ABSTRACTThe arsenic antisite-arsenic interstitial pair model for the stable configuration of the EL2 defect in GaAs has stimulated new experimental and theoretical studies, the results of which lead to additional support for this model. Recent theoretical studies, taking into account the effect of a Jahn Teller distortion of the T2 Asi levels have given an insight into the stability and the electronic structure of the defect pair. Further, ODENDOR studies have directly confirmed this model and allowed one to specify the lattice location and the charge state of the Asi ion. The pair structure of this defect implies a reconsideration of the charge states of the EL2 defect, as well as the origin of the optical absorption bands for which transitions on the Asi ion and intracenter bands have also to be considered. The model leads further to a description of the metastable configuration : an arsenic molecule at the gallium vacancy site, the electronic structure of which is calculated. The vacancy related defects, known from electron irradiation studies, are not detected in LEC grown GaAs as native defects.
