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In this work, we studied the free-carrier transport properties and space-charge formation/polarization in a CdZnTe bar-shaped radiation detector using the Laser-Induced Transient Current technique. We found out that a steady-state space charge ranging from 8 × 108 to 2.1 × 109 cm−3 is formed throughout the detector at about 0.5 s following biasing. The measured current waveforms were modeled by Monte Carlo simulations after taking into account the electric and weighting fields inside the detector and shielding box. Modeling of the unpolarized waveforms revealed an exceptionally high electron mobility-lifetime product μ e τ e ≥ 0.095 c m 2 V − 1 . The observed formation of positive space charge in the biased detector and linear scaling of the current waveform shapes on applied bias revealed that the detector polarization is attributed to carrier injection at the anode. Measurements in pulsed and DC bias in modified electrode geometry proved the surface-charge formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional method for electron lifetime measurements of CdZnTe (CZT) detectors relies on using the Hecht equation. The procedure involves measuring the dependence of the detector response on the applied bias to evaluate the μτ product, which in turn can be converted into the carrier lifetime. Despite general acceptance of this technique, which is very convenient for comparative testing of different CZT materials, the assumption of a constant electric field inside a detector is unjustified. In the Hecht equation, this assumption means that the drift time would be a linear function of the distance. This condition is not fulfilled in practice at low applied biases, where the Hecht equation is most sensitive to the μs product. As a result, researchers usually take measurements at relatively high biases, which work well in the case of the low μτ-product material, <10-3 cm²/V, but give significantly underestimated values for the case of high μτ-product crystals. In this work, we applied the drift-time method to measure the electron lifetimes in long-drift-length (4 cm) standard-grade CZT detectors produced by the Redlen Technologies. We found that the electron μτ product of tested crystals is in the range 0.1-0.2 cm²/V, which is an order of the magnitude higher than any value previously reported for a CZT material. In comparison, using the Hecht equation fitting, we obtained μτ=2.3 × 10-2 cm²/V for a 2-mm thin planar detector fabricated from the same CZT material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, we assessed the abundance of point defects and their influence on the resistivity, the electron mobility-lifetime (μτe) product, and the electron trapping time in CdTeSe crystals grown under different conditions using the traveling heater method. We used current-deep level transient spectroscopy to determine the traps' energy, their capture cross-section, and their concentration. Further, we used these data to determine the trapping and de-trapping times for the charge carriers. The data show that detectors with a lower concentration of In-dopant have a higher density of A-centers and Cd double vacancies (VCd--). The high concentrations of VCd-- and A-centers, along with the deep trap at 0.86 eV and low density of 1.1 eV energy traps, are the major cause of the detectors' low resistivity, and most probably, a major contributor to the low μτe product. Our results indicate that the energy levels of point defects in the bandgap, their concentrations, capture cross-sections, and their trapping and de-trapping times play an important role in the detector's performance, especially for devices that rely solely on electron transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electro-migration of ionized/electrically active impurities in CdZnTe (CZT) was successfully demonstrated at elevated temperature with an electric field of 20 V/mm. Copper, which exists in positively charged states, electro-migrated at a speed of 15 μm/h in an electric field of 20 V/mm. A notable variation in impurity concentration along the growth direction with the segregation tendency of the impurities was observed in an electro-migrated CZT boule. Notably, both Ga and Fe, which exist in positively charged states, exhibited the opposite distribution to that of their segregation tendency in Cd(Zn)Te. A CZT detector fabricated from the middle portion of the electromigrated CZT boule showed an improved mobility-lifetime product of 0.91×10-2 cm2/V, compared with that of 1.4×10-3 cm2/V, observed in an as-grown (non-electro-migrated) CZT detector. The optimum radiation detector material would have minimum concentration of deep traps required for compensation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electrical and spectrometric characteristics of the Cr/cadmium telluride (CdTe)/Pt structure with a metal–semiconductor type rectifying contact, used in X/γ-ray detectors, are investigated. For the detectors fabrication, chlorine-doped CdTe crystals with a resistivity of (3–6) × 109, Ω cm at 293 K were used. 137Cs spectra and their modification by applied voltage change were obtained. The reverse bias voltage corresponding to the best energy resolution of the Cr/CdTe/Pt structure is experimentally determined. The concentration of impurities N in the crystal, which determines the thickness of the space-charge region, is estimated. An energy resolution deterioration of the Cr/CdTe/Pt structure with increasing voltage is explained due to the Gunn effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study of deep levels in CdZnTeSe radiation-detection materials is presented. The approach relies on electrical methods that combine time and temperature evolution of the electric field and electric current after switching on the bias voltage. Two optical methods were also applied to study the deep levels. The first method utilizes the temperature and temporal analysis of the electric field evolution after switching off an additional light illuminating the sample at a wavelength of 940 nm. The second method involved measuring of the electric field spectral dependence during near infrared illumination. The results are compared with those obtained with the high-quality CdZnTe detector-grade material. We conclude that the introduction of Se into the lattice leads to a shift of the second ionization level of the Cd vacancy toward the conduction band, as predicted recently by first-principles calculations based on screened hybrid functionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We used the transient-current technique to delineate the effects of different contact metals on the formation of space charge and on the profiles of the electric field in CdZnTe radiation detectors. In contrast to existing results on the polarization of semiconductor radiation detectors, we find that detectors with ohmic (Au/Au) contacts may experience a larger distortion of the internal electric field than those having Schottky (Au/In) contacts. We explain this difference by postulating the presence of a deep hole trap, ET, below the Fermi energy EF, which captures holes generated by the weakly injecting Au anode. The observed behaviour was described successfully by a numerical model relating the energy difference between ET and EF and the band bending at the contacts. We also present results on aging effects that limit the detector's performance and stability over long times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The charge transport properties of a high-purity CdMnTe (CMT) crystal have been measured at room temperature down to a micron-scale resolution. The CMT crystal, doped with indium, was grown by the vertical Bridgman technique. To reduce the residual impurities in the Mn source material, the growth process incorporated a five-times purification process of MnTe by a zone-refining method with molten Te solvent. The resulting 2.6 mm thick crystal exhibited an electron mobility-lifetime product of \mun\taun=2.9\times 10^{-3}~cm^{2}V^{-1}. The velocity of electron drift was calculated from the rise time distribution of the preamplifier's output pulses at each measured bias. The electron mobility was extracted from the electric field dependence of the drift velocity and at room temperature it has a value of \mun=(950\pm 90)~cm^{2}/Vs. High-resolution maps of the charge collection efficiency have been measured using a scanning microbeam of 5.5 MeV ^4He^2+ ions focused to a beam diameter < 1~\mum and display large-area spatial uniformity. The evolution of charge collection uniformity across the detector has been highlighted by acquiring measurements at applied biases ranging between 50 V and 1100 V. Charge transport inhomogeneity has been associated with the presence of bulk defects. It has been demonstrated that minimizing the content of impurities in the MnTe source material is highly effective in achieving major improvements in the CMT detector's performance as compared to previous data. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Homogeneity of properties related to material crystallinity is a critical parameter for achieving high-performance CdZnTe (CZT) radiation detectors. Unfortunately, this requirement is not always satisfied in today's commercial CZT material due to high concentrations of extended defects, in particular subgrain boundaries, which are believed to be part of the causes hampering the energy resolution and efficiency of CZT detectors. In the past, the effects of subgrain boundaries have been studied in Si, Ge and other semiconductors. It was demonstrated that subgrain boundaries tend to accumulate secondary phases and impurities causing inhomogeneous distributions of trapping centers. It was also demonstrated that subgrain boundaries result in local perturbations of the electric field, which affect the carrier transport and other properties of semiconductor devices. The subgrain boundaries in CZT material likely behave in a similar way, which makes them responsible for variations in the electron drift time and carrier trapping in CZT detectors. In this work, we employed the transient current technique to measure variations in the electron drift time and related the variations to the device performances and subgrain boundaries, whose presence in the crystals were confirmed with white beam X-ray diffraction topography and infrared transmission microscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) has remained a major focus of research due to its promising application as a room-temperature nuclear radiation detector material. Among the several parameters that substantially affect the detectors’ performance, an important one is the distribution of the internal electric field. Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) employed synchrotron x-ray microscale mapping and measurements of the Pockels effect to investigate the distribution of the internal electric field in a CZT strip detector. Direct evidence that dislocations can distort the internal electric field of the detector was obtained. Furthermore, it was found that “star” defects in the CZT crystal, possibly ascribed to dislocation loop punching, cause charge trapping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ideal operation of CdZnTe devices entails having a uniformly distributed internal electric field. Such uniformity especially is critical for thick long-drift-length detectors, such as large-volume CPG and 3-D multi-pixel devices. Using a high-spatial resolution X-ray mapping technique, we investigated the distribution of the electric field in real devices. Our measurements demonstrate that in thin detectors, < 5 mm, the electric field-lines tend to bend away from the side surfaces (i.e., a focusing effect). In thick detectors, > 1 cm, with a large aspect ratio (thickness-to-width ratio), we observed two effects: the electric field lines bending away from or towards the side surfaces, which we called, respectively, the focusing field-line distribution and the defocusing field-line distribution. In addition to these large-scale variations, the field-line distributions were locally perturbed by the presence of extended defects and residual strains existing inside the crystals. We present our data clearly demonstrating the non-uniformity of the internal electric field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We observed the electro-migration of Cu, Ag, and Au impurities that exist in positive-ion states in TlBr detectors under electric field strengths typically used for device operation. The migration occurred predominantly through bulk- and specific-channels, which are presumed to be a network of grain and sub-grain boundaries. The electro-migration velocity of Cu, Ag, and Au in TlBr is about 4-8 × 10-8 cm/s at room temperature under an electric field of 500-800 V/mm. The instability and polarization effects of TlBr detectors might well be correlated with the electro-migration of residual impurities in TlBr, which alters the internal electric field over time. The effect may also have been due to migration of the electrode material itself, which would allow for the possibility of a better choice for contact material and for depositing an effective diffusion barrier. From our findings, we suggest that applying our electro-migration technique for purifying material is a promising new way to remove electrically active metallic impurities in TlBr crystals, as well as other materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cd1-xZnxTe (CZT) crystals grown from a modified vertical Bridgman technique were characterized by means of an optical polarized transmission technique using the Pockels effect, low-temperature direct current (DC) photoconductivity technique, low-temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, room-temperature PL mapping technique, and detector performance measurements. Electric field mapping indicates that an approximation of a uniform electric field distribution approximation is generally satisfied for CZT detectors operated at room temperature under typical working conditions. A nonuniform electric field distribution is observed under intense infrared (IR) light illumination, and a model is proposed based on charge generation of defects, trapping, and space-charge effects. The largest hole mobility-lifetime product (μτ) h of the CZT detector measured by DC photoconductivity is 7.0 x 10-4cm²/V. The detector treated with 2% bromine in methanol chemical etch has a relatively small surface recombination velocity at room temperature, which was obtained from DC photocurrent and detector performance tests, as measured by irradiation of 5.5-MeV a particles and 59.6-keV γ-rays, respectively. We have clearly shown the equivalence of charge collection efficiency results measured by both DC photocurrent and a particle response. Low-temperature DC photocurrent measurements show that surface recombination velocity increases significantly with decreasing temperature from 300 K to 250 K. The effective electron mobility-lifetime product--combination effects of bulk and surface of CZT crystal--increases with increment of temperature. Room-temperature PL mapping measurements indicate uniformity of zinc concentration within CZT crystals. Low-temperature PL spectroscopy shows that the dominant emission peaks are excitons, which are bound to either shallow neutral donors (D0, X) or neutral acceptors (A0, X), depending on the temperature, concentration of donors and acceptors, and the incident light intensity. It was found that the luminescence of (D0, X) depends linearly on the incident laser intensity, while (A0, X) has a nonlinear dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]