Nearest- and higher-neighbor distances as well as bond length distributions
(static and thermal) of the InxGa1-xAs (0 less than or equal tox less than
or equal to1) semiconductor alloys have been obtained from high-real-space
resolution atomic pair distribution functions. Using this structural infor
mation, we modeled the local atomic displacements in InxGa1-xAs alloys. Fro
m a supercell model based on the Kirkwood potential, we obtained three-dime
nsional As and (In,Ga) ensemble average probability distributions. These cl
early show that As atom displacements are highly directional and can be rep
resented as a combination of < 100 > and < 111 > displacements. Examination
of the Kirkwood model indicates that the standard deviation (sigma) of the
static disorder on the (In,Ga) sublattice is around 60% of the value on th
e As sublattice and the (In,Ga) atomic displacements are much more isotropi
c than those on the As sublattice. The single-crystal diffuse scattering ca
lculated from the Kirkwood model shows that atomic displacements are most s
trongly correlated along < 110 > directions.