Phosphorus incorporation during InP(001) homoepitaxial growth by solid source molecular beam epitaxy

The incorporation behaviour of phosphorus (P2) during growth by molecular beam epitaxy of InP thin films on InP(001) substrates has been studied in situ by reflection high energy electron diffraction. The incorporation coefficient of P2 decreases from 0.94 at 360 °C to 0.54 at 470 °C. This behaviour is attributed to the increasing fraction of the incident P2 flux that desorbs from the surface at higher temperatures and does not contribute to layer growth. The low- and temperature-dependent incorporation coefficients imply the need for high P2:In flux ratios and low substrate temperatures for the preparation of smooth InP epitaxial layers.