Dependence on the growth direction of the strain in AlGaSb alloys

Abstract

High resolution x-ray diffraction profiles were obtained from AlxGa1-xSb layers grown on (001) and (111) GaSb substrates. The out of plane lattice parameter, was estimated directly from the symmetrical diffractions for (001) and (111) alloys. These results show that all the layers are strained, and those grown on (001) GaSb are slightly more strained than the corresponding layers grown on (111) GaSb. This difference is explained by the dependence of the strain ratio on growth direction. The out of plane lattice parameter as a function of Al content is higher than the corresponding bulk lattice parameter of AlxGa1-xSb layers obtained with Vegard’s law. Also, the perpendicular and the in-plane lattice parameter expected for pseudomorphic alloys, was estimated from the strain ratios, assuming an elastic deformation and using the EDX alloy composition to interpolate the elastic constants Cij. This estimation also shows that almost all the layers are fully strained.