Role of surface structural motifs on the stability and reflectance anisotropy spectra of Sb-rich GaSb(001) reconstructions

The structure of the technologically important—but still mostly unknown—GaSb(001)–c(2×6) surface reconstruction is investigated by means of ab initio simulations of reflectance anisotropy spectroscopy (RAS) and total energy calculations. A large number of reconstruction models for the GaSb(001) surface in the Sb-rich coverage regime are considered. The influence of each single surface structural motif on the RAS spectra is studied in detail, as well as their role in the surface stability with regard to application of the electron counting rule (ECR). We interpret the features of the RAS data measured for this reconstruction and suggest a new model for the c(2×6) phase. In this model a few Sb atoms in the second layer are randomly substituted by Ga, forming surface antisite defects. When used to fulfill the ECR, this “doping” effect considerably lowers the total energy of the long chain c(2×6) reconstruction model, making it competitive with the more stable short-chain (4×3) reconstructions. Formation of the surface antisites occurs spontaneously in the presence of dynamical negative charge fluctuations and is favored by the excellent matching between GaSb(001) and metallic Sb and by the natural softness of the Ga–Sb bonds. Calculations of the reflectance anisotropy spectra confirm that this structure is a major component of a largely disordered surface, where motifs of the stable (4×3) reconstructions are also present.