STRAIN-BALANCED ALGAINAS INP HETEROSTRUCTURES WITH UP TO 50 QWS BY MBE/

Using solid-source MBE, strain-balanced quaternary AlGaInAs/AlGaInAs m ultiple quantum well (MQW) structures have been grown and studied by p hotoluminescence (PL) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements, showin g high epitaxial quality and excellent homogeneity in growth direction . The PL linewidths are low and almost independent of the number of QW s (1 less than or equal to N-QW less than or equal to 50). With respec t to photonic device applications at 1.55 mu m, structures with quater nary QWs seem to be superior compared to structures with ternary QWs: structures with quaternary QWs enable more degrees of freedom in devic e design and reveal a five times larger lateral wafer area in which th e PL wavelength is constant.