Optical properties of GaNAs/GaAs structures

We review our recent results on optical characterization of MBE-grown GaNAs/GaAs quantum structures with N content up to 4.5%, by employing photoluminescence (PL), PL excitation, and time-resolved PL spectroscopies. The dominant PL mechanism has been determined as recombination of excitons trapped by potential fluctuations of the band edge, due to composition disorder and strain nonuniformity of the alloy. The estimated value of the localization potential is around 60 meV for the low-temperature grown structures and can be reduced by increasing the growth temperature or using post-growth rapid thermal annealing (RTA).