Structural And Compositional Modifications of III–V Ternary and Quaternary Compounds Induced by Ion Bombardment

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe effect of low energy (0.5 to 5 keV) Ar+ beams on the surface structure and composition of monocrystalline ternary In0.53Ga0.47As and quaternary In0.70Ga0.30As0.64P0.36 films epitaxially grown by MO-VPE on InP (100) substrate has been investigated. Quantitative Auger electron spectroscopy has been used with the elemental standard method taking into account the electron diffraction effects. For both semiconductors, the outermost surface layer has been found to be Ga and In enriched. In the subsurface region, the Ga enrichment is even larger, at the expense of As and In. In the quaternary film, P is depleted in the surface as well in the subsurface region. Angular Resolved Auger Electron Spectroscopy is applied to the structural study of the sputter-etched surface. The nature and spatial extension of the ion-induced surface damage have been investigated at different energies, and doses of the primary ion beam. Is has been found that the resistance to the amorphization is strongly enhanced in InGaAs with respect to GaAs.