TECHNIQUE FOR MAPPING THE SPECTRAL UNIFORMITY OF LUMINESCENT SEMICONDUCTING MATERIAL

A technique to map the spectral uniformity of luminescent semiconducti ng materials at room temperature is described. This technique is based on spatially resolved and polarization-resolved measurements of the p hotoluminescence and requires a polarizing beam splitter with a splitt ing ratio that has a linear dependence on wavelength. Measurements on a quantum-well sample that was patterned by intermixing with a focused ion beam are used to demonstrate the technique. With a spectral resol ution of better than 1 nm and a spatial resolution of similar or equal to 1 mu m, as well as the ability to map concurrently the strain fiel d through the measurement of the degree of polarization of the photolu minescence and the photoluminescence yield, this technique provides a simple, nondestructive method of assessing luminescent materials.