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The energy fine structure, corresponding to different nitrogen nearest-neighbor environments, was observed in contactless electroreflectance (CER) spectra of as-grown GaInNAs quantum wells (QWs) obtained at various As/III pressure ratios. In the spectral range of the fundamental transition, two CER resonances were detected for samples grown at low As pressures whereas only one CER resonance was observed for samples obtained at higher As pressures. This resonance corresponds to the most favorable nitrogen nearest-neighbor environment in terms of the total crystal energy. It means that the nitrogen nearest-neighbor environment in GaInNAs QWs can be controlled in molecular beam epitaxy process by As/III pressure ratio.

The authors report on an interesting observation regarding thermal annealing of a beryllium-doped Ga0.65In0.35As0.99N0.01/GaAs quantum well (QW) grown by molecular beam epitaxy. A QW doped at 6×1019 cm−3 exhibited superior thermal properties and about six times larger photoluminescence than an undoped QW of the same structure. X-ray diffraction and secondary ion mass spectrometry provided evidence that beryllium suppressed indium diffusion and stabilized (metastable) dilute nitride heterostructure upon annealing.

The effects of thermal annealing on GaInAs∕GaAs and GaInAsN∕GaAs quantum wells, grown by molecular beam epitaxy, were investigated. Optical and structural properties were examined upon annealing when the samples had a 200nm thick SiO2 cap layer, or were placed in a so-called GaAs box or were left uncapped. The GaAs box gave rise to the strongest photoluminescence without significant blueshift or structural changes at moderate annealing temperature. Capping with SiO2 impaired the samples and caused a more pronounced blueshift for the GaInAs quantum wells than for the GaInAsN ones. These results consolidate our understanding of the blueshift mechanisms.

Bismuth (Bi) is a surfactant which controls the electronic and structural properties of epitaxially grown GaInAs and GaInP alloys. The authors have studied Bi-terminated surfaces of GaInAs(100) layers, deposited onto InP(100) substrates, by means of scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It appears that Bi stabilizes an interesting (2×1) surface reconstruction on GaInAs(100). Under certain conditions, this reconstruction undergoes a phase transition to (2×4), which has about one-half of the Bi content of the (2×1) surface. Based on the experimental findings, they discuss mechanisms leading to this phase transition.