FLUORINE-GAS TREATMENT OF INP(100) - PHYSICOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF THE OBTAINED COMPONENTS

Fluoride thin film InP (100) structures have been prepared by oxidization under fluorine gas for different temperatures and times. The composition of the obtained layers has been studied using various analytical techniques (Rutherford backscattering, infrared absorption and XPS). The bulk composition of the obtained layers is InF3. Whatever the fluorination temperature (TF) the formed phosphorus fluoride is eliminated during the reaction. An XPS study has shown that at the fluoride-InP interface, phosphorus, like indium, is chemically bound to fluorine. However it is demonstrated that for TF ≤ 200 °C an important oxygen content, corresponding to absorbed water, is observed in the bulk of the fluoride thin films; on the contrary, for TF = 300 ° C, the grown InF3 layers are insensitive to an ageing in moist air. © 1990.