-doped structures used to study electrical
transport in InGaAs/GaAs SLSs.
I no. Gao.gAs/ GaAs

0 SLS
\
.
\
\
GaAs '
I I I
10'6 loq7 lOl8
n (cm-7
FIG.16. Mobility versus carrier density for uniform doping (UD) and modulationdoping
(MD) of InGaAs/GaAs SLSs compared to bulk GaAs.
samples compared to the uniformly doped ones is observed. Room-tem-

perature mobilities are limited by phonon scattering; so much larger mo-
bility enhancements are observed at low temperature. Figure 17 shows a
comparison of low-temperature Hall mobility for two samples, one uni-
formly doped and one modulation doped. The samples have comparable
carrier densities. The modulation-doped sample has a peak low-tempera-
ture mobility of over 30,000 cm2/V s. This value is comparable to peak
mobilities observed in AlGaAs/GaAs superlattices with comparable
spacer-layer thicknesses.30
The low-temperature electrical transport results discussed above show
that InGaAs/GaAs SLSs can have electrical quality comparable to that
obtained in similar structures made from lattice-matched materials. This
demonstrates that the many highly strained interfaces (>100) in the SLS
structures do not significantly degrade electrical characteristics, and that
SLSs should therefore be useful for high-speed device applications.
Ino,,Gao.8As/GaAs SLS
Si-doped n %l~lO''crn-~
a -
10 -
0 " " ~ " " " " "

0 100 200 3 0
T (K)
FIG. 17. Temperature-dependent mobility for UD and MD samples doped at the same
level.
As was mentioned in a previous section, interesting valence-band effects

are predicted to occur in SLSs due to the strain-induced degeneracy re-
moval. In Fig. 18 we present tight-binding calculations of cyclotron 2D
hole masses of the uppermost pair ofvalence bands in model monolayer
SLS structures as a function of hole energy [&& = E(k = 0) - E(k)]and
the splitting of the SLS valence bands at the zone center.% The model
I11- V layer materials were chosen to have band offsets which result in hole
confinement in the biaxially compressed layer, and the tight-binding mate-
rial parameters were selected to give hole masses similar to those in the
GaAs/Ino.2Gao.8As system." The strain value in the compressed well layer
was treated as a variable parameter to illustrate the dependence of the hole
mass on the valence-band splitting. Figure 18 illustrates several interesting
features. First, the uppermost valence bands exhibit quite small in-plane
masses at small E,, values. These low-mass bands can be preferentially
populated by holes at low temperatures, low electric fields, and low hole
concentrations. The magnitude of this mass near &,ole = 0 approximately
tends toward a large stress limit. Second, the two distinct mass values for
each strain value of the SLS indicate a spin splitting of these bands. This
.4 1 I I
.3
0 10 20 30 40
EHOLE (meW
FIG. 18. Calculated cyclotron hole masses versus hole energy for the m, = ?$ valence
bands of several model SLS structures with hole confinement in biaxially compressed layers.
The hole energy is defined to be the positive difference between the valence-band energy of
interest and the valence-band maxima. The different pairs of curves correspond to different
strain magnitudes in the holecontaining layers, and the values of the m, = +-$, +& zone-
center valence-band splitting are given for each pair.
splitting is a consequence of the absence of inversion symmetry in the

111-V zincblende materials, and the magnitude of this splitting is in-
fluenced by the uniaxial component of the layer strains. Finally, the mass
values significantly increase with Eholcabove a value around one-fourth of
the valence-band maxima splitting. This increase is a consequence of band
mixing of the split valence bands, and it limits the energy range over which
small-mass 2D holes can be observed.
Experimental evidence for this small-hole-mass effect has recently been
obtained” from high-field magnetotransport experiments on Be-doped
In,,Gao,As/GaAs SLSs. For these measurements structures with different
ratios of layer thicknesses were employed to vary the strain, and therefore
the valence-band splitting, in the InGaAs quantum wells. The experimen-
tal results are summarized in Table IV. The first two columns of this table
give the layer-thickness ratio and the corresponding compressive biaxial
strain in the alloy layer for each sample. The third and fourth columns give
the carrier densities and mobilities at 4 K, as determined from low-field
Hall measurements. The last three columns give the results of the high-
field magnetotransport measurements, with F being the Shubnikov- de
Haas frequency, P the two-dimensional carrier density, and m*/mo the
TABLE IV
STRUCTURAL PROPERTIESOF TYPE In,,Gao,,As/GaAs STRAINED-LAYER
AND TRANSPORT
SUPERLATTICES
Layer thickness Parallel strain

ratio in InGaAs P P F P
d(GaAs)/d(InGaAs) (%) ( loi7cm-*) (cm2/Vs) (kG) (10" cm-2) m*/m,
0.5 0.48 I .4 6,000 66 3.2 0.14

1 .o 0.73 1.7 12,000 55 2.7 0.14
2.0 0.97 2.3 9,700 61 2.9 0.15
3.0 1.09 3.3 7,900 94 4.5 0.13
4.0 1.16 2.7 14,100 75 3.6 0.13
effective-mass ratio. The effective mass is found to be small and indepen-

dent of strain, suggesting that the large-splitting limit of the effective mass
has been reached. The effective mass is somewhat larger than the expected
value near Ebole= 0, and reasons for this discrepancy are being investi-
gated.
Theoretical work has been camed out on a number of other proposed
SLS systems which have not yet been grown. For example, theoretical
studies of the bandgaps of InAsSb SLSs have recently been carried
and the results indicate that certain of these structurescan have wavelength
cutoff values (A, = 1.24/EJ greater than 12 pm at 77 K. This is larger
than that of any bulk I11 - V alloys at 77 K, including InAsSb alloys, which
exhibit A 5 9 pm at 77 K. The extension of certain InAsSb SLS & values
beyond the maximum 1,values for the bulk InAsSb alloys is made possible
through the effects of the layer strains in the SLSs. As a result, these
materials should be I11 - V candidates for long-wavelength detector appli-
cations.
The proposed large 1, SLS structures are chosen to contain (100) ori-
ented layers of InAs,-,Sb, with x = 0.6 1, since this alloy composition
corresponds to the longest bulk A,. The larger-gap alloys InAs,-,Sb,r
0.61 are chosen because the resulting SLS structures contain expansive
hydrostatic and compressive (100) uniaxial strain components in the
InAso,39Sbo,,layers. The expansive hydrostatic strain component causes a
reduction in the bulk E , of the InAso.39Sbo.6, layers through its influence on
the conduction-band minimum, and the compressive uniaxial strain com-
ponent contributes through the splitting of the degenerate valence-band
maxima. The m, = *HA$) valence band is split toward (away from) the
conduction band in the InAso.,,Sbo,, layer. The magnitude of the total
reduction depends on x and on the ratio of layer thicknesses in the SLS.
Figure 19 presents calculated values of the bulk A, value (i.e., without the
quantum size effect of the SLS) at 77 K of the strained InAso.39Sbo.61 layers
in an InASo.39Sbo.61/InAs,-,Sb, SLS with three ratios of layer thicknesses
as a function of x. The corresponding lattice mismatch between the layers
is also given at the top of the figure. These values were calculated using the
techniques described by 0 s b 0 u r n . ~ ~
The bulk A, variation in Fig. 19 is entirely due to the increase in the layer
strain. It can be seen from the figure that the bulk A, values of the strained
InAso~,9Sbo,,layer at 77 K can be extended beyond 12 pm for all of the
thickness ratios considered. It should be noted that the strain values re-
quired for these results are well within the range of strains which have been
experimentallyemployed in the GaAsP and InGaAs SLS material systems.
The Ac value for the SLS itself will also be influenced by the quantum
size effect and by the band offsets of the InAsSb alloy system. The quan-
tum size effect in these structures will increase the SLS bandgap, and so
this effect competes with the bandgap reduction due to strain. However,
the effect can be minimized by employing relatively thick InAso,39Sbo.61
layers in the SLS. Also, the effect can be counteracted by employing greater
strain values. In order to compute specific superlatticeA, values for various
L A T T I C E MISMATCH (%I
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5
12.0
11.0
A, (pm)
10.0
9.0
8.0 I I I I I
0.6 0.7 0.8
FIG. 19. Calculated values of the bulk A, value (without quantum effects) at 77 K of the
strained InAs,,,Sb,,, layers in an InAs,,,Sb,,, /InAs,-,Sb, SLS with three ratios of layer
thicknesses (2 : I, 1 :1, 1 :2) as a function of x. The corresponding lattice mismatch between
the two types of SLS layers is given at the top of the figure.
InAso.39Sbo,61/InAs,_,Sb, SLS structures, it is also necessary to know the

conduction-band offsets of the layers. These values are not known for
InAs/InSb, and different schemes for estimating them (electron affinities,
values based on photoemi~sion~~) -
differ by 0.3 eV. However, calculations
of SLS Ac values have been camed out using a variety of band-offset values.
These results35(not shown) indicate that SLS Ac values reaching 12 pm at
77 K are possible regardless of the precise band-offset values.
IV. Applications of Strained-Layer Superlattices

6. GENERAL
FEATURES
The general motivation for using SLSs in device structures is the capabil-
ity of tailoring the SLS material properties. Appropriately designed SLS
structures could have one or more optical and transport properties which
are advantageous for optimized device performance. A number of exam-
ples of SLS features which could be useful have already been discussed in
the previous sections. The device implications of some of these are dis-
cussed below.
The capability of independently varying the bandgap and lattice con-
stant in ternary SLSs makes possible (for the first time) the growth of
high-quality, thick-layered heterostructures from lattice-mismatchedmate-
rials. In this case, one or more SLSs are used as the thick “layers” in the
heterostructure. The thin individual layers within the SLS prevent misfit
generation within the SLS itself. If the thick layers (SLSs and/or alloys) are
lattice matched as a whole to each other, then dislocations are also not
generated at the interfaces between them. Thus appropriately designed
thick layered structures of this type can also be free of misfit dislocations.
Of course, a number of device concepts are based on the use of heterostruc-
tures. The simplest superlattice heterojunction which can be formed as a
superlattice/alloy interface as shown in Fig. 20a. Noting that electrical and
optical properties of an SLS are tailorable functions of layer thickness and
composition, superlattice/superlatticeheterojunctions may also be formed,
as shown in Fig. 20b. For SLS/SLS heterojunctions care must be taken that
the thickness or compositional changes do not alter the bulk lattice con-
stant. An interesting method for forming a superlattice/alloy heterojunc-
tion involves impurity or implantation-inducedintermixing of a portion of
the layers of a superlattice, as shown in Fig. 20c. Zinc diffiusion3’ and Si
i m p l a n t a t i ~ nunder
, ~ ~ appropriate energy, fluence, and annealing condi-
tions, have been shown to disorder AlAs/GaAs superlattices. Implantation
in SLS materials39*“has also been shown to offer the possibility of impurity
introduction without disordering, as discussed in a previous section. As the
location of the implantation or diffusion can be selectively determined by
a)Superlattice/Alloy Heterojunction
Buffer
I
b)Superla ttice/Superlattice Heterojunct.
by Thickness by Composition
c)Diffusion and/or Implantation Induced

Disordering
Ez Implantation also offers

tbe possibility o f isolated
impurity introduction
m'thout disordering
FIG.20. (a) Schematic of a superlattice/alloy heterojunction. (b)Schematic of two superlat-

tice/superlattice heterojunctions. (c) Schematic of a disorder-inducedalloy/superlattice heter-
ojunction
masking and photolithography, a three-dimensional heterojunction can be

formed. Because of the highly anisotropic nature of transport in superlat-
tice materials, strong differences are expected in the injection and collec-
tion characteristics of parallel and perpendicular junctions. Many of the
implications of these differences are yet to be determined.
Another useful feature is the possibility of exploiting modulation-doping
techniques in lattice-mismatched material systems with larger mobilities
than those available in the matched GaAs/AlGaAs system. Field-effect
transistors (FETs) fabricated from such materials should show improved
characteristics. A prototype SLS FET is discussed below.
Zone-folding enhancements of the optical absorption coefficient of SLSs
grown from indirect-gap materials may make the use of these materials
more attractive for certain optoelectronic or photovoltaic applications. An
interesting material system which might benefit particularly from this
effect is the SiGe SLS system.' The combination of Si processing technol-
ogy and SiGe SLSs with tailorable absorption properties (if compatible),
could lead to important extensions of the optoelectronic capabilities asso-
ciated with Si-based technology. Much further work will be required to
determine the feasibility of this approach.
The intentional use of strain in the SLS materials to modify their proper-
ties has a number of potential applications. One example is the predicted
extension of the InAsSb SLS 1, to 12 gm at 77 IS.These 111-V materials
are expected to exhibit several advantages over the I1 - VI alloy HgCdTe for
long-wavelength intrinsic detector array applications. The most important
advantage is the use of 111-V materials with greater bond strengths than
those of HgCdTe. This should make the SLS materials more stable and
more amenable to device processing steps. Other potential advantages have
been discussed elsewhere.35
Another example is the strain-induced preferential population of small
m* valence bands in selecte d SLSs, which was discussed in a previous
section. This effect might be used to improve the characteristicsof p-chan-
nel I11- V FETs (at reduced temperature) and make them more compatible
with n-channel FETs in the same material system. Improved complemen-
tary logic circuits in 111- V materials might ultimately result from this.
Finally, it should again be noted that certain SLSs can block the propa-
gation of threading dislocation^.^^^^*'^ This metallurgical effect allows high-
quality epilayers to be grown on an SLS/graded layer/substrate structure in
which the substrate has a different lattice constant from the epilayer. In this
case, the first few periods of the SLS are used to inhibit the misfit disloca-
tions in the graded layer from propagating into the epilayer during growth,
so that the epilayer and the uppermost part of the SLS can be of device
quality. This approach has the potential disadvantagethat the graded-layer
defects may still propagate into the active epilayer during operation in
certain high-power device structures (e.g., lasers). For SLS applications of
this type, it is necessary to consider SLS structures which are closely
matched to some available substrate. Figure 21a-c shows SLS structural
types which are not bulk mismatched with respect to the substrate and
which do not utilize a damaged buffer. The first of these structures, shown
in Fig. 2 la, is as SLS in which the lattice constants of the constituent layers,
weighted by the layer thicknesses, are centered about the lattice constant of
the substrate. An example of this is an In,Ga,-,As/GaAs,P,-, SLS (Be-
dair et aL41;Ludowise et a/.,42]grown directly lattice matched to GaAs. A
second bulk-matched SLS grown without a buffer is the unequal layer
thickness structure shown in Fig. 2 1b. In an SLS of this type the layer with
the lattice constant furthest away from that of the substrate is made thin
with respect to the other layer. This forces most of the strain into the
thinner layer and allows the bulk lattice constant of the SLS to more
closely approach that of the substrate. An example of this structure is a
GaAs/Ino.13Go,8,As(layer thicknesses 190 and 1 10 A, respectively) SLS
~ ~ case of the unequal layer thickness SLS is the
grown on G ~ A sA. special
single, strained quantum well or strained multi-quantum well structure
a)Cen tered SLS

Example: InGaAs/GaAsP
on GaAs
L I
b )Un eq u a1 Layer Thickness SLS

Example: GaAs/lnGaAs
on GaAs
c)Strained Quan turn Well

Example: InGaAs QW
Confined by G a s
FIG.2 1. (a) Schematic of an SLS grown on a lattice-matched substrate. (b) Schematic of an

unequal-layer-thicknessSLS grown on substrate which is the same material as the thick SLS
layers. (c) Schematic of a strained quantum well sandwiched between thick layers which are
matched to the substrate.
shown in Fig. 2 Ic. If a single strained layer or a small number of strained

layers are sandwiched between thick layers matched to the substrate, all of
the strain is confined to the thin layers, and the bulk lattice constant of the
structure is hardly disturbed. In structures of this sort the critical layer
thickness of the strained quantum well would be half that calculated for an
equal layer thickness SLS because of the localization of the strain. An
example of this is the strained, multi-quantum well,
injection laser described by Laidig et al."
EXAMPLES
7. SLS DEVICE
As a demonstration of the utility of SLS materials, three devices, includ-
ing a phot0detector,4~an injection and an FETa have been con-
structed. The active layers of these devices were formed from MBE-grown,
Ino.2Gao.8As/GaAs SLS (equal layer thicknesses, repeat distance = 240 A,
interlayer, bulk lattice mismatch of approximately 1.4%) material with an
effective bandgap of approximately 1.21 eV. For optical and electrical
confinement, many of the devices utilize SLS/alloy heterojunctions
formed between the Ino.,Gao.8As/GaAsSLS and Ino.lA~o.3Gao.6As, a bulk
material with a bandgap of approximately 1.65 eV. All of these SLS struc-
tures were grown lattice matched on either Ino,,Gao.9As or
Ino.,Alo.,Gao.6AS buffer layers which, in turn, were grown mismatched (by
approximately 0.7%) on GaAs substrates. In this configuration, the metal-
lurgical aspects of SLSs are critical to efficient device operation and a

dominant consideration in discussions of stable, long-term life.
A section view of a double-heterostructure (DH), Ino,Gao.8As/GaAs,
SLS photodetector is shown in Fig. 22. The external quantum efficiency
(uncorrected for surface reflection) as a function of wavelength, at zero
volts reverse bias, of the structure operated as a photodetector is shown in
Fig. 23. The device is observed to have a peak external quantum efficiency
of approximately 50% at 770 nm and an optical absorption edge at
1050 nm. The oscillatory nature of the quantum efficiency curve is the
result of a stepped absorption coefficient as a function of wavelength,
which is characteristic of superlattice material^.^' The poor quantum effi-
ciency close to the band edge is caused, in part, by a short perpendicular
diffusion length (estimated to be approximately 0.1 pm for this SLS mate-
rial,@which effectively limits the active absorption volume of the detector
to the volume of the junction depletion region itself. This can be readily
overcome by employing lower doping levels, which serves to extend the
depletion layers, and by optimization of the metallurgical p-n junction
depth within the SLS.
A double-heterostructure, stripe-geometry, injection laser formed from a
12-period, Ino,2Gao.8As/GaAs SLS cladded above and below by the wide-
bandgap quaternary, Alo.31no.lGao.6As, is shown in Fig. 24. The diodes had
cleaved cavities approximately 300 pm long, and the lateral extent of the
lasing medium was determined by spreading resistance in the anode mate-
rial. The metallurgical p-n junction was contained within the SLS, imply-
ing that the superlattice was utilized as a “bulklike” material with tunable,
anisotropic properties, and not simply as a quantum well region. This work
FIG.22. Section view of a double-heterostructweIn,,Ga,,As/GaAs SLS photodetector.

Wa velength(nm)
FIG.23. Measured external quantum efficiency as a function of wavelength for the unbi-
ased SLS photodetector in Fig. 22.
follows previous photopumped laser studies by Ludowise et in

InGaAs/Gas, GaAsP/GaAs, and InGaAslGaAsP SLS material, injection
laser studies by Laidig et al.50 in InGaAs/GaAs strained multi-quantum
well material, and photopumped studies by Temkin and Tsang5' in GaSb/
AlGaSb strained multi-quantum well material.
Emission spectra, both below and above threshold, for the SLS laser are
shown in Fig. 25. Operated pulsed at room temperature, the devices had a
Cleaved Facet
FIG.24. Schematic of a double-heterostructure, stripgeometry,injection laser. The active
region is a 12-period In,,Ga,,As/GaAs SLS, and the cladding layers are A1o,,Ino,,Gao.,As
alloys.
Room Temperature c w Operation at 76K
Pulse Width = loons 975.5nm
Pulse Rate = 4.OkHz
1.026nm ,
miw=~.
7A 1.271eV
6.0 x i '
or Mode S p s c . = 4 . d 4.0:.
I = lOOmA 2.0 2
0.0
974 915 97€
I t h = 95mA
0.4 r
1 40
FIG.25. Emission spectra for the SLS laser shown in Fig. 24.
peak emission wavelength near 1026 nm with a threshold current of

460 mA. Operated cw at 77 K, the devices had peak emission near 976 nm
with a threshold current of 65 mA. This corresponds to a 77 K threshold
current density in the range of 1000-3000 A/cmZ. Immersed directly in
LNz, the diodes lased continuously for approximately l+ hours before the
optical output power at a fixed drive current had dropped to one-half of its
initial value. This prototype laser structure is a severe test of the quality of
SLS material, in that the active lasing medium was grown directly on a
damaged Alo.31no.,Gao~,As buffer layer. This forces the device to utilize
SLS periods close to the SLS/buffer interface as optically active material
and also places the lasing medium in close proximity to a large pool of
damage which may propagate during device operation. Improved struc-
tures would separate the lasing and confining media from the damaged
buffer, perhaps by use of an SLS placed in the structure for purely metal-
lurgical purposes.
A plan view, section view, and equivalent circuit of an InGaAsIGaAs,
modulation-doped SLS FET are shown in Fig. 26. The structures utilized
17 periods of equal thickness, alternating GaAs and Ino,zGao,,Asto form
the channel region of the device, followed by two periods of heavily
Si-doped material to aid contacting of the source and drain metallizations.
ej Section a t A-A'
A1 Schottky
DrainGate
AuGe/Ni/Au Source
A uBe/A u
2 Period n+Contact
17 Period n Channel
lp+ Ino,,G%,#s Buffer
p GaAs Substrate
Equivalent Circuit
Drain
Scbottky
Source
FIG.26. Plan view, section view, and equivalent circuit of an In,,,Ga,,As/GaAs modula-
tiondoped SLS FET.
A 1 pm buffer layer of p+-In,,Gao.,As was grown between the SLS chan-

nel and the p+-GaAs substrate. The SLS channel material was modulation
doped by shuttering the Si flux on during growth of the central 40 A of the
wide-bandgap (GaAs) layers. The spike concentration is estimated to be
approximately 1 X 1018/cm3.This procedure leaves spacer layers, approxi-
mately 55 A thick, of undoped GaAs between the doped regions and the
conducting, narrower-bandgap (In,,Ga,,As) wells.
A close inspection of Fig. 26 will show that the A1 gate metal contacts
both the n-type SLS channel and the p-type In,,Ga,,As buffer. The
A1- to -buffer contact forms a parasitic Schottky diode which effectively
clamps the upper and lower gates together electrically for any appreciable
negative bias on the upper gate. As described, the resultant transistor is
structurally a double-gate hybrid device composed of both a metal-
semiconductor FET and a junction FET.
Representative InGaAs/GaAs FETs with gate lengths ranging from ap-

proximately 2.5 to 10 pm and Van der Pauw (VDP) patterns formed from
ungated material, fabricated as described above, were electrically evaluated
both at room temperature and at 77 K. Room-temperature and 77 K, dc
common-source output characteristics of a transistor with a 2.5 pm gate
length and with the upper and lower gates externally shorted are shown in
Fig. 27, and drain current and transconductance versus gate-source voltage
are shown in Fig. 28. At room temperature the device is observed to have a
characteristic drain saturation current, IDS, of 64 mA ( V , = 4 V,
V& = 0 V), a double-gate pinch-off voltage, V p , of 3.1 V ( VDs = 4 V,
I D = 5% of IDS),and a maximum, normalized, double-gate extrinsic trans-
conductance, g,,, of 84 mS/mm ( V , = 4 V). The drain current is also
observed to vary approximately linearly with gate bias. Separate room-
temperature measurements yielded a value of 14 0 for both the total
parasitic source resistance and the total drain resistance, and a value of
200 pA for the reverse leakage current of the paralleled Schottky gate and
junction gate at -2 V. Separate measurements on the VDP patterns
formed from ungated channel material yielded room-temperatureelectron
Hall mobilities of 6700 cm2/V s for this sample. Excluding the effects of
resistive parasitics, a normalized, room-temperature, double-gate, intrinsic
transconductance, g,, may be calculated to be 120 mS/mm ( V , = 4 V)
for this transistor.
At 77 K, IDS was observed to increase to 98 mA, V p remained essen-
tially constant at 3.2 V, and g, increased to 140 mS/mm. Separate mea-
surements showed the parasitic source and drain resistance decreased to 7
and 6 0, respectively, the gate leakage current at - 2 V decreased to 40 PA,
a)Room Temperature b)Liquid Nitrogen

1OO.r \ 100.1 1
I D s s ( v D s = 4 v , V G S =ov) 64mA 98mA

v p ( v D s = 4 v , Ig=5% Of I D s s ) -3.1V -3.2V
V I ,=4V,
~ Unilluminated
RT 77K
Maximum Normalized g
84mS/mm I44mS/mm
(VDS'4v)
FIG.28. (a) Room-temperature and (b) 77 K, drain current and transconductance versus
gate-source voltage for the FET in Fig. 26.
and the measured Hall electron mobility in ungated material increased to

28,000 cm2/V s. The calculated g,, likewise increased to 190 mS/mm.
These results demonstrate that electronic and optoelectronic devices can
now be fabricated from SLS materials with tunable optical and transport
properties. The results also make a strong statement about the high crystal-
line quality that can be obtained from SLS material with significant inter-
layer mismatch (- 1.4%) and many interfaces.
V. Summary
The capability of growing high-quality superlattice structures from lat-
tice-mismatched materials is now well established. A number of materials
studies have indicated that the electronic properties of these new semicon-
ductors can be tailored through the flexible choice of superlattice materials
and structure. These materials are of both scientific and technological
interest, and a number of prototype device structures have been fabricated
utilizing them. The majority of the many potential SLS systems and many
interesting electronic properties have yet to be explored. The strained-layer
superlattice field should provide exciting materials and device research
opportunities for years to come.
NOTEADDEDIN PROOF.The field of SLS research has expanded very rapidly. There now
exist hundreds of publications which report growth and characterization of SLSs in many
materials systems including groups 111-V, IV, and 11-VI semiconductors. Much of this
newer work is referenced here. Additional references can be found in brief reviews of 111-V
SLS work which have appeared in the l i t e r a t ~ r e . ~The
~ - ~more
~ recent work includes studies
of and structural analysis by x-ray diffraction," TEM,59.6' Auger p r ~ f i l i n g , ~ ~ . ~ ~
and ion channeling.64 Other studies have investigated structural stability against thermal
cycling," effects of ion implantation With65 and WithoutM disordering, and dislocation
hltering.67-69Studies of energy band structure have investigated effective masses and valence-
band Energy levels and crystalline quality have been investigated by optical
transitions observed in absorption and As well, electroabsorptionS2and nonlin-
ear optical effects83have been reported. Waveguiding in InGaAs SLS has been ~ t u d i e d . * ~ . ~ - ~ ~
Transport properties of p S L S materials8788as well as n-SSQWa9and pSSQW90 have been
reported for InGaAs SLSs. Anisotropic hole diffision,9’ recombination lifetimes:’ and Gunn
oscillations9*have also been reported for this material. Ion implantation d ~ p i n g and
~ ~ deep
~~’
level^^.^^ have been investigated. In device technology areas, both n - t ~ p e %and
, ~ ~p - t y ~ e ~ ~
channel InGaAs SSQW FETs have been fabricated. Long-lifetime SLS L E D s ~and ~ stimu-
lated emissionIm in SSQWs have been reported. Avalanche photodectors have been fabri-
cated and Finally, these 111-V SLS materials have been applied to such varied
uses as photoelectrodes.lw~loS optical interference devices,106and buffer layers for filtering
dislocations before the growth of devices.107-*w
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Index
A Charge-injectiontransistor, 328 - 329
Chemical-beam epitaxy, 444-446
Absorption Chemical vapor deposition, 444
nonlinear due to excitons, 29 1 - 293 CHINT, 328- 329
spectra, semiconductors, 283 Chirp superlattice devices, 356-357
AlGaAs, variable-gap, electron velocity Complex wave vector, 292
measurements, 365 -368 Continuum states, 111-V semiconductor
(Al,Ga)As/GaAs ring-oscillator Circuits, 196 quantized structures, 29- 30
(Al,Ga)As/(In,Ga)As MODFET
current-voltagecharacteristics, 185
electron mobility, I84 D
electron velocity, 184
Avalanche photodiode Degenerate four-wave mixing, multiple
graded-gap, 340-341 quantum well structures, 301 -302
-
low-noise multilayer, 338 339 Doping interface dipole, 388 - 392
multiquantum-well, 34 1 - 344 Double-heterostructure, 397 - 398
Double-heterostructure laser
Auger depth profile, 45 1
B Fabry- Perot, threshold current density,
420,422-423,425
Band-edge discontinuities, doping interface gain spectra, 7 1,73
dipoles, 388-392 growth, 45 1
Bandgap engineering, 3 19-320, see also lasing spectra at room temperature, 455
specific devices light output versus pulsed current
chirp superlattice devices, 356-357 amplitude, 45 I -452
pseudoquaternary semiconductors, 357 - performance characteristics, 454
360 Drude model. 108
repeated velocity overshot devices,
353-354
sawtooth superlattices, 354-356 E
staircase potentials, 352
Bloch-like envelope wave function, 25 Elastic strain, accommodation, 459-46 1
Bloch oscillation, 93-96 Electron -electron interaction, 34
Bohr radius, 18- 19,20 Electron velocity, measurements in
Buried-heterostructurelasers, 431,433 variable-gap AlGaAs, 365 - 368
Electrostatic potential, 111-V semiconductor
quantized structures, 33 - 34
C Emitter grading, heterojunction bipolar
transistor, 368- 373
Channeling diode, 33 1 -338 Envelope wave functions, 308- 309
avalanche photodiode, 336-338 approximation, 9
current-voltage characteristics, 333-335 Bloch-like, 25
space-charge regions, 332 - 334 Exciton
-
ultra-low capacitance, 331 336 binding energy, 52, 54
505
INDEX
dynamics, 66-69 threshold current density, variation with

effects, 52 - 62 cavity length, 426, 428
luminescence, 63
nonlinear absorption and refraction due H
to, 291 -293
parameters describing, 284 Hartree potential, 43
in quantum wells, 18-2 1 HEMT, see also MODFET
circuit diagram, 270
clock frequency, 250
F comparison with other high-speed device
approaches, 253-254
Fabry- Perot DH lasers, threshold current
device modeling, 261 -264
density, 420, 422-423, 425
energy-level schemes, 36 -37
Fang-Howard variational wave function, 35
future VLSI prospects, 274-276
FET
integrated circuits, 264-274
calculating noise figures, 235
logic circuits, 264-267
fabrication, 138- 140
memory circuits, 268 - 274
heterojunction, see Heterojunction FET
material technology, 255-258
high speed, 135 principles, 250-252
threshold voltage, 195
readJwrite operation waveforms, 27 1 -272
Fukui fitting factor, TEGFET, 239
self-alignmentdevice fabrication
technology, 258-261
G technological advantages, 250-254
threshold voltages, 260-261
GaAs/(Al,Ga)As MODFET, I83 - 185 Heterojunction
GaAs/GaAMs bipolar transistor, 36 1, see also specific
interface, 8 transistors
quantum Hall effect, 1 12 emitter grading, 368-373
GaAs MESFET, see also TEGFET variable-gap AIGaAs, 365 - 368
electron mobility, 2 14 doping superlattice, 46 -47
market demand, 203-205 modulation-doped, charge transfer, 3 1 - 33
G~,.,,I~~53As/InP quantum wells, 443 -455 tunable banier heights, 388-392
deposition, 444-445 Heterojunction FET
photoluminescence spectrum, 447-450 charge control, 144- 146
Graded-gap base transistor, 36 1 - 365 current -voltage characteristics, 146- 149
GRIN- SCH operation, 140- 141
band-energy levels, 76 two-dimensional electron-gas
circuit, 432,434 concentration, 141- 144
cw threshold distribution, 429 -430 velocity versus electric field, 147- 148
device characteristics,419 -434 Heterostructure, see also 111-V
energy-band diagram, 419-421 semiconductor quantized structures
far-field intensity distributions, 428 -429 electrical properties
hybridcrystal growth, 430,433 alloy disorder scattering, 84 - 85
light-current characteristics,43 1, 433 -
Bloch oscillation, 93 96
light output as function of input voltage, control of electron mobility by
433-434 gate-controlled deformation,
optical confinement factor, 42 1 -
89 90
optical gain, 424 Coulomb interaction matrix element,
superlattice buffer layer, 425, 427 82
INDEX 507
doping, 8 1- 82 I
electron drift velocity, 90, 92
electron heating, 9 1- 93 111- V, semiconductor quantized structures,
hot electron effectsin parallel transport, see also Heterostructures
90-93 absorption coefficients,22
interface-roughness-limited mobility, communicating multiplequantum-well
85 - 86 structure, 24-29
intersubband scattering, 87-88 conduction electron energy levels, 9 - 13
mobility in parallel transport, 78-90 continuum states, 29 - 30
perpendicular transport, 91 -98 double-well structure, 24-25
phonon scattering mechanisms, 80-81 excitons and shallow impurities in
quantum transport, see Quantum quantum wells, 18 - 23
transport hole dispersion curve, 14
resonant tunneling effect, 94-97 hole energy levels, 13- 17
scattering mechanisms, 78 - 80 n- i - p - i structures, 43 - 46
temperature dependence of electron quantum wells energy level, 9- 17
mobility, 83,85 SchrGdinger-like equation, 10- 11
tunneling hot electron transistor, semiconductor purity and interfaces, 5 -9
97 -98 transverse dispersion curves, 16
modulation doping, 30-43 tunneling structures, 23 -24
charge transfer, 31 -33,41-42 two-dimensional density of states, 17- 18
electrostatic potential, 33 - 34 Impurity gettering, 63
energy-level calculation, 34-37 Inelastic light scattering, by electronic
gate-voltage dependence, 38 -39 excitations, 69-70
sheet electron concentration, 39-40 (In,Ga)As/(Al,Ga)As MODFET
thermal ionization energy of Si donor, drain voltage effect, 19 1
41 equivalent-circuit parameters, 189, 192
thermodynamic equilibrium, 37 -43 -
gate voltage effect, 188 190
optical properties pseudo-morphic, 181- 183
bandgap discontinuity, 53 supply voltage effect, 187- 188
exciton dynamics, 66-69
exciton eff'ects, 52-62
inelastic light scattering, 69-70 In,,lG~,4,As-InP quantum wells, 434-438
laser action, 7 1-78
llght propagating dong layers, 52
light propagating perpendicular to J
layers, 5 1-52 Joint density of states, 283
linewidth versus confining energy,
58-60
linewidth versus substrate temperature,
60-61 L
low-temperature luminescence, 62-65 Laser, SLS, 494 -496
optical matrix element, 47-49 Lead-chalcogenide lasers, 439 -440
selection rules, 49- 52 Lead-salt diode lasers, 439
transmission curves for passive Liquid-phase epitaxy, quantum confine-
waveguides, 62 ment heterostructure lasers, 450
types, 3 Logic circuits, HEMT, 264-267
Hilsum-Ridley- Watkins mechanism, Low-temperature luminescence, 62- 65
32 1- 322 Luttinger Hamiltonian, 13
508 INDEX
M schematic cross section, 168- 170

self-aligned modulationdoped, 175- 176
Memory circuits, HEMT, 268 -274 sheet-electron areal density and electron
Memory devices, real-space transfer struc- mobility, 176- 177
tures, 329 - 330 small-signal circuit-element values,
MESFET, see also GaAs MESFET 162- 163
channel region, 136 small-signal transconductance, 162,164
current-gain cutoff frequency, 163, 165 S parameters, 160- 161
electron mobility, 249 supply voltage effect, 158 - 159
gate capacitance, 162, 164 threshold voltage shifts, 194
small-signal transconductance, 162, 164 transconductance, 150- 155, 172
transconductance, 242 yield, 195
MOCVD, 5-8,461-462 Modulation doping, 136- 138
Mode-locking, multiple quantum well Molecular beam epitaxy, 5-6,444,447,450
structures, 302 - 303 strained-layer superlattices, 462-463
MODFET surface defect problem, 255 -256
activation energy, 194 Multiple quantum well
advanced technology requirements, absorption spectra, 66-67
175-180 applications, 30 1 - 304,3 11 - 3 14
anomolies in current-voltage band-energy levels, 74,76
characteristics, 168- 175 band structure, 28 1
current-gain cutoff frequency, 162- 163, bound-state energies, 285
165, 167, 169 degenerate four-wave mixing, 301 - 302
-
degradation processes, 179 180 electric field
-
drain current voltage characteristics, parallel to layers, 305 - 306
150-152, 173-174 perpendicular to layers, 306-3 10
-
drive threshold voltage effect, 157 158 -
envelope wave function, 308 309
energy-level schemes, 36- 37 excitation spectrum, 57 - 58
equivalent circuits, 160- 170 low-temperature experimental results,
feedback capacitance, 165- 166 287-288
gate-bias stress measurements, 185, 187 mode-locking, 302 - 303
gate capacitance, 162, 164 modified
groupV/III ratio, 175 band-energy levels, 76
low-noise performance, 167, 170 device characteristics,4 13-4 19
low-power operation, 156 nonlinear absorption and refraction due
low-temperature photoluminescence to excitons, 29 1 -293
spectra, 177- 179 observations of nonlinear excitonic
maximum drain current, 152- 154 effects, 293 - 300
microwave performance, 160- 170 optical bistability, 304
noise margins, 159 optical modulators, 3 1 1 -3 12
optimization, 149- 155 optical properties induced by static field,
output power and power-added efficiency, 304-305
193 origin of excitonic saturation at room
output resistance, 165- 169 temperature, 300- 301
-
performance in logic Circuits, 155 160 pumpprobe experiments, 296 -297
photoconductivity, 171- 172, 193 quasi-2D exciton binding energy theory,
power-gain cutoff frequencies, 162- 163 286-287
problems and projections, 191 , 193- 196 readsorption effect on edge luminescence,
pseudo-morphic, 180- 191 77
reliability, 195 resonant Rayleigh scattering, 68
INDEX 509
saturation of excitonic absorption, Perpendicular transport, 9 1,92-98

293-296 Perturbative Hamiltonian, 15,20, 22
self-electroopticeffectdevices, 3 12- 3 14 Phonon scattering
shifts of light- and heavy-hole excitons, mechanisms, 80- 8 I
309-310 rates via Frohlich mechanism, 91
single-particle light scattering spectrum, Photocapacitive detector, ultra-low
70 capacitance, 33 1-336
temperature dependence and room- Photodiode, see also Avalanche photodiode
temperature exciton resonances, channeling, avalanche, 336-338
288-291 current-voltage characteristics, 335- 336
theory of linear absorption and band ultra-low capacitance, 331 -336
structure, 282-286 Photomultiplier, staircase-solid-state,
Multiquantum well laser 344- 349
growth, 450-45 I Pump-and-probe experiments, 66 -67
lasing spectra at room temperature, 455
light output versus pulsed current
amplitude, 453-454
performance characteristics,454 Q
Quantum bubble laser, gain spectra,
402 -405
Quantum confinement heterostructure
N -
lasers, 397 402
electron bound energy states, 399
Negative differential resistance fieldeffect electron density distributions, 404
transistor, 324- 328 gain spectra, 402-405
current-voltage characteristics, 327-328 hole bound energy states, 400
n-i-p-i structures, 43-46
Noise figure, 231 -243 In0.53Ga.47As-I~.,~,4,As, 438 -439
I I I + ~ ~ G ~ .InP,
~~A S-
434-438
TEGFET, 229-230 long-wavelength, 434- 439
Nonstationary and microscopic model, 221, parabolic compositional profiles, 400-40 1
223-226 photoluminescence spectrum, 446 -448
quality, 446
quantized energy levels, 399
quantum noise and dynamics, 407-409
0 short-wavelength, 409 -434
Optical matrix element, 47-49 MMQW device characteristics,
Optical modulators, multiple quantum well 413-419
structures, 3 1 1 - 3 12 MQW device characteristics, 41 1-413
Organometallicchemical vapor deposition, temperature dependence of threshold
444-445,447 current, 406-407,419
very-long-wavelength,4 19-442
Quantum Hall effect, 107- I15
Drude model, 108
P finite width, 109- 110
fractional, 1 13- 1 15
Parallel transport GaAs/GaAlAs, 1 12
hot electron effects, 90-93 Quantum transport, 98- 1 15
mobility, see Heterostructures, electrical allowed states and density of states,
properties 99-100
PbTe quantum well, 439-441 Fermi level, 102
510 INDEX
Landau levels, 99 - 101 5

low-field oscillatory conductivity, 105
magnetic field effect on 2D electrons, Sawtooth superlattices, electrical polariza-
99- 104 tion effects, 354-356
oscillatory phenomena, 102- 104 Schrodinger equation, 10- 11, 3 1
quantum Hall effect, 107- 115 SDHT, 36 - 37, see also MODFET
Shubnikov-de Haas measurements, Self-aligned gate fabrication, HEMT,
104- 106 258 -26 1
Quantum well Self-electrooptic-effect devices, multiple
absorption spectra, 54, 56 quantum well structures, 3 12- 3 14
base, resonant tunneling transistors, 372, Shallow impurities, quantum wells, 20-23
374-381 Shubnikov-de Haas measurements,
electroreflectance,47 -48 104- 106
energy level, 9- 17 S parameters
fit of observed transitions, 53, 55 MODFET, 160- 161
lasers, 71 -78 TEGFET, 230-231,233-234
luminescence, 64-65 Stark broadening, 305
parabolic, excitation spectrum, 53 - 54 Strained-layer superlattice
photoluminescence and circular alloy heterojunction, 490-49 1
polarization spectrum, 5 1 applications, 490-499
Quasi-2D exciton binding energy theory, crystal growth, 461 -463
286 - 287 double-heterostructure photodetector,
494-495
double-heterostructure, strip-geometry,
R injection laser, 494-496
elastic strain accommodation, 459-46 1
Real-space transfer structures, 320-33 1 electronic properties, 467 -490
analytical model, 323-324 absorption spectrum, 475 -477
charge-injection transistor, 328 - 329 diffusion lengths, 481 -482
definition, 320 energy levels, 469-47 1
fast switching and storage of electrons, 322 excitation spectrum, 480
memory devices, 329 - 330 general features, 467-469
modulation doping 320- 321 mobility, 485-486
negative differential resistance field-effect modulation doping, 483 -485
transistor, 324- 328 optical transistors, 472,479-480
time constants, 322-323 photocurrent spectroscopy, 473-474,
tunneling devices, 330-33 1 478,483-484
Reflection high-energy electron diffraction, 5 photoluminescence spectrum, 473,
Refraction, nonlinear due to excitons, 478-479
291-293 small-hole-mass effect, 486-487
Repeated velocity overshoot devices, transport data, 480-481
353-354 transport properties, 487-488
Resonant Rayleigh scattering, multiple type-I GaAsIGaAsP, 477 -479
quantum well, 68 type-I1 GaASP, 469-477
Resonant tunneling transistor FET, 491 -492
band diagram, 374-377 modulation-doped, 496 -499
circuit diagram, 376 - 378 graded-layer/substratestructure, 492 - 493
current-voltage characteristics, 379- 380 structural characterization, 463 -467
with quantum-well base, 372,374-381 Superlattice
Ring oscillator, HEMT, 264-267 allowed energy bands, 28-29
INDEX 51I
density of state (DOS), 28 sheet density in ZDEG,216-218

Sawtooth, 354-356 S parameters, 230-23I, 233- 234
tight-binding model, 25- 27 structures, 206-209
subbands and charge control
determination, 226-229
T -
transport properties, 210 216
Thermodynamic equilibrium, I11-V
TEGFET, see also MODFET
semiconductor quantized structures,
-
analytical model, 2I6 221
31-43
characteristics, 218-222
Threshold current
electron mobility, 210-21 1, 214-215
electron velocity, 2I 1 -213
density, 405-408,415-416,451, seealso
GRIN-SCH
energy-level schemes, 36-37
temperature dependence, 406-407,419,
equivalent circuit, 234
Fukui fitting kctor, 239
440-442
Transconductance, MODFET, 150- 155
low-noise, 244
Transferred electron effect, 321- 322
-
noise figure, 231 243
Tunneling, real-space transfer structures,
assoCiated gain, 229-230
330-331
frequency dependence, 240-24I
semiempiricalapproach, 236-240
theoretical approach, 232-236
pinch-off voltage, 221-222 U
recessed gate, 208 Ultrathin, well-controlled semiconductor
screening effect, 213-216 -
heterostructures, 1 5
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SEMICONDUCTORS

Edited by R . K. WILLARDSON ALBERT C. BEER

ACADEMIC PRESS, INC.

ACADEMIC PRESS, INC .

United Kingdom Edition published by

ISBN 0-12-752124-0 (alk. paper)

PRINTED IN l H E UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Chapter 1 Fundamental Properties of I11. V Semiconductor Two-

Chapter 2 Factors Affecting the Performance of (Al. Ga)As/GaAs

Chapter 3 Two-Dimensional Electron Gas FETs: Microwave

Chapter 4 Ultra-High-speed HEMT Integrated Circuits

Chapter 5 Nonlinear Optical Properties of Multiple Quantum Well

Chapter 6 Graded-Gap and Superlattice Devices by Bandgap

V. Other Device Applications of Staircase Band Diagrams and Variable-Gap

Chapter 7 Quantum Confinement Heterostructure

Chapter 8 Principles and Applications of Semiconductor

This volume is devoted to the properties and applications of ultrathin

Fundamental Properties of I11 - V

CHARGE TRANSFER SYSTEMS I IONE-DIMENSIONAL SYSTEMS

1 BAWGAP ENGINEERU, STRUCTURES]

Note that the same structures can belong to several of

interested in quasi-two-dimensional properties; the free motion of the

@SINGLE TYPE i @SINGLE TYPE II @SINGLE QUANTUM @MULTIPLE QUANTUM

@SINGLE BARRIER @DOUBLE BARRIER @ INCOHERENT MULTILAYER

@TYPE I SUPERLATTICE @TYPE I1 SUPERLATTICE

rest of this chapter we shall refer to our quasi-2D systems merely as 2D

gyromagnetic devices. Quantum Hall structures are already being widely

found in reviews of this young but rapidly developing field,36-38including

FIG.2. Smoothing action of MBE quantum-well growth on interface roughness as ob-

growth leads to similar control of impurity content and interface

niques have been shown to yield extremely precise information on a

FIG. 4. High-resolution electron micrograph of a Gas-GaAlAs interface. The arrows

In terms of purity, the two techniques have now emerged as those

11. The Electronic Properties of Thin Semiconductor

where z is the growth direction, kl is the transverse electron wave vector,

where m*(z) is the electron effective mass of the A or B material, Vc(z)

ONE DIMENSIONAL CASE : VO= CO

- (g) d2*/dZ2 = EJI

usual solution of the infinitely deep well xn = sin(naz/L), n integer even or

In the bulk, propagation in a given direction can be described in terms of

direction perpendicular to z is then given by

The transverse dispersion equation corresponding to J, = k$(heavy-

perturbation introduced by the quantum well. In the degenerate set of

The dispersion for kL = k,, # 0 is given by the dispersion equation

It is then possible to derive effective masses in the layer by

Only numerical results were obtained in the finite-well calc~lations,8~

A number of properties of quantum wells show different behavior than

In the parabolic approximation E = fi2k$/2m*,Eq. ( 18) yields

interesting to compare the 2D density of states with the 3D areal DOS,

From the expression of the Bohr radius in semiconductors

For finite thickness, exciton binding energies have been calculated

REDUCED WELL THICKNESS ( L / a B )

assuming nondegenerate, isotropic bands,

considered an infinite potential at the interface. In this approximation, the

/’ without exciton effect

The calculation starts from the perturbation Hamiltonian:

zi being the impurity atom position and Vmdz)the quantum-well confin-

In the infinite-well approximation, trial wave functions are taken as

E(L, zi) -+ 4Rkp; yA(r)-+ -

Tunneling phenomena across bamers open the way to many fascinating

recent availability of the high-performance growth techniques developed

PERTURBATION MATRIX ELEMENT V12

revealed by optical absorption, has been studied by Dingle et al.Iz3For N