Nanoscale Nucleation and Growth of Non-Stoichiometric V-Shaped InP Defect in Heterogeneous InGaAsP/InP Array

Nanotechnology is a broad field that involves the manipulation of atoms and molecules. For nanophotonics, defect formation in nanostructured compound semiconductor system is of great technological interest. In this paper, we study the nanoscale nucleation and growth of V-shaped defect in the heterogeneous InGaAsP/InP array. We have observed that the nucleation originated from the phosphorus-deficient disordering that was likely induced by reactive ion etching. During the nucleation, the phosphorus-deficient In 1+x P 1-x compound was developed at the trench. The triangular nano-precipitates of In 1+x P 1-x with sizes of 20-30nm were formed. The ratio of In to P in the non-stoichiometric compound was higher in the upper portion of the V-defect, likely due to antisite defect mechanism. During the defect growth process, the phosphorus-deficient nucleation site expanded to form open, inverted pyramid with sidewalls following the crystallographic planes.