Indium composition variations in strained InGaAs/GaAs quantum wells grown on nonplanar substrates by molecular beam epitaxy have been analyzed by spatially and spectrally resolved low-temperature cathodoluminescence. For our growth conditions, the In adatom migration length on (100) facets has been determined to be ∼25 μm. A maximum relative increase of In incorporation of ≂6% on (100) ridges is observed and is found to be strain independent (In composition) for quantum wells nominally 35 and 70 Å thick with In composition of 0.10–0.22. Significantly asymmetric indium adatom migration is observed between adjacent (100) facets for ridges and grooves formed with (111)A and (311)A multifaceted sidewalls, indicating that multifaceting kinetically inhibits adatom migration. For structures designed for one-step growth of index-guided injection lasers with built-in nonabsorbing waveguides, we show that differences greater than 80 meV in the effective band gap of a 70 Å quantum well can be achieved between the gain region and the nonabsorbing waveguide without relaxing the strain.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.