Thermal oxidation of InAsxP1−x

Abstract

The present Raman scattering study has examined thermally oxidized films on polycrystalline InAsxP1−x for inclusions of Group V based metalloids such as elemental As, P, or AszP1−z. Substrate compositions with x=0.63 and 0.36 were examined. On the alloy with high arsenic content (x=0.63), elemental arsenic was detected in air oxidized films grown at temperatures between 400 and 650 °C. For this alloy composition, the identification of an additional phase involving AszP1−z is hampered by the overlap of its vibrational mode spectrum with modes originating from the substrate. For the alloy with x=0.36, the formation of AszP1−z appears to dominate over the formation of elemental As, although both products can be detected in air oxidized films grown at 650 °C. Of the many possible oxide phases potentially present, only InPO4 could be identified.