Hybrid epitaxy technique for the growth of high-quality AlInAs and GaInAs layers on InP substrates

The quality and properties of epitaxial films are strongly determined by the reactor type and the precursor source phase. Such parameters can impose limitations in terms of background doping, interface sharpness, clustering, phase separation, and homogeneity. The authors have implemented a hybrid epitaxy technique that employs, simultaneously, vapor and solid sources as group III precursors. The system combines the high throughput and the versatility of gas sources as well as the high purity of solid sources. Using this technique, the authors successfully demonstrated epitaxial growth of Al0.48In0.52As and Ga0.47In0.53As layers on Fe-doped semi-insulating InP (001) substrates with interesting properties, compared with the epilayers grown by more standard techniques (chemical beam epitaxy, metal-organic chemical vapor deposition, and MBE). For AlInAs growth, trimethylindium and solid aluminum were used as In and Al precursors, respectively. In the case of GaInAs, triethylgallium and solid indium were used,...