The effect of rapid thermal annealing on a 10-layer InAs/In0.15Ga0.85As dots-in-a-well heterostructure was studied by using double crystal X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence. From the X-ray rocking curves obtained for symmetrical (004) and asymmetrical (224) scans, the change in the in-plane and out-of-plane lattice constant and average composition in the dots-in-a-well structure were calculated. Thermally induced strain relaxation, which led to enhanced In/Ga interdiffusion preferentially along the growth direction, was believed to be the main mechanism for the changes in the structural and optical properties of the sample. Excellent correlation was observed between the photoluminescence and the double crystal X-ray diffraction measurements.

Characterization of Rapid-Thermal-Annealed InAs/In0.15Ga0.85As Dots-In-Well Heterostructure using Double Crystal X-Ray Diffraction and Photoluminescence. S.Krishna, S.Raghavan, A.L.Gray, A.Stintz, K.J.Malloy: Applied Physics Letters, 2002, 80[21], 3898-900