Visualizing period fluctuations in strained-layer superlattices with scanning tunneling microscopy

We show how cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) may be used to accurately map the period fluctuations throughout epitaxial, strained-layer superlattices based on the InAs/InAsSb and InGaAs/InAlAs material systems. The concept, analogous to Bragg's law in high-resolution x-ray diffraction, relies on an analysis of the [001]-convolved reciprocal-space satellite peaks obtained from discrete Fourier transforms of individual STM images. Properly implemented, the technique enables local period measurements that reliably discriminate vertical fluctuations localized to within ∼5 superlattice repeats along the [001] growth direction and orthogonal, lateral fluctuations localized to within ∼40 nm along   directions in the growth plane. While not as accurate as x-ray, the inherent, single-image measurement error associated with the method may be made as small as 0.1%, allowing the vertical or lateral period fluctuations contributing to inhomogeneous energy broadening and carrier localization in t...