Investigation of Phosphorus In-Diffusion and Strain in GaAsP/GaAs Using High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy

Abstract

We report our experiments based on the interfaces of a 5-period superlattice, containing GaAsP(3Å)/GaAs (190Å) heterostructures grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The atomic arrangement at the interfaces of GaAsP/GaAs is investigated using high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Our results indicate that the superlattice was grown coherently with strained layers. We propose that the atomic arrangement at the interface is GaP, assuming that phosphorus incorporation occurs primarily via substitution due to desorption of arsenic at the surface for substrate temperatures above 500°C. The incorporation of phosphorus has been investigated using fast Fourier transform (FFT) patterns and shows a form of strain distribution near the heterointerface. The FFT patterns of the superlattice reveal that strain distributes mostly near the interface and gradually decreases along the direction of growth. Phosphorus diffused into a GaAs layer changes the lattice constant in the growth direction, which reduces strain in the superlattice.