In Situ Deoxidation of GaAs Substrates by HCl Gas

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Abstract
In situ chemical etching by HCl gas of GaAs {001} substrates for molecular beam epitaxy application has been studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Oxide free surfaces are obtained for low HCl pressures (P∼0.1 Torr) at room temperature. The residual adsorbed chlorine is completely removed by annealing at 450°C under vacuum and a reconstruction characteristic of a clean GaAs surface is then observed by low energy electron diffraction. Preliminary results of GaAs molecular beam epitaxial growth on such HCl-treated surfaces indicate a significant decrease of the morphological defects concentration in the layers.