It was shown that surface reconstructions could play an essential role in determining the equilibrium solubilities of N, P, As, and Sb in various III-V compounds. In particular, anion–anion dimerization of the (001)-β2(2 x 4) surface could enhance the solubility of N near the surface in GaAs, GaP and InP by 5, 3 and 2 orders of magnitude, respectively, at 1000K. With certain assumptions on the growth kinetics, this high concentration of N could be frozen in as the crystal grows.

Surface-Reconstruction-Enhanced Solubility of N, P, As, and Sb in III-V Semiconductors. S.B.Zhang, A.Zunger: Applied Physics Letters, 1997, 71[5], 677