Growth of Sb overlayers on GaAs(110)

The GaAs(110)-Sb system is studied with AES, EELS, LEED, ellipsometric spectroscopy and SEM. As indicated by EELS Sb atoms are adsorbed first on Ga sites. The AES spectra can be explained by assuming a simultaneous growth of multiple layers on top of a well ordered homogeneous first monolayer (MSM growth mode). The results of ellipsometric spectroscopy confirm the inhomogeneity of the Sb-film as proposed by the MSM mode. Desorption experiments and EELS demonstrate a strong chemical bonding between the first Sb monolayer and the substrate.     

Surface states and metal overlayers on the (110) surface of GaAs

We have found new surface states related to Al overlayers on the (110) surface of GaAs. These states play a prominent role in the determination of the electronic structure for metal-semiconductor interfaces. The results are consistent with conjectures of Rowe, Christman and Margaritondo based upon recent experimental results for metal overlayers on semiconductor surfaces.     

Photoemission study of Gd metal overlayers on a GaAs(110) surface

We have studied the chemical reactions of Gd metal on an in situ cleaved GaAs(110) surface by photoemission spectroscopy of Ga 3d and As 3d core-levels as well as the Gd 4f level on- and off-resonance valence band using synchrotron radiation. We find that the Fermi-level pinning is completed before 0.13 ML coverage, and the deposited Gd atoms start to react with the GaAs substrate at a very low coverage (critical coverage < 0.067 ML). As more Gd atoms are deposited, they form stable compounds with As atoms which are then trapped in the relatively narrow interfacial layer of thickness less than about 3.3 ML, while Ga atoms diffuse out towards the surface and eventually become metallic. The thickness of the GdGa intermixed layers is estimated to be about 6.7 ML, which is somewhat greater than that for a interface.     

Surface core level shifts on InP(110): Use of Sb overlayers

The surface core level shift of the P2p from a clean InP(110) surface has been studied by use of the Sb overlayer. It is shown that the nonreactive Sb overlayer removes the surface core level shift and does not introduce any other component. The unique possibility to separately characterize the bulk component allows a precise determination of the surface core level shift. We show that the surface P2p core level is shifted to lower binding energy by −0.29 eV, while an opposite and nearly equal in magnitude +0.30 eV shift is established for the In4d.     

Titanium overlayers on TiO2(110)

Non-stoichiometric, Ti-rich TiO₂(110) surfaces were prepared by evaporation of Ti on stoichiometric TiO₂(110). Changes in the spectra of core levels, valence bands, Auger emissions, electron energy losses, conductivities and work functions were investigated during overlayer formation in the monolayer range and during subsequent annealing of non-stoichiometric surfaces at high temperatures and high oxygen partial pressures. These annealing procedures make it possible to restore the ideal stoichiometry of TiO₂(110). The results are discussed quantitatively by calculating concentrations of (sub)surface intrinsic defects in a space-charge layer model.     

Surface states on GaAs(110)

The electronic structure of the (110) surface of GaAs is recalculated using the relaxation geometry recently obtained from analyzing elastic low-energy electron diffraction intensity data and a self-consistent ab initio pseudopotential approach. Better agreement is found for the occupied surface states compared with photoemission data, giving support for the new structural model. The influence of convergence of the plane-wave expansion and relativistic effects on the surface states is also examined.     

AB initio calculation of the atomic and electronic structure for Sb adsorbed on GaAs(110)

We report results obtained by a systematic study of Sb adsorption on the relaxed GaAs(110) surface, using density-functional theory within the local-density approximation (LDA) and norm-conserving, fully separable, ab-initio pseudopotentials. The GaAs(110) surface is simulated by a slab geometry wherein the atomic structure of the Sb atoms at the preferred adsorption positions and the uppermost substrate layer is optimized by minimizing the total energy, in contrast to previously reported theoretical approaches obtaining the surface bandstructure for given geometrical equilibrium structures. Sb coverages of Q=1/2 and Θ=1 are considered. We give a detailed analysis of the total-energy surface of the Sb/GaAs(110) system and identify stable and metastable adsorption sites. The resulting equilibrium geometries are discussed: We interpret these results in terms of the Sb-Sb interaction within the chains parallel to the [1¯11] direction and of possible structural instabilities in such chains. The atomic positions are compared with results of LEED analysis, stating an overall agreement except the buckling of the chain atoms. The resulting electronic properties (surface bandstructure, photothreshold, Schottky barrier) are discussed within the context of experimental data available from STM, photoemission spectroscopy, etc.     

Surface phonons in GaAs(110)

Surface phonon dispersion curves have been measured along the <001>, <11&#x0304;2>, and <11&#x0304;0> azimuths of GaAs(110). Features of note include a very low frequency (5.5 meV at zone boundary) surface acoustic mode in the first two directions; this may arise through the known (1 × 1) reconstruction of this surface. A higher frequency surface mode (7.3–8.8 meV, depending on azimuth) is seen in all directions. The helium scattering intensities are greatly influenced by bound state resonances. A careful survey of the selective adsorption signatures in extremely high resolution scans of polar angle, azimuthal angle, and incident beam wavevector allows the bound state energies to be determined with some confidence. Initial results indicate energies of roughly 1, 2, and 4 meV.     

The surface geometry of GaAs(110)

Results of a fully dynamical low-energy electron diffraction calculation show that the GaAs(110) surface reconstructs with a top-layer tilt-angle of 27° ≤ ω ≤ 31°. The smaller tilt angle 7° ≤ ω ≤ 10° reported earlier is outside the error limits of the analysis and can be clearly ruled out. The results are independent of which R-factor or which set of existing experimental data is used. Lateral shifts larger than 0.1 Å for the surface atoms are necessary to obtain acceptable agreement with the measured intensity spectra.