Improvement of the crystallinity of a CdxZn1−xTe epitaxial film grown on a GaAs substrate using a ZnTe buffer layer

The effects of a ZnTe buffer layer on the structural and the optical properties of the CdxZn1−xTe films were investigated using CdxZn1−xTe epilayers on GaAs (100) substrates with and without ZnTe buffer layers. X-ray diffraction measurements showed that the grown layers were CdxZn1−xTe epitaxial films. Photoluminescence and transmission electron microscopy measurements showed that the crystallinity of the CdxZn1−xTe epilayers grown on the GaAs substrates was remarkably improved using the ZnTe buffer. These results suggest that CdxZn1−xTe epitaxial films grown on GaAs substrates with ZnTe buffers by a simple technique can be used for applications as buffer layers for high-quality HgxCd1−xTe layers.