Thin layer VLS growth, its cessation and morphologies of Cd crystals with Bi impurities

Hexagonal prismatic Cd crystals having a hemispherical tip were grown by means of the thin layer VLS mechanism, in which 30–40 wt% of Bi was localized in an alloy liquid phase in the thin skin layer of the hemispherical tip. As the Bi content in the thin skin layer was decreased to a few tenths of a wt%, the VLS growth ceased, and changed to VS growth, which resulted in a flat basal plane instead of the hemispherical tip. The growth rates were measured during the VLS and VS growth processes in connection with the morphology changes. It was found that the VLS growth rate was higher than the VS growth rate by about one order of magnitude.