Bandgap engineering of GaInNP on GaAs(001) for electronic applications

Nitrogen incorporation dramatically reduces the Ga_1-xIn_xP band gap. Using the red shift of the photoluminescence spectrum of Ga_0.46In_0.54N_0.005P_0.995/GaAs quantum wells, which indicates less quantum confinement, we estimate the valence band offset to be about 97% of the total band gap difference. N incorporation significantly reduces the free-electron concentration and mobility, and the free-electron concentration of Ga_0.48In_0.52N_0.005P_0.995 decreases dramatically with high-temperature annealing (800 °C), from 4.4×10¹⁸ to 8.0×10¹⁶ cm^-3. This is believed to be due to passivation of Si by N through the formation of Si-N pairs. Therefore, GaInNP is more suitable to be a thin layer as the hole-blocking layer for tunnel-collector HBTs. The large valence-band discontinuity and large hole effective mass would block holes, while there would be no electron barrier at the base-collector junction.