Mechanisms of molecular beam epitaxy have been investigated for GaAs and AlAs by growing and analyzing the shapes of facet structures consisting of an (001) top surface and two (111)B side surfaces. It is found that all of the Ga flux on the three facet planes is incorporated into the film, but the growth rates on (111)B and (001) depend strongly on the As flux and are mainly determined by the diffusion of Ga ad-atoms between the two planes. In contrast, the diffusion of Al is found to be almost negligible, irrespective of the As flux. By analyzing the shape of the facet, the diffusion length, λ, of Ga on a (001) surface is estimated to be about 1 μm at 580 °C, while that of Al is about 0.02 μm. On (111)B, λ of Ga is found to be several μms. The reflectivity of diffusing Ga atoms is found to be far less than 1 for the (001)-(111)B boundary, and almost unity at facet boundaries where the (111)B side surfaces are bound by the (11̄0) side walls.
Articles you may be interested inGrowth kinetics and modeling of selective molecular beam epitaxial growth of GaAs ridge quantum wires on pre-patterned nonplanar substrates
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.