Structural properties of PbTe films studied by X-ray asymmetric reflections

Abstract Structural properties of PbTe films grown by RF sputtering are investigated, utilizing X-ray asymmetric reflections in a Bragg-Brentano diffractometer. The results of a recent paper are applied in which the instrumental effects due to the asymmetric conditions of scattering are discussed in detail. The data are analyzed by means of a computer program that accounts for all instrumental effects on the experimental profile and gives corrected values for lattice parameter and line profile breadth. Different results are found depending on substrate (Al 2 O 3 or NaCl) and annealing treatment. In particular, in case of Al 2 O 3 substrates, elastic deformations are observed, so that the lattice parameter of the unstressed film has to be derived by an extrapolation procedure utilizing the results of the theory of elasticity.