Relaxation mechanism of GaP grown on 001 Si substrates: influence of defects on the growth of AlGaP layers on GaP/Si templates

The mechanical stability of commercial GaP/Si templates during thermal annealing and subsequent growth GaP AlGaP using metal-organic chemical-vapour deposition is investigated. Although the as-grown layer template originally presents an excellent surface morphology, at temperatures between 645 ∘C to 845 remove native oxide prior leads plastic relaxation, accompanied by a variety defects, including dense grid micro-twins. These micro-twins detrimentally affect layers grown subsequently on template.