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.