Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book reviews the properties of semiconductors that bear on the aspects of heteroepitaxy, including crystallographic properties, elastic properties, surface properties, and defect structures. It provides a brief overview of epitaxial growth methods, starting with the principles of metalorganic vapor phase epitax and molecular beam epitaxy and deals with some examples from important material systems. The book presents an in-depth review of mismatched heteroepitaxy and lattice relaxation. The broad application of heteroepitaxy to device and circuit fabrication requires the control of the crystal defect structures, and therefore a number of defect engineering approaches have emerged. Heteroepitaxy, or the single-crystal growth of one semiconductor on another, is necessary for the development of a wide range of devices and systems. There are three motivations for semiconductor heteroepitaxy: substrate engineering, heterojunction devices, and device integration.