Structural characterization of very thin GaInAs/InP quantum wells grown by atmospheric pressure organometallic vapor-phase epitaxy

Abstract

GaInAs/InP quantum wells have been grown on (001) InP substrates by atmospheric pressure organometallic vapor-phase epitaxy with well widths ranging from a few monolayers to 100 Å. The interface quality and the epilayer thickness were examined using x-ray diffraction spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The layers were found to be very uniform with both interfaces apparently free of defects. In addition, for a nominal 8 Å quantum well, a (110) high-resolution cross-sectional lattice image clearly shows the well thickness to be 2–3 monolayers, confirming that the growth rate obtained from thick layers is accurate for very short growth times. These results demonstrate that atmospheric pressure organometallic vapor-phase epitaxy can produce extremely thin GaInAs/InP quantum wells of a few monolayers.