Impurities in type-II-staggered InAs/AℓSb superlattices

Abstract

The physics of impurities in Type-II staggered superlattices is reviewed, with emphasis on changes of doping character, such as shallow to deep and deep to false-valence transitions, that can result from altering layer thicknesses. It is shown how some impurities can change their doping characters from "deep acceptors" (semi-insulating) to shallow donors (n-type) as functions of layer thicknesses in superlattices such as InAs/AℓSb. A particularly important case is an Aℓ Sb antisite defect in an AℓSb layer of an InAs/AℓSb superlattice. This defect is a deep trap or "deep acceptor" in AℓSb, and a remote donor in some superlattices, depending on the layer thicknesses. It can, by itself, control the electron gas density in a superlattice structure, and so can play an important role in the development of high-speed field-effect transistors.