M. Kuzmin

• Ioffe Institute

The adsorption of oxygen molecules on ytterbium nanofilms of various thicknesses has been studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and contact potential difference measurements. It has been established that the maximum number of O 2 molecules that can be adsorbed on the films increases with the film thickness. Such behavior is observed at thickn...

X-ray photoelectron spectra of nanoscale-thickness ytterbium films along with adsorbed oxygen layers have been studied for the first time. It is found that the spectra include features from both divalent and trivalent ytterbium. The intensity ratio of these features raises upon increasing the film thickness (the size effect). It is shown that the a...

Properties of Ge oxides are significantly different from those of widely used Si oxides. For example, the instability of GeOx at device junctions causes electronic defect levels that degrade the performance of Ge-containing devices (e.g., transistors and infrared detectors). Therefore, the passivating Si layers have been commonly used at Ge interfa...

III-V semiconductor - oxide interfaces have attracted huge interest due to their substantial potential in electronic applications. However, due to the extreme complexity of the modeling of the interfaces, there are only few ab initio studies of these interfaces. Several model interfaces of native InPO4 oxides are designed in this study. It is shown...

The close similarity of silicon and germanium, isoelectronic group-IV elements, makes the integration of Ge layers on Si substrates suitable for technology development, but the atomic and electronic structures of Si1−xGex surfaces are still an open issue, in particular, for the alloy systems where Si is deposited on the Ge substrate. In this study,...

Control of interfacial physicochemical properties associated with device materials to minimize the impact of point defects on device performance has been a dominant theme in the semiconductor industry. Control of the density of such defects for silicon has been well established for metal oxide-semiconductor field-effect device applications through...

Effects of localized Eu 4f levels on the band gap properties of Eu2O3 have attracted significant fundamental and technological interest, and the band structure of such thin films has been thoroughly studied by photoelectron spectroscopies (T. Hadamek et al., J. Appl. Phys. 127 (2020) 074101). Here we apply a scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) to...

Low-temperature (LT) passivation methods (<450 °C) for decreasing defect densities in the material combination of silica (SiO x ) and silicon (Si) are relevant to develop diverse technologies (e.g., electronics, photonics, medicine), where defects of SiO x /Si cause losses and malfunctions. Many device structures contain the SiO x /Si interface(s),...

Using scanning tunneling microscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and low-energy electron diffraction, we have studied clean and Ni-containing Si(1 0 0) surfaces and shown that the Ni contamination can easily appear at the Si(1 0 0) during its annealing at high temperature (1230 °C) because of migration of this impurity from heated parts of th...

The adsorption of carbon monoxide (CO) molecules on ytterbium nanofilms from 16 to 200 monolayers thick (61–76 nm) has been studied. The films have been grown on single-crystal Si(111) substrates. It has been shown that before CO molecule adsorption, ytterbium is in the divalent state with electronic configuration [Xe]4f 146s². After gas molecule a...

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is one of the most used methods in a diverse field of materials science and engineering. The elemental core-level binding energies (BE) and core-level shifts (CLS) are determined and interpreted in the XPS. Oxidation is commonly considered to increase the BE of the core electrons of metal and semiconductor ele...

Silica phases, SiOx forming at surfaces of various silicon crystals, e.g., Si wafers, nanowires, and nanoparticles via Si oxidation are key building blocks of diverse applications in the fields of electronics, medicine, and photonics for instance. The Si oxidation has been established to produce amorphous SiOx films, and the resulting oxide/silicon...

InAs crystals are emerging materials for various devices like radio-frequency transistors and infrared sensors. Control of oxidation-induced changes is essential for decreasing amounts of the harmful InAs surface (or interface) defects because it is hard to avoid the energetically favored oxidation of InAs surface parts in device processing. We hav...

Our understanding of bias-dependent scanning-tunneling-microscopy (STM) images is complicated not only by the multiplicity of the surface electronic structure, but also the manifold tunneling effects in probing semiconductor surfaces having directional dangling- and covalent-bond orbitals. Here we present a refined interpretation of empty-state STM...

Oxidation treatment creating a well-ordered crystalline structure has been shown to provide a major improvement for III-V semiconductor/oxide interfaces in electronics. We present this treatment's effects on InSb(111)B surface and its electronic properties with scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. Possibility to oxidize (111)B surface wi...

The adsorption of CO molecules onto ytterbium nanofilms with their thickness varying from 1 to 16 monolayers is studied. The dependences of the number of adsorbed CO molecules (adsorption isotherms) and the work function of ytterbium films on the dose of carbon monoxide are examined. It is demonstrated that both the number of adsorbed molecules and...

Effects of magnesium (Mg) alloying of GaxIn1−xAs(100) semiconductor surfaces have been investigated by low-energy electron diffraction, scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy, and responsivity analysis of an infrared-detector component. In particular, the formation of an unusual Mg-induced (2 × 1) structure on GaAs(100) surfaces is found when d...

Crystalline oxide phases on InSb(111)B revealed with scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy

Investigations of the Yb–Si(111) and O2–Yb–Si(111) structures are carried out by means of the angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy method, and data about distribution of two- and three-valence ions in ytterbium nanofilms are obtained in the case when an adsorbed molecules layer on their surface is not fully formed yet, and Yb²⁺ → Yb³⁺ valence...

Control of defect densities at insulator/GaxIn1−xAs interfaces is essential for optimal operation of various devices like transistors and infrared detectors to suppress, for example, nonradiative recombination, Fermi-level pinning, and leakage currents. It is reported that a thin InOx interface layer is useful to limit the formation of these defect...

Passivation of a silicon–ytterbium nanofilm interface with СО and О2 molecules chemisorbed on the opposite side of films is studied. The transfilm inhibition of silicides is found to be caused by the Coulomb interactions between the localized electrons forming the donor–acceptor bonding of molecules with films and the conductivity electrons of ytte...

III-V semiconductors are prominent alternatives to silicon in metal oxide semiconductor devices. Hafnium dioxide (HfO2) is a promising oxide with a high dielectric constant to replace silicon dioxide (SiO2). The potentiality of the oxide/III-V semiconductor interfaces is diminished due to high density of defects leading to the Fermi level pinning....

Self-assembling organic molecule-metal interfaces exhibiting free-electron like (FEL) states offers an attractive bottom-up approach to fabricating materials for molecular electronics. Accomplishing this, however, requires detailed understanding of the fundamental driving mechanisms behind the self-assembly process. For instance, it is still unreso...

Epitaxial integration of oxides with the ubiquitous silicon technological platform promises devices with dreamed-of functionality but is difficult to achieve due to chemical processes at the Si/oxide interface. The standard approach suggests a protective template – a surface superstructure of SrSi2 stoichiometry; still, only a handful of oxides cou...

Hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen are common unintentional impurities of Al(x)Ga(1-x)N crystals. This impurity structure and its interplay with Mg impurities in Al(x)Ga(1-x)N semiconductors are relevant to develop the p-type nitride crystals for various devices (e.g, LEDs, transistors, gas sensors), but are still unclear. Here we have investigated Mg-do...

Epitaxial Bi-containing III–V crystals (III-V1-xBix) have attracted increasing interest due to their potential in infrared applications. Atomic-scale characterization and engineering of bulk-like III-V1-xBix properties (e.g., Bi incorporation and defect formation) are challenging but relevant to develop applications. Toward that target, we report h...

The dependences of the work function of ytterbium nanofilms with a thickness ranging from 1 to 32 monolayers on the amount of CO or O2 molecules chemisorbed on their surface have been investigated experimentally. It has been found that these dependences have a pronounced nonmonotonic character. The mechanism of the Yb²⁺ → Yb³⁺ valence transition, w...

The work function of ytterbium films of nanometer thickness (from 1 to 16 monolayers) has been measured. The films have been prepared by sputtering of ytterbium in an ultrahigh vacuum on n- and p-type Si(111)7 × 7 silicon substrates with an electrical resistivity from 1 to 20 Ω cm. It has been shown that, in the films with a thickness of less than...

Strong Fermi-level pinning (FLP) near the valence-band maximum on n-type Ge surfaces has been a long-standing challenge in semiconductor physics, and the nature of this phenomenon has been heavily debated for years. Here, we report a systematic synchrotron-based photoemission study of atomically well-defined Ge(100) surfaces and interfaces to eluci...

The oxidation of GaSb(100) surface has been widely studied because it affects the functionality of various devices. However even initial stages of the oxygen incorporation are not completely understood. To clarify this issue, we have investigated the oxidized GaSb(100) surfaces, which have been recently probed by scanning tunneling microscopy and s...

A novel simple method to produce a high-quality interface between semiconductor (e.g., Ge or III-V) and dielectric film (i.e., SiO2) is suggested. A nonoxygen element is deposited directly on an oxidized substrate at T ≥ 300 °C, leading to semiconductor reduction and dielectric film growth. As a result, the formed interface is atomically abrupt and...

TiO2/AlInP junctions are used to construct the antireflection coatings for solar cells and to passivate III–V nanostructure surfaces. The thickness of AlInP epilayer affects light absorption and appropriate Al composition determining further the energy barrier for carriers. We report on reducing the AlInP thickness by dry etching down to 10 nm with...

Oxidation of semiconductor surfaces is known to cause defect states at oxide-semiconductor interfaces of various devices. In contrast, effects of the semiconductor interaction with non-oxygen elements at such junctions are still unclear. We present evidence for the interrelationship between a metal (non-oxygen)-semiconductor reaction and formation...

Thin-film Yb–Si(111) structures have been studied experimentally for different film thicknesses and at substrate temperatures of 300–1500 K. The temperatures at which the formation of ytterbium disilicide begins and ends, the thermal stability, and the work function have been determined. It has been shown that yttrium disilicide is formed at relati...

Transformations of the surface and bulk of nanoscale ytterbium films during the surface interactions of these films with different ligand molecules have been studied. It has been shown that a combination of two factors, i.e., the existence of a lone electron pair in CO and O2 molecules and the unoccupied 5d level lying near the Fermi level in metal...

GaAs1-xBix alloys have useful properties for many optoelectronic applications. Although the crystal growth by molecular beam epitaxy is influenced by kinetics, it is also important to understand the thermodynamics of the alloys. The Gibbs formation energies and the immiscibility curve of the totally disordered GaAs1-xBix (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) are determined...

Atomic-scale knowledge and control of oxidation of GaSb(100), which is a potential interface for energy-efficient transistors, are still incomplete, largely due to an amorphous structure of GaSb(100) oxides. We elucidate these issues with scanning-tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. The unveiled oxidation-induced building blocks cause defect sta...

Atomic structure of the Sr-adsorbed Si(100)(1 × 2) surface has been investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and ab initio calculations. This surface reveals rows of Sr atoms between unbuckled Si dimer rows as well as an abundance of vacancy defects in the metal rows. The density of such defects can be minimized by the optimization of gr...

The In 3d5/2 photoelectron spectroscopy peak has been widely used to determine the interface structures of In-containing III–V device materials (e.g., oxidation states). However, an unclear parameter affecting the determination of the energy shifts and number of the core-level components, and therefore, the interpreted interface structure and compo...

Atomic-scale understanding and processing of the oxidation of III–V compound–semiconductor surfaces are essential for developing materials for various devices (e.g., transistors, solar cells, and light emitting diodes). The oxidation-induced defect-rich phases at the interfaces of oxide/III–V junctions significantly affect the electrical performanc...

The pre-oxidized crystalline (3×1)-O structure of InAs(100) has been recently found to significantly improve insulator/InAs junctions for devices, but the atomic structure and formation of this useful oxide layer are not well understood. We report high-resolution photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of (3×1)-O on InAs(100) and InSb(100). The finding...

Atomic structure of interfaces between oxide layers and semiconductors is usually challenging to probe because of its buried nature. Here, we present a synchrotron photoemission approach to unveil the interface structure of BaO/Si(100), a prototype model of crystalline-oxide/semiconductor junctions, and demonstrate that such interface outspreads ov...

GaAs1 − xBi x alloys attract significant interest due to their potentiality for several applications, including solar cells. Recent experiments link the crucial optical properties of these alloys to Bi clustering at certain Bi compositions. Using ab initio calculations, we show that there is no thermodynamical driving force for the formation of sma...

The exothermic nature of oxidation causes nearly all semiconductor applications in various fields like electronics, medicine, photonics, and sensor technology to acquire an oxidized semiconductor surface part during the application manufacturing. The significance of understanding and controlling the atomic scale properties of oxidized semiconductor...

Synthesis of layered SnO with a monocrystalline structure on a semiconductor substrate is demonstrated using a vacuum deposition method as well as diffraction, microscopy, and spectroscopy characterization.

Bismuth (Bi) induced c(4 × 4) surface structure of the GaAs(100) substrate, i.e., the GaAs(100)c(4 × 4)-Bi surface has been studied with synchrotron-radiation photoelectron spectroscopy and ab initio calculations. The surface was prepared by combining molecular beam epitaxy and in-situ electron diffraction methods, and then the sample was transferr...

The synthesis of novel functional crystalline films on semiconductor substrates calls for atomic-level knowledge and controlling of the initial stages of interface or junction formation. Technologically relevant epitaxial oxide films can be grown on Si(100) surfaces modified by submonolayer alkaline earth adsorbates, e.g., barium (Ba) and strontium...

Growing a crystalline oxide film on III-V semiconductor renders possible approaches to improve operation of electronics and optoelectronics heterostructures such as oxide/semiconductor junctions for transistors and window layers for solar cells. We demonstrate the growth of crystalline barium oxide (BaO) on GaAs(100) at low temperatures, even down...

Clean and metal-adsorbed (100) surfaces of group-IV semiconductors, such as Si and Ge, often exhibit electronically and structurally similar reconstructions. However, the fundamental bulk properties of group-IV materials can have an impact on particular features of such systems, which are related, e.g., to final-state relaxation in photoemission an...

The thermal desorption spectroscopy is used to study the interaction of the chemisorbed oxygen and carbon monoxide molecules with the nanometer-thick ytterbium films that are formed on the surfaces of silicon substrates at room temperature. In accordance with the results at a temperature of 300 K, the O2 and CO molecules are chemisorbed on the surf...

Here, we show how a copper atom in a copperphthalocyanine (CuPc) molecule can be decoupled from its environment. This is realized by trapping the CuPc molecule between two adjacent nanowires that are 1.6 nm apart. Using low-temperature scanning tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy, the structural and electronic properties of CuPc in the stable "m...

Development of InN films for devices is hindered due to metallic In clusters, formed readily during growth, and unintentional n-type conductivity of the nominally undoped films, including surface electron-accumulation layers via the Fermi level pinning into the conduction band. Plasma nitridation eliminates even large In clusters from the surface b...

It was recently found that oxygen induces ordered reconstructions on several III–V surfaces. The most oxygen-rich reconstruction shows (3 × 1) periodicity. Based on first-principles investigations, a detailed atomic model is presented for this reconstruction. The uncommon periodicity is attributed to the highly stable InOIn trilayer below surface w...

Using first-principles total energy calculations we have found complex defects induced by N incorporation in GaAsN. The formation energy of the Ga interstitial atom is very significantly decreased due to local effects within the defect complex. The stability of the Ga interstitials is further increased at surfaces. The present results suggest that...

The effect of chemisorbed oxygen molecules on the electron structure of ytterbium films of nanosized thicknesses has been studied by means of high-resolution photoelectron spectroscopy. It has been demonstrated that, in the process of chemisorption of O2 molecules, the subsurface layers of ytterbium films transform from a two-valence state into a t...

This paper reports on a thermal desorption spectroscopy study of the interaction of chemisorbed molecules of oxygen and carbon monoxide with ytterbium films of nanosized thickness formed on the surface of silicon substrates at room temperature. As follows from the results obtained, at 300 K, the CO and O2 molecules reside on the film surface in che...

The interaction of ytterbium nanofilms evaporated on tungsten substrates with oxygen has been studied by Auger electron spectroscopy, thermal desorption spectroscopy, and contact potential difference measurements. It has been shown that at room temperature, no oxide is formed in the above interaction. In place of the oxide, a chemisorbed layer of n...

Silicon dimer–containing reconstructions on Si(100) can be induced by submonolayer amounts of rare earth (RE) metals. The tilt of dimer bonds in such reconstructions can be controlled by the coverage and electronic properties of RE adsorbates. In this study, we have utilized improved high-resolution photoelectron spectroscopy with the synchrotron r...

Combining high-resolution photoelectron spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, 3d photoemission line shape and surface core-level shifts have been reinvestigated on the Ge(111)c(2 × 8) surface. It is found that 3d spectra include, in addition to the bulk and three surface-shifted components reported in literature, a componen...

Amorphous surface oxides of III–V semiconductors are harmful in many contexts of device development. Using low-energy electron diffraction and photoelectron spectroscopy, we demonstrate that surface oxides formed at Sn-capped GaAs(100) and InAs(100) surfaces in air are effectively removed by heating. This Sn-mediated oxide desorption procedure resu...

We have studied self-assembled bismuth (Bi) nanolines on the Bi-terminated InAs(100) surface by core-level and valence-band photoelectron spectroscopy, and ab initio first-principles calculations. A structural model for this intriguing surface is suggested based on the comparison of the measured and calculated core-level shifts. Also, the atomic or...

A study is reported of the effect of chemisorbed O2 and CO molecules on the properties of structures of the type “nanoscale-ytterbium-film-Si(111) silicon substrate” and, in particular, on the reactions between a metal and silicon. It has been shown that chemisorption of the above molecules on Yb-Si(111) structures initiates partial or total suppre...

Previously found oxidized III-V semiconductor surfaces have been generally structurally disordered and useless for applications. We disclose a family of well-ordered oxidized InAs, InGaAs, InP, and InSb surfaces found by experiments. The found epitaxial oxide-III-V interface is insulating and free of defects related to the harmful Fermi-level pinni...

Tin (Sn) induced (1×2) reconstructions on GaAs(100) and InAs(100) substrates have been studied by low energy electron diffraction (LEED), photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS) and ab initio calculations. The comparison of measured and calculated STM images and surface core-level shifts shows that these sur...

The transformation of the Auger electron spectra of ytterbium nanofilms as a result of chemisorption of CO and O2 molecules on their surface has been studied. It has been shown that the adsorption of these molecules is accompanied by a radical transformation of the electronic structure of nanofilms, during which the 5d level of ytterbium drops belo...

The processes accompanying the formation of ytterbium films on the Si(111) surface at room temperature are investigated by the contact potential difference method, Auger electron spectroscopy, low-energy electron diffraction, and thermal desorption spectroscopy. It is shown that the grown metal films are uniform in thickness and that Si atoms virtu...

Combining photoelectron spectroscopy and density-functional theory calculations, we have studied the atomic geometry of Yb/Si(100)(2×6) reconstruction and the mechanisms responsible for its stabilization as well as the influence of this reconstruction on Si 2p core-level photoemission. The analysis of measured and calculated surface core-level shif...

Technologically useful indium- (In) terminated c(8×2)-reconstructed GaAs(100) substrate surface has been studied by first-principles calculations and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) measurements. Our total-energy calculations demonstrate the stability of four different so-called ζa structures with In monomer rows and In coverage between 0.5 and...

By means of scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/STS), we have investigated the stability and the structure of atomic chains on Yb/Ge(111)3×2. STM allows the identification of different building blocks of this reconstruction, depending on the bias polarity and voltage, and validates the honeycomb chain-channel (HCC) structure with th...

The modification of the surface and bulk electronic properties of ytterbium nanofilms under the action of adsorbed CO molecules has been investigated. It has been shown that adsorption of these molecules is accompanied by a fundamental rearrangement of the electronic structure of the films. This rearrangement is initiated by the formation of a dono...

We have studied In-stabilized c(8 × 2)-reconstructed InAs(1 0 0) and InSb(1 0 0) semiconductor surfaces, which play a key role in growing improved III–V interfaces for electronics devices, by core-level photoelectron spectroscopy and first-principles calculations. The calculated surface core-level shifts (SCLSs) for the ζ and ζa models, which have...

By means of scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS), photoelectron spectroscopy, and first-principles calculations, we have studied the bismuth (Bi) adsorbate-stabilized InSb(100) substrate surface which shows a c(2×6) low-energy electron diffraction pattern [thus labeled Bi/InSb(100)c(2×6) surface] and which includes areas with metall...

We have studied, by means of ab initio calculations, the energetics and the atomic and electronic structures of various reconstructions induced by rare-earth metals (RE=Eu, Nd, Sm, and Yb) and Ba on Si(100) in the coverage range up to 0.5 monolayer. It is shown that Si dimer buckling is an important structural element for such systems, leading freq...

Surface core-level shifts (SCLSs) of the (2 × 4)-reconstructed InP(1 0 0) surface with the established mixed In–P dimer structure have been investigated by first-principles calculations and photoelectron spectroscopy. Theoretical values were calculated using both the local density approximation (LDA) and the generalized gradient approximation (GGA)...

This paper reports on a study of the adsorption of CO molecules on the surface of ytterbium nanofilms of different thicknesses, which were sublimed on Si(111)7 × 7 at room temperature. Dependences of two types were investigated: the surface concentration of adsorbed molecules vs. CO dose expressed in langmuirs and the work function of films vs. CO...

The Yb growth on a vicinal Si(1 0 0) surface has been studied by scanning tunneling microscopy and low energy electron diffraction in the coverage range of 1–4 ML. Two different methods of the Yb/Si(1 0 0) interface formation are applied, leading to a remarkable modification of structural and morphological properties of two-dimensional (2D) wetting...

Bismuth adsorbate-stabilized (2×1) and (2×4) reconstructions of the GaAs(100) surfaces have been studied by first-principles calculations, valence-band and core-level photoelectron spectroscopies, and scanning tunneling microscopy. It is demonstrated that large Bi atom size leads to the formation of the pseudogap at the Fermi energy and to the lowe...

We report here a combined theoretical and experimental study of Yb/Si(100)−(2×3) and −(2×4) reconstructions by means of first-principles calculations and high-resolution core-level photoelectron spectroscopy. Energetically stable atomic structures are presented for these reconstructions. Yb atoms are found to occupy the cave sites in the structures...

By considering GaAs(110) and Si(100)(2×1) surfaces, it is shown that the use of the pseudohydrogen atoms to saturate the dangling bonds at one side of the slab modeling a free surface can lead to distorted surface core-level shifts within the complete screening picture. The effect is linked to the polarization of the slab and to the change in the b...

First-principles phase diagrams of bismuth-stabilized GaAs- and InP(100) surfaces demonstrate for the first time the presence of anomalous (2x1) reconstructions, which disobey the common electron counting principle. Combining these theoretical results with our scanning-tunneling-microscopy and photoemission measurements, we identify novel (2x1) sur...

Self-assembly of uniform patterns of nanolines over large surface areas has been proven to be difficult. The authors report that bismuth (Bi) adsorbate self-assembles into an ordered pattern of Bi nanolines separated by 4.3 nm on the Bi-stabilized InAs(100)(2×1). The resulted nanoline surface is studied by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and lo...

First-principles calculations show that measured surface core-level shifts (SCLSs) of the GaAs(100)(2×4) surfaces can be described within the initial state effects. The calculated As 3d and Ga 3d SCLSs for the β2 and α2 reconstructions of the GaAs(100)(2×4) surfaces are in reasonable agreement with recent measurements. In particular, the results co...

The bismuth-stabilized (2×4)-reconstructed InP(100) surface [Bi/InP(100)(2×4)] has been studied by synchrotron-radiation core-level photoelectron spectroscopy. The spectra are compared with previous core-level data obtained on a clean InP(100)(2×4) surface. The findings support that the P 2p surface-core-level shift (SCLS) of the clean InP(100)(2×4...

Using high-resolution core-level photoelectron spectroscopy with synchrotron radiation, we have studied Ge(111)2×1–Sb and Ge(111)(√3×√3)R30°–Bi reconstructions formed at the metal coverage of 1 and 1/3 monolayers, respectively. The spectral line shape analysis shows that for the both surfaces, the Ge 3d emission includes one component, giving evide...

Using high-resolution synchrotron-radiation photoelectron spectroscopy and low-energy electron diffraction, we have studied the electronic and structural properties of the Yb-induced Ge(111)-(3×2) reconstruction with a 1∕6 monolayer coverage. We found these properties to be similar in many respects to those of the metal-induced Si(111) and Ge(111)...

Bismuth (Bi) is a surfactant which controls the electronic and structural properties of epitaxially grown GaInAs and GaInP alloys. The authors have studied Bi-terminated surfaces of GaInAs(100) layers, deposited onto InP(100) substrates, by means of scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It appears that...