Acceptor diffusion across InGaAs/InP heterointerfaces

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Abstract
Results on Zn and Cd diffusion across InGaAs/InP and InP/InGaAs heterointerfaces are reported. Drastic changes in the group III sublattice were obtained near the interface when Zn diffused from an InGaAs top layer across the heterojunction. Diffusion from an InP top layer, as well as Cd diffusion, or simple annealing of the samples had no measurable influence on the stability of the interfaces. The strong interdiffusion of In and Ga host atoms as well as the Zn gettering at the interface is discussed in terms of two diffusion mechanisms, namely, the ‘‘kick‐out’’ mechanism and the vacancy mechanism. The activation energy for the Zn‐stimulated Ga interdiffusion across the InGaAs/InP heterojunction was estimated to be EA =3.8±0.3 eV.