Scanning capacitance microscopy investigations of buried heterostructure laser structures

• In this work, InP-based buried heterostucture lasers are used to demonstrate the utility of scanning capacitance microscopy (SCM) for characterising complex device structures. The lasers use p-n junctions formed by selective regrowth of p and n doped InP layers around a mesa for current confinement. For comparison, the regrowth was performed by liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) and metal organic vapour phase epitaxy (MOVPE). Our investigations show that scanning capacitance microscopy is capable of detecting the p-n junctions formed at different regions of the device and thereby allows visualisation of the current confinement regions. Variations in the imaged depletion regions are attributed to doping variations due to modification of the regrowth process by the mesa. The SCM data show significant differences between the devices regrown by LPE and MOVPE and the results are consistent with the different regrowth mechanisms. Finally, the implications of the SCM data on device performance are discussed. © 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Den kondenserade materiens fysik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Condensed Matter Physics (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Buried hetero-structure lasers

LPE

MOVPE

p-n Junctions

Regrowth

SCM

Capacitance

Electric currents

Heterojunctions

Liquid phase epitaxy

Metallorganic vapor phase epitaxy

Semiconducting indium phosphide

Semiconductor doping

Semiconductor growth

Semiconductor lasers

Buried heterostructure laser structures

Current confinement

Scanning capacitance microscopy

Selective regrowth

Scanning electron microscopy

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)