Near-band-gap CuPt-order-induced birefringence in Al_0.48Ga_0.52InP₂

Authors

Mathias Schubert, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Tino Hofmann, University of LeipzigFollow
Bernd Rheinlander, University of Leipzig
Ines Pietzonka, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry and Mineralogy, University of Leipzig
Torsten Sass, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry and Mineralogy, University of Leipzig
Volker Gottschalch, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry and Mineralogy, University of Leipzig
John A. Woollam, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

12-15-1999

Comments

Published in PHYSICAL REVIEW B VOLUME 60, NUMBER 24, 15 DECEMBER 1999-II. ©1999 The American Physical Society. Used by permission.

Abstract

The order-induced birefringence in the near-band-gap spectral range (0.75 to 2.5 eV), and its dependence on the degree of ordering η is reported for Al_0.48Ga_0.52InP₂. Transmission and reflection generalized variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry, dark-field spectroscopy, and cross-polarized reflectance difference spectroscopy (CRDS) are used to determine precisely the room-temperature dielectric functions for polarization parallel and perpendicular to the ordering direction of a series of spontaneously CuPt-ordered samples grown by metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy. The CRDS technique is introduced as an approach to sense extremely weak anisotropy at oblique angles of incidence. The observed order birefringence is treated as “chemical-stress” induced piezobirefringence. The dielectric function model for piezobirefringence in zinc-blende compounds, and selection rules for the transitions from the Γ_4.5ν , Γ_{6(1) ν} , Γ_{6(2) ν} valence band states to the Γ_6c conduction band states, allow excellent modeling of the order birefringence in the near-band-gap spectral region. Thus, explicit treatment of the transition-matrix k dependence, as recently suggested for ordered GaInP₂ or GaInAs₂, can be avoided. The transition energies, strengths, and broadening parameters for the three zone-center transitions are obtained from analysis of the sample dielectric function tensor. All parameters in the quasicubic perturbation model can be fitted. We find, in excellent agreement with recent theoretical predictions, that the spin-orbit splitting parameter of 76 meV is nearly ordering independent, and that the ratio of the crystal-field splitting to the band-gap reduction for the perfectly ordered alloy amounts to 0.62. The band gap of the disordered compound is extrapolated to 2.195 eV.