High Resolution X-ray Diffraction Studies of MBE-Grown HgCdTe Layers on Bulk-Grown CdZnTe Substrate

Abstract

The structural properties of molecular beam epitaxially (MBE)-grown Hg1−x Cd x Te epilayers on CdZnTe (211) substrate have been investigated using high-resolution x-ray topography and rocking curves. High-resolution x-ray diffraction 2θ–θ scans of (422) reflections were utilized in calculating the out-of-plane lattice parameters of the HgCdTe layer and the CdZnTe substrate. The lattice strain of the HgCdTe layer was evaluated using the in-plane measurements of the (311) reflection. Etching seemed to improve the surface of the substrate by removing any damage caused by polishing or any post-processing. In spite of some localized line dislocations, a remarkable quality of the MBE-grown HgCdTe layer was observed. The full width at half maximum values of the HgCdTe layer and the CdZnTe substrate were determined as 43 arc-s and 16.2 arc-s, respectively.