Surface segregation of InGaAs films by the evolution of reflection high-energy electron diffraction patterns

Surface segregation is studied via the evolution of reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) patterns under different values of As4 BEP for InGaAs films. When the As4 BEP is set to be zero, the RHEED pattern keeps a 4×3/(n × 3) structure with increasing temperature, and surface segregation takes place until 470 °C. The RHEED pattern develops into a metal-rich (4 × 2) structure as temperature increases to 495 °C. The reason for this is that surface segregation makes the In inside the InGaAs film climb to its surface. With the temperature increasing up to 515 °C, the RHEED pattern turns into a GaAs(2 × 4) structure due to In desorption. While the As4 BEP comes up to a specific value (1.33 × 10-4 Pa−1.33 × 10-3 Pa), the surface temperature can delay the segregation and desorption. We find that As4 BEP has a big influence on surface desorption, while surface segregation is more strongly dependent on temperature than surface desorption.