Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 February 2011
Electron irradiation of InP, InAs and InSb crystals within the electron microscope causes the crystallization of nearsurface amorphous material and the oxidation of bulk crystalline material. The material most commonly found in both regions is cubic In2O3, although small regions (< 5 nm) of the corresponding In-c 6mpound semiconductors are sometimes recrystallized. The observations are consistent with desorption of the anion species due to electron-beam-stimulated processes, with subsequent oxidation of residual In metal.