Schottky barrier as a diagnostic tool for evaluating properties of InP epitaxial layers prepared from melts containing rare-earth elements

InP layers are prepared by the liquid-phase epitaxial process from melts containing erbium. Even though the rare-earth atoms generally do not enter the InP host lattice to form optically active centres, they may have pronounced influence due to their high chemical activity in removing residual impurities. Properties of Schottky diodes manufactured from InP:Er layers are compared with those of diodes prepared under otherwise similar conditions but without the admixture of Er in the growth solution. Presence of erbium in the preparation process was found to have beneficial effects on both the reverse and forward current magnitudes and on the diode ideality factor. Capability of Schottky diodes to generate higher-order harmonics in suitably configured circuits was also investigated.