Transmission electron microscopy study of GaInNAs(Sb) thin films grown by atomic hydrogen-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

The quaternary GaInNAs is a promising material system for use in next generation multijunction photovoltaic devices. We have investigated the effect of introducing antimony on the growth by using transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) spectroscopy. Two-dimensional growth was observed in GaInNAs films with striation features associated with compositional fluctuation and nanometer scale elemental segregation on the growth front. On the contrary, GaInNAsSb films exhibit uniform contrast throughout. EDX profile indicates uniform compositional distribution, as antimony atoms suppress the surface mobilites of adatoms resulting in a lower probability to generate the favored bonds, such as Ga-N and In-As. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3660232]