Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 February 2011
A study of Ga and In outdiffusion into Cd1−xMnxTe (0≥ x ≥ .70) epitaxial layers grown on (111)GaAs and (001)lnSb was carried out. The layers were grown by pulsed laser evaporation and epitaxy on substrates held at temperatures below 310 °C. The structural quality of the layers was examined using x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. A tendency toward precipitation of Ga at the near surface region of (11 1)CdMnTe grown on (11 1)GaAs, usually less than 300 nm wide, has been observed with secondary ion mass spectroscopy. Similar results were observed for the migration behaviour of In in (001)CdTe grown on (001)InSb. The ion imaging revealed that both In and Ga accumulate near the surface at localized spots, up to about 10 pm in diameter. The concentration of the spots is in the range of 104 - 106 cm−2. The Ga- and In-rich channels sometimes extend over the whole sample. Annealing at temperatures as low as 400 °C for 2 h significantly increases the concentration of the Ga spots and the average concentration of Ga in the films to above 1016 cm−3. Low-temperature photoluminescence data obtained for annealed samples do not indicate any structural deterioration typical for heavily doped Bridgman grown samples. A sharp neutral-donor bound-exciton transition (D°,X) is observed for samples with 0 < x < .10.