Terrace width distribution during unstable homoepitaxial growth of GaAs(110): An experimental study

The temporal evolution of the step bunching instability formed during GaAs homoepitaxial growth on the GaAs(110) vicinal to (111)A has been studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and the step–step distribution has been quantified as a function of deposition time. Analysis of the AFM data has shown that neither the terrace width distribution (TWD) nor the terrace height distribution (THD) fit to a Gaussian function in the initial stages of growth, but both evolve with time as the bunching instability develops. After deposition of 500 ML of GaAs the TWD exhibits a clear Gaussian behavior while the THD is very well fitted to a Lorentzian distribution. The GaAs surface morphology initially shows a great dispersion in terrace height and width values with a clear anisotropy along the <001> tilt direction, but evidence of self-controlled growth is observed irrespective of layer thickness.