Short-range order in III-V ternary alloy semiconductors

Atom arrangements in III-V ternary alloy semiconductors are discussed using a thermodynamic analysis in which the elastic strain caused by mixing is considered as the mixing enthalpy. In calculating the strain energy, both bond-stretching and bond-angle distortion are taken into account, and Martin’s microscopic elastic constants are used. The results show that there is a preference for ordering but not for clustering in III-V ternary alloy semiconductors. Values of short-range order parameters which represent the degree of ordering are obtained for several alloy semiconductors.