Cd and Te desorption from (001), (111)B, and (110) CdTe surfaces

The Cd and Te desorption from (001), (110), and (111)B CdTe surfaces have been studied as a function of temperature by measuring the electron beam current reflected from these surfaces. For Te, activation energies of 0.96, 1.23, and 2.04±{}0.10 eV have been found for (001), (110), and (111)B surface orientation, respectively. For Cd, activation energies of 1.9±{}0.1 and 1.96±{}0.10 eV are measured for the (111)B and the (001) CdTe surfaces, respectively, similar to the measured values of activation energy for the sublimation of these surfaces. A detailed analysis of the desorption process gives some enlightenment concerning two remarkable phenomena, namely, (i) a reversible transformation between a c(2×{}2)+(2×{}1) and a (2×{}1) reconstruction for (001) CdTe and (ii) a hysteresis cycle between a (1×{}1) and a c(8×{}4) surface for the (111)B CdTe.