Electronic Properties of Hydrogen Exposed III–V Semiconductor Surfaces

Abstract

A critical review of experimental results aiming at determining the atomic geometry and the electronic properties of the hydrogenated (110) surfaces of III–V semiconductor compounds is given. Results deal mainly with the prototype GaAs(110) surface. Experimental results include photoemission, electron energy loss, metastable deexcitation spectroscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy, photoelectron diffraction and grazing incidence X‐ray diffraction data. A unified picture for the hydrogenated surface can be derived. It is characterized by an almost nonrelaxed substrate (or even counter‐relaxed), absence of gap states and, up to one monolayer of coverage, by a surface order and an almost preserved substrate stoichiometry. Higher exposures induce surface etching with changes of Ga to As concentration ratio.