Annealing out of thermal process-induced defects at InP(110) surfaces―a novel method

A novel method which can anneal out defects of InP(110) surfaces due to phosphorous loss is proposed. InP(110) surfaces become phosphorous deficient and the surface Fermi level of p-InP is pinned at 0.55 eV (±0.05 eV) above the valence band maximum with vacuum annealing at around 200°C. A few monolayers of Sb are deposited on the surface, then annealed at above 200°C for 10 minutes. This produces a well-ordered Sb epitaxial monolayer which effectively caps the InP surface, preventing phosphorous desorption from the surface and chemical reactions between overlayers and InP. Thereby the surface returns to approximately the flat band condition. The Sb capped samples can be annealed without phosphorous loss.