Segregation and interdiffusion of In atoms in GaAs/InAs/GaAs heterostructures

The segregation and interdiffusion of In atoms in the GaAs/InAs/GaAs heterostructures were investigated by secondary-ion mass spectroscopy. When the 1-ML-thick InAs layer was grown in a layer-by-layer growth mode with no dislocations, the segregation of In atoms became marked with the increase of the growth temperature. However, the segregation was observed even at a relatively low growth temperature of 400 °C in molecular beam epitaxy. It was found that the segregation was markedly enhanced by dislocations near the heterointerface when thick InAs layers were grown in a three-dimensional island growth mode. The interdiffusion of In atoms toward the growth direction occurred after thermal annealing, which could be assisted by vacancies propagating from the film surface into the epilayer. It became apparent that the interdiffusion was effectively suppressed by a thin AlAs layer inserted in the GaAs cap layer.