In situ ion scattering and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies of stability and nanoscale oxidation of single crystal (100) InAs

The authors report on the synthesis of clean and smooth surfaces of single crystal InAs (100) by hydrogen molecular cleaning along with in situ studies on the stability of such surfaces against oxide formation. Nanoscale oxidation studies have been performed in detail using in situ nuclear reaction analysis and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Ion channeling studies have been performed to verify atomically smooth surfaces after postcleaning. Stability and kinetic boundaries of cleaned InAs (100) surfaces against oxidation have been experimentally derived. These results are important not only in preparing clean surfaces of InAs but also in understanding fundamentals of oxide/III-V semiconductor interfaces