Four-step Method for Growing High-quality GaAs Films on Si Substrate by Molecular Beam Epitaxy

doi:10.15541/jim20160120

Abstract

Abstract:

To improve quality and repeatability of GaAs growth on Si substrate, a new method named as four-step growth was proposed by successively inserting a low temperature (LT) and a high temperature (HT) GaAs buffer layer between the GaAs nucleation layer and the normal GaAs epilayer. The grown layers through four-step method showed high quality, i.e. single domain structure, mirror-like surface even under strong white light, reduced surface roughness and less surface defects, as well as high repeatability. Even without any post-growth annealing process, a 1 μm thick GaAs epilayer with root mean square (RMS) roughness of only 2.1 nm in 5 μm× 5 μm scanning areas was obtained while the full width at half maximum (FWHM) value of the GaAs (004) peak from double crystal X-ray diffraction ω-scan was just 210.6 arcsec.

Key words: GaAs/Si, four-step growth, buffer layer, MBE (molecular beam epitaxy)

CLC Number:

TB383

LIU Guang-Zheng, XU Bo, YE Xiao-Ling, LIU Feng-Qi, WANG Zhan-Guo. Four-step Method for Growing High-quality GaAs Films on Si Substrate by Molecular Beam Epitaxy[J]. Journal of Inorganic Materials, 2016, 31(11): 1263-1268.

Figures/Tables 7

Fig. 1 The growth schemes of GaAs on Si for two-step growth (a) and four-step growth (b)

Fig. 2 SEM micrographs of GaAs epilayers on Si by two-step growth (a) and four-step growth (b)

Fig. 3 Cross-sectional profile of GaAs epilayers on Si for four-step (A) and two-step growth (B)

Fig. 4 Etch pit morphologies of GaAs epilayers on Si by two-step growth (a) and four-step growth (b)

Fig. 5 AFM 3D images of 200 nm GaAs epilayer grown on the nucleation layer at different temperatures^(a) 400℃; (b) 500℃; (c) 400℃ (100 nm) + 500℃ (100 nm); (d) 400℃ (100 nm) + 600℃ (100 nm) over 5 μm × 5 μm scanning areas

Fig. 6 AFM images of 1-μm-thick GaAs epilayers grown on Si with different growth process in a 5 μm×5 μm scanning area^(a) Two-step growth; (b) Three-step growth without high temperature GaAs buffer; (c) Three-step growth without low temperature GaAs buffer; (d) Four-step growth

Fig. 7 GaAs (004) ω-scan measured by DCXRD for 1 μm-thick GaAs epilayers on Si with different process(A) Four-step growth; (B) Three-step growth without HT GaAs buffer; (C) Three-step growth without LT GaAs buffer; (D) Two-step growth

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