Calibrated scanning spreading resistance microscopy profiling of carriers in III–V structures

Two-dimensional carrier profiling using scanning spreading resistance microscopy (SSRM) has recently been reported for Si- and InP-based structures. In this article, we report SSRM measurements solely on III–V material-based structures. We have studied GaAs and InP doping staircase structures, prepared using molecular-beam epitaxy. These structures were then used as calibration standards for the profiling of carrier density in state-of-the-art III–V-based optoelectronic devices. We discovered that SSRM data on GaAs can be obtained with either polarity; however, only one polarity (positive or negative sample bias for n- or $p-GaAs,$ respectively) produces SSRM results that show quantitative correlation with dopant concentration as determined by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). In comparison, SSRM measurements using both bias polarities on $n-InP$ correlates well with SIMS, while $p-InP$ exhibits a similar polarity dependence to p-type GaAs. A physical model based on a Schottky junction is proposed to explain these results. We also report calibrated SSRM measurements on GaAs and InP heterojunction bipolar transistor structures.