Abstract.
This work deals with the strain relaxation mechanism in InGaAs metamorphic buffers (MBs) grown on GaAs substrates and overgrown by InAs quantum dots (QD). The residual strain is measured by using Raman scattering and X-ray diffraction, both in Reciprocal Space Map and in single ω-2θ scan modes (ω and θ being the incidence angles on the sample surface and on the scattering planes, respectively). By relating the GaAs-like longitudinal optical phonon frequency ωLO of InGaAs MBs to the in-plane residual strain ε measured by means of photoreflectance (PR), the linear ε-vs.-ωLO working curve is obtained. The results of Raman and XRD measurements, as well as those obtained by PR, are in a very satisfactory agreement. The respective advantages of the techniques are discussed. The measurements confirm that strain relaxation depends on the thickness t of the buffer layer following a ~t-1/2 power law, that can be explained by an energy-balance model.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Properties of Lattice-matched and Strained Indium Gallium Arsenide, edited by P. Bhattacharya (Inspec, London, 1993)
F.H. Pollak, in Semiconductors and Semimetals, edited by T.P. Pearsall (Academic, London, 1990), Vol. 32, p. 17
W.E. Hoke et al., J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 17, 1131 (1999)
O. Baklenov et al., J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 20, 1200 (2002)
F. Dimroth, U. Schubert, A.W. Bett, IEEE Electron Device Lett. 21, 209 (2000)
G. Abstreiter, H. Brugger, T. Wolf, H. Jorke, H.J. Herzog, Phys. Rev. Lett. 54, 2441 (1985)
E.A. Fitzgerald, Materials Science and Engineering B 124–125, 8 (2005)
Y.C. Xin, L.G. Vaughn, L.R. Dawson, A. Stintz, Y. Lin, L.F. Lester, D.L. Huffaker, J. Appl. Phys. 94, 2133 (2003)
L. Seravalli, M. Minelli, P. Frigeri, P. Allegri, V. Avanzini, S. Franchi, Appl. Phys. Lett. 82, 2341 (2003)
A.E. Zhukov, A.P. Vasil'ev, A.R. Kovsh, S.S. Mikhrin, E.S. Semenova, A.Yu. Egorov, V.A. Odnoblyudov, N.A. Maleev, E.V. Nikitina, N.V. Kryzhanovskaya, A.G. Gladyshev, Yu.M. Shernyakov, M.V. Maximov, N.N. Ledentsov, V.M. Ustinov, Zh.I. Alferov, Semiconductors 37, 1411 (2003)
M. Geddo, V. Bellani, G. Guizzetti, M. Patrini, T. Ciabattoni, L. Seravalli, M. Minelli, P. Frigeri, S. Franchi, Electrochemical Society Proceedings (2005), Vol. 2004-13, p.373
L. Seravalli, P. Frigeri, M. Minelli, P. Allegri, V. Avanzini, S. Franchi, Appl. Phys. Lett. 87, 063101 (2005)
L. Seravalli, P. Frigeri, M. Minelli, P. Allegri, V. Avanzini, S. Franchi, Materials Science Engineering C 26, 731 (2006)
A. Bosacchi, A.C. De Riccardis, P. Frigeri, S. Franchi, C. Ferrari, S. Gennari, L. Lazzarini, L. Nasi, G. Salviati, A.V. Drigo, F. Romanato, J. Cryst. Growth 175–176, 1009 (1997)
F. Calle, A. Sacedon, A.L. Alvarez, E. Calleja, E. Muño, H.G. Colson, P. Kidd, Microel. Journal 26, 821 (1996)
J. Groenen, G. Landa, R. Carles, P.S. Pizani, M. Gendry, J. Appl. Phys. 82, 803 (1997)
O. Brafman, D. Fekete, R. Safarty, Appl. Phys. Lett. 58, 400 (1991)
M.F. Whitaker D.J. Dunstan, J. Phys. Condens. Matter 11, 2861 (1999)
H.K. Shin, D.J. Lockwood, C. Lacelle, P.J. Poole, J. Appl. Phys. 88, 6423 (2000)
K. Ishida, J. Mtsui, T. Kamejima, I. Sakuma, Phys. Status Solidi (a) 31, 255 (1975)
P.F. Fewster, Semicond. Sci. Technol. 8, 1915 (1993)
Yu.P. Khapachev, F.N. Chukhovskii, Sov. Phys. Crystallogr. 34, 465 (1989)
P.M.J. Marée, J.C. Barbour, J.F. Van der Veen, K.L. Kavanagh, C.W.T. Bulle-Lieuvma, M.V.A. Viegers, J. Appl. Phys. 62, 4413 (1987)
M. Geddo, G. Guizzetti, M. Patrini, T. Ciabattoni, L. Seravalli, P. Frigeri, S. Franchi, Appl. Phys. Lett. 87, 263120 (2005)
ALMBE is a variant of MBE where group-III and group-V species impinge on the substrate alternatively in monolayer or sub-monolayer amounts per cycle
P.F. Fewster, Appl. Surface Sci. 50, 9 (1991)
B. Jusserand, M. Cardona, in Light Scattering in Solids V, Topics in Applied Physics, edited by M. Cardona, G. Güntherodt (Springer, New York, 1989), Vol. 66, p. 49
L. Seravalli, M. Minelli, P. Frigeri, S. Franchi, G. Guizzetti, M. Patrini, T. Ciabattoni, M. Geddo, J. Appl. Phys. 101, 024313 (2007)
F.H. Pollak, M. Cardona, Phys. Rev. B 172, 816 (1968)
C. Bocchi, A. Bosacchi, S. Franchi, S. Gennari, R. Magnanini, A.V. Drigo, Appl. Phys. Lett. 71, 1549 (1997)
Landolt-Börnstein Numerical Data and Functional Relationships in Science and Technology, edited by O. Madelung, M. Schultz, H. Weiss, New series (Springer, Berlin, 1982), Vol. 17
C.R. Wie, in Properties of Lattice-matched and Strained Indium Gallium Arsenide, edited by P. Bhattacharya (Inspec, London, 1993), p. 257
J.W. Matthews, A.E. Blakeslee, J. Crystal Growth 27, 118 (1974)
D.J. Dunstan, Philos. Mag. A 73, 1323 (1996)
D.J. Dunstan, P. Kidd, L.K. Howard, R.P. Dixon, Appl. Phys. Lett. 59, 3390 (1991)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bellani, V., Bocchi, C., Ciabattoni, T. et al. Residual strain measurements in InGaAs metamorphic buffer layers on GaAs. Eur. Phys. J. B 56, 217–222 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2007-00105-8
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2007-00105-8