STRUCTURAL-PROPERTIES AND INTERFACIAL LAYER FORMATION OF PD FILMS GROWN ON INP SUBSTRATES

Pd layers were grown on p-InP (100) substrates by the ion-beam-assiste d deposition method with the goal of producing sharp Pd/p-InP heterost ructure interfaces. X-ray diffraction measurements showed that the gro wn Pd layer was polycrystalline. Auger electron spectroscopy measureme nts showed that the composition of the as-grown film was Pd and that t he Pd/InP interface quality was relatively good. Transmission electron microscopy measurements showed that the grown Pd was a polycrystallin e layer. The growth of polycrystalline Pd layers, instead of epitaxial films, originated from the formation of an interfacial amorphous laye r prior to the creation of the Pd films. These results indicate that t he Pd layers grown on p-InP (100) can be used for stable contacts in o ptoelectronic devices and high-speed field-effect transistors based on InP substrates and that the deposition of Pd on InP at room temperatu re might increase the barrier height of the resulting Pd/InP Schottky diode. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.