Nanoscale effects of arsenic kinetics on GaAs(001)-(2×4) homoepitaxy

Abstract The early stages of homoepitaxy on the GaAs (001)-(2×4) surface have been studied by scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM). Detailed island statistics have been obtained from STM images and show a clear dependence on both the arsenic species used and the incident arsenic flux. These results are explained by considering the effects of the macroscopic arsenic kinetics (As 2 and As 4 ) on island nucleation and growth at the nanometre scale.