Effects of Sb incorporation in GaAsSb-capping layer on the optical properties of InAs/GaAs QDs grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy

We have investigated the effect of antimony incorporation in GaAsSb as a capping layer on the optical properties of InAs quantum dots grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), High Resolution X-Ray Diffraction (HRXRD), photoluminescence (PL) and power dependent PL at 77 K and 300 K have been used for the characterization of the grown samples. Our analysis showed that the emission wavelength increases with Sb content and reaches ∼1.5 μm for Sb concentration of 22%. To achieve this wavelength, a reduction of the growth temperature of the GaAsSb layer from 500 °C to 440 °C was necessary. The wavelength increase is accompanied by a transition from a type I to type II band alignment and a broadening of the PL spectrum to a value of ∼237 nm for an excitation power of 100 mW. This broadening is attributed to the QD size inhomogeneity increase and Sb atoms redistribution during the in-situ annealing during the growth of the barriers at elevated temperature. Our results show the potential of the InAs/GaAsSb system in the development of broadband light sources and super-luminescent light emitting diodes in 1.2-1.5 μm wavelength range.