Roughening and facetting in lattice-mismatched heteroepitaxial growth of compound semiconductors: A Monte Carlo study

Abstract

The (100) heteroepitaxial growth of lattice-mismatched semiconductors is stimulated by associating the Monte Carlo technique and the valence force field approximation used for the strain energy calculations. It is shown that V-shaped defects showing (111) facets are formed in the early stages of the growth owing to enhanced interlayer migrations and are at the origin of the roughening of the layer. These defects can be filled later, leaving behind misfit dislocations, or can extend, leading to islands with (111) facets, in agreement with experimental observations.