Photoreflectance studies of temperature and hydrostatic pressure dependencies of direct optical transitions in BGaAs alloys grown on GaP

Abstract

BGaAs layers with boron concentrations of 4.1%, 7.4%, and 12.1% are grown by molecular beam epitaxy on a GaP substrate and studied by optical absorption and photoreflectance (PR) spectroscopy with both temperature and hydrostatic pressure dependence. The direct optical transitions from the bands composing the valence band—namely heavy-hole, light-hole, and spin–orbit split-off—to the conduction band are clearly observed in the PR spectra. For the abovementioned optical transitions, their temperature dependencies are obtained in the range from 20 K to 300 K, and analyzed by Varshni and Bose–Einstein relations. Furthermore, the BGaAs alloys are also studied with hydrostatic pressure up to ∼18 kbar, revealing pressure coefficients of direct optical transitions. The obtained results are discussed within the framework of the band anticrossing model and chemical trends.