In situ area-controlled self-ordering of InAs nanostructures

Real-time control of self-organized growth of InAs nanostructures has been achieved by employing epitaxial stationary shadow masks in a molecular-beam-epitaxy process. The method is based on the surface diffusion of group-III adatoms governed by the group-V surface concentration. Lateral control is achieved by the geometry of the mask and the incidence angles of the molecular beams. We apply the method to self-organized growth of nanoscale InAs quantum structures at the edge of the incidence region of the arsenic beam. The high quality of the in situ fabricated nanostructures is confirmed by bright cathodoluminescence of InAs quantum wire embedded in GaAs barriers.