# Spatially-Resolved Luminescence Properties of Etched Quantum Well Microstructures

Jean-Pierre Landesman, Ethan Diak, Ray Lapierre, Christophe Levallois, Shahram Ghanad-Tavakoli

► To cite this version:

Jean-Pierre Landesman, Ethan Diak, Ray Lapierre, Christophe Levallois, Shahram Ghanad-Tavakoli. Spatially-Resolved Luminescence Properties of Etched Quantum Well Microstructures. 245th Electrochemical Society meeting, Electrochemical Society, May 2024, San Francisco CA, United States. 10.1063/5.0225999. [hal-04602083]

HAL Id: hal-04602083

https://hal.science/hal-04602083v1

Submitted on 28 Feb 2026

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Spatially-Resolved Luminescence Properties of Etched Quantum Well Microstructures

J. P. Landesman (Univ Rennes1), E. Diak (McMaster University), R. LaPierre (McMaster University), C. Levallois (INSA Rennes), and S. Ghanad-Tavakoli (McMaster University)

**Abstract Text:**

Fabrication processes for photonic devices, especially micro- or nano-photonic devices, call for some
kind of control of the materials’ optical properties at the stage of the final device. Our study focusses
on measuring the optical quality of quantum well (QW) containing materials after device processing,
using steps such as etching which allows fabrication of optical waveguides for example. We first
designed and realized specific material structures based on an InP substrate, with a series of
InAsxP1-x quantum wells such as illustrated on the figure. The samples were grown by gas-phase
molecular beam epitaxy. The samples were characterized by spatially-resolved photoluminescence
(PL) at low temperature (10 K). The top right part shows a typical spectrum measured from the
sample we have grown: sharp lines associated with each QW can be clearly identified thanks to a
careful grading of the As/P composition in each QW, while keeping its thickness to a constant value
(typically 7 to 8 nm). Then we etched the samples (in the form of rectangular ridges as shown) using
different etching processes, based either on wet etching or reactive ion etching (RIE), and recorded
the PL spectra with high spatial resolution across the obtained structures. In parallel, the samples
after etching were also characterized by cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy. Data
processing from the series of PL spectra was then performed in order to characterize the effects of
etching on the QW materials.

We show PL intensity profiles across a series of etched stripes of different widths resulting from a RIE
process. These intensity profiles were obtained from the lines associated with the different QWs in the
structure. One can observe, first of all, that the PL intensity gradually increases from the edges to the
center of the stripes, over a range of up to 10 µm. One can also observe that for "wide" stripes, i.e. 30
or 50 µm, the PL intensity for each line saturates at the same level in the central part. However, for
the narrower stripes (10 or 20 µm), the PL signal does not reach the same level. This is the signature
of some PL-limitation phenomenon, which extends its effects far from the etched sidewalls. A
"standard" phenomenon resulting solely from non-radiative recombination at the etched sidewalls is
excluded. Non-radiative recombination can only affect regions which are less than one charge carrier
diffusion length from the sidewalls. Diffusion length in our materials is less than 1 µm. Therefore,
some kind of "long range" interaction seems to affect our samples. We propose that this long range
interaction is due to some stray static electric field resulting from the presence of residual ions left by
the etching process at the sidewalls. The electric field affects the PL intensity through dissociation of
excitons. Moreover, we observed that different conditions for the etching process (wet etching versus
RIE, crystallographic orientation of the stripes) impact the magnitude of this PL intensity quenching.

The authors acknowledge RENATECH+ (French Network of Technology Centers) with
nanoRennes for technological support. This work is supported by the European Union through
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), Ministry of Higher Education and Research, Brittany
region, Conseil Départemental d’Ille-et-Vilaine, and Rennes Métropole, through the CPER Project
PhotBreizh

[1] Pearton S 1997 Materials Science and Engineering: B 44 1–7.

[2] Landesman J P, Isik-Goktas N, LaPierre R R, Levallois C, Ghanad-Tavakoli S, Pargon E, Petit-Etienne C and Jiménez J 2021 Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics 54 445106.

[3] Fiore A, Rossetti M, Alloing B, Paranthoen C, Chen J X, Geelhaar L and Riechert H 2004 Physical Review B 70 205311.

[4] Bludau W and Wagner E 1976 Physical Review B 13 5410–5414.
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(a) Epitaxial sample structure; (b) low temperature PL spectrum showing the lines associated to each QW and the model used to calculate line intensities; (c) to (j): intensity profiles across different stripes etched by RIE, obtained from the 8 lines associated to the different QWs. The legend in (c) indicates the colors for the different stripe widths (black: 10 µm; red: 20 µm; blue: 30 µm; green: 50 µm). The full lines are a best fit to the experimental data using an analytical model based on erf and erfc functions.
**Symposium Selection:**

D03 – III-V Based Structures 2

**Submitter's E-mail Address:**

Jean-Pierre.Landesman@univ-rennes.fr

**Preferred Presentation Format:**

Oral -- withdraw if not accepted for preferred format

**Comments to Organizers:**

This abstract is for an invited presentation

**First Corresponding Author**

Pr. Jean-Pierre Landesman

**Affiliation(s):** Univ Rennes1

**Address:**

Campus de Beaulieu
263 Ave du Général Leclerc – Bât 11-E
Rennes, Brittany, 35042
France

**Phone Number:**

**E-mail Address:** Jean-Pierre.Landesman@univ-rennes.fr

**Second Author**

Mr Ethan Diak

**Affiliation(s):** McMaster University

**Phone Number:**

**E-mail Address:** diake@mcmaster.ca

**Third Author**

Pr. Ray LaPierre

**Affiliation(s):** McMaster University

**Phone Number:**

**E-mail Address:** lapierr@mcmaster.ca

**Fourth Author**

Dr Christophe Levallois

**Affiliation(s):** INSA Rennes

**Phone Number:**

**E-mail Address:** Christophe.Levallois@insa-rennes.fr

**Fifth Author**

Shahram Ghanad-Tavakoli

**Affiliation(s):** McMaster University

**Phone Number:**

**E-mail Address:**
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