InAs(100) Surfaces Cleaning by an As-Free Low-Temperature 100 degrees C Treatment

Abstract: Oxide removal from InAs(100) surfaces was achieved using a combination of HF:methanol wet etching followed by atomic hydrogen treatment at a temperature as low as 100 degrees C without any stabilizing As flux. The process was monitored in real-time exploiting spectroscopic ellipsometry. Following this treatment, the surface morphology was found to be very smooth at the nanometer scale, with a reduced effective oxide thickness and no appreciable levels of elemental In and As. Furthermore, we demonstrate stability of such surfaces against oxide reformation.