Chapter 5 - Molecular Beam Epitaxy of Dilute Nitride Optoelectronic Devices

Molecular beam epitaxy of dilute nitride materials has progressed a long way toward claiming its unique place as a technology that enables the development of new types of optoelectronics devices. This chapter starts by reviewing the particularities related to epitaxial incorporation of nitrogen into III–V materials using plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. We then focus on describing the interplay between the growth parameters and nitrogen incorporation processes in dilute nitride arsenides (III-N-As). Emphasis is put on nitrogen-related growth kinetics that are accompanied by various bonding configurations and formation of several types of defects. Then we review the basics of MBE for dilute nitride antimonides (III-N-Sb) and dilute nitride phosphides (III-N-P). Finally, we review the growth optimization and properties of several classes of dilute nitride heterostructures for optoelectronics. These include uncooled long-wavelength laser diodes, ultrafast nonlinear devices, high power lasers enabling yellow-orange emission by frequency doubling, and high-efficiency multijunction solar cells, for which dilute nitride MBE technology is rapidly evolving and provides development opportunities.