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Residual strain measurements in InGaAs metamorphic buffer layers on GaAs

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This work deals with the strain relaxation mechanism in InGaAs metamorphic buffers (MBs) grown on GaAs substrates and overgrown by InAs quantum dots (QD). The residual strain is measured by using Raman scattering and X-ray diffraction, both in Reciprocal Space Map and in single ω-2θ scan modes (ω and θ being the incidence angles on the sample surface and on the scattering planes, respectively). By relating the GaAs-like longitudinal optical phonon frequency ω LO of InGaAs MBs to the in-plane residual strain ε measured by means of photoreflectance (PR), the linear ε-vs.-ω LO working curve is obtained. The results of Raman and XRD measurements, as well as those obtained by PR, are in a very satisfactory agreement. The respective advantages of the techniques are discussed. The measurements confirm that strain relaxation depends on the thickness t of the buffer layer following a ~t -1/2 power law, that can be explained by an energy-balance model. Copyright EDP Sciences/Società Italiana di Fisica/Springer-Verlag 2007
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Eur. Phys. J. B 56, 217–222 (2007)
DOI: 10.1140/epjb/e2007-00105-8
THE EUROPEAN
PHYSICAL JOURNAL B
Residual strain measurements in InGaAs metamorphic buffer
layers on GaAs
V. Bellani
1,a
,C.Bocchi
2
, T. Ciabattoni
1
, S. Franchi
2
,P.Frigeri
2
,P.Galinetto
1
,M.Geddo
3
,F.Germini
2
,
G. Guizzetti
1
,L.Nasi
2
,M.Patrini
1
,L.Seravalli
2
,andG.Trevisi
2
1
Dipartimento di Fisica “A. Volta” and CNISM, Universit`a di Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
2
CNR-IMEM Institute, Parco delle Scienze 37a, 43100 Parma, Italy
3
Dipartimento di Fisica and CNISM, Universit`a di Parma, 43100 Parma, Italy
Received 28 November 2006 / Received in final form 8 March 2007
Published online 13 April 2007
c
EDP Sciences, Societ`a Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag 2007
Abstract. This work deals with the strain relaxation mechanism in InGaAs metamorphic buffers (MBs)
grown on GaAs substrates and overgrown by InAs quantum dots (QD). The residual strain is measured
by using Raman scattering and X-ray diffraction, both in Reciprocal Space Map and in single ω 2θ
scan modes (ω and θ being the incidence angles on the sample surface and on the scattering planes,
respectively). By relating the GaAs-like longitudinal optical phonon frequency ω
LO
of InGaAs MBs to the
in-plane residual strain ε measured by means of photoreflectance (PR), the linear ε-vs.-ω
LO
working curve
is obtained. The results of Raman and XRD measurements, as well as those obtained by PR, are in a
very satisfactory agreement. The respective advantages of the techniques are discussed. The measurements
confirm that strain relaxation depends on the thickness t of the buffer layer following a t
1/2
power law,
that can be explained by an energy-balance model.
PACS. 78.30.Fs III-V and II-VI semiconductors 61.10.-i X-ray diffraction and scattering 71.70.Fk
Strain-induced splitting
1 Introduction
Lattice strain in semiconducting materials is an effec-
tive tool to modify energy gaps, to shift and reverse the
band edges of heavy-hole and light-hole bands, to remove
band degeneracy at critical points of the Brillouin zone
and to change band curvatures and hence-carrier effective
masses [1,2]. The strain can be induced in a semiconductor
by applying an external pressure or by epitaxially growing
thematerialtobestressedon a lattice-mismatched sub-
strate or layer that behaves as a virtual substrate. While
the first approach is used to study the electronic band
structure and related parameters, only the second one is
suited for exploitation in devices. In this case, the struc-
tures may consist of a substrate, a buffer layer (termed
as metamorphic buffer — MB) and the active part of the
structure; by controlling the lattice parameter of the MB
the mismatch between buffer and the upper part of the
structure is changed and, hence, the strain in the active
layer is affected. The lattice parameter of the MB depends
on its composition and thickness through the mechanism
of strain relaxation, by which — for MB thickness larger
than a critical thickness the elastic strain is partially
relaxed and the formation of a network of misfit disloca-
tions takes place.
a
e-mail: bellani@unipv.it
The approach of engineering material properties by
means of lattice strain has been used not only for semicon-
ductors with a three-dimensional system of carriers, but
also for quantum wells and superlattices (two-dimensional
systems), quantum wires (one-dimensional systems) and
quantum dots (zero-dimensional systems). Examples of
structures that make use of MBs to improve device perfor-
mances are: (a) high electron mobility transistor (HEMT)
structures, grown on MBs to take advantage of the higher
electron mobility and the better carrier confinement in the
channel region made of In-rich InGaAs alloys [3]; (b) het-
erojuction bipolar transistor (HBT) structures prepared
with base-layers of high In-content so as to have relatively
small band gap and increased mobilities, saturation veloc-
ities, as well as reduced base contact-resistance [4]; and (c)
multi-junction solar cells grown on MBs [5] that utilise a
wider part of the solar spectrum, thus increasing the con-
version efficiency. Also SiGe-based structures have taken
and will take increasing advantages of strain engineering
since the pioneering work of Abstreiter et al. [6] up to the
most recent proposals [7].
In InAs/InGaAs QD structures light emission can
be red-shifted to long-wavelengths (λ 1.3 µm) [8–10]
by QD strain engineering. In particular emission at
1.3–1.4 µm could be obtained at room temperature
(RT) from InAs/InGaAs QDs by using the QD strain
as a tuning parameter, which is controlled by the
218 The European Physical Journal B
thickness-dependent strain relaxation of suitably designed
InGaAs MB [9,11,12]. Moreover, it has been shown
that the QD strain engineering yields two degrees-of-
freedom [13] that can be used not only to red-shift the
emission, but also to enhance the RT emission efficiency,
possibly up to 1.55 µm. Metamorphic buffers may have ei-
ther constant composition or a continuously graded one; in
the second case, in spite of the more sophisticated growth
process that is required, advantage can be taken of the
possibility to control the misfit dislocation distribution
and of confining them close to the substrate-MB heteroin-
terface far from the active part of the structure so
that not to spoil its optoelectronic properties [14].
The use of strain to tailor the electronic properties of
materials requires the capability of modelling strain relax-
ation and the availability of techniques to measure it in
structures suited for specific applications, such as light-
emitters.
Raman scattering has been usefully applied to mea-
sure the strain in InGaAs layers grown by different epitax-
ial techniques on GaAs or InP substrates [15–19]. These
works have shown that the strain of an InGaAs layer can
be derived by measuring the frequencies of the GaAs-like
or the InAs-like optical phonon modes of the alloy.
Well-known and established X-ray diffraction meth-
ods [20,21] based on the measurement of asymmetric
Bragg reflections both in linear scan mode and by recipro-
cal space mapping (RSM) allow the determination of the
strain relaxation of mismatched heterostructures. By sin-
gling out the effects due to strain and to composition, the
strain tensor components as well as the alloy composition
can be obtained separately also for the general case of an
arbitrary distortion of the epilayer lattice unit cell [22].
The main advantage of X-ray diffraction methods is the
high accuracy in the measurements of lattice parameter a,
with uncertainties ∆a/a < 1 × 10
5
.
In this work we present the investigation by micro-
Raman scattering and by X-ray diffraction methods of
strain relaxation in InGaAs metamorphic buffers incor-
porated in InAs/InGaAs QD nanostructures grown by
Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE). The results show that
the strain relaxation of MBs can be effectively predicted
by the Mar´ee et al. model [23] and that the strain can
be measured in QD InAs/InGaAs structures for long-
wavelengths operation at RT by means of the above men-
tioned techniques, the respective advantages of which are
discussed. These results, along with those reported in
reference [24], justify the approach of QD strain engineer-
ing [9,12,13] that may open the way to the fabrication of
QD nanostructures for 1.55 µm operation at RT, a result
of huge technological interest for telecom and datacom
applications.
2 Experimental procedures
The structures grown on (100) GaAs substrates consist of:
(i) a 100 nm-thick GaAs buffer layer; (ii) a In
x
Ga
1x
As
partially-relaxed metamorphic buffer MB (which acts also
as lower confining layer (LCL) for QDs carriers) with
thickness t ranging from 20 to 1000 nm and grown by MBE
at 490
C; (iii) a plane of InAs QDs with 3-monolayer cov-
erage, deposited by Atomic Layer Molecular Beam Epi-
taxy (ALMBE) [25] at 460
C. The structures have been
grown both with and without a 20 nm-thick In
x
Ga
1x
As
upper confining layer (UCL); such a layer is grown by
ALMBE at lower temperature (360
C) in order to reduce
the interaction among confining layers and QDs. The In
content of LCLs and UCLs is identical and ranges from
x =0.09 to x =0.31. Before and after the deposition
of QDs, the growth has been interrupted for 210 s to
change the substrate temperature. More details on the
growth conditions can be found in reference [9]. The resid-
ual strain of MBs (LCLs) has been measured in structures
with QDs in order to correlate the strain measurements
done in this work to the emission energy studied by PL
and reported in references [9,12,13].
Micro-Raman spectra have been measured with a Dilor
LabRam system. In this set-up the excitation laser beam
is sent to the sample through microscope optics. A HeNe
laser light source (λ = 632.8 nm), with 15 mW laser power
and a 100 magnification objective optics have been used.
The Raman signal has been recorded by a silicon CCD
camera cooled down to 210 K, with spectral resolution of
1cm
1
. The spectra have been taken using 2 min integra-
tion times to improve the signal to noise ratio.
X-ray diffraction measurements have been performed
by using a Philips high resolution diffractometer equipped
with a four (220) reflections Ge-crystal monochromator
for selecting the CuKα
1
X-ray radiation line. Reciprocal
Space Maps (RSM) of the coherent scattered intensity
have been obtained by using a triple bounce Ge crystal
analyser scanning the reciprocal space with an angular res-
olution of 12 arcsec. In order to evaluate the strain relax-
ation of MB layers, RSMs around the asymmetrical (-224)
and (2-24) have been used. The lattice parameters parallel
and perpendicular to the interfaces and, then, the compo-
sition and the strain components have been obtained from
the position in reciprocal space of the diffraction peaks due
to the MB layer and the substrate [26]. Furthermore, lin-
ear ω 2θ scans (ω and θ being the incidence angles on the
sample surface and on the scattering planes, respectively)
through the asymmetrical 335 and symmetrical 004 re-
flections have been also collected for a selected number
of structures in order to verify the occurrence of differ-
ences in the strain level of UCLs and LCLs. In this case
advantage has been taken of the better signal-to-noise ra-
tio of single scan measurements, as compared to the area
scan (RSM) counterparts, related to the more favourable
counting statistics.
3 Results and discussion
In Figure 1 the Raman spectra of the InAs/In
0.15
Ga
0.85
As
structures with UCL in the frequency region of the
GaAs-like longitudinal (LO) and transversal (TO) optical
phonons are plotted. The structures related to InAs-like
LO phonons are less intense and are not reported here. We
note that the Raman frequency of our structures shifts
V. Bellani et al.: Residual strain measurements in InGaAs metamorphic buffer layers on GaAs 219
Fig. 1. Raman spectra of In
0.15
Ga
0.85
As metamorphic buffers
(MBs) of different thicknesses incorporated in InAs/InGaAs
quantum dot nanostructures with GaAs substrates, in the spec-
tral region of the GaAs-like LO phonon. Spectra are shifted
vertically for clarity.
monotonically to lower values with increasing the LCL
thickness, and the total shift is of 5cm
1
for t ranging
from 20 to 360 nm. In the spectra we can also observe a
less intense structure, which in the sample with t =20nm
is around 265 cm
1
, due to the TO GaAs-like mode acti-
vated by disorder [16]. This structure shifts to lower fre-
quencies and broadens with increasing t. The spectra have
been carefully analysed in order to derive the peak energy
of the GaAs-like LO mode by best fitting a Lorentzian
lineshape to the experimental data. The resulting uncer-
tainty in the value of the peak energy is 0.2 cm
1
.
According to references [16,19,27] a linear relation be-
tween the GaAs-like LO phonon frequency and the in-
plane residual strain ε =(a
MB
a
InGaAs
)/a
InGaAs
of the
InGaAs layer has been assumed. Here a
MB
represents
the lattice parameter of the MB in the growth plane,
while a
InGaAs
is the lattice parameter of free-standing
In
x
Ga
1x
As with the same x. In pseudomorphic InGaAs
layers grown on GaAs, i.e. with thicknesses smaller than
the critical thickness for plastic relaxation of the strain,
a
MB
coincides with the lattice parameter of free-standing
GaAs.
The phonon frequency shift due to strain in the alloy
layer is given by [19]:
∆ω
LO
=ω
LO
ω
LO
0
=

S
12
K
LO
11
S
11
+ S
12
+ K
LO
12
ω
LO
0
ε = ξε
(1)
where S
ij
and K
LO
ij
are the elastic compliance and phonon
deformation potential tensors, respectively; ω
LO
and ω
LO
0
are the LO phonon frequency of strained and unstrained
InGaAs, respectively.
In order to find the parameters of the linear depen-
dence of ε on the measured ω
LO
in x =0.15 samples,
instead of relying on literature data for S
ij
, K
LO
ij
and
ω
LO
0
that are somewhat scattered we performed a best-fit
of equation (1) by using the values of ω
LO
from Raman
measurements and of residual strain ε measured by means
of photoreflectance (PR) measurements [11,24,28] on the
same samples; this approach allow us to minimize the ef-
fects of unintentional differences among sample prepared
by different techniques and under different conditions.
Photoreflectance measurements yield the strain-related
splitting between heavy- and light-hole bands at the Γ
point of the Brillouin zone; according to the deformation
potential theory [27,29]; such a splitting is linearly pro-
portional to the in-plane strain.
The best-fit procedure yielded ω
LO
0
= 285 cm
1
and
ξ = 666.9cm
1
for x =0.15. The value of ω
LO
0
well
compare with those measured in literature on strain-free
InGaAs alloy layers [16].
We note that previously published PR results [24] for
the same samples (with UCL) and similar samples without
UCL, reported on the negligible variations observed in the
parameter values of the HH and LH transitions, ensuring
that UCLs are pseudomorphic to LCLs. Consequently, in
the following, PR, Raman and XRD strain results will
be equally well compared with theoretical predictions on
strain relaxation.
Then ε values have been calculated by equation (1)
with the above ξ and ω
LO
0
parameters and experimental
ω
LO
values. These values are reported in Figure 2 as a
function of the MB thickness; the figure also shows the ε
values from RSM measurements in the vicinity of (224)
reciprocal lattice nodes for structures with MBs with In
composition in the 0.09–0.31 range, without UCLs and
with QDs.
In Figure 3 we plot the reciprocal space map in
the vicinity of (-224) reciprocal lattice node for the
structure with In composition x =0.09. The con-
tours of constant scattered intensity around a node
have been derived from a series of ω 2θ scans with
different ω offsets. The conversion of each intensity-
peak position (ω,2θ) in reciprocal space coordinates
(Q
x
and Q
z
parallel to [-110] and [001], respectively)
is given by [26]: Q
x
= R[cos(2ω
) cos(2ω
ω)] and
Q
z
= R[sin(ω) sin(2ω
ω)]; where R is the Ewald
sphere radius (R = |k
i
| =1)and2ω
=2θ
B
when
the Bragg condition is satisfied.
The broadening of the substrate and MB peaks are
comparable along the reciprocal space [112] direction, thus
demonstrating that strain (and composition) in MBs have
not significant variations in depth. Instead, the much
larger broadening of the MB intensity distribution per-
pendicular to [112] direction as compared to the substrate
one is related to the “mosaicity” of MBs induced by the
misfit dislocations intentionally formed to relax the elas-
tic strain. The separation between the intensity maxima
is directly related to the strain relaxation.
The values of ε in the range of plastic relaxation have
been corrected by the so-called thermal misfit [30]
T
that is due to the different contraction of substrate and
layer during cooling from the growth temperature T
g
to
220 The European Physical Journal B
Fig. 2. Absolute value of residual in-plane strain ε as a func-
tion of the thickness t of In
x
Ga
1x
As metamorphic buffers ob-
tained by Raman scattering (open squares), reciprocal space
map (RSM, closed circles), and photoreflectance (PR, closed
diamonds) measurements. The continuous line shows the thick-
ness dependence of strain both in the pseudomorphic regime
(horizontal line, x =0.15) and in the partial relaxation one
where ε can be approximated by a t
1/2
dependence [23]; the
dotted line represents the t
1
behaviour foreseen by the equi-
librium models [33–35]. Raman and PR measurements refer to
x =0.15 structures, while the MB compositions of structures
for RSM are given in the figure.
the room-temperature, under a condition where the de-
fects can be considered as “frozen”. The thermal misfit
for the InGaAs/GaAs is definitely smaller than the value
T
= 3.76 × 10
4
for T
g
= 490
C of the InAs/GaAs
counterpart, that is calculated using the thermal expan-
sion coefficients reported in the literature [31].
In Figure 2 we also report ε alues obtained by means
of PR spectroscopy on the same samples [11,24]. We
note that the strain values obtained by Raman scatter-
ing, X-ray diffraction and photoreflectance are in a very
satisfactory agreement.
As for errors in the RMS measurements of the residual
strain, we note that the occurrence of misfit dislocations
at the substrate/buffer interface and the consequent sam-
ple curvature [32] result in the broadening of both sub-
strate and buffer layer peaks (Fig. 3). The peak widening
gives rise to a certain ambiguity in the determination of
the angular position of the intensity maxima. This was
particularly evident for the samples with thinnest MBs.
Notwithstanding, the peak separation between the LCL
and the substrate could be evaluated with an accuracy
of ±30 arcsec, for which an error of ±1.5 × 10
4
in the
calculated ε values was estimated. Concerning the MB
composition x, the relative difference between the nom-
inal and the values of the MB composition measured by
X-ray diffraction is always less than 5% and the estimated
Fig. 3. Reciprocal space map (RSM) around the -224 asym-
metrical node of a structure consisting of a 1000 nm-thick
In
0.09
Ga
0.91
As metamorphic buffer (MB) and a GaAs sub-
strate (broader and sharper diffraction peaks, respectively).
The [112] crystallographic direction and its perpendicular (the
mosaic broadening direction) are indicated. The relaxation line
joining the reciprocal lattice nodes (black dots) associated to
the full strained and full relaxed MB conditions is also shown.
The open circle represents the position of the maximum of the
buffer diffraction peak. The dashed line crossing the substrate
and the full strained MB nodes is parallel to the [001] direction.
error is ∼±2.5%, except for one case where it was ±4.0%.
The reported composition of samples measured by Ra-
man scattering and PR are the nominal ones, very close
to those measured by XRD techniques.
As regards the Raman measurements, the uncertainty
of 0.2 cm
1
in the peak energy ω
LO
yields an error in the
determination of ε values that is ±2 × 10
4
.
Let us compare now our experimental results with
predictions of existing models of strain relaxation. It is
well-known that when the critical thickness is exceeded
the epitaxial growth of a lattice mismatched layer is no
longer pseudomorphic. The lattice mismatch is accommo-
dated partly by elastic strain and partly by the formation
of a misfit dislocation network. In the frame of the contin-
uum elasticity theory the equilibrium between elastic and
plastic accommodation is found by minimizing the total
energy of the system [33], given by the elastic strain en-
ergy and the dislocation energy. The models based on this
assumption, lead to a strain relaxation rate proportional
to t
1
,wheret is the epilayer thickness [33,35]. Most of
the experimental observations made on different epitax-
ial systems, indicate that while the equilibrium models
quite properly give the critical thickness for the onset of
V. Bellani et al.: Residual strain measurements in InGaAs metamorphic buffer layers on GaAs 221
the formation of misfit dislocations, they cannot explain
the strain relaxation rate as well. If the energy-balance
model [23] is assumed, the relation ε
2
t const. is ob-
tained, that gives a t
1/2
dependence for the residual
strain. Figure 2 shows that the experimental values of ε
obtained by both Raman scattering and X-ray diffraction
experiments, as well as by PR, are in better agreement
to the prediction of the model of Mar´ee et al. than with
those of references [33–35], thus producing further sup-
port to former model of strain relaxation in mismatched
materials.
The former model [23] considers the nucleation and
expansion of dissociated half loop dislocations originating
from the free surface of the layer and propagating down to
the interface between layer and substrate. The assumption
is that the energy of the half loop system increases during
the expansion until a critical loop radius is achieved where
the energy is a maximum. Then, the expansion continues
lowering the total energy of the system.
Raman measurements performed on structures with
t = 220 nm and higher composition (not reported here)
have revealed well-behaved LO phonon spectral features
also for x =0.35. This indicates the possibility to opti-
cally determine the strain status even when it cannot be
obtained through PR measurements. Indeed it has been
shown that PR determination of strain stems from the ac-
curate measurement of the splitting between the LH- and
HH-related interband transitions: this procedure may be
hindered by the broadening of optical transitions which
increases with increasing In composition. On the other
hand, Raman measurements of residual strain can be done
provided that the proportionality constants between ω
LO
shift and ε are known for the alloy composition of inter-
est, either from the literature or from calibrations, as it
has been done in the present paper.
It should be noted that the values of ω
LO
of strained
In
x
Ga
1x
As depend not only on the values of the residual
strain ε but also on the material composition x. Therefore
any uncertainty on x affects the accuracy of the measure-
ment of ε. On the other hand, XRD measurements simul-
taneously and directly give x and ε, without the need of
any calibration with other techniques, but as a draw-
back — are much more time-consuming than the Raman
characterization of residual strain. It is useful to remind
that results of the PR approach to measure strain are
fairly independent of layer composition, since ε is deduced
from the difference of two quantities (the HH and the LH
energy gaps) that present a similar dependence on x.
From the analysis of the ω 2θ scans, structures with
and without UCL on top of QDs show no significant dif-
ferences in the strain status. An exception is made for a
structure with x =0.31 and a 19-nm thick LCL, that —
for reasons under investigation showed an anomalously
high density of threading dislocations in Transmission
Electron Microscopy (TEM) cross-sections. Moreover, in
references [24] and [28] it was shown by PR measurements
of the same structures studied in the present work that
negligible differences exists between the in-plane strain in
structures with and without UCLs, thus confirming that
UCLs are pseudomorphic to LCLs. Hence, the compar-
ison presented in Figure 2 between the results obtained
in structures with and without UCL is justified and the
assumption of the model developed to calculate the light
emission energy from strain-engineered QD InAs/InGaAs
nanostructures [9] is substantiated.
4 Conclusions
In order to study the strain relaxation of constant-
composition metamorphic buffers as a function of their
thickness, we have considered two well known techniques
to determine quantities linearly dependent on the in-
plane residual strain ε of an epitaxial layer grown on a
mismatched substrate. Those are Raman scattering, that
gives the LO phonon frequency ω
LO
of the strained mate-
rial, and X-ray diffraction either in the Reciprocal Space
Map and in the single ω 2θ scan modes, that directly
yields the values of lattice parameter a
MB
of the metamor-
phic buffer and, then, of ε.Theε-vs.-ω
LO
working curve
for Raman measurements has been obtained by fitting the
Raman shift data to the values of the residual strain de-
duced by photoreflectance on thesamesamples.Wehave
shown that the ε values measured by means of Raman,
XRD and PR are in a very satisfactory agreement and
the respective advantages of the techniques are discussed.
The residual strain values ε versus the thickness t of
metamorphic buffers have been compared to the results
of strain relaxation models, that give different ε(t) depen-
dences; the experimental data confirm the validity of the
energy-balance model [23] that foresees an approximate
t
1/2
dependence.
These results are of great interest in designing meta-
morphic epitaxial structures where the strain induced by
buffer layers can be used as a tool to modify in a pre-
dictable way the electronic band structure of the upper
layers. An interesting example is the QD strain engineer-
ing [9,12] of InAs/InGaAs QD nanostructures grown on
GaAs substrates, that results in the shift of the RT light
emission wavelength towards the 1.55 µm spectral window
of telecom and datacom applications.
In addition, the knowledge of the mechanism that
determine the strain relaxation may allow the de-
sign of advanced heteroepitaxial structures, where
graded-composition MBs are incorporated to take specific
advantages over the constant-composition counterparts,
as regards the confinement of misfit dislocations far away
from the active region of the structures [14].
The work has been partially supported by the “SANDiE” Net-
work of Excellence of EU, contract no. NMP4-CT-2004-500101
and by the FIRB Project “Nanotecnologie e Nanodispositivi
per la Societ`a dell’Informazione”. V.B. acknowledges support
from Spanish Ministry of Education an Science (FIS2006-
00716).
222 The European Physical Journal B
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... The average in-plane strain can be well reproduced by the frequency variation of the longitudinal optical mode (ω LO ) with respect to the unstrained material. The compressive/tensile nature of the strain manifests by increasing/decreasing frequencies, even on a microscopic (local) scale [26,27]. The main goal of this study was to determine a frequency shift of the GaAs-like longitudinal-optical phonon (GaAs-like LO) in the Raman spectra recorded for the investigated GaAsN epilayers, which could be attributed to the local and macroscopic strain caused by the alloying and lattice mismatch effects, respectively. ...
... The average in-plane strain can be well reproduced by the frequency variation of the longitudinal optical mode ( ) with respect to the unstrained material. The compressive/tensile nature of the strain manifests by increasing/decreasing frequencies, even on a microscopic (local) scale [26,27]. The main goal of this study was to determine a frequency shift of the GaAs-like longitudinal-optical phonon (GaAs-like LO) in the Raman spectra recorded for the investigated GaAsN epilayers, which could be attributed to the local and macroscopic strain caused by the alloying and lattice mismatch effects, respectively. ...
Article
Full-text available
This work presents an investigation of the fully strained GaAsN/GaAs heterostructures obtained by atmospheric pressure metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy, focusing on the analysis of the strain generated in the GaAsN epilayers and its correlation with the formation of split interstitial complexes (N-As)As. We analyzed strained GaAsN epilayers with nitrogen contents and thicknesses varying from 0.93 to 1.81% and 65 to 130 nm, respectively. The composition and thickness were determined by high resolution X-ray diffraction, and the strain was determined by Raman spectroscopy, while the N-bonding configurations were determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. We found that the strain generated in the GaAsN epilayers is mainly caused by a lattice mismatch with the GaAs substrate. This macroscopic strain is independent of the amount of (N-As)As interstitial defects, while the local strain, induced by an alloying effect, tends to decrease with an increasing ratio of (N-As)As interstitial defects to substitutional nitrogen atoms incorporated into an arsenic sublattice—NAs. Here, we show experimentally, for the first time, a correlation between the strain in the GaAsN epilayers, caused by an alloying effect determined by Raman spectroscopy, and the (N-As)As/NAs ratio estimated by the XPS method. We found out that the (N-As)As interstitials compensate the local strain resulting from the presence of N in the GaAs matrix, if their amount does not exceed ~65% of the substitutional introduced nitrogen NAs.
... The corresponding Raman frequency shift is approximately 1.65 cm À1 , a value comparable to that of an In 0.15 Ga 0.85 As MB layer with a thickness ranging from approximately 40-50 nm. 26 To demonstrate the strain-engineered redshifting of SCQD emission, we utilize the buried stressor-induced strain profile above the aperture. Here, the additional tensile strain in the center of the mesa leads to energetically lower QD equilibrium compared to the unstrained surface. ...
Article
Full-text available
We report on the epitaxial growth, theoretical modeling, and structural as well as optical investigation of multi-layer, site-controlled quantum dots fabricated using the buried stressor method. This deterministic growth technique utilizes the strain from a partially oxidized AlAs layer to induce site-selective nucleation of InGaAs quantum dots. By implementing strain-induced spectral nano-engineering, we achieve spectral control of emission and a local increase in the emitter density. Furthermore, we achieve a threefold increase in the optical intensity and reduce the inhomogeneous broadening of the ensemble emission by 20% via stacking three layers of site-controlled emitters, which is valuable for using the SCQDs as a gain medium in microlaser applications. Our optimization of site-controlled growth of quantum dots enables the development of high-β microlasers with increased confinement factor.
... The lattice mismatch depends on the final composition of the MBL influenced by the strain relaxation mechanism occurring during its growth. During the plastic relaxation, the elastic strain is partially relaxed through the formation of a network of misfit dislocations [16,17]. ...
Article
Full-text available
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in interest in tuning the emission wavelength of InAs quantum dots (QDs) to wavelengths compatible with the already existing silica fiber networks. In this work, we develop and explore compositionally graded InxGa1-xAs metamorphic buffer layers (MBLs), with lattice constant carefully tailored to tune the emission wavelengths of InAs QDs towards the telecom O-band. The designed heterostructure is grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), where a single layer of InAs QDs is grown on top of the MBL and is capped with a layer having a fixed indium (In) content. We investigate the structural properties of the grown MBLs by reciprocal space mapping, as well as transmission electron microscopy, and verify the dependence of the absorption edge of the MBL on the In-content by photothermal deflection spectroscopy measurements. This allows us to identify a growth temperature range for which the MBLs achieve a near-equilibrium strain relaxation for In-content up to ∼30%. Furthermore, we explore the emission wavelength tunability of QDs grown on top of a residual strained layer with a low density of dislocations. Specifically, we demonstrate a characteristic red-shift of the QD photoluminescence towards the telecom O-band (1300 nm) at low temperature. This study provides insights into the relaxation profiles and dislocation propagation in compositionally graded MBLs grown via MBE, thus paving the way for realizing MBE-grown heterostructures containing InAs QDs for advanced nanophotonic devices emitting in the telecom bands.
... 3, e, f), можно заметить, что она является асимметричной и имеет несколько максимумов. Такое разделение максимумов интенсивности, вероятнее всего, напрямую связано с релаксацией деформации в слое SL в направлении дифракции [28]. (a, b), Si (c, d) и SL (e, f) в плоскости и в направлении роста для гетероструктур на податливых подложках proto-Si(100) и SL/proto-Si(100). ...
Article
Цель работы заключалась в исследовании влияния нового типа податливых подложек на основе сверхструктурного слоя (SL) AlGaAs и слоя протопористого кремния (proto-Si), сформированного на c-Si, на практическую реализацию и особенности эпитаксиального роста слоя GaAs в методе MOCVD. Впервые показано, что низкотемпературный рост эпитаксиальных пленок GaAs высокого кристаллического качества может быть реализован за счет использования податливых подложек SL/proto-Si. Введение SL в состав податливой подложки в дополнение к proto-Si позволяет нивелировать ряд негативных эффектов низкотемпературного роста, снизить уровень напряжений в эпитаксиальном слое, защитить от автолегирования атомами кремния, сократить число технологических операций по росту переходных буферных слоев, улучшить структурные и морфологические характеристики эпитаксиального слоя. Ключевые слова: GaAs, Si, por-Si, сверхструктурный слой.
... Analysis of the shape of the cross-section for the (5 1 1) node of the reciprocal lattice for SL ( Fig. 4e and f) shows that it is asymmetric and has several peaks. This separation of the intensity peaks is probably directly connected with the deformation relaxation in the SL layer in the diffraction direction [34]. ...
Article
A new type of virtual (compliant) substrate based on a superstructural AlGaAs layer (SL) and a layer of protoporous silicon (proto-Si) formed on c-Si was used for the low-temperature MOCVD growth of structurally perfect epitaxial GaAs films. The introduction of SL into the compliant substrate in addition to proto-Si eliminated several negative effects associated with the low-temperature growth, diminishing the stress level in the epitaxial layer, protecting this layer from autodoping with silicon atoms, reducing the number of technical procedures associated with the growth of the intermediate buffer layer, improving the structural and morphological properties of the epitaxial layer, as well as providing good optical characteristics. This study contributes to the understanding of the fundamentals of physics and technology of the integrated (III-V)/Si heterostructures by developing their potential for application in optoelectronic devices.
... As reported in Ref. [16], the average in-plane strain can be nicely reproduced by the frequency variation of the longitudinal optical mode (ω LO ) with respect to the unstrained material. The compressive/tensile nature of the strain is marked by increasing/decreasing frequencies, even on a microscopic scale [33][34][35][36][37]. ...
Article
Full-text available
Raman scattering is an effective tool for the investigation of the strain state of crystalline solids. In this brief review, we show how the analysis of the GaAs-like longitudinal optical phonon frequency allowed to map the strain behavior across interfaces in planar heterostructures consisting of GaAsN wires embedded in GaAsN:H matrices. Moreover, we recently showed how the evolution of the longitudinal optical frequency with increasing H dose strongly depends on polarization geometry. In a specific geometry, we observed a relaxation of the GaAs selection rules. We also present new results which demonstrate how laser irradiation intensity–even at low levels–may affect the line shape of the GaAs-like spectral features in GaAsN hydrogenated materials.
Article
The growth and characterization of InxGa1-xAs layers with hyperbolic tangent In concentration profiles is presented. Along the growth the molecular beam fluxes of Ga and In, and the substrate temperature were varied. Since the concentration of In is varied during growth process the strain is expected to increase monotonically, and eventually be relaxed via dislocation formation. Positively, reordering of the ternary alloy and the improvement of its crystal quality were propitiated by annealing the samples. The gradual In concentration propitiated along the thickness of the film conduced to variations of the near-surface band bending. THz emission from GaAs, InAs, and graded samples was investigated by femtosecond laser pumping excitation. The band-bending from hyperbolic-tan graded composition InxGa1-xAs layers causes depth dependence of effective mass and built-in electric fields modifying accordingly the THz emission.
Article
The GaAs-like longitudinal-optical (LO) phonon frequency in hydrogenated GaAs1−xNx (x = 0.01) layers—with different H doses and similar low-energy irradiation conditions—was investigated by micro-Raman measurements in different scattering geometries and compared with those of epitaxial GaAs and as-grown GaAs1−xNx reference samples. A relaxation of the GaAs selection rules was observed, to be explained mainly on the basis of the biaxial strain affecting the layers. The evolution of the LO phonon frequency with increasing hydrogen dose was found to heavily depend on light polarization, thus suggesting that a linear relation between strain and the frequency of the GaAs-like LO phonon mode should be applied with some caution. Moreover, photoreflectance measurements in fully passivated samples of identical N concentration show that the blueshift of the GaAs-like LO frequency, characteristic of the hydrogenated structures, is dose-dependent and strictly related to the strain induced by the specific type of the dominant N-H complexes. A comparison of photoreflectance results with the finite element method calculations confirms that this dependence on the H dose is due to the gradual replacement of the N-2H complexes responsible for the electronic passivation of N with N-3H complexes, which are well known to induce an additional and sizeable lattice expansion.
Article
Full-text available
Lattice strain relaxation has been studied in the Ga1−xAlxSb/GaSb system by analyzing layers with thicknesses ranging between 0.1 and 6 μm and with Al concentration x=0.4. The samples have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy at 550 °C on (001) oriented undoped GaSb substrates. The heterostructures were investigated by a high resolution x-ray diffraction method. The experimental critical thickness for the strain relaxation has been found to be tc&ap; 310 nm. The measured residual strain &egr;res shows a t−0.47 dependence on the layer thickness t. This result is in agreement with the theoretical predictions based on the energy balance model, and cannot be described in the frame of the equilibrium theories which yield &egr;res∝t−1. The values of &egr;res have been corrected by the so-called thermal misfit (ΔT) for epitaxial systems with different thermal expansion coefficients. For the Ga0.6Al0.4Sb/GaSb epitaxial system grown at TG=550 °C, the value ΔT=−3.28×10−4 has been calculated from the literature data.
Article
Full-text available
Self-assembled InAs quantum-dot lasers grown by molecular-beam epitaxy using an AlGaAsSb metamorphic buffer layer on a GaAs substrate are reported. The resulting quantum-dot ensemble has a density >3×1010/cm2 and a ground-state transition ranging from 1.46 to 1.63 μm. Pulsed, room-temperature operation generates lasing from the first excited state transition at wavelengths ranging from 1.27 to 1.34 μm. The minimum threshold current density (304 A/cm2) is achieved for a 7.7 mm cavity with cleaved, uncoated facets. © 2003 American Institute of Physics.
Chapter
This chapter describes the effects of homogeneous strain on the electronic and vibrational levels in semiconductors. It reviews the effects of homogeneous strains on the electronic states of the highest valence and lowest conduction bands of diamond- and zincblende-type materials, focusing on the band extrema at the center of the Brillouin zone (BZ). Electronic deformation potentials for a number of relevant bands are summarized in the chapter. The effects of an external stress on the quantum levels of quantum wells and the properties of strained-layer superlattices with built-in strain are discussed in the chapter. The influence of a homogeneous strain on the optic phonons at the BZ center of certain materials is described and also for this situation, vibrational deformation potentials are listed in the chapter. The introduction of a homogeneous strain in a solid produces changes in the lattice parameter and, in some cases, in the symmetry of the material. These in turn produce significant changes in the electronic band structure and vibrational modes. All configurations of homogeneous strain can be divided into the following two contributions: the isotropic or hydrostatic components, which give rise to a volume change without disturbing the crystal symmetry, and the anisotropic component, which in general reduces the symmetry present in the strain-free lattice.
Article
We have investigated the effect of static uniaxial compression along the [001], [110], and [111] directions on the E0, E0+Δ0, E1, and E1+Δ1 electroreflectance peaks of Ge and GaAs, and the E0′ electroreflectance peaks of Si. From the stress-induced splittings and shifts of the E0, E0+Δ0 peaks of Ge and GaAs, the hydrostatic and shear deformation potentials of the k=0 valence-band maximum have been determined. We have also observed a nonlinear stress dependence of the energies of these peaks, which is caused by the stress-induced coupling between the upper stress-split valence band and the spin-orbit split band. A theory for the stress-induced variations in intensity caused by this interaction will be presented and compared with the experimental results. The hydrostatic and shear deformation potentials of the Λ1-conduction and Λ3-valence bands of Ge and GaAs have been determined from the stress dependence of the E1 and E1+Δ1 peaks of these materials. We have attributed the observed stress-induced changes in intensity of these peaks to the intraband splitting of the Λ3-orbital valence bands. The experimental results are compared with our theoretical calculations. The stress dependence of the E0′ electroreflectance peaks of Si for [001] stress seems to indicate that [100] critical points are responsible for this structure. However, we have also observed large polarization-dependent intensity changes for [111] stress, which we have not been able to explain on the basis of the above assignment.
Article
An appraisal of high-resolution multi-crystal multi-reflection diffractometry (HRMCMRD) and topography is presented to illustrate its potential for structure analysis. Examples of methods for extracting lateral interface roughness, studying layered structures with imperfect epitaxy (including strained layer structures) are given to show the wealth of information available from X-ray techniques. The advantages of diffraction space mapping are discussed in addition to the use of topography to interpret the diffuse and Bragg scattering. The HRMCMRD has a dynamic range of 106 and can record topographs with intensities less than 1 count/s.
Article
Relaxation of strain in InxGa1−xAs layers on GaAs is studied by Raman spectroscopy for layers below and above the critical thickness. We show that the enormous strain of the perfect epitaxial layer is released stepwise with the thickness. It is suggested that dislocations formed at the layer surface impose the growth of the next sublayer of partially released strain, preserving the former grown sublayer of higher strain.
Article
Strained layers of InGaAs on GaAs have been studied by Raman scattering under high pressure. More accurate values are given for the frequencies of the LO and TO phonons in GaAs and their pressure dependence. The frequency and pressure dependence of the LO GaAs-like phonon in 20% InGaAs is also reported. It is shown that the Raman shift at the phase transition at high pressure is a valuable diagnostic, allowing comparisons of different experiments. The phase transition pressure of the ternary alloy is consistent with linear interpolation between the binary compound values.
Article
Manufacturable process for the growth of metamorphic InGaAs/InAlAs/InP heterostructures has been realized on a large-scale production molecular-beam epitaxy reactor capable of growing on multiple 4 in. or 6 in. GaAs wafers. Developed metamorphic buffer technology is based on graded InAlAs layer with In composition changing from ≪5% up to the desired composition to be used in the device layers. Both metamorphic high electron mobility transistors and heterojunction bipolar transistors (on GaAs substrates) as well as their lattice-matched counterparts (on InP substrates) were grown and characterized. Photoluminescence mapping and multipoint Hall measurements demonstrate excellent cross-wafer uniformity and electronic transport properties. Fabricated large-area devices show no significant difference in current gain or linearity characteristics for the metamorphic structures compared to their lattice-matched counterparts. © 2002 American Vacuum Society.
Article
Single and double pulse doped metamorphic high electron mobility transistor (MHEMT) structures have been grown on GaAs substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. A linear indium graded buffer layer was used to expand the lattice constant. Transmission electron microscopy cross sections showed planar interfaces. Threading dislocations were not observed along both cleavage directions. For a single pulse doped MHEMT structure with an In0.56Ga0.44As channel layer, the mobilities (10 030 cm2/V s at 292 K; 32 560 cm2/V s at 77 K) and sheet density (3.2×1012 cm-2) were nearly equivalent to values obtained for the same structure grown on an InP substrate. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy measurements of a double pulse doped structure indicated no measurable migration of the silicon doping pulses. MHEMT devices with 0.15 μm gates were fabricated, tested, and compared to GaAs pseudomorphic HEMT devices of the same geometries. Above 9 GHz, the MHEMT devices exhibited lower noise figure. From 3 to 26 GHz, the associated gain was 3 dB higher with the MHEMT devices. Also higher linearity performance was obtained with the MHEMT devices. At 4 GHz MHEMT linearity measurements yielded third order intermodulation distortion intercepts, IP3, of 36–39 dBm with linearity figure of merits of 60–90. Due to the significantly lower cost and more robustness of GaAs substrates compared to InP substrates, MHEMT technology is very promising for low cost manufacturing of low noise amplifiers. © 1999 American Vacuum Society.