Ultrashort-period lateral composition modulation in TlInGaAsN/TlInP structures

We prepared TlInGaAsN/TlInP quantum well structures using gas source molecular-beam epitaxy and characterized them by means of transmission electron microscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy. It was found that naturally formed vertical quantum wells, so-called lateral composition modulation (LCM), with a periodicity of ∼ 1 nm are formed in TlInGaAsN layers. We discuss their formation process using a simple kinetic Ising model for layer-by-layer growth, and point out that the formation of ultrashort-period LCM is a universal phenomenon in most of epitaxially grown III-V semiconductor alloys.