Effect of interfacial strain on the morphological instability of noncommon anion semiconductor epitaxial films

Abstract

A simple thermodynamic approach has been employed to study the effect of interfacial strain, arising from distinct interfacial bonding, on the morphological instability of some noncommon anion semiconductor epitaxial films. The authors have particularly considered a case in which the interfacial strain is significantly greater than the strain in the film. The authors show that it is possible for a lightly strained film to transit from two-dimensional growth to three-dimensional growth at a significantly reduced thickness if the small film strain is of the same sign as the large interfacial strain.