Influence of thermal annealing duration of buffer layer on the crystalline quality of In0.82Ga0.18As grown on InP substrate by LP-MOCVD

In_0.82Ga_0.18As epilayers were grown on InP substrates using a two-step growth technique by LP-MOCVD. A homogeneous low-temperature (450 °C) In_0.82Ga_0.18As buffer layer was introduced to improve the crystalline quality of epilayers. The influence of low-temperature buffer layer deposition condition, such as thermal annealing duration, on the crystalline quality of the In_0.82Ga_0.18As epilayer was investigated. Double-crystal X-ray diffraction measurement, Hall measurement, and Raman scattering spectrum were used to evaluate the In_0.82Ga_0.18As epilayers. Atomic force microscope was used to study the surface morphology. It is found that the In_0.82Ga_0.18As epilayer, with buffer layer thermal annealing for 5 min, exhibits the best crystalline quality. The change of the surface morphology of the buffer layer after thermal annealing treatment was suggested to explain the phenomenon.