Journal
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
Volume 11, Issue 1, Pages -Publisher
NATURE PORTFOLIO
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-99989-0
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Funding
- Greek State Scholarships Foundation
- DAAD
- Operational Programme Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation (NSRF) [MIS 5002772]
- EU (European Regional Development Fund)
- State Scholarships Foundation (IKY) project Strengthening Human Resources Research Potential via Doctorate Research [MIS-5000432]
- Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (HFRI)
- project EPINEET [HFRI-FM17-3173]
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By utilizing specific growth conditions, quasi two-dimensional quantum wells with indium contents surpassing 33% can be deposited with an atomic monolayer thickness. The growth mechanism may involve the exchange between indium and gallium atoms, with the highest indium content approaching 50%, indicating potential applications in optoelectronic devices and topological insulators.
InGaN/GaN quantum wells (QWs) with sub-nanometer thickness can be employed in short-period superlattices for bandgap engineering of efficient optoelectronic devices, as well as for exploiting topological insulator behavior in III-nitride semiconductors. However, it had been argued that the highest indium content in such ultra-thin QWs is kinetically limited to a maximum of 33%, narrowing down the potential range of applications. Here, it is demonstrated that quasi two-dimensional (quasi-2D) QWs with thickness of one atomic monolayer can be deposited with indium contents far exceeding this limit, under certain growth conditions. Multi-QW heterostructures were grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy, and their composition and strain were determined with monolayer-scale spatial resolution using quantitative scanning transmission electron microscopy in combination with atomistic calculations. Key findings such as the self-limited QW thickness and the non-monotonic dependence of the QW composition on the growth temperature under metalrich growth conditions suggest the existence of a substitutional synthesis mechanism, involving the exchange between indium and gallium atoms at surface sites. The highest indium content in this work approached 50%, in agreement with photoluminescence measurements, surpassing by far the previously regarded compositional limit. The proposed synthesis mechanism can guide growth efforts towards binary InN/GaN quasi-2D QWs.
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