Influence of doping on the dynamical properties of III–V–N by Raman scattering, infrared absorption and model calculations

Abstract

In the framework of a rigid-ion model and using realistic Greens function theory, we have studied systematically the influence of doping on the lattice dynamics of III–V-nitrides. Our theoretical analysis is based on a sound physical appeal for the perturbation caused by different dopants in compound semiconductors. After analyzing the dynamical behavior for two sets of impurities with closest masses occupying Ga- and As-sites in GaAs, we have proposed simple empirical relationships providing corrections to the impurity–host interactions for isoelectronic defects and for dopants carrying static charges. Despite the simplicity of perturbation models, our Greens function theory provided results in good agreement with the recent Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) absorption data for the magnitude and splitting of N-isotopic shifts of localized vibrational modes in GaAs. With high-resolution FTIR spectroscopy, we strongly believe that the 14N As-related broad local mode (∼471 cm −1) in GaAs can be resolved into fine structures due to Ga-host isotopes. Theoretical results for the in-band modes of As N in cubic gallium nitride are compared and discussed with the existing Raman data on molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) grown GaN layers on GaAs substrates, as well as on GaN samples intentionally doped with As.