The desorption rate of In atoms from an InAs surface and its dependence on surface As coverage is reported. InAs films were grown by molecular beam epitaxy on fully strained 1 monolayer thick In0.75Ga0.25As films deposited on (001) InAs substrates. Using a sensitive technique based on reflection high‐energy electron diffraction, the desorption rate for In is found to be highly dependent on the As coverage. During a sublimation process, where In from an InAs surface is desorbed, the desorption rate at 510 °C is five times greater for a group III stabilized surface than for an As‐stabilized surface. The difference in desorption rate is believed to be related to changes in the In to surface bond strengths. ©1995 American Institute of Physics.