Atomic layer epitaxy of III-V compounds in a hydride vapor phase system

Gallium arsenide and indium arsenide layers have been grown by atomic layer epitaxy (ALE) using gallium and indium chlorides and arsine as source materials. The chlorides are formed by a chemical reaction between hydrogen chloride and the respective elemental metal. Argon acts as the carrier gas. The grown gallium arsenide layers are unintentionally doped to a level of ≥ 1017 cm-3. Mobilities up to 75% of the theoretical values for materials with such carrier concentrations are measured. For GaAs, the RBS/channeling technique gives minimum yield of 4% compared to the corresponding random backscattering spectrum, indicating good crystalline quality. This is further confirmed by observation of a photoluminescence peak with FWHM of 12 meV at 12 K originating from GaAs/InAs/GaAs single quantum well a few monolayers thick.