Atomically resolved image of cleaved surfaces of compound semiconductors observed with an ultrahigh vacuum atomic force microscope

An atomically resolved image of a cleaved InP(110) surface with an ultrahigh vacuum atomic force microscope (UHV AFM) was obtained under the contact mode for the first time. The rectangular lattice could be clearly observed. The distances and corrugation amplitudes between the protrusions along the [001] and [11̄0] directions are estimated to be 5.8±0.6 and 4.1±0.4 Å, and 1.3±0.2 and 0.7±0.2 Å, respectively. These results suggest that the UHV AFM has potential for investigating III–V compound semiconductor surfaces on an atomic scale.