ANALYSIS OF DARK-LINE DEFECT GROWTH SUPPRESSION IN INXGA1-XAS GAAS STRAINED HETEROSTRUCTURES/

The driving force of [100] dark-line defect (DLD) climbing growth base d on vacancy unsaturation is discussed. In InxGa1-xAs/GaAs strained st ructures, it is found that compressive strain can reduce the osmotic ( climb) force and can suppress the climb of DLDs in [100] direction. Th e percentage of indium in InxGa1-xAs/GaAs strained heterostructures fo r the suppression of [100] DLD propagation is calculated under differe nt material growth temperatures and doping levels, For an n-type dopin g level higher than 5x10(16) cm(-3), an indium percentage less than ap proximately 9% in InxGa1-xAs/GaAs heterostructures is sufficient to st op the [100] DLDs growth and agrees well with the experimental observa tion, These results are useful for the design and fabrication of high reliability strained heterostructure devices. (C) 1997 American Instit ute of Physics.