Abstract
The evolution of GaAs (001) surface morphology by normal incidence 1 keV Ar+ ion sputtering at high temperature has been investigated for different temperature and ion fluence. An anisotropic surface modulation is observed above the substrate recrystallization temperature ∼300 °C. With increase of sputtering time, they evolve into highly ordered and almost defect-free ripple-like structure consisting of alternate arrays of elongated terraces and nano-grooves with ridges along the <11¯0> direction. Such surface instability is attributed to the effect of anisotropic surface diffusion of vacancies in the presence of Ehrlich–Schwoebel barrier. The amplitude and wavelength of the ripple show a power law increase with sputtering time and finally saturate at longer time irradiation.
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