Publications

Effects of pressure on deep levels in semiconductors: The MFe center in InP

Samara, George A.; Barnes, C.E.

This work investigated the effects of hydrostatic pressure on the properties and bistability of the scientifically challenging and technologically important deep MFe center in iron (Fe)-doped, n-type indium phosphide (InP). When occupied by electrons, the center can be reversibly placed in either of two configurations, termed A and B, by the proper choice of electric biasing conditions and temperature. Pressure has a very large influence on the balance between these two configurations, favoring A over B. Above 8 kbar essentially only the A configuration is observed. This result, along with detailed studies of the effects of pressure on the energetics of the two configurations and on the kinetics of the B → A transformation, provide important new insights about the nature of the two configurations and their associated deep levels. © 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.