Minority carrier lifetime improvement by single strained layer epitaxy of InP

By applying a single LPE-grown isoelectronically doped strained layer, on top of a conventional InP wafer, a strong reduction of dislocation and deep level density occurs. As a result an improvement in minority carrier lifetime and diffusion length and a better uniformity across the wafer is achieved. This is demonstrated by the comparison of p-n diodes fabricated with and without the strained layer.