The interdependency of morphology, strain and composition in buried GeSi/Si(001) quantum dots

Abstract

The deposition of Ge onto Si leads to the epitaxial growth of islands with varying morphologies. The size, shape and composition of the islands are all interdependent and change continuously during growth and overgrowth of the islands. A model of the morphological changes is presented that explains various shape changes observed during overgrowth by taking into account a dynamic equilibrium between the islands, the substrate and the wetting layers.

Keywords:

• quantum dot
• shape transformation
• Stranski–Krastanov growth

Acknowledgements

C.L. would like to thank F.M. Ross and S. Kodambaka for their kind support in performing the in situ TEM experiments and acquiring the TEM images shown in Figure 1.