Tilted epitaxy on (211)-oriented substrates

Spontaneous tilting of lattice mismatched epilayers grown on (211)-oriented substrates has been observed in numerous systems in literature. Here, we have examined a model system, GaSb/Si(211), with two dimensional X-ray diffraction and conventional transmission electron microscopy, and developed a universal model which explains the origin of the tilt phenomenon as the minimization of projected lattice mismatch for low-index planes across the film/substrate interface. The model developed predicts the tilt for lattice mismatches in the range of 0%-20% covering most semiconductor heteroepitaxial systems. (C) 2013 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4799278]