Abstract: Thermal degradation of compound single crystal substrates (e.g., InP) containing a relatively volatile element (e.g., P) prior to LPE growth has been virtually eliminated by an improved protection technique. A partial pressure of the volatile element is provided by a solution (e.g., Sn-In-P) localized inside a chamber which is external to the LPE boat and which surrounds substrate prior to growth, thereby preventing thermal damage to the substrate surface. Applicability of the technique to other epitaxial growth processes (e.g., VPE and MBE) is also discussed.

Abstract: Thermal degradation of compound single crystal substrates (e.g., InP) containing a relatively volatile element (e.g., P) prior to LPE growth has been virtually eliminated by an improved protection technique. A partial pressure of the volatile element is provided by a solution (e.g., Sn-In-P) localized inside a chamber which is external to the LPE boat and which surrounds substrate prior to growth, thereby preventing thermal damage to the substrate surface. Applicability of the technique to other epitaxial growth processes (e.g., VPE and MBE) is also discussed.

Abstract: Under photoluminescence (PL) excitation, the lateral spreading of photo-excited carriers can suppress the photoluminescence signal from double heterostructure (DH) wafers containing a p-n junction. In any DH with a p-n junction in the active layer, PL is suppressed if the power of the excitation source does not exceed a threshold value. This effect can be advantageously used for a nondestructive optical determination of the top cladding layer sheet conductance as well as p-n junction misplacement, important parameters for injection lasers and LEDs.