AN X-RAY-DIFFRACTION STUDY OF OXIDE REMOVAL FROM INSB(001) SUBSTRATES

A study of the removal of the native oxide from InSb(001) substrates u sing X-ray diffraction and Auger electron spectroscopy is reported. Se veral methods have been investigated to produce atomically flat, oxide free, surfaces. These include thermal annealing, argon ion bombardmen t at both room temperature and elevated temperature, and irradiation o f the surface with atomic hydrogen. The quality of the resulting c(8 X 2) surface gave a good indication of the relative success of each tec hnique. The reflected X-ray intensity was measured as a function of pe rpendicular momentum transfer l along the specular (00l) rod and gives a clear indication of the roughness of each surface. The lateral orde r was determined from the width of the in-plane fractional order refle ctions. The results show a marked improvement in surface order when us ing hydrogen irradiation/annealing as opposed to thermal annealing alo ne. A more significant improvement in surface quality, however, was no ted when sputtering at elevated temperature. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.