ENHANCED LUMINESCENCE EFFICIENCY IN GROWTH INTERRUPTED SINGLE QUANTUM-WELLS BY ATOMIC-HYDROGEN

Several groups have demonstrated smoothing of (Al,Ga)As/GaAs quantum w ell heterointerfaces by growth interrupts (GI). Such quantum wells (QW ) usually exhibit multiple narrow line emission spectra where the ener gy and separation of the peaks is consistent with large lateral island s varying in height by a monolayer. Unfortunately, the integrated emis sion can be reduced by an order of magnitude as a result of GI. Time d ecay measurements suggest that GI leads to the incorporation of non-ra diative centres. The lifetime and luminescence efficiency can be recov ered by annealing the samples for 2h in a hydrogen plasma. The H passi vates non-radiative centres but does not degrade the smoothness of the interfaces. These results may have important consequences for the opt ical and electrical properties of quantum devices.