Tracing the two- to three-dimensional transition in the InAs/GaAs(001) heteroepitaxial growth

We have investigated by atomic force microscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy subsequent stages of the heteroepitaxy of InAs on GaAs(001) from the initial formation of the strained two-dimensional wetting layer up to the development of three-dimensional quantum dots. We provide evidence of structural features that play a crucial role in the two- to three-dimensional transition and discuss their contribution to the final morphology of the self-assembled nanoparticles. A model is suggested for the strained phase at the critical thickness consisting of an intermixed InxGa1 - xAs surface layer of composition x = 0.82 and InAs "floating" on top. Such "floating" phase participate to the large mass transport along the surface during the two- to three-dimensional transition that accounts quantitatively for the total volume of dots.