Fully strained layers of GaInP on InP, which were significantly thicker than the theoretical critical value, were grown by means of metalorganic molecular beam epitaxy. It was suggested that the excess strain energy of these layers was accommodated by long-line defects which were observed via atomic force microscopy. The thickness at which these long-line defects appeared was about 4 times the Matthews-Blakeslee critical thickness. The partial relaxation was measured, using X-ray techniques, to be about 14 times the theoretical critical thickness.

Strain Relief by Long Line Defects in Tensile GaxIn1–xP Layers Grown on InP Substrates. M.Kahn, D.Ritter: Applied Physics Letters, 2001, 79[18], 2928-30