GaAs-on-Ge Heteroepitaxy by Atomic Hydrogen-Assisted Molecular Beam Epitaxy (H-MBE)

The purpose of this work is to achieve a high-quality epitaxy of GaAs-on-Ge system at low growth temperatures of 300 ∼ 400°C, by atomic hydrogen-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (H-MBE), in attempt to reduce Ge segregation to a minimum and to realize a layer-by-layer two-dimensional (2D) growth mode from the initial stages of the growth. A high-quality heteroepitaxy is expected in H-MBE technique as atomic H is known to act as an effective surfactant modifying the kinetics and energetics of the growth, which are practically difficult to control on atomic-scale unless a third element like a surfactant is introduced into the growth system. It is shown with the support of reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED), secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) characterization that an enhanced layer-by-layer 2D growth can actually be realized and (2×4) GaAs(001) surface can be achieved in low-temperature heteroepitaxy on vicinal Ge(001) substrates at 400 °C by H-MBE.