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Notes: The electrical and optical properties of AlGaAs grown by metalorganic molecular-beam epitaxy using triethylaluminum, tri-isobutylaluminum, and trimethylamine-alane are compared. It is found that tri-isobutylaluminum yields the lowest residual carbon incorporation in the layers (Na − Nd = 4 × 1015 cm−3) and the highest electron and hole mobilities. Photoluminescence spectra for the higher-quality AlGaAs, grown using TiBAl, show excitonic luminescence. However, this luminescence appears to be defect related.

Notes: A two-step, open-tube diffusion process has been developed to form p+-p-n junctions in GaAs. n-type GaAs substrates were zinc diffused at 550 °C to form a p+ layer, capped with thermally deposited silicon nitride, and annealed in an open-tube furnace. The zinc redistributes during the anneal, forming a p layer adjacent to the p+ layer. The peak carrier concentration of the p+ and p layers and the depth of the p+-p and p-n junctions are controlled by the time and temperature of the anneal. The anneal time was varied from 30 to 180 min and the temperature range was 700–850 °C. Both the p+-p and p-n junction depths show a square root dependence on annealing time. Diffusion coefficients and activation energies for the zinc diffusion which occurs during the anneal are determined.

Notes: A practical dual-wavelength light-emitting double-diode (LEDD) device structure is presented. This device is relatively simple to fabricate and requires a single device-to-fiber alignment for packaging. Additionally, the individual wavelengths can be selected within the 0.8 to 1.6-μm low-loss spectral region of optical fibers. A dual-wavelength LEDD emitting at 1.3 and 1.1 μm is demonstrated. Powers exceeding 10 μW for each wavelength at 50-mA drive current are coupled into a lensed, graded index, 62.5-μm core, 0.29-NA optical fiber.

Notes: The nested carbon nanotubes discovered by Ijima and co-workers as a by-product of fullerene production extended the dimension and geometries of fullerenes into the domain of nanoparticles. These nanotubes are fiberlike structures consisting of concentric graphite sheets nested along the axis extending as long as several micrometers, and diameters of these nanotubes are limited to less than 100 nm. In this paper we report preparation, structural and magnetic properties of cobalt-doped carbon nanotubes. We observed a tubular structure made of coaxial graphite sheets. The inside, of these carbon nanotubes, was filled with cobalt particles. The magnetic properties of the Co-doped nanotubes were measured using a SQUID magnetometer. The undoped (pure) carbon nanotubes exhibit diamagnetic behavior. The Co-doped nanotubes exhibit superparamagnetic behavior with saturation of magnetization at about 0.5 T and coercive field of 750 G. © 1996 American Institute of Physics.

Notes: We report on Raman scattering by longitudinal optical phonons in In1−y−zAlyGazAs (1−y−z=0.53) lattice matched to InP. The quaternary alloys were grown on (001) InP by molecular beam epitaxy. The phonon spectra exhibit three-mode behavior. The frequencies of AlAs- and GaAs-like modes vary linearly with the concentration of Al (or Ga) while the position of the InAs-like phonon remains nearly constant. The data show no evidence of alloy clustering.

Notes: Diffusion of zinc into GaAs through an yttria-stabilized cubic zirconia (YSZ) passivation layer has been demonstrated with an open-tube diffusion method. Pure zinc or GaAs/Zn2As3 sources produced high quality planar p-n junctions. The YSZ layer protects the GaAs surface from excessive loss of arsenic, yet is permeable to zinc, allowing its diffusion into the semiconductor. The YSZ films, deposited by electron beam evaporation, were typically 2000 A(ring) thick. Zinc diffusion coefficients (DT) at 650 °C in the YSZ passivated GaAs ranged from 3.6×10−10 cm2/min for the GaAs/Zn2As3 source to 1.9×10−9 cm2/min for the pure zinc source. Doping concentrations for both YSZ passivated and uncapped samples were approximately 5×1019 cm−3.

Notes: Channeled-substrate buried heterostructure (CSBH) lasers which were purged from populations undergoing high reliability qualification have been studied in detail. Gradual and rapid degradation mechanisms leading to accelerated aging failure modes have been analyzed by transmission electron microscopy, convergent beam electron diffraction, electroluminescence, energy dispersive x-ray analysis, and chemical etching. The gradual degradation mode of CSBH lasers is characterized by (1) a gradual increase in room-temperature threshold current; (2) a decrease in external quantum efficiency, typically a drop in peak value of dL/dI greater than 25%; (3) a drop in forward voltage at low current, indicating a change in junction characteristics; (4) a large peak inI(dV/dI) below threshold (at around 3 mA); and (5) an enhancement in the peak in I2(d2V/dI2) at laser threshold. A defect mechanism associated with the gradual degradation begins with a nucleation of extrinsic dislocation loops along the V-groove {111} p-n–type sidewall interfaces between the Cd-diffused p-InP and liquid-phase-epitaxial-grown n-InP buffer inside the groove. These dislocation loops subsequently grow out of the interfaces into the n-InP buffer region in the direction of minority-carrier injection, indicating a nonradiative recombination-assisted defect growth process. For those loops which enter the quaternary active region near the tip of the active crescent, the growth rate along the (001) and (010) planes is greatly enhanced and the loops eventually cut across the active stripe and become dark-line defects, as confirmed by electroluminescence. Nucleation of dislocation loops is not observed along the {111} p-p–type sidewall interfaces above the active stripe. The fact that the dislocation loops are all extrinsic in nature implies that the {111} sidewall interfaces as well as the quaternary active region contain a high density of interstitials. The possible causes for the generation and growth of the dislocation loops and the high density of point defects are discussed. The rapid degradation mode of the CSBH laser is characterized by a sudden drop in light intensity during the aging process. The associated defect mechanism starts with localized melting at the mirror facet or inside the lasing cavity. A metal-rich droplet subsequently forms which propagates along the center of the active stripe in the direction towards the cavity center via a meltback-regrowth process; i.e., material melts in front of the droplet and regrows after it propagates by. The nonideal condition of regrowth results in the formation of a wormlike defect composed of a cylinder of defective materials bounded by an off-stoichiometric interface. The wormlike defect is dark under electroluminescence. Complicated dislocation structures can also be grown from the wormlike defect under a nonradiative recombination-assisted defect growth process. These phenomena are presented and discussed.

Notes: In this paper we describe the properties of high-quality, semiconductor laser facet coatings based on yttria-stabilizied cubic zirconia (90-m% ZrO2/10-m% Y2O3). We have found that cubic zirconia films can be reproducibly deposited by electron-beam evaporation with an index of refraction of 1.98 at 6328 A(ring), almost ideal for use as a single-layer antireflection coating for GaAs/GaAlAs-based lasers. ZrO2 has a monoclinic crystal structure at room temperature, but changes to tetragonal, hexagonal, and cubic phases upon heating to higher temperatures. However, the addition of the Y2O3 stabilizes ZrO2 in the cubic form, thus allowing electron-beam deposition of thin films of this material to be more controllable and reproducible without the usual addition of oxygen into the vacuum chamber during deposition. Preliminary aging tests of high-power GaAs/GaAlAs lasers show that cubic zirconia films suppress the photo-enhanced oxidation of laser facets that degrades device performance.

Notes: The diffusivity of the zinc Ga1−xAlxAs at 650 °C was studied using sealed-ampoule diffusion. Whereas Ageno, Roedel, Mellen, and Escher [Appl. Phys. Lett. 47, 1193 (1985)] found dramatic decreases in the zinc diffusivity at xAl≈0.05 and xAl≈0.20 using open-tube diffusion, the results of the present study show that the sealed-ampoule technique results in a more uniform dependence of the zinc diffusivity on aluminum concentration.

Notes: With x-ray diffraction techniques, it is possible to routinely measure lattice parameters to several parts in 104 for thin-film samples. However, measurements of lattice parameter changes for quaternary device structures several microns in width are not usually feasible with x-ray diffraction techniques. For this reason, transmission electron microscopy has been used to determine the position of higher-order Laue zone lines within convergent-beam electron diffraction patterns from thin foil cross sections of planar quaternary layers grown on InP substrates. A calibration curve has been generated which describes the position of higher-order Laue zone lines as a function of the lattice parameter determined from x-ray diffraction measurements. For the active quaternary region of an elecro-optical device structure, it is shown that ths calibration procedure may be sensitive to a relative change in lattice parameter as small as ±2 parts in 104.