Growth of InP islands on LaF3/InP(111)B heterostructures by molecular beamepitaxy

InP islands have been grown on LaF3/InP(111) heterostructures by molecular beam epitaxy. The InP islands have been imaged by atomic force microscopy a nd scanning electron microscopy and are observed to be faceted with three-f old symmetry as expected for (111) orientation High-resolution X-ray diffra ction shows that the LaF3 substrate layer is a high quality epitaxial film. A small broadening of the InP substrate diffraction peak is interpreted as being due to inhomogeneous strain associated with the InP islands and diff erential thermal contraction of the LaF3 film during cooling.