Stress and interdiffusion during molecular beam epitaxy of Fe on As-rich GaAs(001).

Interdiffusion during growth of Fe on As-rich GaAs(001) substrates has been investigated by real time stress measurements. Compared to Ga-rich GaAs(001), interdiffusion processes are decisively reduced. The optimum growth temperature (characterized by abrupt interfaces, pseudomorphic growth and negligible intermixing) is found to lie below 50 °C. At higher growth temperatures interdiffusion effects increase and eventually lead to the formation of a compact crystalline alloy layer of presumably Fe(2 + x)Ga(1 - x), as evidenced by transmission electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction.