Experimental and modelling study of InGaBiAs/InP alloys with up to 5.8% Bi, and with Delta(so) > E-g

Temperature dependent photo-modulated reflectance is used to measure the band gap Eg and spin–orbit splitting energy Δso in dilute-Bi In0.53Ga0.47As1-xBix/InP for 1.2% ≤ x ≤ 5.8%. At room temperature, Eg decreases with increasing Bi from 0.65 to 0.47 eV (∼2.6 μm), while Δso increases from 0.42 to 0.62 eV, leading to a crossover between Eg and Δso around 3.8% Bi. The 5.8% Bi sample is the first example of this alloy where Δso > Eg has been confirmed at all temperatures. The condition Δso > Eg is important for suppressing hot-hole-producing non-radiative Auger recombination and inter-valence band absorption losses and so holds promise for the development of mid-infra-red devices based on this material system. The measured variations of Eg and Δso as a function of Bi content at 300 K are compared to those calculated using a 12-band k.p Hamiltonian which includes valence band anti-crossing effects. The Eg results as a function of temperature are fitted with the Bose–Einstein model. We also look for evidence to support the prediction that Eg in dilute bismides may show a reduced temperature sensitivity, but find no clear indication of that

InGaBiAs/InP semiconductors for mid-infrared applications: Dependence of bandgap and spin-orbit splitting on temperature and bismuth content

Replacing small amounts of As with Bi in InGaBiAs/InP induces large decreases and increases in the bandgap, E, and spin-orbit splitting, Δ, respectively. The possibility of achieving Δ>E and a reduced temperature (T) dependence for E are significant for suppressing recombination losses and improving performance in mid-infrared photonic devices. We measure E (x, T) and Δ(x, T) in InGa BiAs/InP samples for 0≤x≤0.032 by optical spectroscopy. While we find no clear evidence of a decreased dE /dT (≈0.33±0.07meV/K in all samples) we find Δ>E for x>3.3-4.3%. The predictions of a valence band anti-crossing model agree well with the measurements. © 2012 IEEE