CRITICAL THICKNESS OF ZN1-XCDXSE ZNSE HETEROSTRUCTURES GROWN ON RELAXED ZNSE BUFFER LAYERS ON BARE GAAS SUBSTRATES/

We study through high-resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD) and photolu minescence spectroscopy a series of Zn1-xCdxSe/ZnSe multi-quantum-well heterostructures grown by molecular-beam epitaxy on relaxed ZnSe buff er layers, themselves grown on bare GaAs substrates. We show that HRXR D experiments combined with simulations allow one to accurately assess the strain state of the heterostructures which appear to follow close ly the Matthews and Blakeslee model [J. Cryst. Growth 27, 118 (1974)]. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.