Growth and characterization of heteroepitaxial CdTe and ZnTe on Ge(001) buffer layers

The microstructure of heteroepitaxial CdTe (001) and ZnTe(001) epilayers grown on Ge(001) buffer layers by molecular beam epitaxy has been characterized using electron microscopy. Apart from occasional {111} stacking faults originating at the interfacial region, the prevailing defects present in both systems are identified by high-resolution imaging as perfect Lomer edge dislocations with Burgers vectors of the type a/2〈110〉 parallel to the interface plane, which are indicative of well-relaxed material. Double-crystal rocking-curve measurements using Ge(001) buffer layers give full-width-at-half-maximum values of 210 arc-sec for a 7.5μm thick ZnTe film and 125 arc-sec for a 12μm thick CdTe film. Use of the Ge buffer layers on Si(001) substrates represents a valuable precursor for eventual growth of mercury cadmium telluride since this allows the substrate orientation to be maintained. The buffer layer also permits a substantial reduction of the in situ annealing temperature needed for substrate oxide removal.