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Measurements of 77K RoA and 300K reverse bias dynamic impedance (RdA) products at one volt reverse bias has been carried out to assess the degree of correlation of this figure of merit. Planar P-on-n heterostructures were grown on near lattice-matched CdZnTe substrates with Hg1-xCdxTe (0.20< x

Extrinsic p-type doping of long wavelength infrared-HgCdTe double layer heterostructure for p-on-n device application requires good control of the p-type dopant, regardless of the doping technique. The approach is to place the electrical junction ahead of the compositional interface, thus avoiding quantum efficiency reduction. This research addresses the As and P doping of HgCdTe by an implant/diffusion process. The data demonstrates an enhanced atomic diffusion process for As and P from an ion implanted source, within the single phase domain, with a diffusion rate orders of magnitude higher than the rate under Hg-saturated conditions at the same temperature. This work also reveals a new phenomenon, namely, a transition in the enhanced diffusion of both As and P from an exponential to a Gaussian redistribution. This transition is controlled by temperature at a given PHg. Gaussian diffusion dominates at high temperatures, T >400°C. The diffusion coefficient of the Gaussian mechanism decreases as the PHg increases, from Dp ~2 x 10-11 cm2/s at PHg ~0.02 atm to Dp ~3 x 10-14 cm2/ s under Hg-saturated conditions (quartz ampoule) at 440°C. The difference in the diffusion coefficients between open tube and closed tube (quartz ampoule), under nominally Hg-saturated conditions, indicates that PHg is undersaturated regardless of the Hg-source proximity. The deviation of PHg from saturation is estimated from the annealing furnace temperature profile up to a maximum of 50%. Variation of the diffusion coefficient close to Hg saturation appears to be sharply dependent on the actual PHg value (example: Dp ~1 x 10-12 cm2/s in open-tube anneal vs Dp ~3 x 10-14 cm2/s in closed tube at nominally the same temperature, T = 440°C). Comparative anneals of As and P showed faster diffusion rates for P than for As in both mechanisms.

Temperature and time dependent Hg-annealing studies for arsenic activation have been carried out on As-doped molecular beam epitaxy HgCdTe eitherin situ or by ion implantation to determine the extent of arsenic activation in the single layer. Enhanced As diffusion and activation in double layer heterostructures have also been investigated to further our understanding of the effects on zero bias resistance-area product (RoA) and quantum efficiency. The results show that the arsenic activation anneal is limited by Hg self-diffusion into the HgCdTe epilayer. Using this arsenic activation process for eitherin situ doped arsenic or implanted arsenic, high performance p-on-n double layer heterostructure photodiodes have been demonstrated on both mesa and planar device structures.

We have carried out a study and identified that MBE HgCdTe growth-induced void defects are detrimental to long wavelength infrared photodiode performance. These defects were induced during nucleation by having surface growth conditions deficient in Hg. Precise control and reproducibility of the CdZnTe surface temperature and beam fluxes are required to minimize such defects. Device quality material with void defect concentration values in the low 102 cm2 range were demonstrated.

We recently succeeded in fabricating planar Hg1−yCdyTe/Hg1−xCdxTe (x

We report the results of annealing effects on the As-doped alloy HgCdTe grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), arsenic (As) diffusion in HgCdTe from Hg-rich solutions at low temperatures, and As ion implantation at room temperature. Hall-effect measurements, secondary ion mass spectrometry and p-on-n test photodiodes were used to characterize the As activation. High As-doping levels (1017−1019 cm−3) could be obtained using either MBE growth, As diffusion or As ion-implantation. Annealed below 400°C, As doping in HgCdTe shows n-type characteristics, but above 410°C demonstrates that all methods of As doping exhibit p-type characteristics independent of As incorporation techniques. For example, for samples annealed at 436°C (PHg≈2 atm), in addition to p-type activation, we observe a significant improvement of p/n junction characteristics independent of the As source; i.e. As doping either in situ, by diffusion, or ion implantation. A study of this As activation of As-doped MBE HgCdTe as a function of anneal temperature reveals a striking similarity to results observed for As diffusion into HgCdTe and implanted As activation as a function of temperature. The observed dependence of As activation on partial pressure of Hg at various temperatures in the range of 250 to 450°C suggests that As acts as an acceptor at high Hg pressure (>1 atm) and as a donor at low Hg pressure (