Ion beam mixing in ZnSe/CdZnSe strained layer structures

Ion beam mixing of ZnSe/CdZnSe strained layer structures, a possible material system for the fabrication of blue laser diodes, has been investigated as a function of ion irradiation temperature and dose. The ion-induced damage showed an inverse temperature dependence when compared to the trend normally observed in semiconductor materials in that the damage was smaller for LN₂ (77 K) temperature implants than those performed at 150°C. At the temperatures required to maintain good crystal quality (temperatures above the 300°C growth temperature) intermixing due to thermal diffusion occurs. The implantation process degrades the optical quality of the material, which also limits the use of ion mixing as a viable technique for photonic device fabrication in this II-VI system.