Characterization of the α-Sn/CdTe(110) interface by angle-resolved X-ray photoemission

• Published in: Surface science 1987-04, Vol.183 (1), p.113-122
• Main Authors: Lin, Tzer-Shen, Partin, William J., Damminga, Gregg M., Parrill, Thomas M., Lee, Won-Jong, Chung, Yip-Wah
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Exact sciences and technology; Physics; Solid surfaces and solid-solid interfaces; Surfaces and interfaces; thin films and whiskers (structure and nonelectronic properties)
• ISSN: 0039-6028; 1879-2758
• DOI: 10.1016/S0039-6028(87)80338-2

Stoichiometric and atomically clean CdTe(110) surfaces have been prepared by suitable chemical etching, followed by argon sputtering, and sample annealing in ultrahigh vacuum. Cubic α-tin was grown on CdTe(110) by tin evaporation from a tungsten filament at a substrate temperature of 30°C. Angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (ARXPS) was used to determine the composition profile of this semiconductor heterostructure nondestructively. In this technique, the angular variations of photoemitted electrons from the substrate and the overlayer are related to the composition profile within the XPS sampling depth. The actual composition profile is obtained by applying the simplex optimization algorithm on the ARXPS data. From our analyses, we conclude that α-Sn grown at 30°C forms an abrupt junction with CdTe(110).