Growth and annealing of zinc-blende CdSe thin films on GaAs (0Â 0Â 1) by molecular beam epitaxy

► Zinc-blende CdSe (0 0 1) epilayers were fabricated on GaAs (0 0 1) by MBE. ► The crystalline quality and surface morphology are improved as the substrate temperature increases. ► The epilayer grown at 340 ̊C has the best crystallinity and the smoothest surface. ► The CdSe samples annealed in air maintain the zinc-blende structure below 460 ̊C.