This project addresses fundamental processes and atomic level details of chemical reactions, transport phenomena, and epitaxial crystal growth underlying metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy(MOVPE) of advanced III-V compound semiconductor structures. A major emphasis is on insitu monitoring of the crystal growth surface, and understanding the basic surface growth kinetics that dominate the increasingly common low pressure MOVPE regime. Fourier transform infrared(FTIR) spectroscopy will be used to study adsorption processes and surface kinetics of organometallic source compounds; extension to on-line process diagnostics in feedback control of atomic layer epitaxy processes will also be explored. An MOVPE reactor equipped with a recording microbalance will be used to directly measure growth kinetics of compound semiconductors. The information gained from these studies will form the basis for development of detailed models of the surface growth kinetics. These models will then be incorporated into existing MOVPE reactor models and tested against experimental MOVPE crystal growth data.
