In(AsN) mid-infrared emission enhanced by rapid thermal annealing

We report a substantial increase in the quality and photoluminescence (PL) emission efficiency of In(AsN) dilute nitride alloys grown on both p-type InAs and semi-insulting GaAs substrates, in response to rapid thermal annealing. At 4 K the PL emission efficiency increases by 25 times due to a reduction in non-radiative Shockley–Read–Hall recombination originating from elimination of point defects. For annealing temperatures up to 500 C the activation energy for thermal quenching increases by a factor of three, with no change in the residual electron concentration and mobility. Temperature dependent PL, together with X-ray diffraction measurements, reveals an improvement in compositional uniformity. Our results are significant for photonic device applications and particularly for the development of cryogenic midinfrared photodiodes, monolithic detectors and focal plane arrays.