Sputtering of compound semiconductor surfaces. II: Compositional changes and radiation-induced topography and damage

TLDR: In this paper, the effects of ion sputtering on the surface layers of multicomponent targets are discussed, and it is shown that the changes are due to radiation-induced diffusion and segregation effects.

Abstract: Ion bombardment often leads to compositional changes in the surface layers of multicomponent targets. Such changes due to noble gas ion sputtering are discussed for InP and GaAs. The analyses show that the compositional change in InP (i.e., indium enrichment) is mainly due to preferential sputtering. In the case of GaAs. the changes are due to radiation-induced diffusion and segregation effects. Brief mention is made of compositional changes in a few other systems. The discussion on sputter-induced topography development deals mainly with InP because ion bombardment leads to dramatic topographical effects in this material. Ripple development on GaAs is also briefly discussed. Radiation damage has been well researched, and its mechanism and effects usually differ substantially when going from one semiconductor group to another. Bombardment-induced damage is briefly discussed for InP, GaAs, SiC, some II-VI semiconductors, and HgCdTe.