Studies of ZnSe-based semiconductor thin films using grazing incidence x-ray scattering and diffraction

Grazing incidence x-ray scattering and x-ray diffraction techniques have been employed to investigate the microstructures in various ZnSe-based semiconductor thin films grown on GaAs substrates by molecular beam epitaxy and metalorganic chemical vapor deposition methods. The results are also used for a comparison of the interfacial roughness and overall quality of the II–VI thin films prepared by these two different growth methods. Structural parameters such as the interfacial roughness and layer thickness obtained from the scattering measurements and lattice constants obtained from the x-ray diffraction pattern around the GaAs(004) peak can be correlated with the film deposition rate, compound composition, and lattice strain in the epilayers. We thus demonstrate that x-ray scattering techniques in conjunction with diffraction measurements are useful tools for nondestructive characterization of buried interfaces in semiconductor layer materials.