DOUBLE-CRYSTAL AND TRIPLE-CRYSTAL X-RAY-DIFFRACTION ANALYSIS OF SEMICONDUCTOR QUANTUM WIRES

In this work we show the potential of high-resolution x-ray diffractometry for the non-destructive investigation of nanostructures and low-dimensional semiconductor systems. A characterization of the geometrical and structural properties of corrugated semiconductor surfaces (crystalline surface gratings) and semiconductor quantum wires is presented. Double-crystal and triple-crystal x-ray diffraction measurements and reciprocal-space mapping are used in order to determine the geometrical parameters such as the wire periodicity, width and height and the corrugation profile as well as the strain status of quantum wires.