Correlation Between GaInAsSb Surface Step Structure and Phase Separation

Abstract

AbstractA strong correlation between the surface step structure and phase separation in metastable GaInAsSb epitaxial layers grown by organometallic vapor phase epitaxy has been identified. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 4-K photoluminescence (PL) peak energy is used as a semi-quantitative measure of the degree of phase separation. The step structure of GaInAsSb grown at 525 °C is vicinal, while it is step-bunched for layers grown at 575 °C. The corresponding 4-K PL FWHM data indicate that the degree of phase separation is minimized when the layers aregrown at the lower growth temperature. It is proposed that the longer terrace lengths of a step-bunched surface are associated with a longer adatom lifetime compared to a vicinal surface, and thus the adatoms have more time to cluster and phase separate, which is the preferred equilibrium state. Increasing the growth rate, which reduces the adatom lifetime, also reduces the PL FWHM, and thus, the degree of phase separation.