Defects of crystal structure in semiconductor nanocrystals embedded in an amorphous matrix were studied by X-ray diffraction and a full-profile analysis of the diffraction curves based on the Debye formula. A new theoretical model was proposed, describing the diffraction from randomly distributed intrinsic and extrinsic stacking faults and twin blocks in the nanocrystals. The application of the model to full-profile analysis of experimental diffraction curves enables the determination of the concentrations of individual defect types in the nanocrystals. The method was applied for the investigation of self-organized Ge nanocrystals in an SiO2 matrix, and the dependence of the structure quality of the nanocrystals on their deposition and annealing parameters was obtained.

Crystal Structure of Defect-Containing Semiconductor Nanocrystals - an X-Ray Diffraction Study. M.Buljan, U.V.Desnica, N.Radic, G.Drazic, Z.Matej, V.Vales, V.Holý: Journal of Applied Crystallography, 2009, 42[4], 660-72