X-Ray Diffraction Analysis of Heteroepitaxial Cd1-yZnyTe on GaAs

X-ray diffraction techniques were used to evaluate Cd1-yZnyTe grown on GaAs substrate orientations of {100}2°, {111}, {012}, and {123}. High-quality layers having compositions at or close to the CdTe and ZnTe binary end points can be grown on GaAs, but most of the ternary compositions have extremely broad rocking curves. Layers grown on {123} and {012} were found to have large tilts toward {111} about that varied systematically with the lattice mismatch; this is consistent with the mismatch being accommodated by the formation of a low-angle tilt boundary at the interface. {111} layers were found to be twinned, and thus {100}2° and {123} appear to better suited for vapor-phase epitaxial growth (VPE). High-resolution x-ray diffractometer measurements showed that the lattice mismatch is almost entirely taken up by plastic deformation, and only a small tetragonal distortion was measured. CdTe was distorted more than ZnTe, and a greater distortion was measured for layers grown on {100}2° than on {111}, in agreement with estimates made using bulk elastic constants.