Self-formation of 100 nm scale wire structures during molecular beam epitaxial growth of AlGaAs on patterned substrates

Abstract

A wire structure with 100 nm scale buried in AlGaAs is shown to be formed spontaneously during the molecular beam epitaxial (MBE) growth of AlGaAs on a pre-patterned substrate. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and photoluminescence (PL) study revealed that a triangular-shaped wire region with Al content of 0.12 was embedded by Al 0.3 Ga 0.7 As with fairly sharp boundaries. The cross-sectional dimensions and the Al molar fraction of the wire are shown to be independent of the patterned mesa width on which the wire structure is grown.