HIGH-QUALITY INP GROWN BY CHEMICAL BEAM EPITAXY

InP films were grown by chemical beam epitaxy using trimethylindium (TMI) and pure phosphine (PH3) in a flow control mode with hydrogen as the carrier gas, with the TMI flow rate fixed at 3 SCCM. Substrate temperatures were varied between 505 and 580-degrees-C and V/III ratios from 3 to 9. InP layers with high optical quality (intense and narrow excitonic transition lines) and high crystalline quality (narrow and symmetric X-ray diffraction peaks) could be grown only within a narrow parameter window around a substrate temperature of 545-degrees-C (DELTA-T(s) less-than-or-equal-to 25-degrees-C) and a V/III ratio of 5.5 (DELTA(V/III) less-than-or-equal-to 2). Carrier densities of 8 X 10(14) cm-3 with mobilities of 70000 CM2/V.s measured at 77 K were obtained for growth conditions close to the edge of this parameter window towards low V/III ratios. The growth rate of inP was also clearly at its maximum in the given parameter window. Leaving the window, by changing either the growth temperature or the V/III ratio, significantly decreased the growth rate. This reduced growth rate was accompanied by a degradation in the crystalline quality. We also demonstrate that for higher TMI flow the parameter window shifts to higher growth temperatures. The InP could be doped effectively with Si in the range from 9 x 10(15) to 3 x 10(18) cm-3.