X-ray standing wave studies of strained InxGa1-xAs/InP short-period superlattices

We report an x-ray standing wave (XSW) study on a set of structurally well-characterized InxGa1-xAs/InP short-period superlattices grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition and chemical-beam epitaxy techniques. It was possible to model the x-ray standing wave profiles only once the superlattice period has been assumed to be constituted by four layers of well-defined chemical composition [barrier (InP), first interface (InAs0.7P0.3), well (In0.53Ga0.47As), and second interface (In0.53Ga0.47As0.7P0.3)], and of variable thickness. The thickness of the four layers have been obtained by fitting the high resolution x-ray diffraction profiles of the heterostructures. The presence of partially disordered interface layers, as evidenced by a transmission electron microscopy study, causes a significant reduction of the coherent fraction, F, of both Ga and As atoms. The difference in F values among measured samples illustrates how the XSW can provide important information on the quality of semiconductor superlattices. Comparison with a "long period (160 Angstrom)" In0.53Ga0.47As/InP superlattice, where the role played by InAs0.7P0.3 and In0.53Ga0.47As0.7P0.3 interface layers is negligible, confirms this picture. The coherent fraction of both As and Ga correlates well with the average perpendicular lattice misfit determined by x-ray diffraction.