Effect of the crystallographic orientation of GaSb films on their structural properties during MBE heteroepitaxy on vicinal Si(001) substrates

GaSb films were grown by molecular beam epitaxy using AlSb/As/Si transition layers on vicinal Si (001) substrates deflected 6$^\circ$ to the (111) plane. The influence of the GaSb films crystallographic orientation on their structural properties and surface morphology is investigated. It was found that GaSb(00$\bar1$)/Si films are characterized by better structural perfection, lower concentration of point defects and more planar and isotropic surface topography, compared with GaSb(001) films. Possible reason for the observed differences between GaSb films with different orientations is increased density of antiphase domains in GaSb(001) films. The morphological features of the grown films are caused by the terraces edges basically and by the anisotropy of the incorporation of Ga adatoms into the terraces edges, to a lesser extent.