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The passivation of n-type InP (100) using sulfur in combination with a gadolinium aluminate (GAO) dielectric layer has been studied. Photoluminescence, minority-carrier lifetime, and capacitance−voltage measurements indicate that a (NH4)2S vapor passivation step prior to atomic layer deposition of the oxide effectively lowers the interface state density. Surface and interface chemistry were studied by synchrotron radiation photoemission spectroscopy (SRPES). The effect of ex situ surface passivation after native oxide removal in HCl solution was examined. It was observed that surface reoxidation occurred during (NH4)2S vapor exposure, leading to the formation of Inx(HPO4)y. S was present on the surface as a sulfide in both surface and subsurface sites. After atomic layer deposition of GAO, sulfates were detected in addition to Inx(HPO4)y, which was confirmed by near-edge X-ray absorptionfine structure analysis. The S in the stack was quantified using reference-free grazing incidence X-rayfluorescence
analysis. X-ray absorption spectroscopy showed that Gd was oxidized and present in the 3+ oxidation state, most likely as a phosphate close to the InP interface and possibly mixed with sulfates. Energy-dependent SRPES measurements of Al 2p and Gd 4d core levels, complemented by transmission electron microscopy, further suggest that the dielectric layer was segregated. Valence band measurements confirm the effective passivation of InP, indicating unpinning of the surface Fermi level.
Sacrificial Self-Assembled Monolayers for the Passivation of GaAs(100) Surfaces and Interfaces
(2016)
The use of sacrificial self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) to prepare clean n-type GaAs (100) surfaces without band bending in vacuo is demonstrated. GaAs surface passivation using octadecanethiol SAMs after HCl cleaning is shown to lead to an enhancement of the room-temperature photoluminescence intensity. Synchrotron-radiation photoelectron spectroscopy (SRPES) finds that the interfacial oxide between GaAs and the SAM remains below the detection limit. Evidence for both Ga–S and As–S bonds at the GaAs–thiolate interface is found. The limited thermal stability of the SAM allows the desorption of the alkyl chains by in situ thermal annealing at temperatures above 180 °C, leaving S bonded to Ga behind. The resulting surface contains only a very small amount of O (0.05 ML coverage) and C (about 3% of the SAM remaining) and shows no band bending with the surface Fermi level close to the conduction band. Atomic layer deposition of Al₂O₃ on this surface occurs via the formation of Al–S bonds without introducing any additional band bending. This indicates that the surface preparation of n-type GaAs (100) using sacrificial octadecanethiol SAMs followed by in situ thermal removal provides a route toward GaAs/oxide interfaces without interfacial oxides and without band bending.
The influence of different wet chemical treatments (HCl, H₂SO₄, NH₄OH) on the composition of InP surfaces is studied by using synchrotron radiation photoemission spectroscopy (SRPES). It is shown that a significant amount of oxide remains present after immersion in a NH₄OH solution which is ascribed to the insolubility of In³⁺ at higher pH values. Acidic treatments efficiently remove the native oxide, although components like Pᴼ, Inᴼ and P(2±Δ)+ suboxides are observed. Alternatively, the influence of a passivation step in (NH₄)₂S solution on the surface composition was investigated. The InP surface after immersion into (NH₄)₂S results in fewer surface components, without detection of Pᴼ and P(2±Δ)+ suboxides. Finally, slight etching of InP surfaces in HCl/H₂O₂ solution followed by a native oxide removal step, showed no significant effect on the surface composition.
In this work synchrotron radiation photoemission spectroscopy (SRPES) is used to study InP surfaces after different wet chemical treatments. All results are compared to a typical fingerprint of surface components present on an as received InP sample. It is shown that acidified (HCl and H₂SO₄) treatments efficiently remove the native phosphate, although components like Pᴼ, Inᴼ and P(2±∆)+ remain present. In alkaline solution (NH₄OH) oxide remains present at the surface. As an alternative treatment, the immersion into (NH₄)₂S was studied. This passivation treatment results in fewer surface components which suggests that a higher quality surface is obtained.