Low temperature epitaxial growth of indium phosphide

Low-temperature epitaxial growth of InP was achieved at a temperature as low as 330°C using flow-rate modulation epitaxy (FME) with a thermal precracking technique. The growth system was a modified metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) system. The growth rate decreased as the growth temperature was reduced. No clear transition temperature for mass-transport-limited and kinetic-limited regimes was observed, indicating that the highly reactive alkyl used greatly enhanced the surface reaction. The growth rate was probably limited by the supply of active reactants. Compared to the nominal FME growth process, the electron mobility was improved by a factor of two for InP homolayers grown at lower growth temperatures, i.e., from 330°C to 450°C. It was improved nearly sixfold in the case of InP/GaAs heteroepitaxial layers.