A theory dealing with the vacuum evaporation and deposition of binary semiconducting compounds, with special reference to the thermal evaporation of zinc selenide

Abstract

A model has been developed which attempts to define in a rigorous manner the thermal evaporation and condensation of a binary semiconducting compound. Specifically it tries to characterize the deposition process in terms of the free energy of formation of the compound upon the depositing substrate. The model demonstrates how this free energy is then defined by both the temperature of the source from which the material is evaporating and the substrate temperature. The model is then tested by studying the growth behaviour of zinc selenide being deposited on to oxygen stabilized germanium surfaces. It is believed that the results demonstrate the influence that changes in the free energy of formation have upon the crystallographic structure and order of the deposited material.