Study of the morphology and optical properties of anodic oxide layers on InAs (111)III

The effect of the electrolyte composition on the surface morphology and the dispersion dependences of the refractive index and extinction coefficient of ∼20-nm-thick anodic layers on InAs (111)III substrates is studied by atomic force microscopy and spectral ellipsometry. It is shown that oxidation in electrolytes with different acidities does not modify the surface morphology of the initial InAs substrates. The films formed upon oxidation exhibit close dispersion dependences, despite the difference in the chemical composition between the films. This makes possible the high-precision monitoring of the thickness of anodic layers on InAs substrates by means of ellipsometry with the optical model of a single-layer isotropic film on an absorbing substrate.