The Influence of the Growth Temperature on the Structural Properties of {CdO/ZnO}30 Superlattices

Abstract

The {ZnO/CdO}30 superlattices (SLs) series were grown at different temperatures (350-550 °C) on m-plane Al2O3 substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. The structural properties of SLs were investigated using high resolution XRD and TEM methods. The periodic structure of the obtained {ZnO/CdO}30 SLs was confirmed by cross-sectional TEM images. Satellite peaks (S1, S2, S3...) surrounding the main zero-order peak (S0) and characteristic of the periodic superlattice structure were found in the X-ray analysis. X’Pert Epitaxy software was used to simulate the XRD data to determine the ZnO and CdO sublayers thicknesses and the SLs period. It was found that growth at relatively low temperatures is favorable for the quality of the superlattices. The thicknesses of the ZnO and CdO sublayers change with growth temperature. Some deterioration of the {ZnO/CdO}30 structure quality and changes in the period of the superlattices were also confirmed by TEM analysis.