Surface Morphology Development during Molecular Beam Epitaxy Growth on a GaAs(100) Vicinal Surface

Using a kinetic Monte Carlo simulation, the homoepitaxial growth on a GaAs(100) vicinal surface misoriented toward the [011] direction has been studied. The growth mode transition, the topmost coverage variation and the surface morphology development are examined by varying the As/Ga flux ratio as well as the temperature. The kinetics of As play an important role in determining the growth mode transition, the coverage variation and the surface morphology during growth, which are similar to the case of a vicinal surface misoriented toward the [011] direction. A continuous growth mode transition is observed and is related to the surface morphology.