Variation of the critical layer thickness with In content in strained In<i>x</i>Ga1−<i>x</i>As-GaAs quantum wells grown by molecular beam epitaxy

The critical width Lc for misfit dislocation generation has been determined for molecular beam epitaxy grown strained InxGa1−xAs (0.1&amp;lt;x≤1) quantum wells in a GaAs matrix by means of photoluminescence measurements. For the full alloy region the dependence Lc(x) is in good agreement with the theoretical expression proposed by J. W. Matthews and A. E. Blakeslee [J. Cryst. Growth 27, 118 (1974)].