Applied Surface Science, Vol.464, 280-286, 2019
Texture analysis and epitaxial relationships in Bi2Te3 thin film grown by physical vapor transport on silicon substrates
Controlling the film/substrate crystallographic relationships is of great interest since a good interface results in an improved crystal homogeneity and quality. In this work, texture analysis on Bi2Te3 films grown by physical vapor transport was carried out in order to study the influence of growth conditions such as time and substrate orientation. Two types of substrates were used: Si (1 0 0) and Si (111). It was found that the c-axis of the hexagonal structure of Bi2Te3 is always perpendicular to the substrate surface, while the orientation of the a-axes depends on the growth parameters. The in-plane orientation of the Bi2Te3 crystallites was improved as the growth time increased and textured epitaxial growth was achieved. The epitaxial relationships between the cubic Si and the hexagonal Bi2Te3 lattices were studied through pole diagrams. It was found that the a-axes of the Bi2Te3 lattice are oriented along the 1 1 0 directions of the Si surface in both types of substrates. In contrast to other reports, the observed growth rate was not constant, but it decreased with time. This effect is discussed in relation with the characteristic spiral growth mechanism.