SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE PHYSICS AND DESIGN

10 CHAPTER 1. STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF SEMICONDUCTORS

A TOMS ON T HE (111) PLA NE

C oul d be ei ther G a or A s

1 bo nd conne cti ng an ad j acent

pl an e on one side

3 bo nd s conne cti ng an ad j acent

pl an e on the othe r side

A TOMS ON T HE (110) PLA NE

E ach at om ha s 4 bo nd s:

• 2 bo nd s i n the ( 110) pl an e


• 1 bo nd conne cts ea ch at om to
  adjacent (110) pl anes
  C lea v ing ad j acent pl an es
  requ i res br ea k ing 1 bo nd pe r at om

A TOMS ON T HE (001) PLA NE

2 bonds conne ct each atom to

adjacent (001) pl ane

A tom s ar e ei ther G a or A s i n a

GaAs crystal

C lea v ing ad j acent pl an es

r equ i res br ea k ing 2 bo nd s pe r at om

Figure 1.6: Some important planes in the cubic system along with their Miller indices. This
figure also shows how many bonds connect adjacent planes. This number determines how easy
or difficult it is to cleave the crystal along these planes.