The effects of PH3/H2 plasma exposure upon GaAs grown on a Si substrate were investigated. It was found that the incorporation of P atoms into H2 plasma not only hydrogenated the defect-related recombination centers of GaAs/Si epilayers, but also phosphided the surface region of GaAs/Si epilayers by forming a phosphide layer. Electron beam-induced current measurements proved directly that the defect-related dark spot density was effectively reduced by adding P atoms to the pure H2 plasma. In addition, PH3/H2 plasma exposure greatly increased the minority carrier lifetime properties and decreased the saturation current of a GaAs p+-n junction structure grown on a Si substrate.

Passivation of Bulk and Surface Defects in GaAs Grown on Si Substrate by Radio Frequency Phosphine/Hydrogen Plasma Exposure. G.Wang, T.Ogawa, K.Murase, K.Hori, T.Soga, B.Zhang, G.Zhao, H.Ishikawa, T.Egawa, T.Jimbo, M.Umeno: Japanese Journal of Applied Physics - 1, 2001, 40[8], 4781-4