A novel method was developed for obtaining diffusion-controlled atomic concentration profiles in II-VI semiconductor heterostructures by using high-resolution X-ray diffraction methods. Measured diffraction spectra were compared with simulations that were based upon the direct summation of scattered waves across the heterostructure. Short-range variations in structural parameters, such as concentrations of components, and interface roughness, could be easily introduced into the simulation. Application of the fitting procedure to experimental spectra from variously annealed CdTe/HgCdTe heterostructures, grown by using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition, permitted the determination of the Hg or Cd concentration depth profiles as a function of the annealing temperature. In this way, the activation energy and the pre-exponential coefficient for Hg diffusion could be found.

N.Mainzer, D.Shilo, E.Zolotoyabko, G.Bahir, A.Sher, K.Cytermann, R.Brener: Journal of Applied Physics, 1997, 82[6], 2869-76