The efficacy of strained layer threading dislocation filter structures in single crystal epitaxial layers is evaluated using numerical modeling for (001) face-centred cubic materials, such as GaAs or Si(1-x)Ge(x), and (0001) hexagonal materials such
as GaN. We find that threading dislocation densities decay exponentially as a function of the strain relieved, irrespective of the fraction of threading dislocations that are mobile. Reactions between threading dislocations tend to produce a population that is a balanced mixture of mobile and sessile in (001) cubic materials. In contrast, mobile threading dislocations tend to be lost very rapidly in (0001) GaN, often with little or no reduction in the immobile dislocation density. The capture radius for threading dislocation interactions is estimated to be approx. 40nm using cross section transmission electron microscopy of dislocation filtering structures in GaAs monolithically grown on Si. We find that the minimum threading dislocation density that can be obtained in any given structure is likely to be limited by kinetic effects to approx. 1.0e+04 to 1.0e+05 per square cm.
The advantages of convergent beam electron diffraction for symmetry determination at the scale of a few nm are well known. In practice, the approach is often limited due to the restriction on the angular range of the electron beam imposed by the smal
l Bragg angle for high energy electron diffraction, i.e. a large convergence angle of the incident beam results in overlapping information in the diffraction pattern. Techniques have been generally available since the 1980s which overcome this restriction for individual diffracted beams, by making a compromise between illuminated area and beam convergence. Here, we describe a simple technique which overcomes all of these problems using computer control, giving electron diffraction data over a large angular range for many diffracted beams from the volume given by a focused electron beam (typically a few nm or less). The increase in the amount of information significantly improves ease of interpretation and widens the applicability of the technique, particularly for thin materials or those with larger lattice parameters.
