The epitaxial growth of PbSe onto (111)- and (100)-oriented Si substrates, with no intermediate buffer layer, was studied. It was found that, on (111), the orientation of the IV-VI layer could be varied from (100) at 200C to (111) at 400C. On (100)-oriented substrates, only (100)-oriented layers were obtained over the entire temperature range. It was noted that (100)-oriented layers, with thicknesses of more than 0.5, were cracked by stresses which were generated during cooling to room temperature. The strain could not be relaxed by dislocation glide in the first glide systems, as in the case of (111)-oriented layers. The structural quality of (100)-oriented PbSe layers, on (100) and (111) substrates, was inferior when compared with layers that were grown by using an intermediate BaF2/CaF2 or CaF2 buffer layer. It was suggested that the covalent/ionic PbSe/Si interface impeded high-quality epitaxy.

P.Müller, A.Fach, J.John, A.N.Tiwari, H.Zogg, G.Kostorz: Journal of Applied Physics, 1996, 79[4], 1911-6