Synchrotron-induced photoelectron spectroscopy was used to investigate the native-oxide-covered GaAs(1 0 0) surface and changes induced by etching with aqueous ammonia solution and by annealing in vacuum. The etching step removes arsenic and gallium oxides from the surface and the surface gets covered by elemental arsenic and tiny amounts of gallium suboxide. The surface oxygen content is reduced by an order of magnitude after etching, whereas the surface carbon content is somewhat increased. Annealing of this surface at 450 degreesC results in the disappearance of elemental arsenic and a considerable decrease in surface carbon and oxygen contents. The valence band spectra exhibit clear features typical for As-terminated GaAs(1 0 0) surfaces, as also obtained after As decapping. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.