Electronic properties of adsorbates on GaAs(001)-c(2x8)/(2x4).

A systematic experimental and theoretical study was performed to determine the causes of oxide-induced Fermi level pinning and unpinning on GaAs(001)-c(2 x 8)/(2 x 4). Scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) and density functional theory (DFT) were used to study four different adsorbates' (O(2), In(2)O, Ga(2)O, and SiO) bonding to the GaAs(001)-c(2 x 8)/(2 x 4) surface. The STS results revealed that out of the four adsorbates studied, only one left the Fermi level unpinned, Ga(2)O. DFT calculations were used to elucidate the causes of the Fermi level pinning. Two distinct pinning mechanisms were identified: direct (adsorbate induced states in the band gap region) and indirect pinnings (generation of undimerized As atoms). For O(2) dissociative chemisorption onto GaAs(001)-c(2 x 8)/(2 x 4), the Fermi level pinning was only indirect, while direct Fermi level pinning was observed when In(2)O was deposited on GaAs(001)-c(2 x 8)/(2 x 4). In the case of SiO on GaAs(001)-c(2 x 8)/(2 x 4), the Fermi level pinning was a combination of the two mechanisms.

Direct and indirect causes of Fermi level pinning at the SiO/GaAs interface.

The correlation between atomic bonding sites and the electronic structure of SiO on GaAs(001)-c(2x8)/(2x4) was investigated using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS), and density functional theory (DFT). At low coverage, STM images reveal that SiO molecules bond Si end down; this is consistent with Si being undercoordinated and O being fully coordinated in molecular SiO. At approximately 5% ML (monolayer) coverage, multiple bonding geometries were observed. To confirm the site assignments from STM images, DFT calculations were used to estimate the total adsorption energies of the different bonding geometries as a function of SiO coverage. STS measurements indicated that SiO pins the Fermi level midgap at approximately 5% ML coverage. DFT calculations reveal that the direct causes of Fermi level pinning at the SiO GaAs(001)-(2x4) interface are a result of either local charge buildups or the generation of partially filled dangling bonds on Si atoms.