DIAMOND-LIKE ORDER IN ZINCBLENDE COMPOUNDS

We show that the energy of substitutional randomization of atoms in zinc-blende compounds is surprisingly small. This suggests the existence of a new class of defects in these materials ("random aggregates"), which consist of regions of less than or similar to 10 atoms where the sites of the diamond lattice are randomly occupied by A or B atoms in place of the ordered AB crystal occupancy. The structural and electronic properties of these defects are outlined.