Thermal annealing effects on optical and structural properties of GaBiAs epilayers: Origin of the thermal annealing-induced redshift in GaBiAs

Abstract

We report on an investigation of optical and structural properties of as-grown and thermal annealed GaBixAs1−x (x = 0.012, 0.018 and 0.03) epilayers by photomodulated reflectance (PR) spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and micro-Raman spectroscopy. PR spectra are analyzed by third derivative functional form (TDFF) lineshape. Optical transition energies are calculated using strain-included valence band anticrossing (VBAC) model. According to the results, optical transitions are from conduction bandedge to heavy hole bandedge and to light hole bandedge, which are affected by compressive strain and effect of strain is clearly seen when Bi concentration exceeds 2%. We also determine the band-anticrossing interaction parameter CBiM as 1.33 eV. TDFF analysis of as-grown and thermal annealed samples reveal that thermal annealing causes an unexpectedly large redshift of ∼22 meV/Bi% in the bandgap that corresponds to the increase of Bi composition by ∼25% in the GaAs lattice. The origin of this redshift is analyzed by AFM and Raman spectroscopy. Surface morphology of the GaBiAs samples show that droplets appear on the GaBiAs surface and their sizes increase with increasing Bi concentration, but tend to decrease following thermal annealing process and some surface droplets leave pits in their locations. Raman spectroscopy and AFM results give hints of diffusion of some Bi atoms from surface into the epilayer that causes an increase in Bi concentration of the alloy. This increase explains the observed annealing-induced redshift of the bandgap in PR measurement.