STUDIES OF THE INITIAL-STAGES OF LIQUID-PHASE EPITAXY GROWTH OF INGAAS ON GAAS

A theoretical analysis of the nucleation kinetics of liquid phase epit axial (LPE) growth of InGaAs on GaAs was conducted using classical het erogeneous nucleation theory incorporating the lattice mismatch betwee n the alloy and the substrate. Non-equilibrium contact between the InG aAs ternary saturated liquid and GaAs substrate under isothermal condi tions was considered. The explicit expression for lattice mismatch ind uced supercooling for growth of the chosen system was established and used for evaluation of the nucleation parameters. It is proved theoret ically that the nucleation barrier for the formation of InyGa1-yAs on GaAs depends very strongly on the composition of the alloy. The condit ions for the growth of good quality InGaAs on GaAs and shown theoretic ally and these results are compared with experimental values.