Impact of the Ga/In ratio on the N incorporation into (In,Ga)(As,N) quantum dots

In this work, we demonstrate the dependence of the nitrogen incorporation on the Ga/In content into (In,Ga)(As,N) quantum dots (QDs) grown on GaAs (100) by radio-frequency plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Morphological analysis by atomic force microscopy and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy, together with an estimation of the transition thickness, monitored in situ during the growth, predict a maximum in the N incorporation for 30% Ga content. This result is confirmed by photoluminescence measurements of the as-grown and post-growth annealed samples. We attribute this behavior to a trade off between two mechanisms depending on the Ga/In content: one related to the stability of the Ga-N bond, and the other related to the surface strain and/or In segregation. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4706559]