Photo-induced transient spectroscopy and in-plane photovoltage in GaInNAs/GaAs quantum wells

Abstract We have studied the optical quality of sequentially grown undoped Ga 0.8 In 0.2 As and Ga 0.8 In 0.2 N 0.015 As 0.985 quantum wells (QWs). Spectral and time-resolved in-plane photovoltage (IPV) and photo-induced transient spectroscopy (PITS) techniques were used in this investigation. Two clear peaks have been observed and analysed in the PITS experiment. Spectral and transient IPV in the same samples has been investigated and a selective light was used as the excitation source to separate the GaInNAs IPV from the other layers. IPV can be explained in terms of random fluctuations of the Fermi level in undoped QWs. Spectral and time-resolved IPV measurements can therefore be used to obtain qualitative and quantitative information about interband transitions and trap activation energies.