Influence of rapid thermal annealing on a 30 stack InAs/GaAs quantum dot infrared photodetector

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In this article the effect of rapid thermal annealing (RTA) on a 30 stacked InAs/GaAs, molecular beam epitaxially grown quantum dot infrared photodetector (QDIP) device is studied. Temperatures in the range of 600–800 °C for 60 s, typical of atomic interdiffusion methods are used. After rapid thermal annealing the devices exhibited large dark currents and no photoresponse could be measured. Double crystal x-ray diffraction and cross sectional transmission electron microscopy studies indicate that this could be the result of strain relaxation. V-shaped dislocations which extended across many quantum dot (QD) layers formed in the RTA samples. Smaller defect centers were observed throughout the as-grown sample and are also likely a strain relaxation mechanism. This supports the idea that strained structures containing dislocations are more likely to relax via the formation of dislocations and/or the propagation of existing dislocations, instead of creating atomic interdiffusion during RTA. Photoluminescence (PL) studies also found that Si related complexes developed in the Si doped GaAs contact layers with RTA. The PL from these Si related complexes overlaps and dominates the PL from our QD ground state.