Realization and characterization of ultrathin GaAs-on-insulator structures

The fabrication of a GaAs-on-insulator structure for which the GaAs layer is 10 nm is reported. The bonding and thinning methods employed to obtain the structure are described. The materials and dimensions of the structure are chosen so as to be relevant to fabrication of a compliant substrate. Spectrally resolved ellipsometry and high resolution X-ray reflectivity measurements were performed and compared to model calculations to assess the accuracy of the structure determination. The surface morphology of the 10 nm GaAs layer, determined by atomic force microscopy (AFM), shows the GaAs-on-insulator structures to initially have a surface morphology that is unsuitable for subsequent epitaxial growth. A method For improving the surface morphology is reported and assessed by AFM. (C) 1999 The Electrochemical Society. S0013-4651(98)12-095-5. All rights reserved.