Aluminium indium antimonide, also known as indium aluminium antimonide or AlInSb (AlxIn1-xSb), is a ternary III-V semiconductor compound. It can be considered as an alloy between aluminium antimonide and indium antimonide. The alloy can contain any ratio between aluminium and indium. AlInSb refers generally to any composition of the alloy.
Preparation
editAlInSb films have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy and metalorganic chemical vapor deposition[1] on gallium arsenide and gallium antimonide substrates. It is typically incorporated into layered heterostructures with other III-V compounds.
Electronic Properties
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The bandgap and lattice constant of AlInSb alloys are between those of pure AlSb (a = 0.614 nm, Eg = 1.62 eV) and InSb (a = 0.648 nm, Eg = 0.17 eV).[2] At an intermediate composition (approximately x = 0.72 – 0.73), the bandgap transitions from an indirect gap, like that of pure AlSb, to a direct gap, like that of pure InSb.[4]
Applications
editAlInSb has been employed as a barrier material and dislocation filter for InSb quantum wells and in InSb-based devices.[5]
AlInSb has been used as the active region of LEDs and photodiodes to generate and detect light at mid-infrared wavelengths. These devices can be optimized for performance around 3.3 μm, a wavelength of interest for methane gas sensing.[6][7]
References
edit- ^ Biefeld, R. M., Allerman, A. A., Baucom, K. C. (1998). "The growth of AlInSb by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition". Journal of Electronic Materials. 27 (6): L43–L46. Bibcode:1998JEMat..27L..43B. doi:10.1007/s11664-998-0060-0. S2CID 93622617.
- ^ a b Vurgaftman, I., Meyer, J. R., Ram-Mohan, L. R. (2001). "Band parameters for III–V compound semiconductors and their alloys". Journal of Applied Physics. 89 (11): 5815–5875. Bibcode:2001JAP....89.5815V. doi:10.1063/1.1368156.
- ^ Adachi, S. (1987). "Band gaps and refractive indices of AlGaAsSb, GaInAsSb, and InPAsSb: Key properties for a variety of the 2–4 μm optoelectronic device applications". Journal of Applied Physics. 61 (10): 4869–4876. doi:10.1063/1.338352.
- ^ Fares, N. E.-H., Bouarissa, N. (2015). "Energy gaps, charge distribution and optical properties of AlxIn1−xSb ternary alloys". Infrared Physics & Technology. 71: 396–401. doi:10.1016/j.infrared.2015.05.011.
- ^ Mishima, T. D., Edirisooriya, M., Goel, N., Santos, M. B. (2006). "Dislocation filtering by AlxIn1−xSb/AlyIn1−ySb interfaces for InSb-based devices grown on GaAs (001) substrates". Applied Physics Letters. 88 (19): 191908. doi:10.1063/1.2203223.
- ^ Fujita, H., Nakayama, M., Morohara, O., Geka, H., Sakurai, Y., Nakao, T., Yamauchi, T., Suzuki, M., Shibata, Y., Kuze, N. (2019). "Dislocation reduction in AlInSb mid-infrared photodiodes grown on GaAs substrates". Journal of Applied Physics. 126 (13): 134501. Bibcode:2019JAP...126m4501F. doi:10.1063/1.5111933. S2CID 209991962.
- ^ Morohara, O., Geka, H., Fujita, H., Ueno, K., Yasuda, D., Sakurai, Y., Shibata, Y., Kuze, N. (2019). "High-efficiency AlInSb mid-infrared LED with dislocation filter layers for gas sensors". Journal of Crystal Growth. 518: 14–17. Bibcode:2019JCrGr.518...14M. doi:10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2019.02.049. S2CID 104467465.