Investigations on self-diffusion and diffusion of dopants in II–VI semiconductor compounds depending on its non-stoichiometry

In this paper we investigated systematically the diffusion phenomena and diffusion coefficients of acceptor impurities Rb, As in ZnSe and of the host or isoelectronic elements of Se, Te, Cd by radio-tracer techniques combined with well-defined nonstoichiometric annealing conditions. The diffusion coefficients for the host atoms as well as for dopants preferring to occupy either the metal- or chalcogen-sublattice show the clear tendency to be enhanced, if the desired lattice sites for dopant incorporation are not provided. This we interpreted as interstitial diffusion. Under optimum conditions dopants were incorporated on lattice sites and diffusion was hindered. As these investigations reveal, diffusion studies give considerable insight into the nature of native defects