Observation of Photoinduced Alkyl Group Elimination from Precursors in Organometallic Vapor-Phase Epitaxy of Zn-Based II-VI Semiconductors

Abstract
We observed, from mass analysis, enhancement of alkyl group elimination from alkylzinc (dimethyl- and diethylzinc) under photoirradiation of energy higher than the band gaps of the underlying II-VI semiconductors, where the growth rates in organometallic vapor-phase epitaxy (OMVPE) of these materials are remarkably enhanced. This result suggests the association of carriers generated at the growth surface for the alkyl group elimination, and this phenomenon seems to be one of the fundamental chemical processes contributing to the growth rate enhancement of Zn-based II-VI semiconductors.