Nitrogen δ-doping for band engineering of GaAs-related quantum structures

Abstract

We study energy-band engineering with nitrogen delta (δ)-doping in GaAs-related quantum structures. A tight-binding calculation indicates that the band structure can be engineered by introducing the one-dimensional doping profile of nitrogen into GaAs. Using molecular beam epitaxy, we prepare δ-doped samples of AlGaAs/GaAs quantum wells and GaAs/δ-doped nitrogen superlattice structures at the growth temperature 560 °C. Photoluminescence obtained from the samples shows a clear redshift of the spectral peak positions dependent on the nitrogen coverage. The transition energies of the superlattice structures agree well with those obtained from photoreflectance, indicating the feasibility of band modification with a single or a multiple nitrogen δ-doped layer.