Interface-Driven Growth Mode Control of 2D GaSe on 3D GaAs Substrates with Distinct Crystallographic Orientations

TL;DR

This study reveals how substrate interface engineering influences the growth orientation and morphology of 2D GaSe films on GaAs, enabling controlled heterostructure fabrication.

Contribution

It introduces a new interface-driven orientation control mechanism for 2D GaSe growth on different GaAs substrate orientations.

Findings

Resolved the origin of tilted versus non-tilted 2D growth.

Established a substrate symmetry and dangling-bond coordination rule.

Demonstrated a scalable pathway for heterostructure control.

Abstract

Previous studies of the growth of two-dimensional (2D) gallium selenide (GaSe) by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on a gallium arsenide (GaAs) three-dimensional (3D) substrate have reported significant differences in growth morphology, polytype, and the nature of the interface. The results differ, ranging from GaSe 2D film growth at tilted 2D planes to observed spiral structures, thereby calling for a deeper understanding of the impact of the substrate interface on the growth of GaSe films. In this paper, we conduct a comprehensive reexamination of the growth mechanism of GaSe on GaAs substrates with (211)B and (001)B orientations, investigating the nature of the 2D/3D interface and the resulting morphology of the 2D GaSe films. We do this by investigating different methods of preparation of the GaAs substrate surface before the growth of GaSe by MBE, the importance of which has not been considered before. Our results resolve the mechanistic origin of tilted versus non-tilted 2D growth and establish a general interface-driven orientation selection rule linking substrate symmetry and dangling-bond coordination to layered heteroepitaxy. This framework provides a scalable interface-engineering pathway for deterministic control of layered chalcogenide heterostructures and enables wafer-scale integration with established semiconductor device platforms.