Analysis of the relief of the GaAs surface formed upon exposure to diffraction-modulated laser radiation

Abstract

A relief of the GaAs surface irradiated by a laser through diffraction masks having different profiles is investigated. The incident beam energy density does not exceed the threshold value. Clusters of point defects are formed in the crystal surface layer upon exposure to diffraction-modulated laser radiation. With the help of theoretical calculations, it is established that clusterization in the surface layer results from redistribution of point defects in the periodic field of thermoelastic stresses.