Annealing effects on heavily carbon-doped GaAs

The hole concentrations and lattice mismatch with the GaAs substrate of heavily carbon-doped epilayers (4.7×1019 and 9.8×1019 cm−3) were increased and the mobilities were decreased as compared with the as-grown samples by rapid thermal annealing silicon nitride capped samples at temperatures from 500 to 900 °C. However, for the more heavily doped sample, the hole concentration, mobility, and lattice mismatch decreased with increasing annealing temperature for annealing temperatures higher than 700 °C, but the hole concentration and lattice mismatch were still larger than those of the as-grown samples. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy results showed that annealing produced no change in the C concentration or distribution, but the hydrogen concentration decreased. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy indicated that no mismatch dislocations formed at the interface.