Aluminium indium antimonide, also known as indium aluminium antimonide or AlInSb (AlxIn1-xSb), is a ternary III-V semiconductor compound. The alloy can contain any ratio between aluminium and indium; that is, x in the formula can continuously take on any value between 0 and 1. AlInSb refers generally to any composition of the alloy.

The bandgap and lattice constant of AlInSb alloys are between those of pure AlSb (a = 0.614 nm, Eg = 1.62 eV) and InSb (a = 0.648 nm, Eg = 0.17 eV).[1] At an intermediate composition (approximately x = 0.73), the bandgap transitions from an indirect gap, like that of pure AlSb, to a direct gap, like that of pure InSb.[2]

Preparation

AlInSb films have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy and metalorganic chemical vapor deposition[3] on gallium arsenide and gallium antimonide substrates. It is typically incorporated into layered heterostructures with other III-V compounds.

Applications

AlInSb has been employed as a barrier material and dislocation filter for InSb quantum wells and in InSb-based devices.[4]

AlInSb has been used as the active region of LEDs and photodiodes to generate and detect light at mid-infrared wavelengths. These devices can be optimized for performance around 3.3 μm, a wavelength of interest for methane gas sensing.[5][6]

References

  1. ^ Vurgaftman, I., Meyer, J. R., Ram-Mohan, L. R. (2001). "Band parameters for III–V compound semiconductors and their alloys". Journal of Applied Physics. 89 (11): 5815–5875. Bibcode:2001JAP....89.5815V. doi:10.1063/1.1368156.
  2. ^ Fares, N. E.-H., Bouarissa, N. (2015). "Energy gaps, charge distribution and optical properties of AlxIn1−xSb ternary alloys". Infrared Physics & Technology. 71: 396–401. doi:10.1016/j.infrared.2015.05.011.
  3. ^ Biefeld, R. M., Allerman, A. A., Baucom, K. C. (1998). "The growth of AlInSb by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition". Journal of Electronic Materials. 27 (6): L43–L46. Bibcode:1998JEMat..27L..43B. doi:10.1007/s11664-998-0060-0. S2CID 93622617.
  4. ^ Mishima, T. D., Edirisooriya, M., Goel, N., Santos, M. B. (2006). "Dislocation filtering by AlxIn1−xSb/AlyIn1−ySb interfaces for InSb-based devices grown on GaAs (001) substrates". Applied Physics Letters. 88 (19): 191908. doi:10.1063/1.2203223.
  5. ^ Fujita, H., Nakayama, M., Morohara, O., Geka, H., Sakurai, Y., Nakao, T., Yamauchi, T., Suzuki, M., Shibata, Y., Kuze, N. (2019). "Dislocation reduction in AlInSb mid-infrared photodiodes grown on GaAs substrates". Journal of Applied Physics. 126 (13): 134501. Bibcode:2019JAP...126m4501F. doi:10.1063/1.5111933. S2CID 209991962.
  6. ^ Morohara, O., Geka, H., Fujita, H., Ueno, K., Yasuda, D., Sakurai, Y., Shibata, Y., Kuze, N. (2019). "High-efficiency AlInSb mid-infrared LED with dislocation filter layers for gas sensors". Journal of Crystal Growth. 518: 14–17. Bibcode:2019JCrGr.518...14M. doi:10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2019.02.049. S2CID 104467465.
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