The interface structure and strain relief mechanisms in CdTe/GaAs(001) which had been grown by means of hot-wall epitaxy were studied by using high-resolution electron microscopy. The interface structure was determined for the GaAs surface which, when viewed in the [110] direction, was much rougher than it was in the [1¯10] direction. The interface in the [1¯10] cross-section was characterized by fluctuating misalignments across the film, a large number of planar defects, and 60°-type dislocations. On the other hand, the defect density in the [110] cross-section was considerably lower on the vicinal interface. The misfit dislocations were mainly of Lomer type. The strain which was retained in CdTe films, with a thickness of about 1 to 2, was of the order of 0.001 for both cross-sections. However, the strain in the [110] cross-section was larger than that in the [1¯10] cross-section.

X.Wu, A.A.Tikhonova, D.E.Sklovsky, N.A.Kiselev, Z.Wu: Philosophical Magazine A, 1994, 70[2], 277-85