Correlation between morphology and island formation on InP surfaces

The influence of the surface morphology on island formation by As/P exchange reaction on the InP surfaces was investigated. It was demonstrated that island formation is extremely sensitive to the physical nature of the surface. Variation in the surface rms. roughness, caused by controlled ion beam etching (shallow) under different conditions, was shown to drastically affect the island size distribution. Further, the determined total island volume increased with the surface roughness, which is consistent with increased surface area available for As/P exchange reaction. Modification of surface morphology is suggested as an alternative route to vary island size distribution