Characterization of 6.1 Å III-V materials grown on GaAs and Si: a comparison of GaSb/GaAs epitaxy and GaSb/AlSb/Si epitaxy

GaSb p–i–n photodiodes were grown on GaAs and Si, using interfacial misfit arrays, and on native GaSb. For the samples grown on GaAs and Si, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy images revealed interface atomic periodicities in agreement with atomistic modeling. Surface defect densities of ~View the MathML source were measured for both samples. Atomic force microscopy scans revealed surface roughnesses of around 1.6 nm, compared with 0.5 nm for the sample grown on native GaSb. Dark current and spectral response measurements were used to study the electrical and optoelectronic properties of all three samples