The Mechanisms and Kinetics of Surface Reactions of Trimethylgallium on GaAs (001) Surfaces and Its Relevance to Atomic Layer Epitaxy

Abstract

ABSTRACTX-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) have been applied to study the stable adsorbed Ga species and surface structures after GaAs (001) 2 × 4 As-rich surfaces are exposed to TMGa. These studies show that Ga atoms are the final adsorbed species, that Ga deposition is saturated at one atomic layer at temperatures between 360 and 530 °C and that the surface converts from a 2 × 4 to a 4 × 6 reconstruction after TMGa adsorption. To understand the surface reaction kinetics involved, reflectance-difference spectroscopy (RDS), an in situ rea-ltime optical technique developed by Aspnes et al., is applied to investigate TMGa adsorption on (001) GaAs surfaces. The kinetics of the surface reactions and reconstructions have been characterized over the temperature range from 400 to 500 °C using RDS. The transient RDS behaviors are interpreted by the application of a model that involves selective adsorption and reaction of TMGa at surface As sites and at Ga vacancies on Ga-rich reconstructed surfaces. Based upon these interpretations, rates of reaction and by product desorption are determined that suggest optimal strategies for ALE growth of GaAs.