ISSN 1063-7834, Physics of the Solid State, 2006, Vol. 48, No. 4, pp. 631–636. © Pleiades Publishing, Inc., 2006. Original Russian Text © N.R. Grigor’eva, R.V. Grigor’ev, B.V. Novikov, A.V. Ankudinov, M.S. Dunaevskiœ, A.N. Titkov, D. Hirsch, J. Lenzner, V.F. Agekyan, T. Komatsu, 2006, published in Fizika Tverdogo Tela, 2006, Vol. 48, No. 4, pp. 591–596. 631 1. INTRODUCTION The surface morphology of various semiconductor structures can be successfully studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM), which makes it possible to reveal and characterize various surface micro- and nanoob- jects that appear under certain technological condi- tions. AFM can be used to analyze the self-organization of quantum dots on the surfaces of binary II–VI com- pounds and their solid solutions and the effect of atmo- spheric conditions on the surface morphology. For example, AFM has been used to investigate the natural faces of CdSe [1]. In [2], the surface morphology of self-organized CdSe quantum dots grown by MBE on a ZnSe substrate was examined. In [3], the effect of atmo- spheric conditions on the parameters and dynamics of individual Cd(Zn)Se nanoislands was studied. The dynamics of nanocluster formation on the surfaces of CdTe and ZnSe epitaxial films was investigated in [4– 6]. The investigation performed in [7] of the effect of a stress distribution in the volume of InGaAsP/InGaP heterostructures on their surface morphology is also of interest. 2. EXPERIMENTAL We examined the natural faces of CdS 1 – x Se x solid- solution crystals (0.15 < x < 0.50). The crystals were grown by sublimation from a gas phase. A charge mate- rial was evaporated at T = 1250 K, and condensation was carried out at T = 1100 K. The cooling time of the reactor was 24 h, and the cooling rate in the temperature range 900–1250 K was 3 K/min. Before examination, the crystals were stored under atmospheric conditions. Their surface relief was analyzed over three years. This relief remained unchanged over time; that is, the sur- face was stabilized. A chemical analysis of the near- surface layers in some samples revealed carbon and oxygen adsorbed from the atmosphere. Surface studies were performed with modern atomic force microscopes at the Ioffe Physicotechnical Institute (St. Petersburg, Russia), the Institute of Surface Modification (Leipzig, Germany), and Osaka City University (Osaka, Japan). The device for cathodoluminescence detection was based on a CamScan CS 44 scanning electron micro- scope. The electron energy was varied from 5 to 20 keV, the current was 800 pA, the lateral resolution of the method used was 1 μm, and the penetration depth of the electron beam was varied from 0.1 to 5.0 μm. The radiation-recording system covered the range 350– 950 nm at a resolution of 0.5 nm. With this device, we plotted radiation-intensity maps for a surface at a fixed wavelength and recorded the cathodoluminescence spectra from various regions of the surface at 10 K. We could simultaneously examine a surface relief using secondary electron emission and perform an electron microprobe analysis of the chemical composition of the region under study. SEMICONDUCTORS AND DIELECTRICS Morphology of the Stabilized Natural Faces of a CdS 1 – x Se x Solid Solution N. R. Grigor’eva a , R. V. Grigor’ev a , B. V. Novikov a , A. V. Ankudinov b , M. S. Dunaevskiœ b , A. N. Titkov b , D. Hirsch c , J. Lenzner d , V. F. Agekyan a, e , and T. Komatsu e a St. Petersburg State University, Ul’yanovskaya ul. 1, St. Petersburg, 198504 Russia e-mail: N.Grigorieva@pobox.spbu.ru b Ioffe Physicotechnical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Politekhnicheskaya ul. 26, St. Petersburg, 194021 Russia c Institute of Surface Modification, Leipzig, D-04318 Germany d Leipzig University, Leipzig, 04103 Germany e Osaka City University, Sugimoto-cho, Sumiyshi-ku, Osaka, 558 Japan Received July 1, 2005 Abstract—The morphology of the stabilized surfaces of CdS 1 – x Se x crystals exposed to air at room tempera- ture is studied by atomic force microscopy. The characteristic features of the relief of the natural faces of these crystals are described, and the causes of the appearance of these features are discussed. The morphological results are related to the results of the microcathodoluminescence study of surface micro- and nanostructures. This study revealed objects that contribute to exciton emission and, hence, are CdS 1 – x Se x solid solutions. PACS numbers: 68.37.Ps, 68.35.Bs DOI: 10.1134/S1063783406040044