Experimental evidence for a stable GaAs surface near (113)

GaAs surfaces vicinal to (113) with a continuous range of misorientation angles up to $11.5°$ in all azimuthal directions were created by grinding a spherical depression into (113) oriented samples. Thin homoepitaxial layers were grown onto these samples by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), and the surfaces were in situ studied by low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The surface quality in the depression was verified by reproducing LEED patterns of the (113) and (114) surfaces. A stable GaAs surface was found that is oriented from (113) by $9°\pm 2°$ towards $\left[11¯0\right].$ STM and LEED images of this surface are presented.