Growth and characterization of Al1−yInyAs/Ga1−xInxAs strained multiple quantum wells

Highly strained Al1−yInyAs/Ga1−xInxAs multiple quantum wells have been grown by atomic layer molecular beam epitaxy on [001]-GaAs substrates. Raman scattering and x-ray diffraction techniques have been used to determine layer composition and strain for a wide range of In concentration (0≤x≤0.44). When a thick buffer layer of AlInAs is used, commensurate growth of the quantum wells takes place if the In content of the barriers equals that of the buffer layer. Then the strain is only accumulated in the wells. The GaInAs wells can be either under biaxial tension or compression depending on the relative In content in wells and barriers.