Some observations of the surface morphologies of GaAs layers grown by liquid phase epitaxy

Abstract

It is observed that the surface morphology of a layer growing by the L.P.E. process may show three distinct stages. These are; an initiation stage, when the surface may be rough; an intermediate stage, when it is generally smooth; followed by a final stage, when the effects of constitutional supercooling become apparent. Attention has been concentrated on the initial and final stages. Photomicrographs are presented of the surfaces of thin layers grown with different initial conditions and of thicker layers grown in both the vertical and horizontal substrate geometries from solutions cooled at different rates and for different times.