Effects of substrate miscut on threading dislocation distribution in metamorphic GaInAs/AlInAs buffers

Metamorphic GaInAs/AlInAs buffers with a total mismatch of 2 % with respect to GaAs have been grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition on GaAs substrates with miscuts of 2°, 7° and 15° toward (111)A. The buffer grown on 2° miscut substrate exhibits a dislocation pile-up formation which increases the threading dislocation density greatly. However, using 7° and 15° off substrates eliminates the dislocation pile-up and decreases the dislocation density by an order of magnitude compared with that on the 2° substrate miscut, and the best crystalline quality of buffer is obtained on the 15° substrate miscut. Experimental results show that the buffers grown on the 7° and 15° miscut substrate exhibit shallower trenches on the surface and a weaker strain field in the InGaAs cap layers, and these help to suppress the occurrence of dislocation pile-up, leading to a lower threading dislocation density.