Investigations of the thermal reactions of chlorine on the GaAs(100) surface

Abstract

The thermal reactions of Cl2 with the GaAs(100) surface were studied using XPS, LEED and thermal desorption spectroscopy. Chlorine uptake at 175 K is initially very rapid, but an extensive corrosion phase is not formed. Five thermal desorption features are seen, with cracking patterns corresponding to GaCl, As2, GaCl3, Cl2 and AsCl3. The implications for the thermal etching of gallium arsenide are discussed.