Equilibrium shapes and energies of coherent strained InP islands

The equilibrium shapes and energies of coherent strained InP islands grown on GaP have been investigated with a hybrid approach that has been previously applied to InAs islands on GaAs. This combines calculations of the surface energies by density-functional theory and the bulk deformation energies by continuum elasticity theory. The calculated equilibrium shapes for different chemical environments exhibit the 101, 111, 111 facets and a (001) top surface. They compare quite well with recent atomic-force microscopy data. Thus in the InP/GaInP system a considerable equilibration of the individual islands with respect to their shapes can be achieved. We discuss the implications of our results for the Ostwald ripening of the coherent InP islands.