Growth of ZnSe epilayer on Si using Ge/GexSi1-x buffer structure

The epitaxial growth of ZnSe layers on Si substrates utilizing a Ge/Ge0.95Si0.0.5/Ge0.9Si0.1 buffer structure is demonstrated. In this study, we examine the structure, optical characteristics and atomic interdiffusion of the ZnSe epilayer grown on Si. In a sample with a 2degrees off-cut Si substrate, the outdiffusion of Ge into the ZnSe epilayer is suppressed. The low-temperature PL measurements indicate that the sample with a 2degrees off-cut Si substrate improves its optical characteristic effectively. The X-ray diffraction analysis and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results indicate that the use of a 2degrees off-cut Ge/Ge0.95Si0.05/ Ge0.9Si0.1/Si substrate markedly improves the crystallinity of and reduced the number of threading dislocations in ZnSe grown on Si.