Origin of a localized vibrational mode in a GaSb substrate with a MBE-grown ZnTe epilayer

Abstract

A localized vibrational mode (LVM) with a remarkable fine structure is observed in the infrared transmission spectrum of a ZnTe epilayer grown with molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on a GaSb substrate. On the basis of the Zn and Te deposited on the GaSb substrate during the MBE growth of ZnTe, and assuming diffusion of Zn and Te into GaSb, the LVM is attributed to Zn, substitutionally replacing either the cation, Ga (ZnGa), or the anion, Sb (Zn Sb). The frequency of the LVM and its fine structure can then be interpreted in terms of the infrared active modes of 64Zn substituting for Sb as an anti-site impurity and treating the centre as an XY4 quasimolecule. With X≡64Zn and Y≡ 69Ga and 71Ga, occupying the nearest-neighbour sites reflecting all the possible combinations and permutations as well as the natural isotopic abundance of Ga, the fine structure of the LVM can be accounted for quantitatively.