Nucleation kinetics of molecular-beam epitaxially grown (001) ZnTe and CdTe surfaces

Abstract
Reflection high‐energy electron diffraction desorption studies have been performed on epitaxial (001) ZnTe surfaces. The desorption of Cd and Te were observed to follow a simple first‐order rate law, while the desorption of Zn was more complicated. Activation energies of 3.7, 1.8, and 3.9 eV were found for Zn, Cd, and Te, respectively, on the ZnTe surface. The congruent evaporation temperature was determined to be 400 °C. The nucleation kinetics of (001) ZnTe and (001) CdTe are compared. A theoretical model was employed to predict a method for growing high‐quality ZnxCd1−xTe .