Relationship between self-organization and size of InAs islands on InP(001) grown by gas-source molecular beam epitaxy

Abstract

Using the strained‐induced 2D–3D transition, InAs dots have been grown on InP(001) and examined by transmission electron microscopy. Two different modes of island size and spatial distribution have been identified. For deposit of 1.5 and 1.8 monolayers, the islands are about 7 nm high and randomly distributed. Above 2 monolayers, they are about five times smaller in volume and locally self‐organized, with a typical distance of 40 nm independent of the island density. It is suggested that the strong dependence of the island size on the total amount of deposited InAs is mainly due to long range interactions through the substrate.