Shape of atomic steps and interface supersaturation between LPE macrosteps

Understanding of crystal growth mechanisms through experimental studies of semiconductor epitaxy

“…5. [24]. Note the asymmetric shape of atomic steps, which reflect the asymmetric distribution of the interface supersaturation between the macrosteps.…”

“…Fig. 4 shows the surface photograph taken by phase contrast microscope [24]. As indicated in the figure, atomic steps propagate perpendicular to the direction of macrostep movement.…”

“…What should be noted is the shape of atomistic steps on the terrace, which represents the distribution of interface supersaturation across the terrace. Assuming the supersaturation vanishes on the macrostep riser since the surface is atomically rough, we can calculate supersaturation ratio numerically basing on two macrostep interaction model [24,25]. The result is given in Fig.…”

“…Note the asymmetric shape of atomic steps, which reflect the asymmetric distribution of the interface supersaturation between the macrosteps. [24,25] and experimental interface supersaturation calculated from the shape of atomic steps between macrosteps. In both cases it is assumed that interface supersaturation vanishes on the macrostep riser, which is atomically rough.…”

Mechanism of macrostep formation in solution growth of compound semiconductor and the evidence given by space experiment

“…Figure 5 shows a surface micrograph of LPE grown GaP on (111) substrate taken by phase contrast microscope [12]. In the figure, the propagating direction of the macrostep during the growth is shown by a black bold arrow and that of atomic steps is shown by a white bold arrow.…”