We report on photoluminescence in the 3–7 µm mid-wave infrared (MWIR) range from sub-100 nm strained thin films of rocksalt PbSe(001) grown on GaAs(001) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. These bare films, grown epitaxially at temperatures below 400 °C, luminesce brightly at room temperature and have minority carrier lifetimes as long as 172 ns. The relatively long lifetimes in PbSe thin films are achievable despite threading dislocation densities exceeding 109 cm−2 arising from island growth on the nearly 8% lattice- and crystal-structure-mismatched GaAs substrate. Using quasi-continuous-wave and time-resolved photoluminescence, we show that the Shockley–Read–Hall recombination is slow in our high dislocation density PbSe films at room temperature, a hallmark of defect tolerance. Power-dependent photoluminescence and high injection excess carrier lifetimes at room temperature suggest that degenerate Auger recombination limits the efficiency of our films, although the Auger recombination rates are significantly lower than equivalent III–V bulk materials and even a bit slower than expectations for bulk PbSe. Consequently, the combined effects of defect tolerance and low Auger recombination rates yield an estimated peak internal quantum efficiency of roughly 30% at room temperature, unparalleled in the MWIR for a severely lattice-mismatched thin film. We anticipate substantial opportunities for improving performance by optimizing crystal growth as well as understanding Auger processes in thin films. These results highlight the unique opportunity to harness the unusual chemical bonding in PbSe and related IV–VI semiconductors for heterogeneously integrated mid-infrared light sources constrained by tight thermal budgets in new device designs.
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Minority carrier lifetime and photoluminescence of mid-wave infrared InAsSbBi
Time-resolved photoluminescence measurements are reported for InAsSbBi alloys grown by molecular beam epitaxy with Bi mole fractions ranging from 0 to 0.8%, yielding minority carrier lifetimes on the order of hundreds of nanoseconds. The minority carrier lifetimes extracted from the time-resolved photoluminescence measurements are comparable to those of lattice-matched InAsSb grown at the same respective temperatures. Nomarski imaging shows that smooth, droplet-free surface morphologies are obtained in 1 μm thick InAsSbBi epilayers grown at temperatures between 360 and 380 °C. The alloy composition-dependent bandgap energies for the InAsSbBi samples are determined from temperature-dependent steady-state photoluminescence measurements and compared with the tetragonal distortion measured by x-ray diffraction to determine the Sb and Bi mole fractions of each sample. The minority carrier lifetime and the achievable extension of the InAsSb(Bi) cut-off wavelength are analyzed as functions of alloy composition and compared with the performance of InAsSb layers with similar growth parameters.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1720595
- PAR ID:
- 10474920
- Publisher / Repository:
- AIP Publishing
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Applied Physics Letters
- Volume:
- 117
- Issue:
- 6
- ISSN:
- 0003-6951
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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