Strain relaxation of compositionally graded InxGa1−xAs buffer layers for modulation-doped In0.3Ga0.7As/In0.29Al0.71As heterostructures

Modulation-doped In0.3Ga0.7As/In0.29Al0.71As heterostructures have been grown on GaAs substrates by molecular beam epitaxy using a compositionally step-graded InxGa1−xAs buffer layer. We found that the buffer layer produces essentially total relaxation with <2×106/cm2 dislocations present in the In0.3Ga0.7As layer. The structural perfection of this layer is reflected in the electrical and galvanomagnetic properties of its two-dimensional electron-gas channel which has a sheet-electron density of 1.2×1012/cm2, peak mobilities of 9 300 cm2/V s at room temperature and 31 000 cm2/V s at 77 K, and a mobility anisotropy of ∼4% along orthogonal 〈110〉 directions.