DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Strain-induced islands and nanostructures shape transition's chronology on InAs (100) surface

  • Gambaryan, Karen M. (Engineering Research Center for Semiconductor Integrated Technology, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Science) ;
  • Aroutiounian, Vladimir M. (Department of Physics of Semiconductors and Microelectronics, Yerevan State University) ;
  • Simonyan, Arpine K. (Department of Physics of Semiconductors and Microelectronics, Yerevan State University) ;
  • Ai, Yuanfei (Engineering Research Center for Semiconductor Integrated Technology, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Science) ;
  • Ashalley, Eric (Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China) ;
  • Wang, Zhiming M. (Engineering Research Center for Semiconductor Integrated Technology, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Science)
  • Received : 2014.12.03
  • Accepted : 2015.01.26
  • Published : 2014.12.25

Abstract

The self-assembled strain-induced sub-micrometric islands and nanostructures are grown from In-As-Sb-P quaternary liquid phase on InAs (100) substrates in Stranski-Krastanow growth mode. Two samples are under consideration. The first sample consists of unencapsulated islands and lens-shape quantum dots (QDs) grown from expressly inhomogeneous liquid phase. The second sample is an n-InAs/p-InAsSbP heterostructure with QDs embedded in the p-n junction interface. The morphology, size and shape of the structures are investigated by high-resolution scanning electron (SEM) and transmission electron (TEM) microscopy. It is shown that islands, as they decrease in size, undergo shape transitions. Particularly, as the volume decreases, the following succession of shape transitions are detected: sub-micrometric truncated pyramid, {111} facetted pyramid, {111} and partially {105} facetted pyramid, completely unfacetted "pre-pyramid", hemisphere, lens-shaped QD, which then evolves again to nano-pyramid. A critical size of $5{\pm}2nm$ for the shape transformation of InAsSbP-based lens-shaped QD to nano-pyramid is experimentally measured and theoretically evaluated.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

Supported by : Chinese Academy of Sciences

References

  1. Bimberg, D., Grundmann, M. and Ledentsov, N.N. (1998), Quantum Dot Heterostructures, Wiley, New York, NY, USA.
  2. Daruka, I., Tersoff J. and Barabasi, A.L. (1999), "Shape transition in growth of strained islands", Phys. Rev. Lett., 82, 2753. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.82.2753
  3. Gambaryan, K.M., Aroutiounian, V.M., Boeck, T., Schulze, M. and Soukiassian, P.G. (2008a), "Straininduced InAsSbP islands and quantum dots grown by liquid phase epitaxy on InAs (100) substrate", J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys., 41, 162004. https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/41/16/162004
  4. Gambaryan, K.M., Aroutiounian, V.M., Simonyan, A.K. and Boeck, T. (2008b), "Shape transition of straininduced InAsSbP islands at liquid-phase epitaxy on InAs (100) substrate: from pyramid to semiglobe", Arm. J. Phys., 1(3), 208-218.
  5. Hanke, M., Schmidbauer, M., Grigoriev, D., Raidt, H., Schafer, P., Kohler, R., Gerlitzke, A.K. and Wawra, H. (2004), "SiGe/Si (001) Stranski-Krastanow islands by liquid-phase epitaxy: diffuse x-ray scattering versus growth observations", Phys. Rev. B, 69, 075317. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.69.075317
  6. Kratzer, P., Liu, Q.K.K., Acosta-Diaz, P., Manzano, C., Costantini, G., Songmuang, R., Rastelli, A., Schmidt, O.G. and Kern, K. (2006), "Shape transition during epitaxial growth of InAs quantum dots on GaAs (001): Theory and experiment", Phys. Rev. B, 73, 205347. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.73.205347
  7. Liu, N., Tersoff, J., Baklenov, O., Holmes, A.L., Jr. and Shih, C.K. (2000), "Nonuniform composition profile in In0.5Ga0.5As alloy quantum dots", Phys. Rev. Lett., 84, 334. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.84.334
  8. Medeiros-Ribeiro, G., Kamins, T.I., Ohlberg, D.A.A. and Williams, R.S. (1998), "Shape transition of germanium nanocrystals on a silicon (001) surface from pyramids to domes", Science, 279, 353. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.279.5349.353
  9. Mo, Y.W., Savage, D.E., Swartzentruber, B.S. and Lagally, M.G. (1990), "Kinetic pathway in Stranski-Krastanov growth of Ge on Si (001)", Phys. Rev. Lett., 65, 1020. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.65.1020
  10. Ponchet, A., Le Corre, A., L'haridon, H., Lambert, B. and Salaun, S. (1995), "Relationship between self-organization and size of InAs islands on InP (001) grown by gas-source molecular beam epitaxy", Appl. Phys. Lett., 67, 1850. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.114353
  11. Rastelli, A., Von Kanel, H., Spencer, B.J. and Tersoff, J. (2003), "Prepyramid-to-pyramid transition of SiGe islands on Si(001)", Phys. Rev. B, 68, 115301. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.68.115301
  12. Reaves, C.M., Pelzel, R.I., Hsueh, G.C., Weinberg, W.H. and DenBaars, S.P. (1996), "Formation of self-assembled InP islands on a GaInP/GaAs(311)A surface ", Appl. Phys. Lett., 69, 3878. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.117135
  13. Ross, F.M., Tersoff, J. and Tromp, R.M. (1998), "Coarsening of self-assembled Ge quantum dots on Si (001)", Phys. Rev. Lett., 80, 984. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.80.984
  14. Safonov, K.L., Dubrovskii, V.G., Sibirev, N.V. and Trushin, Y.V. (2007), "Computer simulation of coherent island growth in Ge/Si and InAs/GaAs systems", Tech. Phys. Lett., 33, 490. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063785007060144
  15. Stranski, I. and Krastanow, L. (1938), Math.-Naturwiss., 146, 797.
  16. Tersoff, J. and LeGoues, F.K. (1994), "Competing relaxation mechanisms in strained layers", Phys. Rev. Lett., 72, 3570. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.72.3570
  17. Tersoff, J., Spencer, B.J., Rastelli, A. and von Kanel, H. (2002), "Barrierless formation and faceting of SiGe islands on Si (001)", Phys. Rev. Lett., 89, 196104. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.89.196104
  18. Tersoff, J. and Tromp, R.M. (1993) "Shape transition in growth of strained islands: spontaneous formation of quantum wires", Phys. Rev. Lett., 70, 2782. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.70.2782
  19. Wu, J., Shao, D., Dorogan, V.G., Li, A.Z., Li, S., DeCuir, Jr., E.A., Manasreh, M.O., Wang, Z.M., Mazur, Y.I. and Salamo, G.J. (2010), "Intersublevel infrared photodetector with strain-free GaAs quantum dot pairs grown by high-temperature droplet epitaxy", Nano Lett., 10(4), 1512-1516. https://doi.org/10.1021/nl100217k
  20. Zinke-Allmang, M., Feldman, L.C. and Grabow, M.H. (1992), "Clustering on surfaces", Surf. Sci. Rep., 16, 377. https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-5729(92)90006-W