Lattice relaxation in ZnS epilayers grown on GaP

The lattice relaxation of ZnS epilayers grown on GaP substrates by hot-wall epitaxy was investigated. The dependence of lattice constants and full widths at half-maximum of the double crystal rocking curves upon layer thickness was observed. The critical thickness for ZnS/GaP is found to be about 350 Å. The epilayers thinner than the critical thickness have almost the same lattice constants. The strain due to the lattice mismatch is almost relaxed in epilayers thicker than 2.5 μm.