III-V compound semiconductors: Growth and structures

The semiconductors formed from group 13 metals and from group 15 anions, referred to as the III-V semiconductors, have found use in a broad range of technologies. Their versatility arises from the wide range of optical and electronic properties accessed through the formation of multi-component alloys. These alloys can be synthesized using the epitaxial growth techniques for devices consisting of several-to-hundreds of highly controlled individual layers monolithically formed into a nearly defect-free structure. This ability to design and fabricate such detailed structures, whose dimensions can be at the nanometer scale, has been driven by an understanding of the crystal growth and materials technology. The paper introduces key features of these materials, their materials science and crystal growth.