Abstract
We present a study of the nanoindentation behavior of Zn 1-x Cd x Se epilayers grown using molecular beam epitaxy; the surface roughness, microstructure, and crystallinity were analyzed using atomic force microscopy, cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction; the hardness H and elastic modulus E were studied using nanoindentation techniques. We found that these highly crystalline materials possessed no stacking faults or twins in their microstructures. We observed a very marked increase in the value of H and a significant decrease in the value of E upon increasing the concentration of Cd, presumably because of an increase in the stiffness of the CdSe bond relative to that of the ZnSe bond. We observed a corresponding shrinkage of the contact-induced damage area for those films having a small grain size and a higher value of H. It appears that resistance against contact-induced damage requires a higher Cd concentration.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 2128-2131 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Applied Surface Science |
Volume | 256 |
Issue number | 7 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 15 Jan 2010 |
Keywords
- Hardness
- Nanoindentation
- XTEM
- ZnCdSe