Atom probe tomography characterisation of a laser diode structure grown by molecular beam epitaxy

Atom probe tomography (APT) has been used to achieve three-dimensional characterization of a III-nitride laser diode(LD) structure grown by molecular beam epitaxy(MBE). Four APT data sets have been obtained, with fields of view up to 400 nm in depth and 120 nm in diameter. These data sets contain ma...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Bennett, S., Smeeton, T., Saxey, David, Smith, G., Hooper, S., Heffernan, J., Humphreys, C., Oliver, R.
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2012
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/5524
_version_ 1848744821213102080
author Bennett, S.
Smeeton, T.
Saxey, David
Smith, G.
Hooper, S.
Heffernan, J.
Humphreys, C.
Oliver, R.
author_facet Bennett, S.
Smeeton, T.
Saxey, David
Smith, G.
Hooper, S.
Heffernan, J.
Humphreys, C.
Oliver, R.
author_sort Bennett, S.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Atom probe tomography (APT) has been used to achieve three-dimensional characterization of a III-nitride laser diode(LD) structure grown by molecular beam epitaxy(MBE). Four APT data sets have been obtained, with fields of view up to 400 nm in depth and 120 nm in diameter. These data sets contain material from the InGaNquantum well(QW) active region, as well as the surrounding p- and n-doped waveguide and cladding layers, enabling comprehensive study of the structure and composition of the LD structure. Two regions of the same sample, with different average indium contents (18% and 16%) in the QW region, were studied. The APT data are shown to provide easy access to the p-type dopant levels, and the composition of a thin AlGaN barrier layer. Next, the distribution of indium within the InGaNQW was analyzed, to assess any possible inhomogeneity of the distribution of indium (“indium clustering”). No evidence for a statistically significant deviation from a random distribution was found, indicating that these MBE-grown InGaNQWs do not require indium clusters for carrier localization. However, the APT data show steps in the QWinterfaces, leading to well-width fluctuations, which may act to localize carriers. Additionally, the unexpected presence of a small amount (x = 0.005) of indium in a layer grown intentionally as GaN was revealed. Finally, the same statistical method applied to the QW was used to show that the indium distribution within a thick InGaN waveguide layer in the n-doped region did not show any deviation from randomness.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T06:07:33Z
format Journal Article
id curtin-20.500.11937-5524
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T06:07:33Z
publishDate 2012
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-55242019-02-19T05:35:28Z Atom probe tomography characterisation of a laser diode structure grown by molecular beam epitaxy Bennett, S. Smeeton, T. Saxey, David Smith, G. Hooper, S. Heffernan, J. Humphreys, C. Oliver, R. Atom probe tomography (APT) has been used to achieve three-dimensional characterization of a III-nitride laser diode(LD) structure grown by molecular beam epitaxy(MBE). Four APT data sets have been obtained, with fields of view up to 400 nm in depth and 120 nm in diameter. These data sets contain material from the InGaNquantum well(QW) active region, as well as the surrounding p- and n-doped waveguide and cladding layers, enabling comprehensive study of the structure and composition of the LD structure. Two regions of the same sample, with different average indium contents (18% and 16%) in the QW region, were studied. The APT data are shown to provide easy access to the p-type dopant levels, and the composition of a thin AlGaN barrier layer. Next, the distribution of indium within the InGaNQW was analyzed, to assess any possible inhomogeneity of the distribution of indium (“indium clustering”). No evidence for a statistically significant deviation from a random distribution was found, indicating that these MBE-grown InGaNQWs do not require indium clusters for carrier localization. However, the APT data show steps in the QWinterfaces, leading to well-width fluctuations, which may act to localize carriers. Additionally, the unexpected presence of a small amount (x = 0.005) of indium in a layer grown intentionally as GaN was revealed. Finally, the same statistical method applied to the QW was used to show that the indium distribution within a thick InGaN waveguide layer in the n-doped region did not show any deviation from randomness. 2012 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/5524 10.1063/1.3692569 fulltext
spellingShingle Bennett, S.
Smeeton, T.
Saxey, David
Smith, G.
Hooper, S.
Heffernan, J.
Humphreys, C.
Oliver, R.
Atom probe tomography characterisation of a laser diode structure grown by molecular beam epitaxy
title Atom probe tomography characterisation of a laser diode structure grown by molecular beam epitaxy
title_full Atom probe tomography characterisation of a laser diode structure grown by molecular beam epitaxy
title_fullStr Atom probe tomography characterisation of a laser diode structure grown by molecular beam epitaxy
title_full_unstemmed Atom probe tomography characterisation of a laser diode structure grown by molecular beam epitaxy
title_short Atom probe tomography characterisation of a laser diode structure grown by molecular beam epitaxy
title_sort atom probe tomography characterisation of a laser diode structure grown by molecular beam epitaxy
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/5524