HIGH-RESOLUTION X-RAY DIFFRACTION INVESTIGATIONS OF THE STRAINS IN GAINAS/GAAS MULTILAYER NANOSTRUCTURES

V.P.Mkrtchyan, A. P.Aivazyan and V.S.Harutyunyan

Department of Solid State Physics of Yerevan State University, Al.Manukyan 1, 375049 Yerevan, Armenia
E-mail: vmkrtchyan@ndu.am, vmkrtch@www.physdep.r.am

Keywords: multilayer, X-ray diffraction, lattice strain

In this work GaInAs/GaAs periodic multilayer nanostructures grown by molecular beam epitaxy on [001] - oriented GaAs substrates are investigated by X-ray diffraction. The content of In in layers is about 20 percent. GaInAs and GaAs layers in structures have the thicknesses of 18nm and 16nm respectively. A small value of the multilayer structures period enabled us to use in our investigations conventional X-ray power diffractometer (this approach is well justified in [1]). With use of double-crystal diffraction scheme the rocking curves of the (004) and (224) reflections were measured in theta-two theta mode. On the basis of theoretical analysis of these rocking curves the period and both parallel and perpendicular components of the lattice strain of multilayer structures were determined. We have also performed temperature - dependent measurements (in the temperature interval from room temperature up to 100⁰C ) in order to study the thermal strains in structures.

1. U.Pietsch, Proceed. of 3-rd Int. Aut. School on X-Ray Scat. From Surface and Thin Layers, Smolenice (Slovakia),1997, p.