Light scattering and atomic force microscopy study of InAs island formation on InP

Some aspects of the morphology of InAs island formation on InP have been st udied by atomic force microscopy, photoluminescence, photoluminescence exci tation spectroscopy, and Raman scattering. The InAs layer is grown by chemi cal beam epitaxy on top of InP surfaces with sawtooth-like channels. The de position of a thin InAs layer results in quantum dots strongly aligned alon g the InP channels. Subsequent annealing in an arsenic atmosphere produces growth and loss of coherency of the islands. Atomic force microscopy shows the changes in size and alignment of the islands. Optical measurements serv e to give quantitative estimates of the strain distribution among the top o f the InP buffer layer, the wetting layer and the islands for the different ly treated samples. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(00) 02003-X].