High quality large-area CdTe(211)B on Si(211) grown by molecular beam epitaxy

We describe the growth of high quality CdTe(211)B layers by molecular beam epitaxy on nominal Si(211) substrates. Prior to CdTe deposition, thin ZnTe(211)B buffer layers were grown to preserve the homo-orientation. Large-area CdTe(211)B layers were routinely obtained by optimizing the growth parameters. From x-ray diffraction, we observed the presence of twin-free CdTe(211)B layers. One 8 μm thick CdTe epilayer had a near-surface etch pit density of 1.5×105 cm−2, which surpassed the best value reported for CdTe(211)B grown on GaAs(211)B, GaAs/Si(211), or Si(211) substrates.