THE EFFECT OF A ZNTE BUFFER LAYER ON THE STRUCTURAL AND OPTICAL-PROPERTIES OF THE CDTE/ZNTE/GAAS STRAINED HETEROSTRUCTURES GROWN BY TEMPERATURE-GRADIENT VAPOR-TRANSPORT DEPOSITION

Abstract

Lattice-mismatched CdTe epilayers on GaAs (100) substrates with and without ZnTe buffer layers were grown by the simple method of double-well temperature gradient vapor-transport deposition. X-ray diffraction measurements were performed to investigate the structural properties of the epitaxial layers. Photoluminescence and transmission electron microscopy measurements showed that the crystallinity of the CdTe epilayers grown on the GaAs substrates was remarkably improved using the ZnTe buffer. The strain of the CdTe layer was determined from photoreflectance measurements. These results indicated that the CdTe epitaxial films grown on GaAs substrates with the ZnTe buffer can be used for applications as buffer layers for the growth of HgxCd1-xTe and CdxZn1-xTe. (C) 1995 American Institute of Physics.