Influence of step edges elastic relaxation on the morphology of compressively and tensilely strained In1 − xGaxAs layers epitaxially grown on InP

Metastable group II sulphides grown by MBE: surface morphology and crystal structure

“…2. Similar ridge structures have also been observed in other materials with the epitaxial layers under tensile strain, for example InAlAs [18] and InGaAs [19][20][21] grown on InP. In these alloys, tensile strain is found to cause significant anisotropy within the layers, with relaxation occurring preferentially along [1 1 0] rather than ½11 0 [18,20,21].…”

“…Thus, the dislocation network increases the anisotropy of the diffusion coefficient for material transport on the surface. For InGaAs, an alternative explanation has been suggested [19]. Here the height of the ridges increases with layer thickness, compatible with a model involving stress driven mass transport of material from the regions between the ridges.…”

Stress and surface energies versus surface nanostructuring: the InGaAs/InP(001) epitaxial system

“…Of course, this is a very unfavourable kinetic process. Then the preferential incorporation of atoms in the relaxed upper terrace edges favours the formation of islands in the case of compression, and the formation of holes in the case of tension [14]. A final question is why there is no 2D-3D transition in the case of tension.…”

“…Most of them relies onto the case of epitaxy growth at compressive strain (o0). Though layers epitaxied under tensile strains (40) have been far less studied nanostructuring was also observed in that case, e.g., for GaAs/InP(0 0 1) [10] or InGaAs/ InP(0 0 1) [14]. Epitaxy growth on InP (0 0 1) substratum of the ternary In(Ga)As alloy whose composition can be continuously varied from pure InAs to pure GaAs allows one to explore the effects of strain magnitude and sign on 2D-3D growth transition and surface nanostructuring.…”

MBE growth of MgS nanowires characterized using AFM

“…The alternative, thermodynamic, explanation has been suggested to apply to the formation of ridges in InGaAs [6]. In this alloy, and in the MgS layers shown here, the height of the ridges increases with layer thickness, which is compatible with stress driven mass transport of material from the regions between the ridges.…”