Direct and fast growth of GaAs thin films on glass and polyethylene terephthalate substrates using a thermionic vacuum arc

Using a thermionic vacuum arc, single‐crystal gallium arsenide (GaAs) layers of micron thickness were grown on PET and glass substrates in 2 min. We present a new deposition mechanism and parameters for GaAs thin films produced in a very short time. Crystal direction was found to be (111) plane for the GaAs/PET sample and (022) plane and (133) plane for the GaAs/glass sample, respectively. The average roughness values of the deposited thin films were determined to be approximately 30 nm for GaAs/PET and 60 nm for GaAs/glass. The structures can be seen clearly in field emission scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The obtained optical band is nearly the same with literatures values of the GaAs. Although produced structures in different crystal formations, only aggregations dimensions and absorbance of the layers were changed. Obtained refractive index values are nearly same with database info.