Example of a compound semiconductor surface that mimics silicon: The InP(001)-(2x1) reconstruction

An InP(001)-(2 x 1) reconstruction was prepared by metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy. Scanning tunneling micrographs and infrared spectra of adsorbed hydrogen revealed that the (2 x 1) is terminated with a complete layer of buckled phosphorous dimers, giving rise to p(2 x 2) and c(4 x 2) domains. A surface band gap of 1.2 +/- 0.2 eV was measured by scanning tunneling spectroscopy. The buckling can be explained by electron correlation among the dangling bonds of pairs of phosphorous dimers. This allows the surface to achieve a lower energy, semiconducting state. This reconstruction mimics the Si(100)-(2 x 1), which is terminated with buckled silicon dimers. [S0031-9007(99)08534-8].