75 research outputs found
Nucleation and Growth of GaN/AlN Quantum Dots
We study the nucleation of GaN islands grown by plasma-assisted
molecular-beam epitaxy on AlN(0001) in a Stranski-Krastanov mode. In
particular, we assess the variation of their height and density as a function
of GaN coverage. We show that the GaN growth passes four stages: initially, the
growth is layer-by-layer; subsequently, two-dimensional precursor islands form,
which transform into genuine three-dimensional islands. During the latter
stage, island height and density increase with GaN coverage until the density
saturates. During further GaN growth, the density remains constant and a
bimodal height distribution appears. The variation of island height and density
as a function of substrate temperature is discussed in the framework of an
equilibrium model for Stranski-Krastanov growth.Comment: Submitted to PRB, 10 pages, 15 figure
Dislocation Free Island Formation in Heteroepitaxial Growth: An Equilibrium Study
We investigate the equilibrium properties of strained heteroepitaxial
systems, incorporating the formation and the growth of a wetting film,
dislocation free island formation, and ripening. The derived phase diagram
provides a detailed characterization of the possible growth modes in terms of
the island density, equilibrium island size, and wetting layer thickness.
Comparing our predictions with experimental results we discuss the growth
conditions that can lead to stable islands as well as ripening.Comment: 4 pages, LaTeX, 3 ps figure
Wetting layer thickness and early evolution of epitaxially strained thin films
We propose a physical model which explains the existence of finite thickness
wetting layers in epitaxially strained films. The finite wetting layer is shown
to be stable due to the variation of the non-linear elastic free energy with
film thickness. We show that anisotropic surface tension gives rise to a
metastable enlarged wetting layer. The perturbation amplitude needed to
destabilize this wetting layer decreases with increasing lattice mismatch. We
observe the development of faceted islands in unstable films.Comment: 4 pages, 3 eps figure
Indium segregation and enrichment in coherent InxGa1-xAs/GaAs quantum dots
Significant differences in the image features of InxGa1-xAs quantum dots (QDs) grown on (001) and vicinal (001) GaAs were seen in [001] on-zone bright-held transmission electron microscope images. Simulated images were obtained by modeling the strain field distribution of the QDs with finite element analysis and then using this model in dynamical electron diffraction contrast simulations. Comparison of the experimental images and the simulated images shows that (i) In segregation exists in the QDs and (ii) the average In content of the QDs is higher than the average In content of the film
Epitaxial Growth Kinetics with Interacting Coherent Islands
The Stranski-Krastanov growth kinetics of undislocated (coherent)
3-dimensional islands is studied with a self-consistent mean field rate theory
that takes account of elastic interactions between the islands. The latter are
presumed to facilitate the detachment of atoms from the islands with a
consequent decrease in their average size. Semi-quantitative agreement with
experiment is found for the time evolution of the total island density and the
mean island size. When combined with scaling ideas, these results provide a
natural way to understand the often-observed initial increase and subsequent
decrease in the width of the coherent island size distribution.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Formation and stability of self-assembled coherent islands in highly mismatched heteroepitaxy
We study the energetics of island formation in Stranski-Krastanow growth
within a parameter-free approach. It is shown that an optimum island size
exists for a given coverage and island density if changes in the wetting layer
morphology after the 3D transition are properly taken into account. Our
approach reproduces well the experimental island size dependence on coverage,
and indicates that the critical layer thickness depends on growth conditions.
The present study provides a new explanation for the (frequently found) rather
narrow size distribution of self-assembled coherent islands.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, In print, Phys. Rev. Lett. Other related
publications can be found at http://www.fhi-berlin.mpg.de/th/paper.htm
Mean Field Theory of Polynuclear Surface Growth
We study statistical properties of a continuum model of polynuclear surface
growth on an infinite substrate. We develop a self-consistent mean-field theory
which is solved to deduce the growth velocity and the extremal behavior of the
coverage. Numerical simulations show that this theory gives an improved
approximation for the coverage compare to the previous linear recursion
relations approach. Furthermore, these two approximations provide useful upper
and lower bounds for a number of characteristics including the coverage, growth
velocity, and the roughness exponent.Comment: revtex, 7 pages, 4 fig
Coherent Stranski-Krastanov growth in 1+1 dimensions with anharmonic interactions: An equilibrium study
The formation of coherently strained three-dimensional islands on top of the
wetting layer in Stranski-Krastanov mode of growth is considered in a model in
1+1 dimensions accounting for the anharmonicity and non-convexity of the real
interatomic forces. It is shown that coherent 3D islands can be expected to
form in compressed rather than in expanded overlayers beyond a critical lattice
misfit. In the latter case the classical Stranski-Krastanov growth is expected
to occur because the misfit dislocations can become energetically favored at
smaller island sizes. The thermodynamic reason for coherent 3D islanding is the
incomplete wetting owing to the weaker adhesion of the edge atoms. Monolayer
height islands with a critical size appear as necessary precursors of the 3D
islands. The latter explains the experimentally observed narrow size
distribution of the 3D islands. The 2D-3D transformation takes place by
consecutive rearrangements of mono- to bilayer, bi- to trilayer islands, etc.,
after exceeding the corresponding critical sizes. The rearrangements are
initiated by nucleation events each next one requiring to overcome a lower
energetic barrier. The model is in good qualitative agreement with available
experimental observations.Comment: 12 pages text, 15 figures, Accepted in Phys.Rev.B, Vol.61, No2
Ensemble interactions in strained semiconductor quantum dots
Large variations in InxGa1-xAs quantum dot concentrations were obtained with simultaneous growths on vicinal GaAs [001] substrates with different surface step densities. It was found that decreasing dot-dot separation blueshifts all levels, narrows intersublevel transition energies, shortens luminescence decay times for excited states, and increases inhomogeneous photoluminescence broadening. These changes in optical properties are attributed to a progressive strain deformation of the confining potentials and to the increasing effects of positional disorder in denser dot ensembles
Influence of GaAs Substrate Orientation on InAs Quantum Dots: Surface Morphology, Critical Thickness, and Optical Properties
InAs/GaAs heterostructures have been simultaneously grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs (100), GaAs (100) with a 2° misorientation angle towards [01−1], and GaAs (n11)B (n = 9, 7, 5) substrates. While the substrate misorientation angle increased from 0° to 15.8°, a clear evolution from quantum dots to quantum well was evident by the surface morphology, the photoluminescence, and the time-resolved photoluminescence, respectively. This evolution revealed an increased critical thickness and a delayed formation of InAs quantum dots as the surface orientation departed from GaAs (100), which was explained by the thermal-equilibrium model due to the less efficient of strain relaxation on misoriented substrate surfaces
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