Metallic AsSb nanoinclusions strongly enriched by Sb in AlGaAsSb metamaterial

Abstract

We have elucidated the microstructure of Al0.28Ga0.72As0.972Sb0.028 metamaterial containing a developed array of AsSb nanoinclusions. The AlGaAsSb films were grown by low-temperature molecular-beam epitaxy followed by high-temperature postgrowth thermal treatment. The process resulted in an array of self-organized AsSb nanoinclusions with an average diameter of 15 nm (after annealing at 750 °C), which occupied about 0.003 of the volume of the crystalline AlGaAsSb matrix. The nanoinclusions were found to have an A7-type rhombohedral microstructure and contained a very high concentration of antimony that exceeded 90%, whereas the Sb content in the AlGaAsSb matrix was 2.8 at. %. The strong enrichment of the inclusion with Sb resulted from the local thermodynamic equilibrium between the solid AlGaAsSb matrix and the As0.1Sb0.9 inclusions that became liquid at an annealing temperature of 750 °C. The inclusion-matrix orientation relationship was established to be (003)p || {111}m and [2 ̄ 110] p || «220»m, similar to that for pure As precipitates in low-temperature grown GaAs despite a rather large difference in particle lattice constants and the c/a ratio. The increased inclusion-matrix lattice mismatch resulted in the generation of (001) prismatic dislocation loops associated with the inclusions bigger than 8.5 nm in diameter. The Burgers vector of the dislocation was determined as b = amatrix[001]. The established microstructural and compositional features create an opportunity to specify plasmonic resonance conditions in the low-temperature grown AlGaAsSb metamaterial.