Deuterium diffusion in GaAs1-xNx

Hydrogen or deuterium incorporation in dilute nitride semiconductors modifies dramatically the electronic and structural properties of the crystal through the creation of nitrogen-hydrogen complexes. In this work, we investigate how the formation and dissociation of such complexes rule the diffusion of deuterium in GaAs1-xNx. The concentration depth profile of deuterium is determined by secondary ion mass spectrometry under a wide range of experimental conditions that comprise different N concentrations x=0.09%, 0.40%, 0.70%, and 1.5% and D irradiation temperatures TD=200, 250, 300 and 350 °C. The experimental data are successfully reproduced by a diffusion model in the presence of strong D trapping. In particular, the deuterium diffusion and capture rate coefficients are determined, and a minimum decay length of the deuterium forefront is found at low TD 250 °C and high x 0.7%. These parameters set the experimental conditions within which a nanostructuring of the physical properties of GaAs1-xNx is attainable.