Correlation of interface chemistry, barrier height, and step density for Al on vicinal GaAs(100) surfaces

Abstract

We have used soft x‐ray photoemission spectroscopy to study the chemical and electronic properties of Al on molecular beam epitaxy GaAs(100) vicinal surfaces, specifically with orientations 1°, 2°, and 4° toward [111]B, 2° toward [111]A, as well as 2° and 4° toward [110] surfaces. Our results show that (1) the interface chemistry depends on both the bonding nature of the steps and the degree of misalignment, (2) a monotonic correspondence exists between Schottky barrier and the density of step‐related atomic sites, irrespective of the misorientation direction, and (3) a nearly one‐to‐one functional dependence exists between the density of electronic states and the density of step‐related atomic sites. Our results emphasize the key role of local atomic bonding upon interface electronic and chemical properties.