Investigation of LPE grown dilute nitride InGaAs(Sb)N layers for photovoltaic applications

We report on LPE growth and characterization of dilute nitride InGaAs(Sb)N layers nearly lattice matched to GaAs. In order to obtain high quality epitaxial layers without phase separation low-temperature variant of LPE method has been used. The composition and crystalline quality of the grown InGaAs(Sb)N layers have been determined by energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis and X-ray diffraction methods. SEM and AFM measurements on grown samples revealed flat interfaces and surface roughness in the range 0.2 - 0.3 nm. In order to identify the N-bonding mechanism in the alloys and the nature of nitrogen related clusters IR absorption and Raman scattering spectroscopy have been applied. The optical band gap of the samples is studied by photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy at low and room temperatures and by surface photovoltage (SPV) spectroscopy at room temperature. The SPV and PL spectra reveal a red shift of the absorption edge and PL peak position as compared to GaAs, as well as localized states near the conduction band minimum. However, the optical band gap bowing of the samples appears smaller with respect to the random alloy, which is explained by the short-range ordering favored by LPE growth at near-equilibrium conditions. Variable angle ellipsometry is applied to determine the spectral behavior of the complex refractive index and estimate the band gap energy of the samples.