InGaAs nanodomains formed in situ on the surface of (Al,Ga)As

A new method for obtaining InGaAs nanodomains on the surface of GaAs or (Al,Ga)As is suggested. At the first stage, an InGaAs layer with a thickness above the critical value for dislocation formation is deposited onto the substrate surface by metalorganic CVD. Then the InGaAs film is coated with a thin AlAs layer and annealed at an elevated temperature. The “repulsion” of AlAs from plastically relaxed regions near dislocations and the high temperature stability of AlAs result in that evaporation is restricted to the regions containing defects. The self-organization effects favor the formation of an ordered array of coherent nanodomains that can be used for obtaining buried low-dimensional nanostructures and/or nanoheteroepitaxial inclusions.