The effect of strain upon the stability of various surface reconstructions on (001) was investigated by using density-functional calculations. The effects of isotropic and anisotropic tensile and compressive strains were investigated, and were presented as equilibrium phase diagrams. It was found that the range of stability of any reconstruction could be significantly altered. Thus, a reconstruction which was unstable in an unstrained system could be stabilized upon applying an external strain. For instance, growth on (4 x 2) often led to poor-quality films and this was attributed to excess In atoms on the surface. The present calculations suggested that, under tensile strain, the β2(4 x 2) reconstruction was stable under more As-rich conditions; thus making it less likely that In droplets would form on the In-terminated surface.

Strain-Induced Change in Surface Reconstructions for InAs(001). C.Ratsch: Physical Review B, 2001, 63[16], 161306 (4pp)