Cleaning and nitridation of (100) GaAs surfaces: a high resolution electron microscopy study

Native oxides play a crucial role in the parasitic electrical effects of GaAs surface and for passivation to be effective these have to be eliminated. Si3N4 can then be deposited as an encapsulating layer. We report high resolution cross-sectional electron microscopy of GaAs/oxide interfaces at various process stages as well as of the GaAs/Si3N4 interface after cleaning and nitridation in multipolar plasmas.