Correlation of deep-level and chemically-active-site densities at vicinal GaAs(100)-Al interfaces

The steps associated with intentionally misoriented GaAs(100) surfaces produce interface charge states that can substantially alter the Schottky barrier height. These interface states are located near midgap in energy with density increasing in nearly one-to-one proportion to the density of step-related bonding sites. This detailed correlation between vicinal step features and deep-level densities demonstrates and gauges the systematic interface electronic perturbation associated with off-axis growth.