Tilted superlattice composition profile determined by photoluminescence and thermal disordering
The composition profile of an (AlAs)1/2(GaAs)1/2 tilted superlattice is characterized for the first time. The tilted superlattice sample is thermally disordered, and the energy of the direct band gap photoluminescence peak is measured as a function of increasing layer interdiffusion. The shift in the photoluminescence peak energy after completely disordering the tilted superlattice is 39 meV. A theoretical model is used to simulate the change in band gap as a function of layer interdiffusion for several composition profiles. The profile that gives the best fit to the experimental data is chosen. The tilted superlattice composition profile is found to be sinusoidal, varying from Al0.40Ga0.60As to Al0.60Ga0.40As.