Oxidized In-containing III-V(100) surfaces: Formation of crystalline oxide films and semiconductor-oxide interfaces

Previously found oxidized III-V semiconductor surfaces have been generally structurally disordered and useless for applications. We disclose a family of well-ordered oxidized InAs, InGaAs, InP, and InSb surfaces found by experiments. The found epitaxial oxide-III-V interface is insulating and free of defects related to the harmful Fermi-level pinning, which opens up new possibilities to develop long-sought III-V metal-oxide-semiconductor transistors. Calculations reveal that the early stages in the oxidation process include only O-III bonds due to the geometry of the III-V(100)c(8×2) substrate, which is responsible for the formation of the ordered interface. The found surfaces provide a different platform to study the oxidation and properties of oxides, e.g., the origins of the photoemission shifts and electronic structures, using surface science methods.