Study of the spontaneous alignment of InAs quantum dots along the surface steps as a function of the InAs coverage

• Published in: Thin solid films Vol. 410; no. 1; pp. 188 - 193
• Main Authors: da Silva, M.J., Quivy, A.A., González-Borrero, P.P., Marega, E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lausanne Elsevier B.V 01.05.2002; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Atomic force microscopy (AFM); Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Exact sciences and technology; Indium arsenide; Materials science; Methods of deposition of films and coatings; film growth and epitaxy; Molecular beam epitaxy (MBE); Molecular, atomic, ion, and chemical beam epitaxy; Nanoscale materials and structures: fabrication and characterization; Nanostructures; Physics; Atomic force microscopy (AFM); Nanostructures; Molecular beam epitaxy (MBE); Indium arsenide; Inorganic compounds; Quantum dots; Surfaces; Crystal growth from vapors; Step; Experimental study; Indium arsenides; Alignment; Self organization; Nonmetals; Molecular beam epitaxy; III-V semiconductors
• ISSN: 0040-6090; 1879-2731
• DOI: 10.1016/S0040-6090(02)00256-0

The evolution of InAs quantum dots (QDs) deposited on GaAs (001) was investigated in a continuous and unambiguous way as a function of the InAs coverage. Taking advantage of the intrinsic non-uniformity of the In flux in the molecular beam epitaxy system, a single sample was grown where the amount of InAs material varied in a monotonic way along the sample area. High-quality atomic force microscopy (AFM) images showed a saturation of the number of QDs nucleated out of the surface steps as the system evolved and confirmed that QDs can be effectively aligned along the surface steps up to the highest densities, which is an important subject for device application.