Controllable antiphase domain density in dilute nitride GaPN/GaP heterostructures on silicon

Formation and propagation of the antiphase domains in dilute nitride GaPN/GaP epitaxial heterostructures grown on Si (001) by plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PA-MBE) on silicon is studied. Role of the layer composition, substrate orientation and growth conditions are discussed. Composition of the dilute nitride film was studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) while the effect of the antiphase disorder in GaP buffer layer on GaPN epilayer structural properties was studied by transmission electron (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Controllable transition between antiphase disordered and monodomain film depending on the concentration of incorporated nitrogen is demonstrated – transition to the monodomain film occurs in dilute nitride GaPN layers starting low with 0.4% of incorporated nitrogen. Control of the antiphase disorder allows to tune mean film polarity and second order nonlinear optical response of III-phosphide heterostructures.