"Solution Heteroepitaxy" in the Formation of Epitaxial Films of II-VI Compounds under Highly Nonequilibrium Conditions

Initial stages of the epitaxial growth of CdTe and CdS film on substrates cooled to the temperatures below 0 °C are experimentally investigated. Electron diffraction patterns corresponding to the early stages of growth and photographs of the surface are presented. The experimentally revealed features (island size 20-25 nm, a δ-function size distribution of the islands, and a monotonic orientation process of the islands) are explained in the framework of a phenomenological theory of heterophase fluctuations and nucleation with the use of migration of solitons initiated by the misfit dislocations of crystal lattices.