ABSTRACTOptical and transmission electron microscopy have been used to study cracks appearing in ZnSe/ZnSxSe1−x (x ∼ 0.38) superlattices grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy. It Is shown that when a fracture occurs it is confined, in most cases, to the superlattice and propagates along <011> cleavage directions in these <001> oriented epilayers. Cracks were not observed in all superlattices and their onset is discussed in relation to sulfur concentration, overall superlattice height, individual superlattice layer thicknesses, and stress, tensile or compressive, due to lattice mismatch and thermal expansion differences between buffer layer and superlattice. It was found that by adjusting the controllable parameters, cracks in the superlattices could be eliminated. Orientation and density of these features have been related to asynnmetric cracking associated with the zincblende structure of these II-VI materials. Experimental results are shown to be in agreement with theoretical predictions of critical heights for the onset of cracking.
