A systematic dependence of the density and type of stacking defects upon the substrate surface chemistry and the mode of film growth was observed in ZnSe-based films which had been grown onto GaAs substrates. Thus, the density of Frank-type stacking faults was very high for films which had been grown on Ga-rich surfaces, but was very low for films which had been grown on As-stabilized surfaces that had been exposed to Zn before the growth of the film. On the other hand, the density of Shockley-type stacking faults increased when films were grown via the 3D growth mode in the initial stages of growth, but greatly decreased when the films were grown via layer-by-layer growth. Films with stacking fault densities which were as low as 10000/cm2 were obtained by growing films via layer-by-layer growth onto GaAs epilayers with As-stabilized surfaces that were exposed to Zn for 60 to 120s before the growth of the films.

L.H.Kuo, L.Salamanca-Riba, B.J.Wu, G.Hofler, J.M.DePuydt, H.Cheng: Applied Physics Letters, 1995, 67[22], 3298-300