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Structure-induced effects on the selective wet thermal oxidation of digital AlxGa1–xAs alloys

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

I. Suarez ,
M. Condé ,
L. Bouscayrol ,
C. Fontaine  and
G. Almuneau
I. Suarez
Affiliation:
Laboratoire d’Analyse et d’Architecture des Systèmes (LAAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université de Toulouse, 31077 Toulouse Cedex 4, France
M. Condé
Affiliation:
Laboratoire d’Analyse et d’Architecture des Systèmes (LAAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université de Toulouse, 31077 Toulouse Cedex 4, France
L. Bouscayrol
Affiliation:
Laboratoire d’Analyse et d’Architecture des Systèmes (LAAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université de Toulouse, 31077 Toulouse Cedex 4, France
C. Fontaine
Affiliation:
Laboratoire d’Analyse et d’Architecture des Systèmes (LAAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université de Toulouse, 31077 Toulouse Cedex 4, France
G. Almuneau*
Affiliation:
Laboratoire d’Analyse et d’Architecture des Systèmes (LAAS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université de Toulouse, 31077 Toulouse Cedex 4, France
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: almuneau@laas.fr
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Abstract

A thorough study of the selective wet oxidation in digital AlxGa1–xAs alloys is presented. We report experimental results and physical interpretation on the oxidation kinetics within those ranges of the AlGaAs composition (x = 0.95 to 1) and layer thickness (20 to 50 nm) of interest for oxide-aperture vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) application. We demonstrate the high controllability of the oxidation reaction between different Al compositions; made different thanks to the use of digital alloys. Unlike standard alloys, we measured an invariability of the oxidation rates in the studied thickness range (20–50 nm), implying a better control of the fabrication process. The dependence of the reaction rate with the temperature is expressed as an Arrhenius law. Two activation energies (1.2 and 0.55 eV) have been derived for composition ranges of x = 0.95–0.98 and x = 0.99–1, respectively, revealing that two different mechanisms are involved depending on the Al content and the superlattice structure of the digitally-grown AlGaAs.

Keywords

III-VNanostructureOxidation
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 23 , Issue 11 , November 2008 , pp. 3006 - 3012
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2008

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