In this work the authors present an electrical characterization of the so called arrowhead defects (ADs) in GaInP thin films grown on Ge(100) substrates misoriented by 6 degrees toward (111). The samples have been evaluated by means of conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) and Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM). It is shown that the ADs have terminating planes which are composed from two alternating subplanes inclined 12 degrees (close to {105} plane) and 6 degrees (close to {109}) with respect to the (100) plane. The terminating planes of the arrowhead defects possess higher conductivity compared to their surrounding. The terminating planes differ also in their electrical behavior from each other, demonstrating different values of conductivity (C-AFM) and bucking voltages (KPFM). The difference in current densities between two terminating planes was found to be similar to 170 +/- 35 mu A/m(2) at -3 V, and the difference in the bucking voltages was similar to 70 mV at 5 V of the electrical excitation signal in the lift mode. It is suggested that the distinctive electrical behavior of the ADs is caused by an ordering effect which leads in this case to the degraded electrical properties of the ADs. (C) 2010 American Vacuum Society. [DOI:10.1116/1.3454373]