Optical properties of a single strained InGaAs/GaAs quantum well grown on vicinal GaAs surfaces

We have studied the optical properties of single strained InxGa1−xAs/GaAs quantum wells (QWs) grown on GaAs substrates oriented off the (100) surface. Photoluminescence measurements indicate that QW structures grown on GaAs(100)5° toward (111)A possess superior interfaces as evidenced by the linewidth. There appears to be a decrease in the density of optically inactive traps as the angle of misorientation is increased, resulting in an enhanced optical efficiency at 77 K. However, these traps freeze out at 2 K and consequently, the optical efficiency of the various layers become independent of substrate orientation.