Role of N ions in the optical and morphological properties of InGaAsN quantum wells for 1.3 - 1.5 μ m applications

In this work, we show the effects of N ions coming from a nitrogen plasma source on the optical and structural properties of InGaAsN quantum wells. The presence of ions in the growth chamber was measured by a modified Langmuir probe method at the substrate position. A magnetic field was applied to deflect charged species from the growing surface, producing a lower concentration of ions in the growth surface that led to an improvement of the optical and structural properties of the InGaAsN layers. The samples grown with an applied magnetic field showed a more intense and narrower photoluminescence emission, as well as a lower surface roughness. Additionally, postgrowth annealing has a smaller impact on the photoluminescence emission when a magnetic field is used, and a much lower blueshift is observed.