Synthesis of InNxP1−x thin films by N ion implantation

Dilute In${\mathrm{N}}_x{\mathrm{P}}_{\text{1−x}}$ alloy thin films were synthesized by nitrogen ion implantation into InP using doses corresponding to N mole fraction up to 0.048. In the films with the highest N contents, it was shown using modulated photoreflectance that the fundamental band gap energy was decreased by up to 180 meV. The band gap reduction is similar in magnitude to that observed in epitaxially grown III–${\mathrm{N}}_x{\mathrm{V}}_{\text{1−x}}$ alloys. The ${\mathrm{InN}}_x{\mathrm{P}}_{\text{1−x}}$ layers were thermally stable up to an annealing temperature of 850 °C. Using the recently developed band anticrossing model which relates the band gap reduction to the N content, we estimate that the maximum mole fraction of N achieved in the ${\mathrm{InN}}_x{\mathrm{P}}_{\text{1−x}}$ alloys is larger than that reported previously for film grown by chemical vapor deposition and exceeds 0.01.