GAAS HETEROEPITAXIAL GROWTH ON VICINAL SI(110) SUBSTRATES BY MOLECULAR-BEAM EPITAXY

We report the growth mechanism of GaAs on vicinal Si(110) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy, and investigate the effects of off-angle and -direction on the crystalline quality of grown films. The quality was improved with the increase of the off-angle and strongly influenced by the off-direction. Off-direction toward the [001] was better than that toward the [11̄0] for obtaining high-quality films. The cause is related to the structure and density of the steps. We infer from reflection high-energy electron diffraction results that GaAs films on vicinal Si(110) with off-angles above 2°toward the [001] direction grew up to a thickness of 3 nm in step-flow-like mode. The spotty reflection high-energy electron diffraction patterns characteristic of three-dimensional growth in GaAs/Si(100) were not observed at a thickness above 3 nm. © 1994 American Institute of Physics.