Electronic structure of InSb (001), (110), and (111)B surfaces

Abstract

The electronic structure of various ( 001), (110), and (111)B surfaces of n-type InSb were studied with scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. The InSb(111)B (3x1) surface reconstruction is determined to be a disordered (111)B (3x3) surface reconstruction. The surface Fermi-level of the In rich and the equal In:Sb (001), (110), and (111)B surface reconstructions was observed to be pinned near the valence band edge. This observed pinning is consistent with a charge neutrality level lying near the valence band maximum. Sb termination was observed to shift the surface Fermi-level position by up to 254 ± 35 meV towards the conduction band on the InSb (001) surface and 60 ± 35 meV towards the conduction band on the InSb(111)B surface. The surface Sb on the (001) can shift the surface from electron depletion to electron accumulation. We propose the shift in the Fermi-level pinning is due to charge transfer from Sb clusters on the Sb terminated surfaces. Additionally, many sub-gap states were observed for the (111)B (3x1) surface, which are attributed to the disordered nature of this surface. This work demonstrates the tuning of the Fermi-level pinning position of InSb surfaces with Sb termination.