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Morphological and Compositional Instabilities of Strained and Unstrained Alloy Layers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

F. Glas  and
G. Patriarche
F. Glas
Affiliation:
France Telecom, CNET, Lab. Concepts et Dispositifs pour la Photonique, CNRS URA 250, 196 av. Henri Ravéra, BP 107, 92225 Bagneux Cedex, FRANCE, [email protected]
G. Patriarche
Affiliation:
France Telecom, CNET, Lab. Concepts et Dispositifs pour la Photonique, CNRS URA 250, 196 av. Henri Ravéra, BP 107, 92225 Bagneux Cedex, FRANCE, [email protected]
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Abstract

We study several aspects of the instability of epitaxial layers with respect to composition modulations and surface non-planarities. After recalling previous experimental and theoretical results, we first give a detailed calculation of the elastic energy of a lattice-matched layer where both these phenomena occur. As in the lattice-mismatched case, the elastic strain fields of the modulation and the undulation interact, but the critical temperature under which composition modulations become favorable remains the same as in the planar layers. However, when a composition modulation is present, the system is unstable to a specific class of surface undulations. We then discuss TEM experiments investigating systematically the morphological instability in superlattices containing either tensile or compressive layers. Growth on surfaces variously disoriented with respect to (001) allows us to study two debated points: Does the instability develop by bunching of steps already present on the substrate or through nucleation of new steps? What is the nature of the asymmetry between tensile and compressive layers? We show that in the compressive layers, the surface non-planarity develops by bunching of a large fraction of the original substrate steps, whereas for layers under tension facets appear.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 583 , 1999 , 315
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2000

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References

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