Investigation of defect creation in GaP/Si(0 0 1) epitaxial structures

This work investigates defect formation and evolution associated with the deposition of GaP layers on precisely oriented Si(0 0 1) substrates. The GaP layers were grown with thicknesses ranging from ∼37 nm to ∼2 µm at a growth rate of 0.52 μm/hr using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The crystallinity of thin (37-nm) MBE-grown GaP layers was also compared with thin GaP layers grown by migration-enhanced epitaxy (MEE). The MBE growth procedure was shown to postpone relaxation of the epitaxial GaP layers up to a thickness of ∼250 nm. Detailed analysis of high-resolution X-ray diffraction patterns and comparison with cross-sectional transmission electron micrographs clarified the defect formation mechanism. Thin GaP layers showed very low defect densities except for anti-phase boundaries, whereas substantial threading defects predominated in the thicker, noticeably relaxed structures.