Surface preparation effect of GaAs(110) substrates on the ZnSe epitaxial layer grown by molecular beam epitaxy

The effect of the surface preparation of the GaAs(110) substrate on the ZnSe epitaxial layer grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) was investigated by means of etch-pit density (EPD) measurements, surface morphology observation, and reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) analysis. The ZnSe epitaxial layer grown on a GaAs(110) surface prepared by cleaving the (001)-oriented wafer in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) showed about 5×10⁴ cm^-2 of EPD. This value is much lower than that observed from both the samples grown on the mechanically polished surface with and without a GaAs buffer layer. Due to the non-stoichiometric surface after thermal evaporation of the surface oxide, three-dimensional growth can easily occur on the mechanically polished GaAs(110) substrate. These results suggest that the stoichiometric and atomically flat substrate surface is essential for the growth of low-defect ZnSe epitaxial layers on the GaAs(110) non-polar surface. Received: 21 August 1998 / Accepted: 19 October 1998 / Published online: 28 April 1999