Conductive atomic force microscopy study of InAs growth kinetics on vicinal GaAs (110)

Conductive atomic force microscopy has been used to investigate the effect of atomic hydrogen and step orientation on the growth behavior of InAs on GaAs (110) misoriented substrates. Samples grown by conventional molecular beam epitaxy exhibit higher conductivity on [1 (1) over bar0]-multiatomic step edges, where preferential nucleation of InAs nanowires takes place by step decoration. On H-terminated substrates with triangular terraces bounded by [1 (1) over bar5]-type steps, three-dimensional InAs clusters grow selectively at the terrace apices as a result of a kinetically driven enhancement in upward mass transport via AsHx intermediate species and a reduction in the surface free energy. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3232234]