DYNAMICS OF SELECTIVE METALORGANIC VAPOR-PHASE EPITAXY GROWTH FOR GAAS/ALGAAS MICRO-PYRAMIDS

We have studied the dynamics of selective area metalorganic vapor phase epitaxial (MOVPE) growth for the fabrication of high-quality GaAs/AlGaAs micro-pyramids on masked (001) GaAs substrates. The growth rates are estimated from the cross-sectional observation of micro-pyramidal structures with a scanning electron microscope (SEM), and photoluminescence (PL) spectra of quantum wells (QWs) fabricated near the top of the pyramids. It is found that the growth rate during the formation of the pyramidal structures depends strongly on the effective area of the surface on which growth takes place preferentially. Our results indicate that it is important to investigate this detailed behavior during selective growth and, in a phenomenological sense, growth behavior in the macroscopic regime can be utilized for the precise control of the nano-structure fabrication.