All-solid-source molecular beam epitaxy: technology and applications

The solid-source molecular beam epitaxy (SSMBE) technology using valved cracker cells is one of the most promising techniques for epitaxial growth of high-quality phosphorus-containing compound semiconductors. This novel technology is transplanted successfully onto a homemade MBE system and is studied roundly. The growth of 1.55-µm-wavelength- range strained and strain-compensated InAsP multiple quantum well (MQW) structures are investigated. A low growth temperature or large V/III flux ratio is found to be favorable for attaining a high structural quality of highly strained MQW structures, and the growth temperature has a critical effect on the sample's optical property. It is also found that an intermediate InP layer of several monolayers, which is inserted between the well and the barrier, is necessary to improve the quality of strain-compensated MQW structures. The measured photoluminescence (PL) fullwidth at half-maximum (FWHM) of 18.7 meV and 17.2 meV for stained and strain-compensated MQW at room temperature are among the best reported to date for 1 .55-µm-wavelength MQW laser structures. Finally, broad-area (BA) separate confinement heterostructure (SCH) MQW lasers are fabricated, and the threshold current density is measured to be 1.4 kA/cm2. This is the first report, to the best of the authors' knowledge, on a 1.55-µm-wavelength-range strained lnAsP / InGaAsP MQW laser structure grown by SSMBE.