InAs migration on released, wrinkled InGaAs membranes used as virtual substrate

Abstract

Partly released, relaxed and wrinkled InGaAs membranes are used as virtual substrates for overgrowth with InAs. Such samples exhibit different lattice parameters for the unreleased epitaxial parts, the released flat, back-bond areas and the released wrinkled areas. A large InAs migration towards the released membrane is observed with a material accumulation on top of the freestanding wrinkles during overgrowth. A semi-quantitative analysis of the misfit strain shows that the material migrates to the areas of the sample with the lowest misfit strain, which we consider as the areas of the lowest chemical potential of the surface. Material migration is also observed for the edge-supported, freestanding InGaAs membranes found on these samples. Our results show that the released, wrinkled nanomembranes offer a growth template for InAs deposition that fundamentally changes the migration behavior of the deposited material on the growth surface.