Nondestructive and Noncontact Observation of Microdefects in GaAs Wafers with a New Photo-Thermal-Radiation Microscope

A nondestructive and noncontact method for observation of microdefects in GaAs wafers has been developed with a new photo-thermal-radiation (PTR) microscope. We measured the PTR signal as a function of excitation energy (PTR spectrum) and the spatial distribution of PTR intensity (PTR image) of n-GaAs wafers at room temperature. We found that the PTR spectra have a peak due to a nonradiative state of microdefects at wavelengths ranging from 895 to 903 nm. The present PTR image shows inhomogeneities of microdefect density in GaAs wafers which cannot be observed by X-ray topography.