Evidence for non-equilibrium vacancy concentrations controlling interdiffusion in III-V materials

Interdiffusion and self-diffusion in III-V semiconductors has usually been assumed to operate through the diffusion of point defects, the concentrations of which are at thermal equilibrium values. We have studied the interdiffusion of multiple quantum well samples, grown under a range of growth conditions, each containing a thin source of vacancies. This has enabled simultaneous measurements of the interdiffusion coefficient, diffusion coefficient for vacancies and the concentration of those vacancies in a single experiment. We have shown that independent of growth conditions, within a wide window of III-V flux ratio and temperature, the diffusion at all temperatures is governed by a constant background concentration of vacancies.