N substitution in GaAs(001) surface under an atmosphere of hydrogen

First-principles calculations of GaAsN surface with low nitrogen (N) content grown by chemical beam epitaxy were performed to theoretically analyze the incorporation process of nitrogen and impurities at the atomic scale. As a result, stable surface structures of GaAsN(001) under hydrogen (H) atmosphere were determined. In these structures, N is suggested to readily substitute into surface sites, especially those that bond with H, compared with in the bulk. This indicates that N is incorporated into a thin film together with H. This may generate H-related defects, which may lead to the degradation of its electric properties. These defects are difficult to minimize by post-annealing processes. Therefore, the amount of H attached to the growth surface should be reduced in order to obtain high-quality crystals. The calculated surface phase diagram suggests that a condition in which the extent of the incorporation of H-related defects can be reduced exists.