System for recording and analysis of reflection high-energy electron diffraction patterns

An efficient and fast system for recording and analysis of reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) patterns is described. The software developed for this system includes three program packages: one for operating in the single-window mode, one for operating in the four-window mode, and one for the linear regime. Examples are given of the use of the system for monitoring and control of growth of III–V semiconductor compounds by molecular-beam epitaxy. Using this system, we discovered an effect wherein a periodic splitting of the RHEED peaks occurs during the growth of GaAs (100).