Metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy and characterization of Zn1-xFexSe films

The epitaxial growth of the diluted magnetic semiconductor (DMS) Zn1-xFexSe (0<x≤0.22) by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) is reported. The films were grown on (100) GaAs substrates in a vertical stagnation flow reactor with a specially designed inlet to minimize prereactions between the groups II and VI precursors. The precursors used in this study were (CH3)2Zn:N(CH2H5)3, Fe(CO)5, and H2Se diluted in H2 carrier gas. The epilayers were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman, absorption, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopies (XPS). Typical growth rates were from 3-4 μm/h, which are significantly higher than those obtained by molecular beam epitaxy. Thus, in addition to the growth of DMS multilayer structures, MOVPE appears to be very promising for efficient growth of thick DMS films for Faraday magneto-optical applications.