Indium distribution in epitaxially grown InGaN layers analyzed by transmission electron microscopy

An overview is given about microstructure and composition analyses of InGaN quantum wells embedded in Ga(Al)N barriers to study the mechanisms which determine the In distribution in epitaxially grown InGaN layers. The applied technique is transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The main prerequisite for this work was the development of a technique based on high-resolution lattice fringe images that allows quantitative chemical analyses of InGaN on an atomic scale. A large variety of samples was investigated that were produced by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE). The effect of the deposition temperature, growth rate, strain and high-temperature annealing treatments on the average In concentration and In distribution was studied to assess the influence of phase separation, In surface segregation and In desorption. Composition fluctuations in InGaN are always observed on two different lateral scales independent of the growth technique and particular set of growth parameters but the strength of the composition fluctuations can be influenced by the details of the growth. (orig.)