Oxidation study by Auger electron spectroscopy and electron energy‐loss spectroscopy of GaSb(001) surfaces grown by molecular‐beam epitaxy

GaSb (001) surfaces were prepared by molecular‐beam epitaxy. Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and electron energy‐loss spectroscopy (EELS) are reported for clean surfaces exposed to oxygen, and during the process the ionization gauge of the vacuum system is turned on. Successive stages of chemisorption can be distinguished. For oxygen coverage up to 0.5 monolayer, the surface states are saturated by bonding of the oxygen with Ga and Sb atoms. Sb atoms desorb causing significant Sb depletion in the first layer. Larger exposures further increase the coverage and induce, in the EELS spectra, losses related to O(2p) and O(2s) atomic states and new plasmon excitations. In the AES spectra the shift of Auger emission lines which are characteristic of Sb and Ga oxide forms appear; at coverages of about one monolayer back bonds break forming Sb2 O3 and Ga2 O3 . Further exposures to oxygen result in thicker oxide layers of Ga and Sb.