Study of semiconductor superlattices using energetic charged particles

The semiconductor superlattices are grown by depositing thin layers of alternate materials whose lattice constants differ only by small amounts. For thin enough layers, the small lattice mismatch is accompanied by generation of some strains in these layers while misfit defects are generated for thicker layers. As with the normal single crystals, the ion channeling technique is capable of precisely determining the mismatch strains present in the superlattices or the misfit defects generated to accommodate these strains. A review of these methods alongwith the more recently developed channeling radiation technique has been presented and some experiments are suggested. (author). 13 refs