Photoassisted molecular beam epitaxial growth of ZnSe under high UV irradiances

ZnSe has been deposited on (100) GaAs by molecular beam epitaxy under a uv irradiance of 4 W cm-2. At this level, the ZnSe growth rate can be severely reduced or stopped altogether. The authors show for the first time that the reduction in growth rate is a strong function of layer thickness for epilayers less than approximately 2000 AA thick. The growth rate under laser irradiation is found to be directly proportional to the Se flux, demonstrating that Se is the minority surface species even under high VI-II flux ratios. Furthermore they present observations indicating that the electron stimulated desorption of Se by RHEED beams and the photostimulated desorption are both due to the accumulation of photoinduced holes at the growth surface.