Atomic nature of organometallic-vapor-phase-epitaxial growth

{ital In} {ital situ} x-ray scattering has been used to study a growing film (ZnSe on GaAs) during organometallic vapor phase epitaxy. This first {ital in} {ital situ} study of non-ultrahigh-vacuum growth revealed a surprisingly stable and well-ordered {ital p}(2{times}1) reconstruction during growth despite the presence of organic-reaction by-products. Also, dramatic changes in the specular x-ray reflectivity were found while investigating transient kinetic effects during alternate source epitaxy. These results demonstrate the power of {ital in} {ital situ} x-ray-scattering studies in the characterization of these complex processes.