Epitaxy of GaAs thin film with low defect density and smooth surface on Si substrate

Device-quality GaAs thin films have been grown on miscut Ge-on-Si substrates by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. A method of two-step epitaxy of GaAs is performed to achieve a high-quality top-layer. The initial thin buffer layer at 360 °C is critical for the suppression of anti-phase boundaries and threading dislocations. The etch pit density of GaAs epilayers by KOH etching could reach 2.25 × 10 5 cm −2 and high-quality GaAs top epilayers are observed by transmission electron microscopy. The band-to-band photoluminescence property of GaAs epilayers on different substrates is also investigated and negative band shifts of several to tens of meVs are found because of tensile strains in the GaAs epilayers. To achieve a smooth surface, a polishing process is performed, followed by a second epitaxy of GaAs. The root-mean-square roughness of the GaAs surface could be less than 1 nm, which is comparable with that of homo-epitaxial GaAs. These low-defect and smooth GaAs epilayers on Si are desirable for GaAs-based devices on silicon substrates.