A systematic study of spin-dependent recombination in GaAs$_{1-x}$N$_x$ as a function of nitrogen content

Abstract

A systematic study of spin-dependent recombination (SDR) under steady-state optical pumping conditions in dilute nitride semiconductors as a function of nitrogen content is reported. The alloy content is determined by a fit of the photoluminescence (PL) intensity using a Roosbroeck-Shockley relation and verified by a study of the GaN-like LO$_2$ phonon peak in a Raman spectroscopy map. PL spectra taken from alloys of the form GaAs$_{1-x}$N$_x$ where $0.022 < x < 0.036$ exhibit PL intensity increases when switching from a linearly- to a circularly-polarized pump up to a factor of 5 for $x = 0.022$. This work used a 1.39 eV laser with a radius of 0.6 $\mu$m. The observed SDR ratio monotonically decreases with increasing $x$, reaching 1.5 for $x = 0.036$. Moreover, the excitation power required to obtain maximum SDR systematically increases with increasing $x$, varying from 0.6 mW for $x = 0.022$ to 15 mW for $x = 0.036$. These observations are consistent with an increase in the density of electronically active defects with increasing nitrogen content, both those responsible for the SDR as well as other, standard Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) centers.