The morphological and compositional evolution of {105}-bounded SiGe nanoripples on groove-patterned Si(1 1 10) substrates is reported for varying groove widths. Enhanced Si-Ge intermixing between the nanoripples and the groove sidewalls is interpreted as the driving force for the observed increase of the ripple volume with decreasing groove width and for the reduction of the total number of ripples. Finite element simulations reveal that the enhanced intermixing arises from the minimization of the total energy density of the ripples. Our experiments and modeling suggest a direct route for controlling the composition of the nanoripples.
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