9414298 Ohuchi In this proposal we outline a research program to investigate the growth and characterization of new GaAs based structures. the motivation of this program originated from our on-going research effort to develop novel processing routes for growing heterostructures without regard to their lattice matching requirement. In this effort, we have developed a growth method called van der Waals epitaxy (VDWE). VDWE is the epitaxial growth of crystallographically two-dimensional (2D) layered materials, of which layers are held together by van der Waals forces, and contain no unsatisfied covalent bonds at the surface. We have demonstrated in the past that these van der Waals materials can be grown epitaxially on a wide range of three-dimensional (3D) materials including GaAs, A12O3 and CaF2. If GaAs Layers could then be grown on top of this van der Waals surface, it would be possible to effectively decouple the interface between the two 3D materials with dissimilar lattice constants and thereby accommodate the lattice mismatch. Due to the weak van der Waals forces across the interface, it is also possible to remove (or lift-off) the epitaxial layers for both characterizing broad area thin films and further processing of decoupled heterostructure devices. ***
