Strain Relaxation Mechanism Research Articles

Composition and stress of SiGe nanostructures on curved substrates

Recent experimental studies of Ge nanoislands on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates have provided a defect-free strain relaxation mechanism through the bending of the substrate. Here, using atomistic Monte Carlo simulations and analytical modeling, we couple this relaxation mechanism with interdiffusion and alloying and observe composition profiles that are completely different from those observed in flat nanoislands. Moreover, for comparable SOI and island thicknesses, intermixing can be greatly reduced and Ge content in the islands is highly preserved.

On the Novel Biaxial Strain Relaxation Mechanism in Epitaxial Composition Graded La1−xSrxMnO3 Thin Film Synthesized by RF Magnetron Sputtering

We report on a novel method to fabricate composition gradient, epitaxial La1−xSrxMnO3 thin films with the objective to alleviate biaxial film strain. In this work, epitaxial, composition gradient La1−xSrxMnO3, and pure LaMnO3 and La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 thin films were deposited by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering. The crystalline and epitaxy of all films were first studied by symmetric θ–2θ X-ray diffraction (XRD) and low angle XRD experiments. Detailed microstructural characterization across the film thickness was conducted by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction. Four compositional gradient domains were observed in the La1−xSrxMnO3 film ranging from LaMnO3 rich to La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 at the surface. A continuous reduction in the lattice parameter was observed accompanied by a significant reduction in the out-of-plane strain in the film. Fabrication of the composition gradient La1−xSrxMnO3 thin film was found to be a powerful method to relieve biaxial strain under critical thickness. Besides, the coexistence of domains with a composition variance is opening up various new possibilities of designing new nanoscale structures with unusual cross coupled properties.

Atomic mechanisms of strain relaxation in heteroepitaxial Cu/Ni(001) system

Strain relief mechanisms in heteroepitaxial Cu/Ni(001) system are studied using molecular static methods with semiempirical EAM potentials. In particular, the process of a V-shape defect (internal (111) faceting) nucleation is considered, and the corresponding activation barriers and critical thicknesses are estimated.

Nanoselective area growth and characterization of dislocation-free InGaN nanopyramids on AlN buffered Si(111) templates

We report the metal organic chemical vapor deposition growth of dislocation-free 100 nm thick hexagonal InGaN nanopyramid arrays with up to 33% of indium content by nano-selective area growth on patterned AlN/Si (111) substrates. InGaN grown on SiO2 patterned templates exhibit high selectivity. Their single crystal structure is confirmed by scanning transmission electron microscope combined with an energy dispersive X-ray analysis, which also reveals the absence of threading dislocations in the InGaN nanopyramids due to elastic strain relaxation mechanisms. Cathodoluminescence measurements on a single InGaN nanopyramid clearly show an improvement of the optical properties when compared to planar InGaN grown under the same conditions. The good structural, morphological, and optical quality of the InGaN nanostructures grown on AlN/Si indicates that the nano-selective area growth technology is attractive for the realization of site-controlled indium-rich InGaN nanostructure-based devices and can also be transferred to other highly mismatched substrates.

The predominance of substrate induced defects in magnetic properties of Sr2FeMoO6 thin films

A systematic study of epitaxially grown Sr2FeMoO6 thin films on SrTiO3, (LaAlO3)0.3(Sr2AlTaO6)0.7, SrLaAlO4 and MgO single crystal substrates were made. Transmission electron microscopy investigations showed sharp substrate/films interfaces and increased defect concentration with increased lattice mismatch, indicating defect formation such as dislocations, low angle grain boundaries and stacking faults as a strain relaxation mechanism. Large enough compressive mismatch cause the over-relaxation of the lattice parameters through reorganization or interface defects, which was observed as a tensile strain in films with compressive mismatch larger than −1.05%. All the films with compressive mismatch were phase pure and epitaxially textured while signatures of SrMoO4 parasitic particle was found only in the film grown on MgO. No correlation between the antisite disorder and other structural defects or magnetic properties were found. Instead, the saturation magnetization, Curie temperature, magnetic domain rotation etc are higly dependent on the lattice mismatch induced defects, which outshines the possible correlation with B-site ordering.

Anharmonicity and local lattice distortion in strained Ge-dilute Si1−xGex alloy

We have investigated the anharmonicity and local lattice distortion in strained Ge-dilute Si1−xGex alloy using Ge K-edge extended x-ray absorption fine structure measurement coupled with ab initio molecular dynamics simulation. Pronounced asymmetry is for the first time revealed for the Ge–Si first nearest-neighbor (NN) distribution even at room temperature, in good agreement with theoretical simulations. In comparison with harmonic approximation, the anharmonicity contributes an additional shift of 0.011 Å to the Ge–Si first NN bond distance, which is further found to be crucial to the qualitative change (i.e., contracting or stretching) of the Ge–Si second NN bond distance relative to the corresponding Si–Si bond distance in bulk Si. As the modifications of higher NN shells arise from the competition between the NN bond-distance stretching and the tetrahedral bond-angle deviation, those results indicate that the anharmonicity is critical in the proper determination of the local strain accommodation mode and thus the substrate effect. Farther NN shells exhibit slight asymmetry. Our findings reconcile the long-standing controversy regarding the dominant local strain relaxation mechanism in strained Ge-dilute Si1−xGex alloys.

Stress and strain relaxation in magnesium AZ31 rolled plate: In-situ neutron measurement and elastic viscoplastic polycrystal modeling

Continuous mechanical tests with strain holds (stress relaxation) and with stress holds (strain relaxation) are performed simultaneously with in-situ neutron measurements to analyze the mechanisms of stress and strain relaxation in Mg AZ31 rolled plate. A dislocation activity based constitutive model, accounting for internal stress statistical distributions, is proposed and implemented into an elastic viscoplastic self-consistent (EVPSC) framework to simultaneously describe both stress and strain relaxation. The model captures the experimental data in terms of macroscopic stress strain curves, evolution of stress and strain during holding, as well as evolution of the internal elastic strains. Model results indicate that the magnitude of the stress relaxed during strain holding is dependent on both, the magnitude of the flow stress and the spread of the resolved shear stress distribution. The magnitude of strain accumulated during stress holding is, on the other hand, dependent on the magnitude of the hardening rate and on the spread of the resolved shear stress distribution. The internal elastic strains are directly correlated with the stress state, and hence the stress relaxation during strain holds has a greater influence on the lattice strains than strain relaxation during stress holds.

Optical properties and structural investigations of (11-22)-oriented GaN/Al0.5Ga0.5N quantum wells grown by molecular beam epitaxy

We have grown (11-22)-oriented GaN/Al0.5Ga0.5N quantum wells (QWs) using molecular beam epitaxy on GaN (11-22)-oriented templates grown by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy on m-plane oriented sapphire substrates. The performance of epitaxial growth of GaN/Al0.5Ga0.5N heterostructures on the semi-polar orientation (11-22) in terms of surface roughness and structural properties, i.e., strain relaxation mechanisms is discussed. In addition, high resolution transmission electron microscopy reveals very smooth QW interfaces. The photoluminescence of such samples are strictly originating from radiative recombination of free excitons for temperatures above 100 K. At high temperature, the population of localized excitons, moderately trapped (5 meV) at low temperature, is negligible.

Composition gradient effects on strain relaxation in Sr-doped LaMnO3 epitaxial thin films

The authors report on a novel method to fabricate Sr-doped composition gradient epitaxial La1−xSrxMnO3 thin films by radio frequency magnetron sputtering. Biaxially strained epitaxial La1−xSrxMnO3 thin films were grown on (001) LaAlO3 substrates by following a cosputtering procedure from LaMnO3 and La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 targets. Three depositions were conducted by varying the substrate temperature (750 and 850 °C) and controlling the relative deposition rate from the two targets by varying their power rate during sputtering. The thickness of the thin films was about 20 and 30 nm for the short and long duration deposition, respectively. The films were studied by symmetric θ–2θ x-ray diffraction, pole figure analysis, atomic force microscopy, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Fabrication of smooth, composition gradient films of high epitaxial quality was achieved at a substrate temperature of 850 °C and low sputtering rate. A novel strain relaxation mechanism is also found that decreases significantly the mismatch between the film and substrate as the Sr doping level increases. The reported deposition procedure can produce new possibilities of designing nanoscale structures with cross coupled properties that may result in new materials.

Self-assembly of tin wires via phase transformation of heteroepitaxial germanium-tin on germanium substrate

This work demonstrates and describes for the first time an unusual strain-relaxation mechanism by the formation and self-assembly of well-ordered tin wires during the thermal annealing of epitaxial Ge0.83Sn0.17-on-Ge(001) substrate. Fully strained germanium-tin alloys (Ge0.83Sn0.17) were epitaxially grown on Ge(001) substrate by molecular beam epitaxy. The morphological and compositional evolution of Ge0.83Sn0.17 during thermal annealing is studied by atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy. Under certain annealing conditions, the Ge0.83Sn0.17 layer decomposes into two stable phases, and well-defined Sn wires that are preferentially oriented along two orthogonal ⟨100⟩ azimuths are formed. The formation of the Sn wires is related to the annealing temperature and the Ge0.83Sn0.17 thickness, and can be explained by the nucleation of a grain with Sn islands on the outer front, followed by grain boundary migration. The Sn wire formation process is found to be thermally activated, and an activation enthalpy (Ec) of 0.41 eV is extracted. This thermally activated phase transformation, i.e., 2D epitaxial layer to 3D wires, occurs via a mechanism akin to “cellular precipitation.” This synthesis route of Sn wires opens new possibilities for creation of nanoscale patterns at high-throughput without the need for lithography.

High mobility AlGaN/GaN heterostructures grown on Si substrates using a large lattice-mismatch induced stress control technology

A large lattice-mismatch induced stress control technology with a low Al content AlGaN layer has been used to grow high quality GaN layers on 4-in. Si substrates. The use of this technology allows for high mobility AlGaN/GaN heterostructures with electron mobility of 2040 cm2/(V·s) at sheet charge density of 8.4 × 1012 cm−2. Strain relaxation and dislocation evolution mechanisms have been investigated. It is demonstrated that the large lattice mismatch between the low Al content AlGaN layer and AlN buffer layer could effectively promote the edge dislocation inclination with relatively large bend angles and therefore significantly reduce the dislocation density in the GaN epilayer. Our results show a great potential for fabrication of low-cost and high performance GaN-on-Si power devices.

Effects of Lattice Relaxation on Composition and Morphology in Strained In x Ga1−x As y Sb1−y Epitaxial Layers

InxGa1−xAsySb1−y is an important semiconductor material for a variety of mid-infrared devices. Its tunable bandgap, adjustable lattice constant, and other material properties make it appealing for developing optoelectronic devices in the 2 μm to 4 μm region. In this work, we report on the mechanisms of strain relaxation in InxGa1−xAsySb1−y epitaxial layers with low arsenic and high indium concentrations grown on GaSb (100) substrates. Samples were grown via solid-source molecular beam epitaxy with indium mole fractions between x = 0.1 (0.7% lattice mismatch) and x = 0.4 (2.5% lattice mismatch), and arsenic mole fractions between y = 0 and y = 0.02. Sample thicknesses between 10 nm and 100 nm were produced in order to observe the progression of structure formation. Samples were monitored in situ via reflection high-energy electron diffraction and ex situ using scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, backscattering Raman spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. Results suggest that strain relaxation occurs preferentially along the [011] direction, although some crosshatching is observed. A compositional gradient in the growth direction is also observed, suggesting preferential incorporation of gallium at strained interfaces in order to minimize strain energy.

Dependence of Semiconductor to Metal Transition of VO2(011)/NiO{100}/MgO{100}/TiN{100}/Si{100} Heterostructures on Thin Film Epitaxy and Nature of Strain

We have studied semiconductor to metal transition (SMT) characteristics of VO2(011) thin films integrated epitaxially with Si(100) through NiO{001}/MgO{001}/TiN{001} buffer layers and correlated with the details of epitaxy and nature of residual stresses and strains across the VO2/NiO interface. Thin film epitaxy at both room and elevated temperatures is studied in detail by electron microscopy and in situ high‐temperature X‐ray diffraction techniques. The epitaxial relationship across the interface between monoclinic VO2 and NiO is determined to be (011)VO2||{100}NiO and [01]VO2||[001]NiO at room temperature. The epitaxial alignment at the temperature of growth where tetragonal VO2 is stable is determined as: (110)VO2||{100}NiO and [001]VO2||[100]NiO. A cube‐on‐cube crystallographic alignment is established across the NiO{100}/MgO{100}/TiN{100}/Si{100} interfaces. The misfit strains across the VO2/NiO interface at the growth temperature are calculated and the mechanism of strain relaxation is discussed. The out‐of‐plane orientation is found to be relaxed in both monoclinic and tetragonal states of VO2. It is shown that a compressive strain of 31.65% along the [001] direction of tetragonal VO2 is fully relaxed via matching of multiple domains. However, a small tensile misfit strain of about 5% along [10] direction cannot relax and remains in the lattice. This tensile residual strain leads to a compressive strain along [001] axis which, in turn, results in an SMT temperature slightly lower than that of freestanding strain‐free VO2. SMT characteristics of VO2(011) epilayers are assessed where an amplitude of near five orders of magnitude, and a hysteresis of less than 3.6 °C are obtained. This study introduces VO2/NiO thin film heterostructure integrated with silicon as a promising candidate for multifunctional devices with novel characteristics where a combination of sensing, manipulation, and response functions is needed.

Strain relaxation mechanisms of elastic softening and twin wall freezing associated with structural phase transitions in (Ca,Sr)TiO3 perovskites

Resonant ultrasound spectroscopy has been used to measure the bulk modulus (K), shear modulus (G) and acoustic dissipation of polycrystalline perovskite samples across the CaTiO3–SrTiO3 solid solution in the temperature range ∼10–1350 K. A remarkable pattern of up to ∼25% softening of G as a function of both temperature and composition is due to coupling of shear strain with order parameters for the Pm4/mcm, I4/mcm ↔ Pnma and I4/mcm ↔ Pbcm transitions. Anomalies in K associated with the phase transitions are small, consistent with only weak coupling of octahedral tilting order parameter(s) with volume strain. A change from tricritical character for the Pm 4/mcm transition towards second order character at Sr-rich compositions appears to be due to changing properties of the soft optic mode rather than to changes in magnitude of strain/order parameter coupling coefficients. Precursor softening of G ahead of the Pm 4/mcm transition, due to fluctuations or clustering, occurs over a temperature interval of up to ∼200 K, and also changes character at the most Sr-rich compositions. The tetragonal structure with Sr-rich compositions is characterized by additional softening with falling temperature which is most likely related to the proximity of a ferroelectric instability. The I4/mcm ↔ Pnma transition is accompanied by stiffening, which is attributed to the effects of strong coupling between order parameters for M-point and R-point tilting. The pattern of attenuation at RUS frequencies in the tetragonal phase can be understood in terms of the mobility of twin walls which become pinned below ∼500 K, and the loss mechanism most likely involves local bowing of the walls by lateral motion of ledges rather than the advance and retraction of needle tips. Twin wall mobility is suppressed in the orthorhombic structure.

Competing strain relaxation mechanisms in epitaxially grown Pr0.48Ca0.52MnO3 on SrTiO3

We investigated the impact of strain relaxation on the current transport of Pr0.48Ca0.52MnO3 (PCMO) thin films grown epitaxially on SrTiO3 single crystals by pulsed laser deposition. The incorporation of misfit dislocations and the formation of cracks are identified as competing mechanisms for the relaxation of the biaxial tensile strain. Crack formation leads to a higher crystal quality within the domains but the cracks disable the macroscopic charge transport through the PCMO layer. Progressive strain relaxation by the incorporation of misfit dislocations, on the other hand, results in a significant decrease of the activation energy for polaron hopping with increasing film thickness.

Competitive growth mechanisms of AlN on Si (111) by MOVPE.

To improve the growth rate and crystal quality of AlN, the competitive growth mechanisms of AlN under different parameters were studied. The mass transport limited mechanism was competed with the gas-phase parasitic reaction and became dominated at low reactor pressure. The mechanism of strain relaxation at the AlN/Si interface was studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Improved deposition rate in the mass-transport-limit region and increased adatom mobility were realized under extremely low reactor pressure.

Thermal Misfit Strain Relaxation in Ge/(001)Si Heterostructures

We used x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy to study the mechanism of thermal misfit strain relaxation in epitaxial Ge films grown on Si(001) substrates by the two-step growth technique. Lattice misfit strain associated with Ge/Si(001)Si mismatched epitaxy is largely relieved by a network of Lomer edge misfit dislocations during the first step of growth. However, thermal misfit strain during growth is relieved primarily by interdiffusion at the Si/Ge heterointerface. Two SiGe compositions containing 0.5 at.% and 6.0 at.% Si detected at the interface relieve thermal mismatch strain associated with the two growth steps. A thermodynamic model has been proposed to explain the state of strain in the films.

Strain relaxation and enhanced perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in BiFeO3:CoFe2O4 vertically aligned nanocomposite thin films

Self-assembled BiFeO3:CoFe2O4 (BFO:CFO) vertically aligned nanocomposite thin films have been fabricated on SrTiO3 (001) substrates using pulsed laser deposition. The strain relaxation mechanism between BFO and CFO with a large lattice mismatch has been studied by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The as-prepared nanocomposite films exhibit enhanced perpendicular magnetic anisotropy as the BFO composition increases. Different anisotropy sources have been investigated, suggesting that spin-flop coupling between antiferromagnetic BFO and ferrimagnetic CFO plays a dominant role in enhancing the uniaxial magnetic anisotropy.

New Method of Distinguishing X-Ray Diffraction Curves about Laser Structure

Come up with a new method of rocking curves analysis, its using the software of the double-crystal X-ray diffraction rocking curves analysis to simulate vertical cavity surface emitting laser structure. Simulate the X-ray diffraction rocking curve of each part of laser structure, and then compare with the diffraction rocking curve of the overall structure in order to acquire the adscription of each diffraction peak, the method can also be applied to other semiconductor lasers. Compared with conventional PDF card library about diffraction position of all material peaks, the method has the advantages of fast and accurately to distinguish, high efficiency. In the end, the X-ray diffraction rocking curves analysis method is applied to the MOCVD growth of GaAs based vertical cavity surface emitting laser, and quoting strain relaxation mechanisms for explaining the reasons for the partial peak drifting.

Occurrence and elimination of in-plane misoriented crystals in AlN epilayers on sapphire via pre-treatment control

AlN epilayers are grown directly on sapphire (0001) substrates each of which has a low temperature AlN nucleation layer. The effects of pretreatments of sapphire substrates, including exposures to NH3/H2 and to H2 only ambients at different temperatures, before the growth of AlN epilayers is investigated. In-plane misoriented crystals occur in N-polar AlN epilayers each with pretreatment in a H2 only ambient, and are characterized by six 60°-apart peaks with splits in each peak in (101̄2) phi scan and two sets of hexagonal diffraction patterns taken along the [0001] zone axis in electron diffraction. These misoriented crystals can be eliminated in AlN epilayers by the pretreatment of sapphire substrates in the NH3/H2 ambient. AlN epilayers by the pretreatment of sapphire substrates in the NH3/H2 ambient are Al-polar. Our results show the pretreatments and the nucleation layers are responsible for the polarities of the AlN epilayers. We ascribe these results to the different strain relaxation mechanisms induced by the lattice mismatch of AlN and sapphire.