EARLY-STAGE IN LOW-ENERGY ION-INDUCED DAMAGE ON INP(110) SURFACE

The change in the short-range order created by ion milling in the near surface region of InP single crystals was investigated by primary bea m diffraction modulated electron emission (PDMEE). The very early stag e of the damage creation by low energy (0.6-1 keV) Ar ions in normal a nd oblique incidence was studied. A simple model based on the weighted combination of perfectly crystalline and completely amorphous regions was used to model the experimental results. Evidence of a subsurface nucleation of the amorphization process was found. We also found that the total sputtering yield is markedly dependent on the ion dose, bein g on the undamaged surface much larger than its steady state value. Lo w energy electron diffraction (LEED) measurements were also performed to correlate long-range and short-range order removal by ion bombardme nt. Finally, the ion damage on the GaAs and InP surfaces was comparati vely discussed. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.