THE EFFECT OF AN INTERFACIAL LAYER ON THE RELAXATION OF CDMNTE CDTE MULTIPLE-QUANTUM-WELL STRUCTURES ON INSB SUBSTRATES/

CdMnTe/CdTe multiple quantum well structures on InSb substrates have b een investigated by means of high-resolution x-ray diffraction and top ography. Simulation of the high-resolution x-ray diffraction profiles provided evidence of an interfacial layer at the interface between the InSb substrate and CdTe buffer layer. The topographs reveal the prese nce of misfit dislocations only in the sample with a thicker interfaci al layer. We show theoretically that an In2Te3 interfacial layer will significantly affect the critical thickness for misfit dislocation gen eration. We confirm experimentally that only the sample with the thick er interface layer exceeds the critical thickness.