Ultrafast carrier dynamics in nitrogen implanted GaAs

We report on the comparative analysis of the ultrafast carrier dynamics of pure GaAs and ion-implanted GaNAs. Different nitrogen concentrations (up to 4%) are implanted and subsequently annealed by rapid thermal annealing (RTA). Damage analysis by channeling Rutherford backscattering (RBS) reveals that the annealing step improves the crystal quality but does not restore the original quality. From photoreflectance measurements we conclude that the highest achieved active nitrogen content in the implanted samples is 0.5% for an equivalent implantation dose of 1%. Carrier dynamics are investigated by one-colour pump-probe measurements covering an excitation wavelength range from 730nm to 860nm (1.7eV to 1.44eV) with femtosecond time resolution. Comparison with non-implanted GaAs indicates that the carrier relaxation in the implanted samples is dominated by traps associated with implantation damage.