Atomic-scale characterization of (mostly zincblende) compound semiconductor heterostructures

This paper provides an overview of our recent atomic-scale studies of semiconductor heterostructures, based primarily on combinations of zincblende compound materials grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Interfacial strain due to lattice mismatch inevitably causes growth defects to be introduced. Analysis of defect type and distribution using image filtering allows residual strain to be estimated. Exploratory investigations using aberration-corrected electron microscopy, which enables individual atomic columns to be resolved, are also described.