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A system composed of a double layer of stacked quantum dots (QDs) of (In,Ga)As and Ga(Sb,As) was investigated by quantitative high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The layers were grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition on a GaAs substrate. The strain field of the lower quantum dots determines the nucleation in the subsequent layer. Investigating this effect, the strain field as well as the composition could be measured at high resolution. Local changes of lattice distances could be quantified with a precision of 0.003nm. The error in determining the local composition inside the InxGa1−xAs resp., GaSbyAs1−y QDs amounts to ΔxIn=0.02 and ΔySb=0.03.

The formation of GaSb quantum dots in a GaAs matrix in the Stranski–Krastanow growth mode under metalorganic chemical vapor deposition conditions is investigated. Transmission electron microscopical images and photoluminescence measurements show the islands to nucleate during the GaSb deposition and to grow subsequently by mass transfer from the two-dimensional wetting layer. The evolving surface morphology indicates local equilibria between quantum dots and the surrounding wetting layer regions.

Many-particle effects are investigated in the photoluminescence of type II GaSb/GaAs quantum dots (QDs). With increasing excitation density, i.e., exciton occupation, the photoluminescence shows first a blueshift and then saturates developing a plateau region. The peculiar behavior is attributed to Coulomb charging and state filling of the localized holes to dominate the many-particle regime. A high temperature stability makes the GaSb/GaAs QDs suitable for room-temperature devices.

Ordering of Cu and In atoms in near-stoichiometric CuInS2 epitaxial films grown on Si (111) by molecular beam epitaxy was studied by transmission electron microscopy. Nonchalcopyrite ordering of the metal atoms in CuInS2 is observed, which is identified as CuAu-type ordering. Sharp spots in electron diffraction patterns reveal the ordered Cu and In atom planes alternating along the [001] direction over a long range. High-resolution electron microscopy confirms this ordering. The CuAu-ordered structure coexists with the chalcopyrite ordered structure, in agreement with theoretical prediction.

CdSe quantum dots on ZnSe, grown by molecular beam epitaxy and formed during reorganization of an initially uniform film by thermal activation, are microstructurally elucidated in cross section and plan view, using transmission electron microscopy. In diffraction contrast, an almost uniform wetting layer is clearly visible. Dark contrast features with a distinctly larger extension into growth direction mark the location of quantum dots. Individual quantum dots can be identified in high-resolution imaging both by lattice expansion and contrasts arising from their strain fields. Plan-view images show the coexistence of two classes of quantum dots with an average lateral size of ⩽10 nm (area density 100 μm−2) and 10–50 nm (20 μm−2), respectively. The shape of the larger entities is pyramidlike.

InAlN thin films grown on GaN/Al2O3 (0001) templates by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy were studied by transmission electron microscopy techniques. V-defects in the form of hexagonal inverted pyramids with {101¯1} sidewalls were observed on the films’ surfaces linked to the termination of threading dislocations. Their origin is explained by the different surface atom mobility of In and Al and the built-in strain relaxation. Indium segregation in the films is influenced by the formation of V-defects, the edges and the apexes of which function as paths of migrating indium atoms diffusing along nanopipes formed at the open-core threading dislocations.

A mechanism for compositional modulations in InxAl1−xN films is described which considers growth kinetics during molecular beam epitaxy. InAlN crystalline films with various indium contents, grown on GaN or AlN buffer layers to create a variation in lattice mismatch conditions, were studied by transmission electron microscopy. Films comprise of columnar domains which are observed regardless of mismatch, with increasing indium concentration toward domain edges. We propose that indium is incorporated preferentially between adjacent dynamical InAlN platelets, owing to tensile strain generated upon platelet coalescence. The resulting In-rich boundaries are potential minima for further indium adatoms, creating a permanent indium composition gradient.