ERSB/GASB(001) AND GASB/ERSB/GASB(001) HETEROSTRUCTURES AND ERSB,GASB SUPERLATTICES : MOLECULAR BEAM EPITAXY GROWTH AND CHARACTERIZATION

Successful growth of ErSb(001) single crystal layers on GaSb(001) substrates has been demonstrated. The reflection high‐energy electron diffraction patterns show a (4×4) surface reconstruction. Reflection high‐energy electron diffraction oscillations, x‐ray diffraction, and Rutherford backscattering with channeling indicate single crystal monolayer‐by‐monolayer growth and continuity of the Sb sublattice at the ErSb/GaSb interface. The ErSb has a low room temperature resistivity equal to 30 μΩ cm but may be used as a metallic reflector only for wavelengths greater than 2.4 μm. The overgrowth of GaSb on ErSb leads to mirrorlike surfaces but the overlayers contain symmetry‐related defects. On the contrary, nearly perfect GaSb overlayers were grown on [ErSb,GaSb] superlattices which exhibit metallic behavior.