The growth of CdTe films directly onto H-terminated Si(111), using the hot-wall method at temperatures above 400C, was studied. The X-ray diffraction patterns revealed that the CdTe films had a strong preferential orientation of the (111) plane. In particular, no other peaks could be detected on films which were grown at a substrate temperature of 325C. Pyramidal hillocks with a uniform direction were observed on the surfaces of films which were grown using substrate temperatures of 300C and 325C. The X-ray full-width at half-maximum of the (333) reflection, of a 0.7μm-thick CdTe film grown at 325C, was 288arcsec. A strong defect-related photoluminescence band at 1.47eV revealed the existence of extended defects such as dislocations or internal strain near to the CdTe(111)/Si(111) interface.

Growth of CdTe on Hydrogen-Terminated Si(111). S.Seto, S.Yamada, K.Suzuki: Journal of Crystal Growth, 2000, 214-215, 5-8