Thermal Strain Study of Almost Lattice-Matched Epitaxial InuGa1-uAs1-vP1-v Films on InP(100) Substrates

Abstract

AbstractSingle layers of ~ 0.5µm thick InuGa1-uAs1-vPv (0.52 < u < 0.63 and 0.03 < v < 0.16) were grown epitaxially on InP(100) substrates by liquid phase epitaxy at ~ 630°C. The compositions of the films were chosen to yield a constant banndgap of ~ 0.8 eV (λ = 1.55 µm) at room temperature. The lattice mismatch at room temperature between the epitaxial film and the substrate varies from - 4 × 10-3 to + 4 × 10-3. The strain in the films was characterized in air by x-ray double crystal diffractometry with a controllable heating stage from 23°C to ~ 700°C. All the samples have an almost coherent interfaces from 23°C to about ~ 330°C with the lattice mismatch accomodated mainly by the tetragonal distortion of the epitaxial films. In this temperature range, the x-ray strain in the growth direction increases linearly with temperature at a rate of (2.0 ± 0.4) × 10-6/°C and the strain state of the films is reversible. Once the samples are heated above ~ 300°C, a significant irreversible deterioration of the epitaxial films sets in.