Effects of ytterbium addition on liquid phase epitaxial growth of InGaAs/InP heterostructures

The effects of ytterbium addition to the melt of InGaAs grown on InP by liquid phase epitaxy are studied. Samples were examined by double-crystal X-ray diffractometry, photoluminescence, secondary ion mass spectroscopy, and Hall/van der Pauw measurements. After Yb addition, the background carrier concentrations of the epilayers were reduced by more than one order of magnitude; the samples luminesced considerably more strongly; the lattice matching was not appreciably affected by the Yb; and no Yb was found in the epilayers themselves. It is believed the Yb is both acting as a scavenging agent in the melt, tying up impurities that otherwise would have been incorporated in the epilayers, and introducing impurities of its own.<>