Dynamics of film growth of GaAs by MBE from Rheed observations

Detailed observations have been made of the intensity oscillations in the specularly reflected and various diffracted beams in the RHEED pattern during MBE growth of GaAs, Ga _x Al_1–x As and Ge. The results indicate that growth occurs predominantly in a two-dimensional layer-by-layer mode, but there is some roughening, which is enhanced by deviations from stoichiometry and the presence of impurities. In the case of the GaAs (001) –2×4 reconstructed surface a combination of dynamic and static RHEED measurements has provided firm evidence for the presence of one-dimensional disorder features as well as surface steps.