Direct strain and elastic energy evaluation in rolled-up semiconductor tubes by x-ray microdiffraction

We depict the use of x-ray diffraction as a tool to directly probe the strain status in rolled-up semiconductor tubes. By employing continuum elasticity theory and a simple model, we are able to simulate quantitatively the strain relaxation in perfect crystalline III-V semiconductor bilayers and multilayers as well as in rolled-up layers with dislocations. The reduction in the local elastic energy is evaluated for each case. Limitations of the technique and theoretical model are discussed in detail.