Photoluminescence study of acceptors in AlxGa1−xAs

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Abstract
A photoluminescence study of C, Si, Ge, Be, Mg, and Zn acceptors in AlxGa1−xAs is made. The binding energy of these acceptors is determined from the free‐to‐bound transitions at 75 K as a function of aluminum composition up to x∼0.4. It is observed that C, Be, and Mg behave like effective mass acceptors in AlxGa1−xAs while Si, Zn, and Ge show positive deviations from the effective mass theory with Ge exhibiting the maximum deviation. This difference in the behavior of the acceptors is suggested to be due to the difference in their central cell corrections in GaAs. The relative merits of these acceptors, in terms of their solubility, ionization energy, and diffusivity are considered. It is concluded that Mg is an attractive acceptor dopant in AlxGa1−xAs grown by liquid phase epitaxy.