title: Direct observation of spinodal decomposition phenomena in InAlN alloys during in-situ STEM heating.
abstract: The spinodal decomposition and thermal stability of thin In0.72Al0.28N layers and In0.72Al0.28N/AlN superlattices with AlN(0001) templates on Al2O3(0001) substrates was investigated by in-situ heating up to 900 °C. The thermally activated structural and chemical evolution was investigated in both plan-view and cross-sectional geometries by scanning transmission electron microscopy in combination with valence electron energy loss spectroscopy. The plan-view observations demonstrate evidence for spinodal decomposition of metastable In0.72Al0.28N after heating at 600 °C for 1 h. During heating compositional modulations in the range of 2-3 nm-size domains are formed, which coarsen with applied thermal budgets. Cross-sectional observations reveal that spinodal decomposition begin at interfaces and column boundaries, indicating that the spinodal decomposition has a surface-directed component.
authors.affiliation: Thin Film Physics Division, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Palisaitis
authors.affiliation: Thin Film Physics Division, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: C-L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Hsiao
authors.affiliation: Thin Film Physics Division, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hultman
authors.affiliation: Thin Film Physics Division, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Birch
authors.affiliation: Thin Film Physics Division, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: P O Å
authors.initials: PO
authors.lastname: Persson