title: Nanoscopy of Phase Separation in InxGa1-xN Alloys.
abstract: Phase separations in ternary/multinary semiconductor alloys is a major challenge that limits optical and electronic internal device efficiency. We have found ubiquitous local phase separation in In1-xGaxN alloys that persists to nanoscale spatial extent by employing high-resolution nanoimaging technique. We lithographically patterned InN/sapphire substrates with nanolayers of In1-xGaxN down to few atomic layers thick that enabled us to calibrate the near-field infrared response of the semiconductor nanolayers as a function of composition and thickness. We also developed an advanced theoretical approach that considers the full geometry of the probe tip and all the sample and substrate layers. Combining experiment and theory, we identified and quantified phase separation in epitaxially grown individual nanoalloys. We found that the scale of the phase separation varies widely from particle to particle ranging from all Ga- to all In-rich regions and covering everything in between. We have found that between 20 and 25% of particles show some level of Ga-rich phase separation over the entire sample region, which is in qualitative agreement with the known phase diagram of In1-xGaxN system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Georgia State University , Atlanta, Georgia 30303, United States.|Center for Nano-Optics (CeNO), Georgia State University , Atlanta, Georgia 30303, United States.
authors.forename: Yohannes
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Abate
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Georgia State University , Atlanta, Georgia 30303, United States.|Center for Nano-Optics (CeNO), Georgia State University , Atlanta, Georgia 30303, United States.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Seidlitz
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Georgia State University , Atlanta, Georgia 30303, United States.|Center for Nano-Optics (CeNO), Georgia State University , Atlanta, Georgia 30303, United States.
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fali
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Georgia State University , Atlanta, Georgia 30303, United States.|Center for Nano-Optics (CeNO), Georgia State University , Atlanta, Georgia 30303, United States.
authors.forename: Sampath
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gamage
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Georgia State University , Atlanta, Georgia 30303, United States.|Center for Nano-Optics (CeNO), Georgia State University , Atlanta, Georgia 30303, United States.
authors.forename: Viktoriia
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Babicheva
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Georgia State University , Atlanta, Georgia 30303, United States.|Center for Nano-Optics (CeNO), Georgia State University , Atlanta, Georgia 30303, United States.
authors.forename: Vladislav S
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Yakovlev
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Georgia State University , Atlanta, Georgia 30303, United States.|Center for Nano-Optics (CeNO), Georgia State University , Atlanta, Georgia 30303, United States.
authors.forename: Mark I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Stockman
authors.affiliation: Material Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University , Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States.
authors.forename: Ramon
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Collazo
authors.affiliation: Material Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University , Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States.
authors.forename: Dorian
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Alden
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Georgia State University , Atlanta, Georgia 30303, United States.|Center for Nano-Optics (CeNO), Georgia State University , Atlanta, Georgia 30303, United States.
authors.forename: Nikolaus
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dietz
keywords: composition profile; indium gallium nitride alloys; nanospectroscopy; near-field; phase separation semiconductors