Surface size effect on the growth mode and morphology of InP epitaxial films

We have observed changes in the morphology of InP films grown in epiready a nd processed substrates. These changes are attributed to selective InP grow th in areas in the submicron range due to the presence of C-based selective micromasks. Analyzing the behavior of the height-height correlation functi on, we show that both the roughness exponent and the correlation length cha nges depending on the area in which growth is taking place. For small area surfaces the correlation length increases and the roughness exponent decrea ses, indicating enhanced adatom relaxation due to the presence of the borde rs of the finite growing areas. Nonlinear terms should he included in conti nuum models in order to explain the observed results.