TRANSIENT-BEHAVIOR OF HG1-XCDXTE FILM GROWTH ON 3-DEGREES OFF-(100) CDTE SUBSTRATES BY CHEMICAL-VAPOR TRANSPORT

The effects of substrate misorientation on Hg1-xCdxTe films, deposited on 3 degrees off-(100) CdTe substrates by chemical vapor transport (C VT), have been studied for the first time using a transient growth tec hnique. The morphological evolution of Hg1-xCdxTe films deposited on t he vicinal CdTe substrates at 545 degrees C shows a transition from th ree-dimensional islands to two-dimensional layer growth. The time and thickness required for the above morphological transition is about 0.7 5 h and 7 mu m, respectively, under present experimental conditions. T he pronounced long-range-terrace surface morphology of the Hg1-xCdxTe films illustrates the strong effects of the misorientation of the CdTe substrates and of the growth kinetics on the CVT growth of this heter o-epitaxial system. The transient behavior of the surface morphology, of the surface composition, and of the growth rate all reveal the infl uences of the 3 degrees misorientation of the (100) CdTe substrates on the Hg1-xCdxTe epitaxy. The experimental mass flux results of the Hg1 -xCdxTe-HgI2 CVT system under transient and steady-state conditions ca n be related to the surface kinetics and to the thermodynamic properti es of the system. The combined results show that the interface kinetic s are not fixed in the transient regime and that they are coupled to t he vapor mass transport.