GaAs surface passivation by deposition of an ultrathin InP-related layer

Abstract
A few‐atomic‐layer deposition of InP‐related compounds on a GaAs surface greatly improves the surface properties. Tenfold enhancement in the photoluminescence intensity is observed at the GaAs band edge, which indicates a reduction in the surface recombination. Relaxation of the surface pinning, which results in photoluminescence intensity enhancement, is observed by x‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Based on the results, we propose a novel concept of surface passivation by atomic‐layer deposition, where the surface band structure of GaAs is modulated by the ultrathin strained layer.