Surfactant controlled growth of GalnP by organometallic vapor phase epitaxy

The effect of the surfactant Sb has been studied for GalnP semiconductor alloys grown by organometallic vapor phase epitaxy. Dramatic changes in the optical and electrical properties of GalnP with CuPt ordering have been observed. A small concentration of triethylantimony (TESb) in the vapor is found to cause Sb to accumulate at the surface. In situ surface photoabsorption analysis indicates that Sb changes the surface bonding by replacing the [1̄ 10] P dimers that are responsible for the formation of the CuPt structure during growth with [ 1̄ 10] Sb dimers. As a result, the degree of order for the GalnP layers is decreased, as shown by transmission electron diffraction studies. The 20 K photoluminescence spectra show a 131 meV peak energy increase for GaInP layers grown on vicinal substrates when a small amount of Sb [Sb/P(v) = 4 × 10^-4] is added to the system during growth. The use of surfactants to control specific properties of materials is expected to be a powerful tool for producing complex structures. In this article, the growth of heterostructures by modulating the Sb concentration in the vapor is demonstrated.