Characterizing III–V heteroepitaxial structures

A complementary characterization scheme for high-volume production of III–V heteroepitaxial structures is described, focusing on the cost-effectiveness and utility of the techniques, AlGaAs/InGaAs/GaAs heteroepitaxial layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy were studied by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and photoluminescence (PL) techniques. The presence of a range of layer thicknesses, fine periodic striation contrast due to Al composition variations, and layer contrasts in the lattice images observed by TEM in selected samples are discussed. The utility of room-temperature PL characterization for AlGaAs/InGaAs/GaAs heteroepitaxial layers is presented. Measures of layer thicknesses and alloy content as well as overall psuedomorphic high-electron-mobility transistor quality and channel sheet charge are derived from the PL signatures.