Local atomic interdiffusion in CdTe/HgCdTe multilayered structures

The authors combine chemical lattice imaging with digital pattern recognition to study atomic interdiffusion at individual CdTe/HgCdTe interfaces in multi-quantum well structures. In this way they obtain quantitative composition profiles for as grown samples, and investigate their development as a function of annealing temperature. The authors' results indicate that interdiffusion depends on the position of the quantum well with respect to the surface, beginning first at quantum wells close to the surface, and proceeding towards the substrate. The authors' approach allows the quantification of interdiffusion as a function of time, temperature, and distance from the surface. The implications of these results for the stability of CdTe/HgCdTe structures, and the interpretation of X-ray data are discussed