MOVPE growth studies of Ga(NASP)/(BGA)(ASP) multi quantum well heterostructures (MQWH) for the monolithic integration of laser structures on (001) Si-substrates

High-quality, pseudomorphically strained Ga(NAsP)/(BGA)(AsP)-multiple quantum well heterostructures (MQWH) have been deposited on exactly oriented (001) Si-substrate by metal organic vapour phase epitaxy (MOVPE) in a wide temperature range between 525 °C and 700 °C. The individual atomic incorporation efficiencies, growth rates as well as nanoscale material properties have been clarified by applying detailed high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HR-XRD), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and high-angle annular dark field (HAADF) scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) studies. An almost constant N-incorporation efficiency is obtained for a wide growth temperature range from 550 °C up to 650 °C. The P-incorporation is steadily increasing with increasing growth temperature reaching values at high temperatures in excess of the applied gas phase ratio. While the lower interface from the binary GaP- to the quaternary Ga(NAsP)-material system is very sharp, the upper interface is significantly rougher with a roughness scale of ±0.43 nm in quantum well thickness variation at a growth temperature of 525 °C. This roughness scale increases steadily with increasing growth temperature. No indication of any phase separation effects is detected in the Ga(NAsP)-material system even at the highest growth temperature of 700 °C. The obtained experimental results are briefly discussed with respect to the anticipated metastable character of the novel dilute-nitride Ga(NAsP)-material system grown lattice-matched to (001) Si-substrate. © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.