We have developed an x-ray-diffraction technique that provides depth sensitivity to the near-interface region of a thick, nonregistered film. By measuring the intensity profiles along the Si[00l] substrate crystal truncation rods, we compare the diffraction from the Si/GaAs interface with a model based on a grid of misfit dislocations. We find that the interface atoms have a root-mean-square displacement of 1.09±0.10 Å and that the interface has a roughness of 2.9±1.0 Å. The diffraction indicates an anomalously small strain perpendicular to the interface in the GaAs near the interface.

• Received 17 December 1990

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.43.12425