Hillock formation observed in MOMBE of InGaAs grown on a patterned GaAs substrate

Abstract

We observed hillock formation during metalorganic molecular beam epitaxy (MOMBE) of InGaAs on a mesa-grooved (100) GaAs substrate. Hillocks were formed under specific growth conditions and comprised mostly InAs. The distribution of hillocks formed in InGaAs MOMBE using trimethylindium (TMIn) and metal Ga depended strongly on the widths of mesa-grooves; the density decreased with decreasing width and hillocks were hardly observed on the ridges. The hillock density also varied, depending on the off-angle of the substrate from the (100) plane. This indicates that the observed anomalous distribution of InGaAs hillocks was caused by both the formation of facets and a vicinal tilted surface near the edge of mesa-grooves, due to the growth of a GaAs buffer layer on a patterned substrate.