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The structural and optical properties of lattice-matched InAs0.911Sb0.089 bulk layers and strain-balanced InAs/InAs1-xSbx (x∼0.1-0.4) superlattices grown on (100)-oriented GaSb substrates by molecular beam epitaxy are examined using X-ray diffraction, spectroscopic ellipsometry, and temperature dependent photoluminescence spectroscopy. The photoluminescence and ellipsometry measurements determine the ground state bandgap energy and the X-ray diffraction measurements determine the layer thickness and mole fraction of the structures studied. Detailed modeling of the X-ray diffraction data is employed to quantify unintentional incorporation of approximately 1% Sb into the InAs layers of the superlattices. A Kronig-Penney model of the superlattice miniband structure is used to analyze the valence band offset between InAs and InAsSb, and hence the InAsSb band edge positions at each mole fraction. The resulting composition dependence of the bandgap energy and band edge positions of InAsSb are described using the bandgap bowing model; the respective low and room temperature bowing parameters for bulk InAsSb are 938 and 750 meV for the bandgap, 558 and 383 meV for the conduction band, and -380 and -367 meV for the valence band. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Erbium arsenide (ErAs) is a semi-metallic material that self-assembles into nanoparticles when grown in GaAs via molecular beam epitaxy. We use steady-state and time-resolved photolumines-cence to examine the mechanism of carrier transfer between indium arsenide (InAs) quantum dots and ErAs nanoparticles in a GaAs host. We probe the electronic structure of the ErAs metal nano-particles (MNPs) and the optoelectronic properties of the nanocomposite and show that the carrier transfer rates are independent of pump intensity. This result suggests that the ErAs MNPs have a continuous density of states and effectively act as traps. The absence of a temperature dependence tells us that carrier transfer from the InAs quantum dots to ErAs MNPs is not phonon assisted. We show that the measured photoluminescence decay rates are consistent with a carrier tunneling model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Time-resolved photoluminescence measurements reveal a minority carrier lifetime of >412 ns at 77 K under low excitation for a long-wavelength infrared InAs/InAs0.72Sb0.28 type-II superlattice (T2SL). This lifetime represents an order-of-magnitude increase in the minority carrier lifetime over previously reported lifetimes in long-wavelength infrared InAs/Ga1-xInxSb T2SLs. The considerably longer lifetime is attributed to a reduction of non-radiative recombination centers with the removal of Ga from the superlattice structure. This lifetime improvement may enable background limited T2SL long-wavelength infrared photodetectors at higher operating temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]