A thermodynamical model of molecular beam epitaxy, application to the growth of II VI semiconductors

We present a model of molecular beam epitaxy based on thermodynamics. The equilibrium between a compound or a ternary alloy with the gas phase is illustrated in the case of HgTe and CdHgTe. The meaning of equilibrium pressure is analysed and we make the assumption that the fluxes leaving the actual growing compound are linked by the mass action law where the pressures are transformed into the equivalent fluxes. A detailed balance of the species leaving or arriving at the surface is then possible and leads to a set of equations which can be solved to predict the growth rate, the x value of a ternary alloy, the excess of one of the species, the incorporation coefficient. Examples of calculation are shown for CdTe and CdxHg1-xTe and are compared with experimental results and show a good agreement. The main interest of this model resides in its ability to predict the effects of the modification of one of the growth parameter. Nevertheless it predicts only the limit conditions which are not necessary reach due to the kinetic of the reactions