Step structure of arsenic-terminated vicinal Ge (100)

Abstract

Germanium (100) crystals, 9° off-axis towards the [011] were exposed to 2.0 Torr of tertiarybutylarsine and 99.0 Torr of hydrogen at 650 °C, then heated to between 450 and 600 °C in vacuum or H2. The resulting surfaces consist of narrow dimer-terminated terraces, with (1×2) and (2×1) domains, that are separated by steps between one and eight atomic layers in height. The distribution of (1×2) and (2×1) domains changes with temperature, exhibiting a pronounced maximum in the (1×2) fraction at 510 °C. These results suggest that the arsenic passivation of germanium is a critical step in gallium arsenide heteroepitaxy.