Onset of tetrahedral interstitial formation in GaAsN alloys

Abstract

N incorporation mechanisms in GaAs1−xNx alloys are probed using combined experimental and computational Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and nuclear reaction analysis angular yield scans. For xN < 0.025, in addition to substitutional nitrogen, NAs, (N-N)As, and (N-As)As split-interstitials are observed. However, for xN ≥ 0.025, evidence for N tetrahedral interstitials, Ntetra, emerges. We propose a mechanism for stabilization of Ntetra in which the elastic interaction between Ntetra and NAs is induced by the opposite signs of their misfit volumes. This work opens opportunities for exploring the formation of Ntetra and its influence on the properties of a variety of highly mismatched alloys.