STRAINS IN HGTE HG0.1CD0.9TE SUPERLATTICES GROWN ON (211)B CD0.96ZN0.04TE SUBSTRATES/

Strains in HgTe/Hg0.1Cd0.9Te superlattices grown on (211)B Cd0.96Zn0.0 4Te substrates have been investigated by high-resolution x-ray diffrac tion. The lattice mismatch, the tensile as well as the shear strain ha ve been obtained by measuring symmetric and asymmetric diffraction pro files in different azimuths. These measured strain parameters are then used to extract from the diffraction profiles the chemical compositio n and thickness of individual layers constituting the superlattice per iod. The analysis is based on the theory of elasticity, in which the s train tensor components in partially relaxed epitaxial layers are calc ulated by minimizing the strain energy density. The method presented i n this article is valid for the strain analysis of partially relaxed e pitaxial layers grown on arbitrarily oriented surfaces. (C) 1997 Ameri can Institute of Physics.