Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B, Vol.18, No.4, 2044-2046, 2000
Nickel layers on indium arsenide
We report here on the preparation and characterization of InAs substrates for in situ deposition of ferromagnetic contacts, a necessary precursor for semiconductor devices based on spin injection. InAs has been grown on InAs(111)A and (100) substrates by molecular-beam epitaxy and then metalized in sim in order to better understand the mechanisms that inhibit spin injection into a semiconductor. Initial x-ray characterization of the samples indicate the presence of nickel arsenides and indium-nickel compounds forming during deposition at temperatures above room temperature. Several temperature ranges have been investigated in order to determine the effect on nickel-arsenide formation. The presence of such compounds at the interface could greatly reduce the spin-injection efficiency and help elucidate previous unsuccessful attempts at measuring spin injection into InAs.