Stress effects on III-V solid-liquid equilibria

The general equations that govern the equilibrium of a stressed III-V ternary compound with a melt are derived and applied to the case of liquid-phase epitaxy. The stresses are analyzed in detail and the thin-film approximation is assessed. The deviations of the solid and liquid compositions from their phase diagram values are obtained in the vicinity of the solid composition that gives lattice matching with the substrate. A quantity Q is defined that can be used as an index of the magnitude of the stress effect (sometimes called lattice pulling). The intrinsic properties and growth conditions that may affect Q are discussed.