Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 February 2011
Characteristics of the ZnO and ZnMgO films grown by radical-source molecular beam epitaxy are reported. The ZnO films on a-plane sapphire substrates had a superior quality in crystallographic, optical and electrical properties, and n-type doping with Al was successfully performed up to 1020 cm–3. The Mg-content of ZnMgO alloys was found to be controlled by a simple growth mechanism as a function of Mg-cell temperature. The alloying in the ZnO-rich region resulted in single-crystalline growth although the photoluminescence characteristics at x = 0.22 suggested the presence of microscopic phase separation. Single-crystalline growth was also achieved on Si (111) substrates by using a CaF2 buffer layer to protect the Si-surface from oxidation.