Investigation of the critical layer thickness in elastically strained InGaAs/GaAlAs quantum wells by photoluminescence and transmission electron microscopy
- 2 January 1989
- journal article
- Published by AIP Publishing in Applied Physics Letters
- Vol. 54 (1) , 48-50
- https://doi.org/10.1063/1.100830
Abstract
We have studied strained InGaAs quantum wells with GaAlAs barriers, grown by molecular beam epitaxy, varying In content and well thickness. Photoluminescence measurements were made at 12 K. The appearance of a characteristic additional exciton-like photoluminescence peak indicates the transition between elastically strained and relaxed layers. This transition was also observed by the occurrence of misfit dislocations in the corresponding transmission electron microsope (TEM) images. Layer thicknesses and In content were also determined by TEM. The results give a critical layer thickness of 29±0.5 nm at an In content of 32±2%. This value lies about a factor of 3–4 above the critical layer thickness calculated by Matthews and Blakeslee [J. Cryst. Growth 27, 118 (1974)].Keywords
This publication has 7 references indexed in Scilit:
- Photoluminescence in strained InGaAs-GaAs heterostructuresJournal of Applied Physics, 1987
- Optical investigation of highly strained InGaAs-GaAs multiple quantum wellsJournal of Applied Physics, 1987
- Strain effects in InGaAs/HaAs superlatticesSolid State Communications, 1987
- Van der Waals Potentials of 4He Derived from Adsorption IsothermsJapanese Journal of Applied Physics, 1987
- Optical characterization of pseudomorphic InxGa1−xAs–GaAs single-quantum-well heterostructuresJournal of Applied Physics, 1986
- Material parameters of In1−xGaxAsyP1−y and related binariesJournal of Applied Physics, 1982
- Defects in epitaxial multilayersJournal of Crystal Growth, 1974