Passivation of GaAs using gallium-gadolinium oxides

The role of Gd2O3 is investigated in our previously discovered oxide films of Ga2O3(Gd2O3) for GaAs surface passivation. Based on the systematic dependence of the dielectric properties of (Ga2O3)(1-x)(Gd2O3)(x) on the Gd (x) content, we showed that pure gallium oxide does not effectively passivate GaAs, and Gd2O3 is a necessary component to stabilize the gallium oxide in the 3(+) fully oxidized state due to the electropositive nature of Gd+3. This gives rise to electrically insulting films of low leakage current and high electrical breakdown strength. (C) 1999 American Vacuum Society. [S0734-211X(99)02803-6].