Control of interfacial physicochemical properties associated with device materials to minimize the impact of point defects on device performance has been a dominant theme in the semiconductor industry. Control of the density of such defects for silicon has been well established for metal oxide-semiconductor field-effect device applications through deliberate reactions with chemically congruent species, such as hydrogen. In contrast, control of interfacial defects for technologically important III–V device materials is still an active area of research. Performance criteria for III–V devices are demanding in terms of energy efficiency, material consumption, sensitivity, and speed. The surface reactions of III–V crystals, including oxidation, are typically known to result in performance limitation for devices, causing significant degradation due to high defect-level densities at the surfaces/interfaces, in contrast to high quality bulk crystal regions. Here, we discuss the approach of utilizing atomically thin, ordered oxide interfacial layers of III–V compound semiconductors since they provide a unique opportunity for metal-oxide semiconductor applications, compared to the more common approach to avoid surface oxidation. Long-range ordered oxide interfaces have been obtained by oxidizing cleaned III–V surfaces intentionally in ultrahigh vacuum conditions. This can be combined with different passivation methods to decrease interfacial defect density in III–V devices. We present the current understanding of the physical and chemical properties of crystalline oxidized III–V materials, based on both experimental and computational models. The results are compared to those obtained by current state-of-the-art passivation methods.

We investigate the effect of short-range order (SRO) on the electronic structure in alloys from the theoretical point of view using density of states (DOS) data. In particular, the interaction between the atoms at different lattice sites is affected by chemical disorder, which in turn is reflected in the fine structure of the DOS and, hence, in the outcome of spectroscopic measurements. We aim at quantifying the degree of potential SRO with a proper parameter. The theoretical modeling is done with the Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker Green's function method. Therein, the extended multi-sublattice non-local coherent potential approximation is used to include SRO. As a model system, we use the binary solid solution Ag$_c$Pd$_{1-c}$ at three representative concentrations $c=0.25$, $0.5$ and $0.75$. The degree of SRO is varied from local ordering to local segregation through an intermediate completely uncorrelated state. We observe some pronounced features, which change over the whole energy range of the valence bands as a function of SRO in the alloy. These spectral variations should be traceable in modern photoemission experiments.

The pre-oxidized crystalline (3×1)-O structure of InAs(100) has been recently found to significantly improve insulator/InAs junctions for devices, but the atomic structure and formation of this useful oxide layer are not well understood. We report high-resolution photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of (3×1)-O on InAs(100) and InSb(100). The findings reveal that the atomic structure of (3×1)-O consists of In atoms with unexpected negative (between −0.64 and −0.47 eV) and only moderate positive (In2O type) core-level shifts; highly oxidized group-V sites; and four different oxygen sites. These fingerprint shifts are compared to those of previously studied oxides of III-V to elucidate oxidation processes.

The In 3d(5/2) photoelectron spectroscopy peak has been widely used to determine the interface structures of In-containing III-V device materials (e.g., oxidation states). However, an unclear parameter affecting the determination of the energy shifts and number of the core-level components, and therefore, the interpreted interface structure and composition, is still the intrinsic In 3d(5/2) peak line shape. It is undecided whether the line shape is naturally symmetric or asymmetric for pure In-containing III-V compounds. By using high-resolution photoelectron spectroscopy, we show that the In 3d(5/2) asymmetry arising from the emission at high binding-energy tail is not an intrinsic property of InAs, InP, InSb and InGaAs. Furthermore, it is shown that asymmetry of In 3d(5/2) peaks of pure III-V's originates from the natural surface reconstructions which cause the coexistence of slightly shifted In 3d(5/2) components with the symmetric peak shape and dominant Lorentzian broadening. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

GaAs1 - xBix alloys attract significant interest due to their potentiality for several applications, including solar cells. Recent experiments link the crucial optical properties of these alloys to Bi clustering at certain Bi compositions. Using ab initio calculations, we show that there is no thermodynamical driving force for the formation of small GaBi clusters incorporating As substitutional sites. However, the Ga vacancies should gather Bi atoms leading to small Bi clusters, and the Ga vacancies can act as nucleation centers for phase separation. The formation energy of the GaAs1 - xBix with respect to GaAs and GaBi shows a maximum at intermediate Bi concentrations. Thermodynamics and kinetics of the GaAs1 - xBix film growth is discussed. High Bi solubility is obtained, if the Bi atoms on the energetically favorable atom positions in the subsurface layer are relatively frozen. The Ga vacancy concentration may be increased by the incorporation of Bi. The Bi atoms can also prevent the out diffusion of Ga vacancies.

Growing a crystalline oxide film on III-V semiconductor renders possible approaches to improve operation of electronics and optoelectronics heterostructures such as oxide/semiconductor junctions for transistors and window layers for solar cells. We demonstrate the growth of crystalline barium oxide (BaO) on GaAs(100) at low temperatures, even down to room temperature. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements reveal that the amount of interface defects is reduced for BaO/GaAs, compared to Al2O3/GaAs, suggesting that BaO is a useful buffer layer to passivate the surface of the III-V device material. PL and photoemission data show that the produced junction tolerates the post heating around 600 °C.

Using first-principles total energy calculations we have found complex defects induced by N incorporation in GaAsN. The formation energy of the Ga interstitial atom is very significantly decreased due to local effects within the defect complex. The stability of the Ga interstitials is further increased at surfaces. The present results suggest that the energetically favorable Ga interstitial atoms are much more abundant in GaAsN than the previously considered N defects, which have relatively large formation energies. Our synchrotron radiation core-level photoemission measurements support the computational results. The formation of harmful Ga interstitials should be reduced by incorporating large group IV B atoms in GaAsN.

We determine the atomic surface structure of the Bi-terminated GaAs(001) (1×3) reconstruction for the first time using scanning probe microscopies, photoemission spectroscopy, and ab initio calculations. The proposed kinked-dimer (4×3) model is consistent with experimental characterization and can accommodate a variety of species configurations due to an availability of low-energy sites for Bi substitution, accounting for the significant observed local disorder. In addition, experiments show that stability of this reconstruction coincides with a dramatic change in surface step morphology, giving rise to strong up/down step interaction and a counterintuitive smoothing effect on the micrometer length scale.

It was recently found that oxygen induces ordered reconstructions on several III–V surfaces. The most oxygen-rich reconstruction shows (3×1) periodicity. Based on first-principles investigations, a detailed atomic model is presented for this reconstruction. The uncommon periodicity is attributed to the highly stable InOIn trilayer below surface which also leads to stabilizing additional bonds within the surface layer. The strain induced by the trilayer is more effectively accommodated within the (3×1) reconstruction than within the competing (2×1) reconstruction due to smaller number of dimers. It is proposed that the experimentally found semiconductivity is reached by substitutional atoms within the surface layer. Suitable substitution preserves the magnitude of the bulk band gap.

Previously found oxidized III-V semiconductor surfaces have been generally structurally disordered and useless for applications. We disclose a family of well-ordered oxidized InAs, InGaAs, InP, and InSb surfaces found by experiments. The found epitaxial oxide-III-V interface is insulating and free of defects related to the harmful Fermi-level pinning, which opens up new possibilities to develop long-sought III-V metal-oxide-semiconductor transistors. Calculations reveal that the early stages in the oxidation process include only O-III bonds due to the geometry of the III-V(100)c(8 x 2) substrate, which is responsible for the formation of the ordered interface. The found surfaces provide a different platform to study the oxidation and properties of oxides, e. g., the origins of the photoemission shifts and electronic structures, using surface science methods.

Amorphous surface oxides of III–V semiconductors are harmful in many contexts of device development. Using low-energy electron diffraction and photoelectron spectroscopy, we demonstrate that surface oxides formed at Sn-capped GaAs(100) and InAs(100) surfaces in air are effectively removed by heating. This Sn-mediated oxide desorption procedure results in the initial well-defined Sn-stabilized (1×2) surface even for samples exposed to air for a prolonged time. Based on ab initio calculations we propose that the phenomenon is due to indirect and direct effects of Sn. The Sn-induced surface composition weakens oxygen adsorption.

We have studied self-assembled bismuth (Bi) nanolines on the Bi-terminated InAs(100) surface by core-level and valence-band photoelectron spectroscopy, and ab initio first-principles calculations. A structural model for this intriguing surface is suggested based on the comparison of the measured and calculated core-level shifts. Also, the atomic origins for the core-level shifts are proposed based on the calculations. A clear peak related to this surface was observed in the valence band 0.34 eV below the Fermi level, which can be used as a "fingerprint" of a well-ordered Bi/InAs(100) nanoline surface.

We report the influence of (NH4)2S and NH4OH surface treatments prior to SiO2 capping and subsequent rapid thermal annealing, on optical properties of GaInAsN/GaAs quantum-well (QW) structures. We observed an increase in QW photoluminescence (PL) emission for the (NH4)2S treated samples as compared to the untreated sample. After annealing, also the NH4OH treated sample showed significant improvement in PL. The treatments were also found to decrease the In out-diffusion and reduce the blueshift upon annealing. The PL results are discussed with x-ray diffraction and x-ray photoemission data from SiO2/GaAs, in particular, with changes found in Ga 3d spectra.

We have studied In-stabilized c(8×2)-reconstructed InAs(100) and InSb(100) semiconductor surfaces, which play a key role in growing improved III–V interfaces for electronics devices, by core-level photoelectron spectroscopy and first-principles calculations. The calculated surface core-level shifts (SCLSs) for the ζ and ζa models, which have been previously established to describe the atomic structures of the III–V(100)c(8×2) surfaces, yield hitherto not reported interpretation for the As 3d, In 4d, and Sb 4d core-level spectra of the III–V(100)c(8×2) surfaces, concerning the number and origins of SCLSs. The fitting analysis of the measured spectra with the calculated ζ and ζa SCLS values shows that the InSb spectra are reproduced by the ζ SCLSs better than by the ζa SCLSs. Interestingly, the ζa fits agree better with the InAs spectra than the ζ fits do, indicating that the ζa model describes the InAs surface better than the InSb surface. These results are in agreement with previous X-ray diffraction data. Furthermore, an introduction of the complete-screening model, which includes both the initial and final state effects, does not improve the fitting of the InSb spectra, proposing the suitability of the initial-state model for the SCLSs of the III–V(100)c(8×2) surfaces. The found SCLSs are discussed with the ab initio on-site charges.

By means of scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/STS), we have investigated the stability and the structure of atomic chains on Yb/Ge (111) 3 X 2. STM allows the identification of different building blocks of this reconstruction, depending on the bias polarity and voltage, and validates the honeycomb chain-channel (HCC) structure with the Ge=Ge double bond and metal coverage of 1/6 ML for Yb/Ge (111)3 X 2, in agreement with the recent photoemission study [Kuzmin et al., Phys. Rev. B 75, 165305 (2007)]. The Yb atoms are found to be adsorbed on similar sites in the well-defined X 2 rows. Locally, such rows are distorted, leading to the X 4 periodicity, where the Yb atoms are adsorbed on two different sites that are well consistent with T4 and H3 sites. It is also assumed that Yb atoms can fluctuate rapidly between the neighboring T4 and H3 sites, leading to continuous rows observed together with the X 2 rows in STM images. The stability of Ge honeycomb chain is controlled by the presence of Yb atom per two (3 X 1) surface units in average, which results in the donation of one electron from Yb to the surface per (3 X 1) unit. When this density is locally changed, the Ge honeycomb chain is found to be broken. The inner structure of the Ge honeycomb chain is visualized in STM and shows dimerized features without any apparent buckling. The STM observations also account for why the double periodicity is missing in the low-energy electron diffraction pattern from Yb/Ge (111)3X2. The local electronic structure of this reconstruction, namely the Yb rows and Ge honeycomb chains, is studied by STS. The results support the HCC structure with the Ge=Ge double bond. It is believed that the present study elucidates the difference between the (3X2) reconstructions of Yb and Eu on Ge (111) and those of alkaline-earth and rare-earth metals on Si (111).

By means of scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS), photoelectron spectroscopy, and first-principles calculations, we have studied the bismuth (Bi) adsorbate-stabilized InSb(100) substrate surface which shows a c(2X6) low-energy electron diffraction pattern [thus labeled Bi/InSb(100)c(2X6) surface] and which includes areas with metallic STS curves as well as areas with semiconducting STS curves. The first-principles phase diagram of the Bi/InSb(100) surface demonstrates the presence of the Bi-stabilized metallic c(2X6) reconstruction and semiconducting (4X3) reconstruction depending on the chemical potentials, in good agreement with STS results. The existence of the metallic c(2X6) phase, which does not obey the electron counting model, is attributed to the partial prohibition of the relaxation in the direction perpendicular to dimer rows in the competing reconstructions and the peculiar stability of the Bi-stabilized dimer rows. Based on (i) first-principles phase diagram, (ii) STS results, and (iii) comparison of the measured and calculated STM and photoemission data, we show that the measured Bi/InSb(100)c(2X6) surface includes metallic areas with the stable c(2X6) atomic structure and semiconducting areas with the stable (4X3) atomic structure.

Surface core-level shifts (SCLSs) of the (2×4)-reconstructed InP(100) surface with the established mixed In–P dimer structure have been investigated by first-principles calculations and photoelectron spectroscopy. Theoretical values were calculated using both the local density approximation (LDA) and the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) for the exchange-correlation energy functional. The obtained theoretical values are quite similar within both approximations. The found differences originate in the tiny structural differences. It is concluded that the expansion or contraction of the crystal lattice has smaller effect on the SCLSs than the geometrical details of the reconstruction, which suggests that the Madelung potential has the dominant effect on the SCLSs. The results support the presence of a P 2p peak at higher binding energy (BE) compared to bulk peak, as proposed with recent measurements [P. Laukkanen, J. Pakarinen, M. Ahola-Tuomi, M. Kuzmin, R. E. Perälä, I. J. Väyrynen, A. Tukiainen, V. Rimpiläinen, M. Pessa, M. Adell, J. Sadowski, Surf. Sci. 600 (2006) 3022], and reveal several hitherto not reported SCLSs. The calculated SCLSs reproduce the measured spectra within reasonable accuracy. Furthermore, the atomic origins of the InP(100)(2×4) SCLSs are solved. In particular, it is shown that the lowest SCLS of P 2p of the InP(100)(2×4) arises from the topmost In–P dimers.

We have studied, by means of ab initio calculations, the energetics and the atomic and electronic structures of various reconstructions induced by rare-earth metals (RE=Eu, Nd, Sm, and Yb) and Ba on Si(100) in the coverage range up to 0.5 monolayer. It is shown that Si dimer buckling is an important structural element for such systems, leading frequently to oblique surface lattice symmetries. The strong metal atom-silicon binding favors the increased amount of metal atoms per unit surface area, i.e., the (2x3) reconstruction with two metal atoms per unit cell is found to be energetically unstable with respect to the (2x1) reconstruction with three metal atoms per the same surface area [Eu/Si(100) and Yb/Si(100)]. The influence of the atomic size and the valence of the adsorbates is also investigated. In particular, it is found that an increase in atomic size stimulates the metal-metal repulsion, stabilizing the (2x3) configuration [Ba/Si(100)]. In the case of trivalent metals, the stabilization of the (2x3) is mediated by the loss of semiconducting state in the competing phases [Sm/Si(100) and Nd/Si(100)]. Our results demonstrate the importance of many factors, which account for the abundance of RE/Si(100) reconstructions. Finally, prominent atomic models are proposed for (2x3) and (2x6) reconstructions, and the character of the wavy "(1x2)" reconstruction is discussed. The simulated scanning tunneling microscopy images for the proposed (2x6) reconstruction are in a particularly good agreement with the complex experimental images.