Ion beams as a tool for the characterization of near-pseudomorphic CdZnO epilayers

Abstract

In this paper we show the application of Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and ion channeling (RBS/C) for the detection of compositional and strain gradients in CdZnO grown almost pseudomorphically on MgZnO. The asymmetric features revealed in X-ray diffraction studies were explained by the compositional gradient found in the first 100 nm close to the interface. Calculations of the effect of such a gradient on the strain state of the layer were developed and contrasted with RBS/C angular scans. Additionally, the substitutional behavior of Cd (and Mg) in Zn-sites was demonstrated.

Nanostructures and thin films of transparent conductive oxides studied by perturbed angular correlations

“…The film was grown on a 500 nm thick MgZnO buffer layer at T s = 380 o C on a-plane sapphire, the former serves to reduce the lattice mismatch and prevent the propagation of defects from the sapphire to the Cd 0.16 Zn 0.84 O layer [2]. The structural characterization of these samples has been reported previously [14]. Two different samples of -Ga 2 O 3 were used, a powder pellet and nanowires (both polycrystalline-like, consisting of a distribution of randomly oriented micro-crystals, from the point of view of the PAC measurement).…”