CARRIER LIFETIMES IN DIELECTRIC CAP DISORDERED GAAS ALGAAS MULTIPLE-QUANTUM-WELL WITH SIN CAPPING LAYERS/

Time resolved photoluminescence (PL) characteristics of a SiN cap diso rdered GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum well (MQW) structure exhibit a dec rease in carrier lifetime in conjunction with an increase in quantum w ell disordering (QWD) as the SiN capping layer thickness is increased. The decrease in carrier lifetime is attributed to enhanced carrier tr apping due to the defects introduced during dielectric cap quantum wel l disordering and the relaxation of the momentum conservation during r adiative recombination by QWD. Potential applications of these effects on high speed optical devices such as laser diodes (LD's) and optical modulators are discussed. (C) 1995 American Institute of Physics.