Characteristics of the GaInP burying layers grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition on mesa-patterned GaAs substrates

Abstract Characteristics of GaInP burying layers for GaAs-based opto-electronic devices with ridge and mesa structures are studied. The flatness around the mesa is improved by raising the growth temperature from 625 to 700°C. It is improved more by lowering the V/III ratio from 60 to 7, but grooves are formed in the vicinity of the mesa. To analyze the GaInP burying layers, we considered simulated profiles constructed by Wulff's construction method. The profiles obtained from the data on the GaAs growth by VPE and MOCVD are similar to those obtained from GaInP experiments. By increasing growth temperature or lowering the V/III ratio, the growth towards the (1 1 1)A direction largely decreased and the buried region become well planarized. This result is due to the enhanced diffusion of the reactants rather than surface reaction. I – V characteristics did not change much when varying the V/III ratio from 60 to 7 at GaInP burying growth. The typical diode characteristics we observed indicate that MOCVD-grown GaInP can be used as the current confinement layers for various devices as a substitute for AlGaAs.