A valved cracking phosphorus beam source using InP thermal decomposition and its application to MBE growth

Abstract

The principal design of a newly developed two-zone valved cracking phosphorus P2 molecular beam source with greatly improved performance based on InP thermal decomposition is outlined. Precise dimer phosphorus beam flux control is accomplished due to a thoughtfully designed and externally activated faucet placed between the InP decomposition zone and the cracking area of P4 vapors. Experimental tests show that the source can be easily incorporated into the standard ion-pumped molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) machine and can be used successfully for the MBE growth of device quality III–V single and multi-component phosphide epilayers incorporated into single- and multi-layer heterostructures with sharp interfaces.