InAs/GaAs(001) molecular beam epitaxial growth in a scanning tunnelling microscope

The growth on InAs on GaAs(001) has attracted great interest and investigation over the past few decades primarily due to the opto-electronic properties of the self-assembled quantum dot (QD) arrays formed. Scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) has been extensively employed to investigate the complicated and spontaneous mechanism of QD growth via molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Classically, combined MBE-STM requires quenching the sample after growth and transferring it to an arsenic-free high vacuum chamber which houses the STM system. However, without access to the phenomenon as a dynamic process a basic understanding remains elusive. In order to access surface dynamics, MBE and STM must be combined into a single element. The system herein discussed allows the operation of MBE sources in an STM system relating to InAs/GaAs(001) surfaces.