Mechanism of GaAs transport by water reaction application to the growth of thick epitaxial layers

We study in detail the decomposition of GaAs by water, and show that the growth technique of epitaxial layers based on this reaction can lead to growth rates reaching several μm per minute. This opens an economical access to the production of semi-insulating and thick epitaxial layers. We briefly mention that these layers can exhibit electronic properties allowing their use in various fields such as high power electronics, photodetection and micro-electronics (production of very homogeneous semi-insulating layers).