Influence of the interface layer on the strain relaxation of ZnSe epitaxial layers grown by MBE on (001)GaAs

ZnSe epilayers grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs(001) substrates are investigated by grazing incidence x-ray diffraction, reciprocal space mapping and transmission electron microscopy. Our data show that the Zn/Se beam pressure ratio employed during the early stages of the ZnSe growth (2 nm) strongly affects the structural properties of the overgrown stoichiometric epilayer. The different strain status of the interface (tensile and compressive for the Zn-rich and Se-rich interfaces, respectively) is directly involved in the defects evolution mechanism. While the same order of magnitude of 60o dislocations was measured in all the specimens, three orders of magnitude more stacking-faults were measured in samples with a Zn-rich interface with respect to those with a Se-rich interface. In addition, a contraction of the lattice parameter towards the sample surface along the growth direction is observed only in the sample grown with an excess of Se at the interface. This lattice gradient can be explained by the presence of point defects within the II-VI epilayer thickness. The formation of point defects could be favoured by the presence of the Se-rich compressive strained interface.