Surface passivation of GaAs

Abstract
We have successfully passivated the surface of n‐type (100) GaAs on the basis of P2S5/NH4OH treatment of the surface. A fivefold increase in the photoluminescence (PL) intensity results at room temperature when the surface is passivated and the PL intensity remains the same even after ten days’ exposure to room air. Current‐voltage characteristic also corroborates the PL measurements and shows that the GaAs surface retains its integrity when passivated with P2S5 and its electronic characteristic remains invariant with time even after exposure to air for one month. The results are indications of the robust stability of the passivated GaAs surface.