Study of nitrogen location on ZnSe surface using ion scattering and recoiling spectrometry

Abstract

We have applied ion scattering and recoiling spectrometry to study the nitrogen location on radical nitrogen doped ZnSe surface by molecular beam epitaxy. In the recoiling nitrogen measurements of heavy doped ZnSe:N surface, a two-peak structure is observed corresponding to two recoil processes, i.e., direct recoil and surface recoil. Direct recoil events occur due to the single-collision recoiling from Se site nitrogen. On the other hand, surface recoil events occur due to the nitrogen recoiling scattered by second layers and is highly sensitive to the nitrogen location on the ZnSe:N surface during molecular beam epitaxy growth. The experimental results and calculation suggest that the optimum doped nitrogen atoms locate in the substitutional Se sites but excess nitrogen atoms locate in the interstitial sites.