Crack healing during molecular-beam-epitaxy growth of GaP∕GaAs thin films

A crack-healing phenomenon occurring during epitaxial growth of GaP films on a GaAs substrate was studied by transmission electron microscopy. The process is driven by a decrease in the surface energy of the cracked film. The results indicate that the fundamental mechanism operating during healing is the deposition and diffusion of Ga and P atoms onto the crack surface in the GaP lattice, combined with self-diffusion of GaAs within the crack …