STUDY BY AES AND EELS OFInP,InSb,InPO4ANDInxGa1-xAsSUBMITTED TO ELECTRON IRRADIATION

The surface of materials plays an important role in their technological applications. In the interest to study the stability of materials and their behavior, we irradiate them by the electrons by using the electron spectroscopy such as the Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and the electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). These methods have proved their good sensitivity to study material surfaces. In this paper, we give some results about the effect of the electron beam irradiating the compoundsInP,InSb,InPO4andInxGa1-xAs. The III–V semiconductorsInPandInSbseem to be sensitive to the electron irradiation. This breaks the chemical bonds between the element III and V which leads to an oxidation process at the surface. The AES and EELS spectroscopy are also used to characterize the oxideInPO4whose thickness is about 10 Å grown on the substrateInP(100). The irradiation of the systemInPO4/InP(100)by the electron beam of 5 keV energy leads to a structural change of the surface, so that there is breaking of chemical bonds between indium and phosphorus (In–P) and formation of new oxide other thanInPO4. In this study we show an important result concerning the effect of the electron beam on the compoundInxGa1-xAsby varying the parameterxto obtainIn0.2Ga0.8AsandIn0.53Ga0.47As. It appears that the electron beam affectsIn0.2Ga0.8Astoo much in comparison withIn0.53Ga0.47As. In the case of the irradiation ofIn0.2Ga0.8As, there is breaking of chemical bonds between indium andGaAsleading to formation of indium oxide associated toGaAs.