The evolution of Ga and As core levels in the formation of Fe/GaAs (001): A high resolution soft x-ray photoelectron spectroscopic study

Journal Article · Tue Jul 15 04:00:00 EDT 2008 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2942395· OSTI ID:21137409

Thompson, Jamie D. W.; Neal, James R; Shen, Tiehan H ^[1]; Morton, Simon A; Tobin, James G ^[2]; Dan Waddill, G ^[3]; Matthew, Jim A. D. ^[4]; Greig, Denis ^[5]; Hopkinson, Mark ^[6]

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1. Joule Physics Laboratory, Institute for Materials Research, University of Salford, Salford M5 4WT (United Kingdom)
2. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, California 94550 (United States)
3. Physics Department, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, Missouri 65409 (United States)
4. Department of Physics, University of York, York YO1 5DD (United Kingdom)
5. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT (United Kingdom)
6. EPSRC National Centre for III-V Technologies, University of Sheffield, Mappin Street, Sheffield S1 3JD (United Kingdom)

A high resolution soft x-ray photoelectron spectroscopic study of Ga and As 3d core levels has been conducted for Fe/GaAs (001) as a function of Fe thickness. This work has provided unambiguous evidence of substrate disrupting chemical reactions induced by the Fe overlayer--a quantitative analysis of the acquired spectra indicates significantly differing behavior of Ga and As during Fe growth, and our observations have been compared with existing theoretical models. Our results demonstrate that the outdiffusing Ga and As remain largely confined to the interface region, forming a thin intermixed layer. Whereas at low coverages Fe has little influence on the underlying GaAs substrate, the onset of substrate disruption when the Fe thickness reaches 3.5 A results in major changes in the energy distribution curves (EDCs) of both As and Ga 3d cores. Our quantitative analysis suggests the presence of two additional As environments of metallic character: one bound to the interfacial region and another which, as confirmed by in situ oxidation experiments, surface segregates and persists over a wide range of overlayer thickness. Analysis of the corresponding Ga 3d EDCs found not two, but three additional environments--also metallic in nature. Two of the three are interface resident whereas the third undergoes outdiffusion at low Fe coverages. Based on the variations of the integrated intensities of each component, we present a schematic of the proposed chemical makeup of the Fe/GaAs (001) system.

• OSTI ID: 21137409
• Journal Information: Journal of Applied Physics, Journal Name: Journal of Applied Physics Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 104; ISSN JAPIAU; ISSN 0021-8979
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
CRYSTAL GROWTH
ENERGY SPECTRA
FERROMAGNETIC MATERIALS
GALLIUM ARSENIDES
IRON
LAYERS
OXIDATION
SEGREGATION
SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS
SOFT X RADIATION
SUBSTRATES
THICKNESS
X-RAY PHOTOELECTRON SPECTROSCOPY