Thermal annealing recovery of intersubband transition in proton-irradiated GaAs/Al_0.3Ga_0.7As multiple quantum wells

Optical absorption spectra of intersubband transitions in heavily proton irradiated n-type GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum wells were studied as a function of isochronal and isothermal annealing. The absorption spectra of intersubband transitions were depleted in samples irradiated with 1 MeV proton doses higher than 1.0×10¹⁴ cm^-2. Thermal annealing of the irradiated samples show that the intersubband transitions are recovered. The relatively lower annealing temperatures at which the recovery is observed indicate that the irradiation-induced defects that trapped the two-dimensional electron gas in the quantum wells are vacancy and interstitial related defects. Once these traps are thermally annealed the electrons are released back to the quantum wells, resulting in the recovery of the intersubband transitions.