A scanning tunnelling microscopy study of the deposition of Si on GaAs(001); Implications for Si δ-doping

Atomic resolution scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) has been used to study the adsorption of Si on GaAs(001) surfaces, grown in situ by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), with a view to understanding the incorporation of Si in δ-doped GaAs structures. Under the low-temperature deposition conditions chosen, the clean GaAs surface is characterized by a well-defined c(4×4) reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) pattern, a structure involving termination with two layers of As. Filled states STM images of this surface indicate that the basic structural unit, when complete, consists of rectangular blocks of six As atoms with the As-As bond in the surface layer aligned along the [110] direction. Deposition of <0.05 ML of Si at 400°C onto this surface shows significant disruption of the underlying structure. A series of dimer rows are formed on the surface which, with increasing coverage, form anisotropic "needle-like" islands which show no tendency to coalesce even at relatively high coverages (0.5 ML). The formation of these islands accompanies the splitting of the 1/2 order rods in the RHEED pattern along [110]. As the Si is known to occupy only Ga sites, the Si atoms displace the top layer As atoms of the c(4×4) structure, with the displaced As atoms forming dimers in a new top layer. The results are consistent with a recently proposed site exchange model and subsequent island formation for surfactant mediated epitaxial growth.     

A difference between initial growth stages of the AlGaAs/GaAs and GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures produced by contact replacement of solutions

The method of liquid epitaxial growth of GaAs/AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructures when the change of solutions occurs due to pushing off one melt by another is discussed. It has been shown theoretically and experimentally that the initial stages of film growth after the change of the binary Ga As melt on the ternary Al Ga As melt differ from that when the Ga As solution pushes off the Al Ga As liquid. The difference is caused by the inequality of the diffusion coefficients of As and Al in a multicomponent Al Ga As liquid (D_Al > D_As). As a result, the growth of an AlGaAs film begins immediately in the case when the Al Ga As solution pushes off the Ga As liquid but in the opposite case the dissolution of an underlying AlGaAs solid is unavoidable and depends little on degree of a saturation of the Ga As washing solution. These peculiarities must be taken into account in discussions of abruptness and other properties of LPE-grown AlGaAs/GaAs and GaAs/AlGaAs heterojunctions.     

Doping of GaAs with Donor Impurities Te and Sn during Liquid Phase Epitaxy from Mixed Gallium ? Bismuth Melts

The electrical properties of GaAs epilayers doped with donor impurities Te and Sn during LPE from mixed Ga  Bi melts in temperature intervals from 850 to 820 °C and from 700 to 630 °C were investigated. The analysis of incorporation of Te and Sn into crystallizing GaAs considering preliminary association of impurity and compound component atoms in the liquid agree satisfactory with experimental data providing the presence of additional concentration of nonequilibrium arsenic vacancies on the (111)B surface of growing layer, which is not conditioned by activity of compound components in the liquid. It is shown that the main factor, determining the incorporation of donor impurities Te and Sn into GaAs during epitaxy from mixed Ga  Bi solvents, is the change of Ga and As concentrations ratio in the liquid.     

Stabilization of the melt composition in Ga?Al?Sb?As

In this work we present a new effect of stabilization of the Ga Al Sb As melt composition when it is in contact with the GaAs substrate. It was found that the As content in the Ga Al Sb As melt did not depend on the initial Sb concentration when the liquid phase was formed by saturating the Ga Al Sb melt from the GaAs substrate. This effect is supposed to be due to the change in phase equilibria conditions caused by large lattice mismatch between the substrate and the solid in equilibrium with the liquid.     

Die Löslichkeiten von GaP und GaAs in Sn und Bi

The pseudo-binary GaAs Bi, GaPs Bi and GaP Sn phase diagrams were investigated by Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA), and a theoretical analysis on the basis of the regular solution model for Ga GaAs Bi, Ga GaPs Bi and Ga GaP Sn has been presented. The solubilities of GaAs and GaP in Sn and Bi in the temperature range of 600–1200°C were determined. The solubility of the compounds decreases in the order Sn Ga Bi.     

Das quaternäre Schmelzdiagramm Ga?As-P Sn

The pseudoternary cut Sn GaAs GaP of the quarternary system Ga As P Sn has been investigated in a temperature range from 860 to 1200°C. The calculation based on Vieland's method by use of Darken's quadratic formalism. A comparision between the solvents tin and gallium shows a higher solubility in tin for the mixed crystal Ga_xPAs_1−x and a stronger variation of the composition along the growth direction.     

Theoretical analysis of equilibrium adsorption layers in CVD systems (Si-H-Cl,Ga-As-H-Cl)

Adsorption of Cl, GaCl, As, As₂, As₄, Ga and AsGaCl species on GaAs(111) in the temperature range of 973–1223 K, and Cl, H, Si, SiCl and SiCl₂ on Si(111) in the range of 1425–1525 K, has been considered for different gas phase compositions. All the faces are covered mainly with Cl and H atoms. The fraction of vacancies on GaAs(111)Ga varies in the range of 4–13% reaching ?50% on GaAs(111)As. On the Si(111) the typical fraction of the vacancies is ?1%. The main adsorbed molecules containing Ga and As atoms are GaCl and As₄. For example, at and T = 1073 K, the surface concentration of these molecules reaches ?4 and 2% on GaAs(111)Ga and ?26 and 6% on the GaAs(111)As faces, respectively. Under these conditions, AsGaCl complexes occupy only ?10^-4?10^-5 adsorption sites on both faces. The set of other data is presented. Surface diffusion in the dense adsorption layer is seriously hindered by the lack of vacancies. A rough estimate gives a value of the order of 10^-8 cm²/sec for the diffusion coefficient and diffusion length of several tens of distances for AsGaCl or As₄ complexes on the GaAs(111)Ga face. The local electric field caused by adatoms on the interface may seriously influence the reaction rate.     

Silicon compensation and scattering mechanisms in two-dimensional electron gases on (110)GaAs

A study of the MBE growth of (001) and (110) (Al,Ga)As is reported, and the efficiency of Si as an n-type dopant in (110)GaAs is accessed. A 40 nm spacer two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) structure grown on (110)GaAs gives a mobility of 540,000 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ at 4 K after illumination. The dominant scattering mechanisms in 2DEGs on (110) and (001)GaAs grown under the separate optimum growth conditions for the two orientations are compared.     

GaAs initial growth on InAs(001) vicinal surfaces observed by scanning tunneling microscopy

GaAs initial growth on InAs surfaces misoriented by 2° toward the [110] and [1 0] directions was investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). In the STM images of both InAs vicinal surfaces after GaAs deposition, white lines running in the [1 0] direction, corresponding to the grown GaAs surface, were observed. Almost all of the lines were attached only to steps running in the [110] direction (B-type steps) on both InAs surfaces; that is, the lines were seldom attached to steps running in the [1 0] direction (A-type steps). These results indicate that the B-type steps are more favorable for the sticking of deposited Ga atoms than the A-type steps during GaAs initial growth on InAs vicinal surfaces.     

Transmission electron microscopy observation of GaAs/Al0.3Ga0.7As T-shaped quantum well structure fabricated by glancing angle molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs(100) reverse-mesa etched substrates

GaAs/Al_0.3Ga_0.7As multi-layer structures were grown on GaAs (100) reverse-mesa etched substrates by glancing angle molecular beam epitaxy (GA-MBE). A(111)B facet was formed as a side-facet. Surface migration of Ga and Al atoms from the (100) flat region to the (111)B side-facet region has been investigated to fabricate T-shaped GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells (QWs) under the condition that Ga and Al atoms impinge only an the (100) flat region and do not impinge on the (111)B side-facet. Observation of T-shaped GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wires (QWRs) by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that there is no migration of Al atoms from the (100) to the (111)B facet region at a substrate temperature (T_s) as high as 630°C, under a V/III ratio of 28 (in pressure ratio). On the other hand, very thin GaAs epitaxial layers grown on the (111)B side-facet region owing to the Ga migration were observed for substrate temperatures of 600 and 630°C. It was found that the mass flow of Ga atoms from the (100) region to the (111)B side-facet region increases, with the thermal activation energy of 2.0 eV, as the substrate temperature increases from 570 to 630°C. The GA-MBE growth on a reverse-mesa etched GaAs substrate at a low temperature 570°C or lower is desirable to fabricate a nm-scale GaAs/AlGaAs QWR structure with nm-scale precision.     

In-situ second-harmonic generation study of the molecular beam epitaxy growth of GaAs

We report on the first observation of surface second-harmonic generation (SHG) during the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth of GaAs homoepitaxy on a GaAs(100) substrate. We used a specific optical arrangement which enabled us to observe the surface SHG and the reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) pattern simultaneously. We found that the surface SH intensity increased according to a change from an As-stabilized to a Ga-stabilized surface due to an interruption of the As flux while keeping the Ga flux constant. We show that the surface SH intensity has its maximum value when there is about 1 monolayer (ML) of excess Ga on the surface.     

Surface diffusion length of Ga adatoms in molecular-beam epitaxy on GaAs(100)-(110) facet structures

By the molecular-beam epitaxial (MBE) growth of GaAs on [001]-mesa stripes patterned on GaAs(100) substrates, (110) facets were formed on the mesa edges defining (100)-(110) facet structures. The surface diffusion length of Ga adatoms along the [010] direction on the mesa stripes was obtained for a variety of growth conditions by in-situ scanning microprobe reflection high-energy electron diffraction (μ-RHEED). Using these values and the corresponding growth rate on the GaAs(110) facets, the diffusion length on the (110) plane was estimated. We found that the Ga diffusion length on the (110) plane is longer than that on the (100) and (111)B planes. The long diffusion length on the (110) plane is discussed in terms of the particular surface reconstruction on this plane.     

Anisotropic lateral growth in GaAs MOCVD layers on (001) substrates

For metalorganic chemical vapor deposition, a fast lateral growth rate is observed for the first time on (001) GaAs having round mesas. The lateral growth rate is greater than the vertical growth rate by a factor of 3–5. The lateral growth rates have anisotropy with respect to the crystallographic directions on the (001) surfaces. The fastest growth direction is the [110] and the slowest one is the [ 10]. The [110] and [ 10] growth rates were found to be strongly dependent on growth conditions, though the vertical one is independent. The [110] growth rate decreases with decreasing As pressure, while the [ 10] remains constant. As growth temperature increases, both the [110] and the [ 10] growth rates decrease. A simple model for the lateral growth mechanism is proposed from the consideration of atomic arrangements and the number of dangling bonds at [110] and [ 10] step sites. According to the model, the lateral growth rate is proportional to the number of bonds available for binding Ga atoms at step sites. The model can explain well the anisotropy in the lateral growth rate and its dependence on the growth conditions.     

Theoretical investigation of adsorption behavior during molecular beam epitaxy growth of GaAs: Ab initio based microscopic calculation

This paper investigates, theoretically, the migration potential and adsorption energies of Ga adatoms on a reconstructed As-rich GaAs (001)-(2×4) surface by ab initio calculation. The calculated results show that migration potential depends sensitively on the number of surface Ga adatoms and that the adsorption energy oscillates with the adsorption of every other atom. The dependence on the number of surface Ga atoms is explained by the effects of the surface distortion and the electron counting model. This paper also discusses As incorporation during epitaxial growth and demonstrates the dynamical behavior of Ga adatoms at finite temperature by Monte-Carlo simulation.     

Anwendungsmöglichkeiten der Analyse der diffusen Streuung von Röntgenstrahlen zur Untersuchung von einkristallinen Halbleiter-Mischkristallen

In order to determine the interaction parameters of the atoms in semiconducting solid solutions of the systems Ge Si, GaAs GaP und GaAs AlAs the diffuse scattering of X-rays by single crystals was analyzed on the base of the theory of KRIVOGLAZ . The results enable one to calculate the phase diagrams of the system taken into consideration.     

On the Reasons Leading to an Appearance of Correlated and Anticorrelated Dependences of the Minority Carrier Lifetime on the Dislocation Density in Undoped Semi-Insulating “Stoichiometric” GaAs Crystals

It is shown that in undoped semi-insulating GaAs crystals grown under the stoichiometric conditions both correlated and anticorrelated dependences of the minority carrier lifetime τ on the dislocation density N_d could be observed. The above-pointed effect is connected with a slight excess of Ga atoms (then the correlated dependence τ vs Nd appears) or of As atoms (then the anticorrelated dependence τ vs N_d appears) which inevitably exists even in “stoichiometric” GaAs crystals (i.e. in GaAs crystals of “stoichiometric” composition).     

As-rich reconstruction stability observed by high temperature scanning tunnelling microscopy

Atomic resolution scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) has been used to study in-situ the As-terminated reconstructions formed on GaAs(0 0 1) surfaces in the presence of an As₄ flux. The reconstructions c(4×4), (2×4) and (3×1) are long established for GaAs(0 0 1) between 400 and 600 °C for varying Ga and As flux, however the stoichiometry of incommensurate transient reconstructions is still uncertain. By performing high temperature STM on an initial (2×4) surface between 250 and 450 °C in the absence of an As flux, small domains with varying reconstruction are observed in a similar manner to the InAs/GaAs(0 0 1) wetting layer. The local storage of excess Ga in Ga-rich domains could provide insight into sub ML homo- and hetero-epitaxial growth.     

Atomic-scale controlled incorporation of ultrahigh-density Si doping sheets in GaAs

Delta-doped GaAs:Si with doping densities up to 4×10¹⁴ cm⁻² has been grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) at a substrate temperature of 590°C. To promote an ordered incorporation and thus avoid clustering of Si atoms, vicinal GaAs(001) surfaces 2° misoriented towards (111)Ga were used and Si was supplied in pulses. As evidenced by real-time reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) measurements an ordered incorporation of Si atoms on Ga sites along the step edges takes place. Although the ordered (3×2) structure degrades at high coverages, unusual high sheet carrier concentrations are obtained by pulsed delta-doping for doping concentrations >10¹³ cm⁻², as revealed by Hall measurements. The surface conditions during GaAs overgrowth have a strong influence on the free electron concentration, too. Raman scattering by local vibration modes and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) measurements are used to show that this is related to segregation effects as well as to a modification of the site occupancy.     

Dislocation etch-pits revealed in submicron (100) GaAs epilayers by selective dissolution in the saturated Ga?Sb melt

It has been showed that the saturated Ga Sb melt when contacting with a (100) GaAs substrate or a thin film selectively dissolves these solid phases. The dissolved thickness can be made so small as 500 Å and the revealed etch-pits are corresponding to the entrances of dislocation lines on the examined surface.     

Se-doped AlGaAs grown on GaAs(111)A by molecular beam epitaxy

The electrical properties of Se-doped Al_0.3Ga_0.7As layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on GaAs(111)A substrates have been investigated by Hall-effect and deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) measurements. In Se-doped GaAs layers, the carrier concentration depends on the misorientation angle of the substrates; it decreases drastically on the exact (111)A surface due to the re-evaporation of Se atoms. By contrast, in Se-doped AlGaAs layers, the decrease is not observed even on exact oriented (111)A. This is caused by the suppression of the re-evaporation of Se atoms, by Se---Al bonds formed during the Se-doped AlGaAs growth. An AlGaAs/GaAs high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) structure has been grown. The Hall mobility of the sample on a (111)A 5° off substrate is 5.9×10⁴ cm²/V·s at 77 K. This result shows that using Se as the n-type dopant is effective in fabricating devices on GaAs(111)A.