Photoluminescence spectroscopy was used to study the effect of mixed crystal orientations upon the defect centers in thin films which had been grown, by means of metalorganic chemical vapor deposition, onto a GaAs substrate. It was shown that some novel spectral features were observed at 1.36 and 1.32eV when appreciable fractions of both (211) and (331) CdTe were present. These features disappeared gradually when the sample was subjected to low-temperature annealing in an inert atmosphere. Optimum annealing conditions were deduced from the enhancement of the excitonic region. Activation energies were estimated for the 1.59, 1.47, 1.36 and 1.32eV bands, and quantitative measurements were made of the shift in transition energy due to annealing.

D.J.Brink, H.W.Kunert: Journal of Applied Physics, 1995, 78[11], 6720-5