Very high dose electron irradiation effects on photoluminescence from GaInNAs/GaAs quantum wells grown by molecular beam epitaxy

The effects of 7 MeV electron irradiation at very high doses of 2×1017 and 1.5×1018electrons/cm2 and subsequent rapid thermal annealing on photoluminescence from a strain-compensated GaInAsN/GaAsN/GaAs quantum well structure are investigated. A large additional blueshift of photoluminescence has been observed from the lower-dose irradiated sample as compared to the non-irradiated one when annealed after the irradiation. This additional blueshift will become considerably reduced by an ageing effect, which occurs already at room temperature. The mechanism causing the additional blueshift of photoluminescence and its reduction is qualitatively assigned to metastable complex defects promoted by electron irradiation in the nitrogen containing layers. No such additional blueshift of photoluminescence under the thermal treatment has been observed in the higher-dose irradiated sample.