Patent ID: 7122734

Claim:
A method of reducing threading dislocations in active areas of an optoelectronic device, comprising the steps of: growing a plurality of epitaxial buffer layers forming a metamorphic buffer region with a graded lattice constant; relaxing said buffer layers through a dislocation glide mechanism during epitaxial growth of said buffer layers; forming dislocation loops made up of threading dislocations during relaxation of said buffer layers; introducing an isoelectronic surfactant during said epitaxial growth of at least one of said buffer layers without changing the charge-carrier concentration of said at least one of said buffer layers; slowing down the formation rate of said dislocation loops in the presence of said isoelectronic surfactant; and reducing the propagation of said threading dislocations into active areas of said optoelectronic device in the presence of said isoelectronic surfactant.