MBE Growth of Metastable alpha-Sn
03 October 1988
Semiconductor alpha-tin has potential technological importance as a detector material in the lambda=10-14microns atmospheric window. Bulk grown alpha-Sn undergoes a phase transition to a metallic, tetragonal phase, beta-Sn at 13.2C. Epitaxially grown, substrate stabilized alpha-Sn, on the other hand, has recently been shown to be stable to 70C. We have conducted a study of the structural stability of these thin films to assess their potential in device applications.