Photoluminescence characterization of GaNAs/GaAs structures grown by molecular beam epitaxy

A number of optical spectroscopies, including photoluminescence (PL), PL excitation and cathodoluminescence, are employed for characterization of GaNAs epilayers and GaAs/GaNxAs1−x quantum well structures grown by gas source molecular beam epitaxy at low temperature. The existence of strong potential fluctuations in the band edge of the GaNAs alloy is concluded, even for the samples with high optical quality, from a detailed analysis of the characteristic properties of the GaNAs-related PL emission. Based on the observed similarity in the PL properties between the GaNAs epilayers and the QW structures, the potential fluctuations are suggested to be mainly due to composition disorder and strain nonuniformity of the alloy.