Epitaxial growth and surface structure of cuprous halide thin films

The surface atomic and electronic structures of cuprous halide CuX (X = Cl, Br, and I) films, which were grown on various GaAs faces, have been studie d by reflection high-energy electron diffraction, Auger electron spectrosco py, and electron energy loss spectroscopy. Epitaxial growth in a layer by l ayer fashion was observed commonly on all GaAs faces, except on a GaAs (1 1 1) As 2 x 2 race. The growth mode at the initial stage was affected by the lattice misfit of CuX to GaAs. Auger electron spectra and electron energy loss spectra of CuX depend on the crystal race of the substrate. These resu lts indicate that CuX have both ionic and covalent Features in the film gro wth process. (C) 2000 American Vacuum Society. [S0734-2101(00)08002-7].