Graphene assisted III-V epitaxy towards substrate recycling

Re-using the substrate is identified as a method for reducing the cost of high efficiency III-V solar cells. The approach investigated here consists in inserting a graphene layer onto a (001)GaAs substrate prior to the epitaxial growth of GaAs. To obtain a monocrystalline GaAs grown layer, the graphene layer is patterned, followed by a two-step epitaxial growth, here performed by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The first step is a selective area growth of GaAs in graphene openings, followed by a lateral overgrowth, under a modulated Ga flux. The second step, after reaching coalescence, consists in a regular growth under continuous Ga supply. It is observed that the pattern orientations relative to the crystallographic direction of the GaAs substrate below the graphene have an influence on GaAs morphology and quality. The best result was obtained for patterns oriented along [1__10]+22.5{\textdegree} with a graphene coverage of 50%, with a significantly reduced roughness down to 3.3 nm.