Near-infrared wavelength intersubband transitions in GaN/AlN short period superlattices

Intersubband transitions in GaN/AlN short period superlattices prepared by molecular beam epitaxy were investigated using the optical absorption technique. The peak position wavelengths of these transitions are found to span the spectral range of 1.35–2.90 μm for samples cut into 45° waveguides with GaN quantum well thicknesses ranging between 1.70 and 2.41 nm. The Fermi energy levels are estimated from the carrier concentrations, which were measured using an electrochemical capacitance-voltage profiler. The well widths were inferred from comparing the measured peak position energy of the intersubband transitions and the bound state energy levels calculated using the transfer matrix method.