Epitaxial growth of cadmium selenide films on silicon with a silicon carbide buffer layer

An epitaxial cubic 350-nm-thick cadmium selenide has been grown on silicon for the first time by the method of evaporation and condensation in a quasi-closed volume. It is revealed that, in this method, the optimum substrate temperature is 590$^{\circ}$C, the evaporator temperature is 660$^{\circ}$C, and the growth time is 2 s. To avoid silicon etching by selenium with formation of amorphous SiSe$_2$, a high-quality $\sim$100-nm-thick buffer silicon carbide layer has been synthesized on the silicon surface by substituting atoms. The powder diffraction pattern and the Raman spectrum unambiguously correspond to cubic cadmium selenide crystal. The ellipsometric, Raman, and electron diffraction analyses demonstrate high structural perfection of the cadmium selenide layer and the absence of a polycrystalline phase.