Abstract
This paper reports quantum mechanical study to optimize the type-I AlN/GaN/InAlN QW (quantum well) heterostructure and investigates the optical gain characteristics. The heterostructure studied here has single QW of InAlN (~ 10 nm well width) with barrier as GaN (~ 20 nm width) and grown with the claddings of AlN binary semiconductor material (~ 100 nm width). The optical gain spectra have been calculated by solving the 6 × 6 Luttinger–Kohn Hamiltonian considering the effective mass approximation. The optical characteristics of the designed QW heterostructure have been studied for the different well width of the QW heterostructure. For the InGaN/GaN QW heterostructure, by reducing the well width, the peak gain has been improved with blue shift in wavelength, which can be considered as significant increase in the peak gain. This study may be advantageous in designing the tunable III-nitride optoelectronic devices.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
Data sharing not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.
References
Ahmad, S., Raushan, M.A., Gupta, H., Kattayat, S., Kumar, S., Dalela, S., Alvi, P.A., Siddiqui, M.J.: Performance enhancement of UV quantum well light emitting diode through structure optimization. Opt. Quantum Electron. 51(7), 1–23 (2019)
Alferov, J.I.: Optical properties in semiconductor nanostructures. Semiconductors 32, 1–8 (1998)
Alferov, Z.I.: Nobel Lecture: the double heterostructure concept and its applications in physics, electronics, and technology. Rev. Modern Phys. 73(3), 767–782 (2001)
Alvi, P.A.: Enhanced optical gain characteristics of InAlN/δ-GaN/InAlN nanoscale-heterostructure for D-UV applications. Superlattices Microstruct. 140, 106436 (2020)
Alvi, P.A., Gupta, S., Siddiqui, M.J., Sharma, G., Dalela, S.: Modeling and simulation of GaN/Al0.3Ga0.7N new multilayer nano-heterostructure. Physica B 405(10), 2431–2435 (2010a)
Alvi, P.A., Gupta, S., Vijay, P., Sharma, G., Siddiqui, M.J.: Affects of Al concentration on GaN/AlxGa1−xN new modeled multilayer nano-heterostructure. Physica B: Condens. Matter 405(17), 3624–3629 (2010b)
Anjum, S.G., Yadav, N., Siddiqui, M.J., Alvi, P.A.: Optical characteristics of Type-II InGaAs/GaAsSb QW Heterostructure under electric field. In: International Conference on Fibre Optics and Photonics, pp. Th3A-87. Optical Society of America (2016)
Baten, Md.Z., Alam, S., Sikder, B., Aziz, A.: III-nitride light-emitting devices. Photonics 8(10), 430 (2021)
Bhardwaj, G., Yadav, N., Anjum, S.G., Siddiqui, M.J., Alvi, P.A.: Uniaxial strain induced optical properties of complex type-II InGaAs/InAs/GaAsSb nano-scale heterostructure. Optik 146, 8–16 (2017)
Broderick, C.A., Usman, M., Sweeney, S.J., O’Reilly, E.P.: Band engineering in dilute nitride and bismide semiconductor lasers. Semicond. Sci. Technol. 27(9), 094011 (2012)
Chang, C.-S., Chuang, S.L.: Modeling of strained quantum-well lasers with spin–orbit coupling. IEEE J. Sel. Topics Quantum Electron 1(2), 218–229 (1995a)
Chang, C.-S., Chuang, S.L.: Universal curves for optical-matrix elements of strained quantum wells. Appl. Phys. Lett. 66(7), 795–797 (1995b)
Chow, W.W., Amano, H., Takeuchi, T., Han, J.: Quantum-well width dependence of threshold current density in InGaN lasers. Appl. Phys. Lett. 75(2), 244–246 (1999)
Cook, T.E., Jr., Fulton, C.C., Mecouch, W.J., Davis, R.F., Lucovsky, G., Nemanich, R.J.: Band offset measurements of the Si3N4/GaN (0001) interface. J. Appl. Phys. 94(6), 3949–3954 (2003)
Dolia, R., Bhardwaj, G., Singh, A.K., Kumar, S., Alvi, P.A.: Optimization of Type-II ‘W’ shaped InGaAsP/GaAsSb nanoscale-heterostructure under electric field and temperature. Superlattices Microstruct. 112, 507–516 (2017)
Dolia, R., Chander, S., Vats, V.S., Alvi, P.A.: Well width effect on optical gain in GaN/AlGaN QW heterostructure. Mater. Today: Proc. 42, 1629–1632 (2021)
Dorsaz, J., Castiglia, A., Cosendey, G., Feltin, E., Rossetti, M., Duelk, M., Velez, C., Carlin, J.-F., Grandjean, N.: AlGaN-free blue III-nitride laser diodes grown on c-plane GaN substrates. Appl. Phys. Express 3(9), 092102 (2010)
Einspruch, N.G., Frensley, W.R. (eds.): Heterostructures and Quantum Devices. Elsevier, Amsterdam (2014)
Frensley, W.R.: Heterostructure and quantum well physics. In: VLSI Electronics Microstructure Science, vol. 24, pp. 1–24. Elsevier, Amsterdam (1994)
Fuchs, C., Baeumner, A., Brueggemann, A., Berger, C., Moeller, C., Reinhard, S., Hader, J., Moloney, J.V., Koch, S.W., Stolz, W.: Temperature-dependent spectral properties of (GaIn)As/Ga(AsSb)/(GaIn) As W-quantum well heterostructure lasers. arXiv preprint arXiv:2012.01522 (2020)
Fujioka, A., Misaki, T., Murayama, T., Narukawa, Y., Mukai, T.: Improvement in output power of 280-nm deep ultraviolet light-emitting diode by using AlGaN multi quantum wells. Appl. Phys. Express 3(4), 041001 (2010)
Gupta, H., Ahmad, S., Kattayat, S., Kumar, D., Dalela, S., Siddiqui, M.J., Alvi, P.A.: Improvement in efficiency and luminous power of AlGaN-based D-UV LEDs by using partially graded quantum barriers. Superlattices Microstruct. 142, 106543 (2020)
Haider, S.F., Kumar, U., Kattayat, S., Josey, S., Ahmad, M.A., Gupta, S.K., Sharma, R., Ezzeldien, M., Alvi, P.A.: Investigation of high optical gain (MIR region) in AlSb/InAs/GaAsSb type-II quantum well heterostructure. Results Opt 5, 100138 (2021)
Hardy, M.T., Feezell, D.F., Den Baars, S.P., Nakamura, S.: Group III-nitride lasers: a materials perspective. Mater. Today 14(9), 408–415 (2011)
Horn, K.: Semiconductor interface studies using core and valence level photoemission. Appl. Phys. A 51(4), 289–304 (1990)
Hyot, B., Rollès, M., Miska, P.: Design of Efficient Type-II ZnGeN2/In0.16Ga0.84N quantum well-based red LEDs. Phys. Status Solidi (RRL) 13(8), 1900170 (2019)
Ishikawa, H., IkuoSuemune: Analysis of temperature dependent optical gain of strained quantum well taking account of carriers in the SCH layer. IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett. 6(3), 344–347 (1994)
Jia, H., Guo, L., Wang, W., Chen, H.: Recent progress in GaN-based light-emitting diodes. Adv. Mater. 21(45), 4641–4646 (2009)
Khan, M.I., Khan, A.M., Kattayat, S., Bhardwaj, G., Kaya, S., Dalela, S., Kumar, S., Alvi, P.A.: Uniaxial ultra-high pressure dependent tuning of optical gain of W-shaped Type-II GaAsSb/InGaAs/InAlAs nano-heterostructure. Optik 204, 164121 (2020)
Khan, M.I., Hasan, P.M.Z., Danish, E.Y., Aslam, M., Kattayat, S., Kumar, S., Dalela, S., Ahmad, M.A., Alvi, P.A.: Fine tunability of optical gain characteristics of InGaAs/GaAsSb/InAlAs nano-heterostructure under combined effect of field and temperature. Superlattices Microstruct. 156, 106982 (2021)
Khan, M.I., Bhardwaj, G., Kattayat, S., Sharma, S., Alvi, P.A.: Impact of temperature on optical properties of InGaAs/GaAsSb/InAlAs nano-scale heterostructure. In: AIP Conference Proceedings, vol. 2369, no. 1, p. 020144. AIP Publishing LLC (2021).
Kumari, B., Kattayat, S., Kumar, S., Kaya, S., Katti, A., Alvi, P.A.: Improved and tunable optical absorption characteristics of MQW GaAs/AlGaAs nano-scale heterostructure. Optik 208, 164544 (2020)
Kuramata, A., Domen, K., Soejima, R., Horino, K., Kubota, S.-I., Tanahashi, T.: InGaN laser diode grown on 6H–SiC substrate using low-pressure metal organic vapor phase epitaxy. Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 36(9A), L1130–L1132 (1997)
Lin-Zhang, W., Wei, T., Feng, G.: Determination of quasi Fermi-level separation of semiconductor lasers from amplified spontaneous emission. Chin. Phys. Lett. 21(7), 1359 (2004)
Motyka, M., Dyksik, M., Ryczko, K., Weih, R., Dallner, M., Sven Höfling, M., Kamp, G.S., Misiewicz, J.: Type-II quantum wells with tensile-strained GaAsSb layers for interband cascade lasers with tailored valence band mixing. Appl. Phys. Lett. 108(10), 101905 (2016)
Nakamura, S., Senoh, M., Mukai, T.: P-GaN/N-InGaN/N-GaN double-heterostructure blue-light-emitting diodes. Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 32(1A), L8 (1993)
Nakamura, S., Senoh, M., Nagahama, S., Iwasa, N., Yamada, T., Matsushita, T., Kiyoku, H., Sugimoto, Y.: InGaN-based multi-quantum-well-structure laser diodes. Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 35(1B), L74 (1996)
Nakamura, S., Pearton, S., Fasol, G.: The Blue Laser Diode: The Complete Story. Springer, Berlin (2000)
Nirmal, H.K., Yadav, N., Dalela, S., Rathi, A., Siddiqui, M.J., Alvi, P.A.: Tunability of optical gain (SWIR region) in type-II In0.70Ga0.30As/GaAs0.40Sb0.60 nano-heterostructure under high pressure. Physica E 80, 36–42 (2016a)
Nirmal, H.K., Anjum, S.G., Lal, P., Rathi, A., Dalela, S., Siddiqui, M.J., Alvi, P.A.: Field effective band alignment and optical gain in type-I Al0.45Ga0.55As/GaAs0.84P0.16 nano-heterostructures. Optik 127(18), 7274–7282 (2016b)
Park, S.H., Chuang, S.L., Minch, J., Ahn, D.: Intraband relaxation time effects on non-Markovian gain with many-body effects and comparison with experiment. Semicond. Sci. Technol. 15(2), 203 (2000)
Riyaj, Md., Singh, A.K., Rathi, A., Kattayat, S., Kumar, S., Dalela, S., Alvi, P.A.: High pressure affects on optical characteristics of AlGaAs/GaAsP/AlGaAs nano-heterostructure. Optik 181, 389–397 (2019)
Riyaj, Md., Vijay, J.P., Khan, A.M., Kattayat, S., Kaya, S., Ahmad, M.A., Kumar, S., Alvi, P.A., Rathi, A.: Band dispersion and optical gain calculations of staggered type GaAs0.4Sb0·6/In0.7Ga0.3As/GaAs0.4Sb0.6 nano-heterostructure under electric field and [100] strain. Superlattices Microstruct. 150, 106694 (2021)
Riyaj, Md., Quraishi, A.M., Hasan, P.M.Z., Darwesh, R., Kattayat, S., Josey, S., Kumar, S., Ezzeldien, M., Rathi, A., Alvi, P.A.: Tuning the responsible parameters for gain characteristics of the novel type-II D-QW (InGaAs) heterostructure. Mater. Sci. Semicond. Process. 140, 106377 (2022)
Riyaj, Md., Singh, A.K., Alvi, P.A., Rathi, A.: Wavefunctions and optical gain in In0.24Ga0.76N/GaN Type-I nano-heterostructure under external uniaxial strain. In: Intelligent computing techniques for smart energy systems, pp. 341–349. Springer, Singapore (2020)
Robertson, J.: Band offsets of wide-band-gap oxides and implications for future electronic devices. J. Vacuum Sci. Technol. B 18(3), 1785–1791 (2000)
Sandhya, K., Bhardwaj, G., Dolia, R., Lal, P., Kumar, S., Dalela, S., Rahman, F., Alvi, P.A.: Optimization of optical characteristics of In0.29Ga0.71As0. 99N0.01/GaAs straddled nano-heterostructure. Opto-Electron. Rev. 26(3), 210–216 (2018)
Sheu, J.-K., Huang, F.-W., Lee, C.-H., Lee, M.-L., Yeh, Y.-H., Chen, P.-C., Lai, W.-C.: Improved conversion efficiency of GaN-based solar cells with Mn-doped absorption layer. Appl. Phys. Lett. 103(6), 063906 (2013)
Singh, A.K., Amit, A., Riyaj, G., Bhardwaj, G., Alvi, P.A.: "Optical gain tuning within IR region in type-II In0.5Ga0.5As0.8P0.2/GaAs0.5Sb0.5 nano-scale heterostructure under external uniaxial strain. Superlattices Microstruct. 111, 591–602 (2017)
Soltani, M., Jahromi, H.D., Sheikhi, M.H.: Highly efficient AlGaN/GaN/InGaN multi-quantum well ultraviolet light-emitting diode. Iran. J. Sci. Technol. Trans. Electr. Eng. 44(1), 69–76 (2020)
Stevens, P.J., Whitehead, M., Parry, G., Woodbridge, K.: Computer modeling of the electric field dependent absorption spectrum of multiple quantum well material. IEEE J. Quantum Electron. 24(10), 2007–2016 (1988)
Tan, C.-K., Sun, W., Borovac, D., Tansu, N.: Large optical gain AlInN-delta-GaN quantum well for deep ultraviolet emitters. Sci. Rep. 6(1), 1–7 (2016)
Tersoff, J.: Theory of semiconductor heterojunctions: the role of quantum dipoles. Phys. Rev. B 30(8), 4874–4877 (1984)
Tian, A., Hu, L., Zhang, L., Liu, J., Yang, H.: Design and growth of GaN-based blue and green laser diodes. Sci. China Mater. 63(8), 1–16 (2020)
Vehse, M., Michler, P., Gutowski, J., Figge, S., Hommel, D., Selke, H., Keller, S., DenBaars, S.P.: Influence of composition and well-width fluctuations on optical gain in (In,Ga) N multiple quantum wells. Semicond. Sci. Technol. 16(5), 406–412 (2001)
Waldrop, J.R., Grant, R.W.: Semiconductor heterojunction interfaces: nontransitivity of energy-band discontinuities. Phys. Rev. Lett. 43(22), 1686–1689 (1979)
Wang, C.-F., Addamane, S., Balakrishnan, G., Lebron, C.R., Haq, S., Patra, B., Malloy, K.J., Habteyes, T.G.: Temperature dependent absorption and emission enhancement factors in plasmon coupled semiconductor heterostructures. In: Active Photonic Platforms XI, vol. 11081, p. 110812A. International Society for Optics and Photonics (2019)
Wierer, J.J., Jr., Tsao, J.Y.: Advantages of III-nitride laser diodes in solid-state lighting. Physica Status Solidi (a) 212(5), 980–985 (2015)
Wu, Y.-F., Keller, B.P., Keller, S., Kapolnek, D., Denbaars, S.P., Mishra, U.K.: Measured microwave power performance of AlGaN/GaN MODFET. IEEE Electron. Dev. Lett. 17(9), 455–457 (1996)
Wu, Y.-F., Keller, S., Kozodoy, P., Keller, B.P., Parikh, P., Kapolnek, D., Denbaars, S.P., Mishra, U.K.: Bias dependent microwave performance of AlGaN/GaN MODFET’s up to 100 V. IEEE Electron. Dev. Lett. 18(6), 290–292 (1997)
Wu, S., Cao, Y., Tomić, S., Ishikawa, F.: The optical gain and radiative current density of GaInNAs/GaAs/AlGaAs separate confinement heterostructure quantum well lasers. J. Appl. Phys. 107(1), 013107 (2010)
Yadav, R., Pyare Lal, F., Rahman, S.D., Alvi, P.A.: Well width effects on material gain and lasing wavelength in InGaAsP/InP nano-heterostructure. J. Optoelectron. Eng. 2(1), 1–6 (2014)
Yadav, N., Bhardwaj, G., Anjum, S.G., Dalela, S., Siddiqui, M.J., Alvi, P.A.: Investigation of high optical gain in complex type-II InGaAs/InAs/GaAsSb nano-scale heterostructure for MIR applications. Appl. Opt. 56(15), 4243–4249 (2017)
Yoshida, S., Misawa, S., Gonda, S.: Improvements on the electrical and luminescent properties of reactive molecular beam epitaxially grown GaN films by using AlN-coated sapphire substrates. Appl. Phys. Lett. 42(5), 427–429 (1983)
You, J.H., Woo, J.T., Lee, D.U., Kim, T.W., Yoo, K.H., Park, H.L.: Dependence of optical gain and interband transitions on the CdTe well width and temperature for CdTe/ZnTe single quantum wells Opt. Quant. Electron. 41(7), 559–565 (2009)
Yu, H., Chen, Q., Ren, Z., Tian, M., Long, S., Dai, J., Chen, C., Sun, H.: Enhanced performance of an AlGaN-based deep-ultraviolet LED having graded quantum well structure. IEEE Photon. J. 11(4), 1–6 (2019)
Acknowledgements
Richa Dolia and P. A. Alvi are highly thankful to DST, Govt. of India for facilitate the research work in terms of computational facilities provided at the Banasthali Vidyapith.
Funding
The authors have not disclosed any funding.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Dolia, R., Quraishi, A.M., Kattayat, S. et al. Designing of type-I AlN/GaN/InAlN quantum well heterostructure and investigating its optical characteristics. Opt Quant Electron 54, 855 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11082-022-04275-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11082-022-04275-6