InGaAs/InP quantum wires grown by gas source molecular beam epitaxy onto V-grooved InP substrates with (111)A facet sidewalls

InGaAs/InP layers have been grown under optimized conditions by gas source molecular beam epitaxy on (100) InP substrates patterned with V grooves having (111)A facet sidewalls. Transmission electron microscopy shows that InGaAs/InP quantum wires are obtained with well thickness variation as high as a factor of 6 and that all epilayers are defect-free. Lateral subband separations are estimated by a simple one-dimensional parabolic potential model with the thickness determined by transmission electron microscopy. Photoluminescence from the InGaAs quantum wires is resolved with a selective etching technique. The quantum wire emission has a significant red shift compared to the adjacent quantum wells on the groove sidewalls and the (100) surface region between grooves. The red shift results from both the increased well thickness and compositional change due to adatom diffusion from sidewalls.