A new high-sensitivity characterization method of interface stress at heterostructures by Cr-related luminescence

A high-sensitivity characterization method for the interface stress at semiconductor heterostructures which uses the characteristic Cr-related luminescence lines in GaAs crystal is discussed. This method permits characterization of the interface stress with high sensitivity, reflecting the high sensitivity of the Cr-related luminescence lines to the strain field around the Cr luminescent center. This method has been applied to semiconductor heterostructures of InGaPAs/GaAs, AlGaAs/GaAs, and ZnSSe/GaAs which were fabricated on a Cr-doped semi-insulating GaAs substrate.