Minority-carrier lifetime in AlxGa1−xAs

Abstract
The minority-carrier lifetime of AlxGa1−xAs has been measured in epitaxial materials grown by liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) and metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). A general trend shows that the lifetime decreases with aluminum concentration x as reported previously. The lifetime at x∼0.4 is appreciably larger in LPE material than in MOCVD material. At all x values, the lifetime of MOCVD material increased with the growth temperature. The results indicate that bulk Shockley–Read–Hall recombination dominates the lifetime. The latter are very dependent upon the growth conditions.