Growth and properties of PbTe films on porous silicon

Abstract

The structural and electrical characteristics of vacuum deposited PbTe films on Si substrate with buffer porous silicon (PS) layer were investigated. Auger electron spectroscopy, electron and optical microscopy data have shown the absence of cracks, pores, metal and chalcogen microinclusions. A mosaic structure with a grain size of 20–60 μm was detected by selective chemical etching and acoustic microscopy methods. The investigations of X-ray diffraction and X-ray pole figures showed that grains have [100] orientation along the growth direction. The cooling–heating (300–77–300 K) cycles of multilayer PbTe/sublayer/Si structures did not lead to the processes of peeling or appearance of cracks. It was found that thick amorphous layers on a PS surface change the nature of PbTe films growth.