Impurity induced disordering of CdZnSe/ZnSe strained layer superlattices by germanium diffusion

Abstract

We report the first confirmation of disordering of CdZnSe/ZnSe strained layer superlattices (SLSs) by Ge diffusion. Both the as-grown sample and the sample annealed without a Ge layer showed several orders of well-resolved double crystal x-ray satellite peaks due to SLS periodic structure. However, the satellite peaks completely disappeared in the Ge-diffused sample, indicating that the SLS structure was disordered by the Ge diffusion and not caused by the annealing process. PL measurements at 1.4 K of both the as-grown and the annealed samples without Ge diffusion show identical, sharp excitonic emission around 483 nm. After Ge diffusion, the PL peaks shift to higher energy confirming the layer disordering of the SLS.