Zn diffusion enhancement of interdiffusion in a GaAs-InGaPAs heterostructure

Abstract
The influence of concurrent Zn diffusion on the interdiffusion in an In0.06Ga0.94P0.05As0.95-GaAs heterostructure grown by liquid phase epitaxy was investigated. A 25 h, 700 °C diffusion anneal was performed using an equilibrium ternary diffusion source and profiles of In and P were measured with secondary-ion mass spectrometry. The Zn diffusion selectively enhances the cation (In-Ga) interdiffusion; with concurrent Zn diffusion, the interdiffusion coefficient for the In-Ga components is ≊5×10−14 cm2/s, as compared to ≊6×10−16 cm2/s for anions (As-P). A kick-out mechanism is proposed to explain the results.