Application of nano-EBIC to the characterization of GaAs and InP homojunctions

High resolution electron-beam-induced current (EBIC) analyses were carried out on InP and GaAs substrates with a home-made atomic force microscope (AFM) combined with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). With this scanning nano-EBIC microscope, a sample can be conventionally imaged by SEM, its local topography investigated by AFM and nano-EBIC image simultaneously obtained. In this study, we report the utilization of nano-EBIC microscopy for imaging and characterizing GaAs and InP homojunctions. I-V characteristic measurements allow understanding of the electrical behavior of the AFM tip-sample contact. The electron probe intensity must be larger than about 100 pA to be able to generate an induced current because of the surface states which act as non-radiative recombination centers. The minority carrier diffusion length of InP and GaAs is measured and compared for different electron probe currents and it is shown that the measurements are not perturbed by photon recycling, i.e. the self-absorption of photons that gives rise to an extra generation of electron-hole pairs.