Effect of MOVPE growth interruptions on the gallium arsenide interior interface morphology

We have studied MOVPE-grown interior GaAs/AlAs interfaces using highly selective etching combined with atomic force microscopy. We observe substantial restructuring for samples grown on both (100) exact and vicinal substrates. Interface structures differ significantly from sample surfaces after cool-down. On (100) exact substrates, the macroscopic monolayer island and terrace structure smoothes during growth interruptions over the whole 2 min period of time studied. A new, mesoscopic scale of roughness is detected for the first time. This structure does not depend on growth interruption time but does change its typical size at different growth temperatures. On vicinal substrates, we observe and quantify step bunching during growth interruption. The growing surface itself is smooth, in sharp contrast to the corresponding macrostepped GaAs sample surface obtained after cooling down.