Incorporation of Bi atoms in InP studied at the atomic scale by cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy

C. M. Krammel, M. Roy, F. J. Tilley, P. A. Maksym, L. Y. Zhang, P. Wang, K. Wang, Y. Y. Li, S. M. Wang, and P. M. Koenraad

Phys. Rev. Materials 1, 034606 – Published 24 August 2017

Abstract

We show the potential of cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy to address structural properties of dilute III-V bismides by investigating Bi:InP. Bismuth atoms down to the second monolayer below the ${110}$ InP surfaces, which give rise to three classes of distinct contrast, are identified with the help of density functional theory calculations. Based on this classification, the pair-correlation function is used to quantify the ordering of Bi atoms on the long range. In a complementary short-ranged study, we investigate the Bi ordering at the atomic level. An enhanced tendency for the formation of first-nearest-neighbor Bi pairs is found. In addition, the formation of small Bi clusters is observed whose geometries appear to be related to strong first-nearest-neighbor Bi pairing. We also identify growth related crystal defects, such as In vacancies, P antisites, and Bi antisites.

Received 28 April 2017
Revised 10 July 2017

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.1.034606

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Semiconductors

Density functional theory Scanning tunneling microscopy

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

C. M. Krammel^1,*, M. Roy², F. J. Tilley², P. A. Maksym², L. Y. Zhang³, P. Wang³, K. Wang³, Y. Y. Li³, S. M. Wang^3,4, and P. M. Koenraad¹

¹Department of Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven 5612 AZ, The Netherlands
²Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, United Kingdom
³State Key Laboratory of Functional Materials for Informatics, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, China
⁴Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Göteborg, Sweden

^*c.m.krammel@tue.nl

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Vol. 1, Iss. 3 — August 2017

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