Pb and In Codeposition in the Vacuum Growth of PbTe<In> Films on Si Substrates

Pb1 – xInx melts were proposed to be used as In vapor sources, in combination with separate Pb and Te sources, in depositing PbTe<In> films onto Si substrates by a modified hot-wall method. Under the assumption that the presence of Pb in Pb1 – xInx melts may raise the In partial pressure, the vaporization behavior of Pb1 – xInx (0.05 ≤ x ≤ 0.70) was studied between 900 and 1200 K in the reaction chamber of the deposition unit. Using electron probe x-ray microanalysis and x-ray diffraction, all the deposited films were shown to contain In. The In content of the Pb1 – yIny deposits varied in the range 0.002 <y < 0.07 and increased with increasing In concentration in the Pb1 – xInx melt and with increasing vapor source temperature. The vapor over molten Pb1 – xInx was shown to exhibit a positive deviation from ideality.