Towards quantification of doping in gallium arsenide nanostructures by low-energy scanning electron microscopy and conductive atomic force microscopy

Abstract

We calculate a universal shift in work function of 59.4 meV per decade of dopant concentration change that applies to all doped semiconductors and from this use Monte Carlo simulations to simulate the resulting change in secondary electron yield for doped GaAs. We then compare experimental images of doped GaAs layers from scanning electron microscopy and conductive atomic force microscopy. Kelvin probe force microscopy allows to directly measure and map local work function changes, but values measured are often smaller, typically only around half, of what theory predicts for perfectly clean surfaces.

Keywords: GaAs; Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM); atomic force microscopy (AFM); doping; scanning electron microscopy (SEM).