Evolution of surface topography during metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy of InP/InGaAs/InP quantum well heterostructures

Abstract
The evolution of surfacetopography during epitaxialgrowth of lattice matched InP/InGaAs/InP on (100) InP substrate is observed using in situelasticlight scattering supported by ex situatomic force microscopy. A topographically smooth growth transition from InP to InGaAs is observed. However, the InP‐on‐InGaAs interface exhibits three‐dimensional nucleation followed by planarization and two‐dimensional epitaxy. The three‐dimensional phase is a result of the high surface energy of InP relative to InGaAs. A growth pause after the InGaAsQW increases the transient roughness of the InPsurface and increases the thickness of InP required for planarization.