Investigation of MBE-grown (001) GaAs surfaces using low-dose SIMS

A combined SIMS‐MBE UHV system has been used for growth and subsequent analysis of differently reconstructed (001)GaAs surfaces. Some small, but significant, differences are found in SIMS spectra from the different surfaces, indicating that the (2×4)As stabilized surface commonly used for MBE growth may be more ‘‘bulklike’’ than other reconstructions. Spectra obtained after oxygen exposure indicate involvement of both Ga and As at the initial stages of oxidation, and the different surface reconstructions showed very similar response to oxygen exposure. These SIMS analyses do not indicate large differences in either the surface composition or chemistry of differently reconstructed surfaces.