Influence of substrate-induced misfit stresses on the miscibility gap in epitaxial layers: Application to III-V alloys

Abstract
We have examined the influence of the substrate on the stability with respect to decomposition of thin epitaxial layers. We show that the misfit stresses induced by the substrate can interact strongly with the coherency strains engendered by composition fluctuations. This interaction may lead to changes in the critical temperature of several hundred degrees as compared to predictions that consider the coherency strains alone. Results are applied to a III‐V pseudobinary alloy that permit experimental confirmation.