Characterization of II–VI semiconductor compounds grown by metallo‐organic chemical vapour deposition

Abstract

CdTe and HgCdTe epitaxial layers were grown on 50 mm diameter (100) GaAs wafers in a Quantax 226 metallo‐organic chemical vapour deposition system. Dimethylcadmium, diethyl telluride and elemental mercury were used as starting materials in the thermal growth process which takes place in a flow of hydrogen at 250–350°C. The layers were characterized by (1) an interference contrast microscope for surface morphology; (2) FTIR spectros‐copy for compositional and thickness uniformity; (3) x‐ray topography and double crystal diffractometry for the non‐destructive evaluation of the crystalline quality and microstructure; (4) energy‐dispersive x‐ray analysis (WDX/EDX) for compositional studies; (5) transmission electron microscopy for interface observations and analysis; and (6) Rutherford backscattering and channelling analysis for surface stoichiometry and crystal quality determinations.