Abstract
We have investigated the effect of thermal annealing on GaAs(0.963)Bi(0.037) layers grown by atmospheric pressure metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy. High resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD) patterns show high crystalline quality and remarkable stability against thermal annealing up to 700 degrees C. When the annealing temperature reaches 750 degrees C, the GaAs0.963Bi0.037 alloy is no longer stable, and the HRXRD pattern reveals the presence of other peaks. Atomic force microscopy images show a surface accumulation of Bi islands which disappear at 750 degrees C. The photoluminescence (PL) is clearly improved after annealing, but no shift of the PL peak was observed. The optimal annealing temperature is found to be similar to 700 degrees C.