Polycrystallinity to epitaxy: AFM study of CdTe hydrothermal electrodeposition

Abstract

Atomic force microscopy has been used to investigate the topography of CdTe thin films grown by electrodeposition on monocrystalline substrates from aqueous solution of Cd and Te salts at elevated temperatures under overpressure. The surface morphology of the electrodeposited layers is found to be strongly effected by the temperature and the growth rates. Formation of flat terraced facets was observed for layers deposited at higher temperatures that allows to conclude the layer-by-layer growth mechanics. This gives an evidence to suggest that the epitaxial growth can be in principle realized on the base of the electrochemical deposition process.