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Mercury Cadmium Telluride
Growth, Properties and Applications

Peter Capper (Edited by), James Garland (Edited by), Safa O. Kasap (Series edited by), Arthur Willoughby (Series edited by)

9780470697061, Wiley

Hardback, published 22 October 2010

608 pages
25.2 x 17.3 x 3.6 cm, 1.157 kg

Mercury cadmium telluride (MCT) is the third most well-regarded semiconductor after silicon and gallium arsenide and is the material of choice for use in infrared sensing and imaging. The reason for this is that MCT can be ‘tuned’ to the desired IR wavelength by varying the cadmium concentration.

Mercury Cadmium Telluride: Growth, Properties and Applications provides both an introduction for newcomers, and a comprehensive review of this fascinating material. Part One discusses the history and current status of both bulk and epitaxial growth techniques, Part Two is concerned with the wide range of properties of MCT, and Part Three covers the various device types that have been developed using MCT. Each chapter opens with some historical background and theory before presenting current research. Coverage includes:

  • Bulk growth and properties of MCT and CdZnTe for MCT epitaxial growth
  • Liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) growth
  • Metal-organic vapour phase epitaxy (MOVPE)
  • Molecular beam epitaxy (MBE)
  • Alternative substrates
  • Mechanical, thermal and optical properties of MCT
  • Defects, diffusion, doping and annealing
  • Dry device processing
  • Photoconductive and photovoltaic detectors
  • Avalanche photodiode detectors
  • Room-temperature IR detectors

Series Preface xxi

Preface xxiii

Foreword xxvii

List of Contributors xxxi

Part One - Growth 1

1 Bulk Growth of Mercury Cadmium Telluride (MCT) 3
P. Capper

1.1 Introduction 3

1.2 Phase equilibria 4

1.3 Crystal growth 5

1.3.1 Solid state recrystallization (SSR) 6

1.3.2 Traveling heater method (THM) 9

1.3.3 Bridgman 12

1.3.4 Accelerated crucible rotation technique (ACRT) 13

1.4 Conclusions 18

References 19

2 Bulk Growth of CdZnTe/CdTe Crystals 21
A. Noda, H. Kurita and R. Hirano

2.1 Introduction 21

2.2 High-purity Cd and Te 22

2.2.1 Cadmium 22

2.2.2 Tellurium 23

2.3 Crystal growth 23

2.3.1 Polycrystal growth 23

2.3.2 VGF single-crystal growth 24

2.4 Wafer processing 41

2.4.1 Process flow 42

2.4.2 Characteristics 44

2.5 Summary 48

Acknowledgements 48

References 49

3 Properties of Cd(Zn)Te Relevant to Use as Substrates 51
S. Adachi

3.1 Introduction 52

3.2 Structural properties 52

3.2.1 Ionicity 52

3.2.2 Lattice constant and crystal density 53

3.2.3 Spontaneous ordering 54

3.2.4 Structural phase transition 55

3.3 Thermal properties 55

3.3.1 Phase diagram 55

3.3.2 Specific heat and Debye temperature 56

3.3.3 Thermal expansion coefficient 57

3.3.4 Thermal conductivity and diffusivity 57

3.4 Mechanical and lattice vibronic properties 58

3.4.1 Elastic constant and related parameters 58

3.4.2 Microhardness 58

3.4.3 Optical phonon frequency and phonon deformation potential 59

3.5 Collective effects and some response characteristics 61

3.5.1 Piezoelectric constant 61

3.5.2 Fröhlich coupling constant 61

3.6 Electronic energy-band structure 62

3.6.1 Bandgap energy 62

3.6.2 Electron and hole effective masses 64

3.6.3 Electronic deformation potential 65

3.6.4 Heterojunction band offset 66

3.7 Optical properties 67

3.7.1 The reststrahlen region 67

3.7.2 The interband transition region 68

3.7.3 Near or below the fundamental absorption edge 69

3.8 Carrier transport properties 70

3.8.1 Low-field mobility 70

3.8.2 Minority-carrier transport 71

References 71

4 Substrates for the Epitaxial Growth of MCT 75
J. Garland and R. Sporken

4.1 Introduction 76

4.2 Substrate orientation 77

4.3 CZT substrates 78

4.3.1 Effects of poor thermal conductivity on MCT growth 78

4.3.2 Effects of substrate crystalline defects on MCT growth 79

4.3.3 Effects of substrate impurities 80

4.3.4 Effects of nonuniform substrate composition and substrate roughness 80

4.3.5 Effects of surface nonstoichiometry and contaminants 81

4.3.6 Characterization and screening of CZT substrates 81

4.3.7 Use of buffer layers on CZT substrates 82

4.4 Si-based substrates 82

4.4.1 Nucleation and growth of CdTe on Si 83

4.4.2 The effects of As and Te monolayers 84

4.4.3 Advantages of CdTe/Si substrates 85

4.4.4 Disadvantages of CdTe/Si substrates 86

4.4.5 Reduction of the dislocation density 87

4.4.6 Passivation of dislocations 88

4.5 Other substrates 89

4.6 Summary and conclusions 90

References 90

5 Liquid Phase Epitaxy of MCT 95
P. Capper

5.1 Introduction 95

5.2 Growth 96

5.2.1 Introduction 96

5.2.2 Phase diagram and defect chemistry 98

5.2.3 LPE growth techniques 98

5.3 Material characteristics 103

5.3.1 Composition and thickness 103

5.3.2 Crystal quality and surface morphology 105

5.3.3 Impurity doping and electrical properties 106

5.4 Device status 108

5.5 Summary and future developments 108

References 110

6 Metal-Organic Vapor Phase Epitaxy (MOVPE) Growth 113
C. D. Maxey

6.1 Requirement for epitaxy 113

6.2 History 114

6.3 Substrate choices 115

6.3.1 Orientation 115

6.3.2 Material 116

6.4 Reactor design 117

6.5 Process parameters 118

6.6 Metal-organic sources 119

6.7 Uniformity 120

6.8 Reproducibility 120

6.9 Doping 123

6.10 Defects 125

6.11 Annealing 127

6.12 In situ monitoring 127

6.13 Conclusions 128

References 128

7 MBE Growth of Mercury Cadmium Telluride 131
J. Garland

7.1 Introduction 131

7.1.1 The MBE growth technique 132

7.2 MBE Growth theory and growth modes 132

7.2.1 Growth modes 133

7.2.2 Quasiequilibrium theories 133

7.2.3 Kinetic theories 134

7.3 Substrate mounting 135

7.4 In situ characterization tools 135

7.4.1 Reflection high-energy electron diffraction 135

7.4.2 Spectroscopic ellipsometry 136

7.4.3 Other in situ characterization tools 139

7.5 MCT nucleation and growth 139

7.6 Dopants and dopant activation 141

7.7 Properties of MCT epilayers grown by MBE 143

7.7.1 Electrical properties 143

7.7.2 Optically measurable characteristics 144

7.7.3 Structural properties 144

7.7.4 Surface defects 145

7.8 Conclusions 146

References 147

Part Two - Properties 151

8 Mechanical and Thermal Properties 153
M. Martyniuk, J. M. Dell and L. Faraone

8.1 Density of MCT 154

8.1.1 Introduction 154

8.1.2 Variation of Density with X 154

8.1.3 Variation of density with temperature 155

8.1.4 Conclusion 158

8.2 Lattice parameter of MCT 158

8.2.1 Introduction 158

8.2.2 Variation of Lattice Parameter with X 158

8.2.3 Variation with temperature 160

8.2.4 Conclusion 162

8.3 Coefficient of thermal expansion of MCT 162

8.3.1 Introduction 162

8.3.2 Variation with X 162

8.3.3 Variation with temperature 163

8.3.4 Conclusion 166

8.4 Elastic parameters of MCT 166

8.4.1 Introduction 166

8.4.2 Elastic parameter values 167

8.4.3 Conclusion 170

8.5 Hardness and deformation characteristics of MCT 170

8.5.1 Introduction 170

8.5.2 Hardness 170

8.5.3 Deformation characteristics of MCT 174

8.5.4 Photoplastic effect 180

8.5.5 Conclusion 180

8.6 Phase diagrams of MCT 181

8.6.1 Introduction 181

8.6.2 Binary systems 181

8.6.3 Solid phases 181

8.6.4 Quasibinary systems 183

8.6.5 Liquidus, solidus, and solvus surfaces 185

8.6.6 Thermodynamics 186

8.6.7 Conclusion 187

8.7 Viscosity of the MCT melt 187

8.7.1 Introduction 187

8.7.2 Temperature variation of kinematic viscosity of the MCT melt 187

8.7.3 Conclusion 189

8.8 Thermal properties of MCT 189

8.8.1 Introduction 189

8.8.2 Specific heat (C p)

189

8.8.3 Thermal diffusivity (D θ) 192

8.8.4 Thermal conductivity (K θ) 194

8.8.5 Conclusion 197

References 197

9 Optical Properties of MCT 205
J. Chu and Y. Chang

9.1 Introduction 205

9.2 Optical constants and the dielectric function 206

9.3 Theory of band to band optical transition 206

9.4 Near band gap absorption 207

9.5 Analytic expressions and empirical formulas for intrinsic absorption and Urbach tail 209

9.6 Dispersion of the refractive index 216

9.7 Optical constants and related van Hover singularities above the energy gap 217

9.8 Reflection spectra and dielectric function 220

9.9 Multimode model of lattice vibration 221

9.10 Phonon absorption 222

9.11 Raman scattering 225

9.12 Photoluminescence spectroscopy 227

References 231

10 Diffusion in MCT 239
D. Shaw

10.1 Introduction 239

10.2 Self-diffusion 240

10.2.1 Hg self-diffusion 241

10.2.2 Cd self-diffusion 241

10.2.3 Te self-diffusion 241

10.2.4 Self-diffusion in doped material 242

10.2.5 Conclusions 242

10.3 Chemical self-diffusion 243

10.3.1 Composition: X Cd ∼ 0.2 243

10.3.2 Composition: 0.198 ≤ X Cd ≤ 0.51 245

10.3.3 Cadmium telluride (CdTe) 245

10.3.4 Conclusions 246

10.4 Compositional interdiffusion 247

10.4.1 ˜d From Cid Profiles of X Cd Versus X 248

10.4.2 Conclusions 252

10.5 Impurity diffusion 253

10.5.1 Group 1 impurities 254

10.5.2 Group 3 and 5 impurities 256

10.5.3 Group 6 and 7 impurities 258

References 260

11 Defects in HgCdTe – Fundamental 263
M. A. Berding

11.1 Introduction 263

11.2 Native point defects in zincblende semiconductor 264

11.3 Measurement of native defect properties and density 266

11.4 Ab initio calculations 268

11.4.1 Defect formation energies 268

11.4.2 Electronic excitation energies 269

11.4.3 Defect free energies 270

11.4.4 Prediction of native point defect densities in HgCdgTe 270

11.5 Future challenges 272

References 272

12 Band Structure and Related Properties of HgCdTe 275
C. R. Becker and S. Krishnamurthy

12.1 Introduction 275

12.2 Parameters 277

12.2.1 Optical bandgap 277

12.2.2 Valence band offset 277

12.2.3 Electron effective mass 279

12.3 Electronic band structure 279

12.3.1 k·p theory 279

12.3.2 Hybrid pseudopotential tight-binding method 281

12.4 Comparison with experiment 288

12.4.1 Optical absorption 288

12.4.2 Auger recombination 289

Acknowledgements 293

References 293

13 Conductivity Type Conversion 297
D. Shaw and P. Capper

13.1 Introduction 297

13.2 Native defects in undoped MCT 298

13.3 Native defects in doped MCT 301

13.4 Defect concentrations during cool down 302

13.5 Change of conductivity type 304

13.5.1 CTC by thermal annealing 304

13.5.2 CTC by dry etching 307

13.6 Dry etching by IBM 307

13.6.1 IBM of vacancy-doped MCT 307

13.6.2 Modeling of IBM 309

13.6.3 IBM of impurity-doped MCT 311

13.6.4 Stability (relaxation) of CTC layers with respect to time and temperature after IBM 311

13.7 Plasma etching 313

13.7.1 CTC with Ar and Hg plasmas 313

13.7.2 CTC with H 2 /CH 4 plasmas

313

13.8 Summary 314

References 315

14 Extrinsic Doping 317
D. Shaw and P. Capper

14.1 Introduction 318

14.2 Impurity activity 319

14.2.1 Group I impurities 320

14.2.2 Group II impurities 320

14.2.3 Group III impurities 321

14.2.4 Group IV impurities 321

14.2.5 Group V impurities 321

14.2.6 Group VI impurities 321

14.2.7 Group VII impurities 322

14.2.8 Group VIII impurities 322

14.3 Thermal ionization energies of impurities 322

14.3.1 CdTe 322

14.3.2 LWIR and MWIR MCT 323

14.4 Segregation properties of impurities 324

14.4.1 Segregation in CdTe 325

14.4.2 Segregation in LWIR and MWIR MCT 326

14.5 Traps and recombination centers 327

14.5.1 Minority carrier lifetime in MCT 328

14.5.2 Reducing the concentrations of SRH centers 328

14.6 Donor and acceptor doping in LWIR and MWIR MCT 330

14.6.1 In 330

14.6.2 Iodine 331

14.6.3 Au 332

14.6.4 As 332

14.7 Residual defects 334

14.8 Conclusions 335

References 335

15 Structure and Electrical Characteristics of Metal/MCT Interfaces 339
R. J. Westerhout, R. H. Sewell, J. M. Dell, L. Faraone and C. A. Musca

15.1 Introduction 340

15.2 Reactive/intermediately reactive/nonreactive categories 341

15.2.1 Au/MCT interface 341

15.2.2 In/MCT interface 341

15.2.3 Ag/MCT interface 342

15.2.4 Cu/MCT interface 343

15.2.5 Sb/MCT interface 343

15.2.6 Cr/MCT interface 343

15.3 Ultrareactive/reactive categories 344

15.3.1 Al/MCT interface 344

15.3.2 Pt/MCT interface 345

15.3.3 Sm/MCT interface 345

15.3.4 Ti/MCT interface 345

15.3.5 Pd/MCT interface 346

15.3.6 Sn/MCT interface 346

15.3.7 Conclusion 347

15.4 Passivation of MCT 347

15.4.1 Introduction 347

15.4.2 Device design and passivation requirements 347

15.4.3 Criteria for good passivation 348

15.4.4 Properties for non CdTe passivant films on MCT 348

15.4.5 Passivation of MCT with CdTe 348

15.4.6 Conclusion 354

15.5 Contacts to MCT 354

15.5.1 Introduction 354

15.5.2 Metal/MCT contacts 354

15.5.3 Schottky barrier contacts 355

15.5.4 Ohmic contacts 356

15.5.5 Conclusions 356

15.6 Surface Effects on MCT 356

15.6.1 Introduction 356

15.6.2 Surface recombination velocity 357

15.6.3 Recombination velocity at heterointerfaces 357

15.6.4 Gated photoconductors 358

15.6.5 Gated photodiodes 358

15.6.6 Conclusions 359

15.7 Surface Structure of CdTe and MCT 359

15.7.1 Introduction 359

15.7.2 Surface structure and epitaxial growth 360

15.7.3 RHEED analysis of the (211) surface 361

15.7.4 Reconstruction of the (110) surface 363

15.7.5 Reconstruction of the (100) surface 365

15.7.6 Reconstruction of (111) surfaces 367

15.7.7 Conclusion 370

References 370

16 MCT Superlattices for VLWIR Detectors and Focal Plane Arrays 375
J. Garland

16.1 Introduction 376

16.2 Why HgTe-based superlattices 377

16.2.1 Advantages of HgTe/CdTe superlattices over MCT alloys 378

16.2.2 Problems with the use of HgTe/CdTe superlattices in VLWIR detectors and FPAs 381

16.2.3 Use of HgTe/CdTe superlattices as buffer layers on CdZnTe before MCT growth 382

16.2.4 Use of MCT-based superlattices as thermoelectric coolers for MCT detectors 383

16.2.5 HgTe/ZnTe superlattices 383

16.3 Calculated properties 384

16.3.1 Normal electronic band structure: band structures and optical absorptivities 384

16.3.2 Inverted electronic band structure: band structure and optical absorptivity 385

16.4 Growth 386

16.4.1 Substrate orientation 387

16.4.2 Doping 388

16.5 Interdiffusion 389

16.5.1 Effect of interdiffusion on the bandgap and optical absorption spectra 390

16.5.2 Measuring interdiffusion by X-ray diffraction 391

16.5.3 Measuring interdiffusion by STEM 393

16.6 Conclusions 395

Acknowledgements 396

References 396

17 Dry Plasma Processing of Mercury Cadmium Telluride and Related II–VIs 399
A. J. Stoltz

17.1 Introduction 400

17.2 Effects of plasma gases on MCT 401

17.3 Plasma parameters 403

17.3.1 Physics of plasmas 403

17.3.2 Hydrogen variations 405

17.3.3 Plasma parameters–effects on II–VI semiconductors 408

17.3.4 Plasma parameter change ECR to ICP 410

17.4 Characterization –surfaces of plasma-processed MCT 411

17.4.1 Surface chemical analysis 411

17.4.2 In vacuo crystallographic surface analysis 413

17.4.3 Ex vacuo atomic force microscopy 413

17.5 Manufacturing issues and solutions 416

17.5.1 Etch lag and lateral photoresist etching–ion angular distribution (microloading, RIE lag) 416

17.5.2 Macroloading 418

17.6 Plasma processes in the production of II–VI materials 420

17.6.1 Trench delineation 421

17.6.2 Type conversion 422

17.6.3 Via formation substitutionally doped MCT 422

17.6.4 Microlenses and antireflective structures 422

17.6.5 Cleaning 424

17.7 Conclusions and future efforts 424

References 425

18 MCT Photoconductive Infrared Detectors 429
I. M. Baker

18.1 Introduction 429

18.1.1 Historical perspective and early detectors 430

18.1.2 Introduction to MCT 431

18.1.3 MCT photoconductive arrays 431

18.2 Applications and sensor design 432

18.3 Photoconductive detectors in MCT and related alloys 434

18.3.1 Introduction to the technology of photoconductor arrays 435

18.3.2 Theoretical fundamentals for LW arrays 436

18.3.3 Special case of MW arrays 439

18.3.4 Nonequilibrium effects in photoconductors 439

18.4 SPRITE detectors 440

18.4.1 Introduction to the SPRITE detector 440

18.4.2 SPRITE operation and performance 441

18.4.3 Detector design and systems applications 444

18.5 Conclusions on photoconductive MCT detectors 444

Acknowledgements 445

References 445

Part Three - Applications 447

19 HgCdTe Photovoltaic Infrared Detectors 449
I. M. Baker

19.1 Introduction 450

19.2 Advantages of the photovoltaic device in MCT 450

19.3 Applications 450

19.4 Fundamentals of MCT photodiodes 451

19.4.1 Ideal photovoltaic devices 451

19.4.2 Nonideal behavior in MCT diodes 452

19.5 Theoretical foundations for MCT array technology 454

19.5.1 Thermal diffusion currents in MCT 454

19.5.2 Thermal generation through traps in the depletion region 455

19.5.3 Interband tunnelling 455

19.5.4 Trap-assisted tunnelling 456

19.5.5 Impact ionization 456

19.5.6 Photocurrent and quantum efficiency 457

19.5.7 Excess noise sources in MCT diodes 457

19.6 Manufacturing technology for MCT arrays 457

19.6.1 Junction forming techniques 458

19.6.2 Via-hole technologies using LPE 458

19.6.3 Planar device structures using LPE 459

19.6.4 Double layer heterojunction devices (DLHJ) 460

19.6.5 Wafer-scale processes using vapor phase epitaxy on low-cost substrates 461

19.6.6 MCT 2D arrays for the 3–5 μm (MW) band 463

19.6.7 MCT 2D arrays for the 8–12 μm (LW) band 463

19.7 Towards GEN III detectors 463

19.7.1 Two-color array technology 463

19.7.2 Higher operating temperature (HOT) device structures 464

19.8 Conclusions and future trends for photovoltaic MCT arrays 465

References 465

20 Nonequilibrium, Dual-Band and Emission Devices 469
C. Jones and N. Gordon

20.1 Introduction 469

20.2 Nonequilibrium devices 470

20.2.1 Introduction and theory 470

20.2.2 Nonequilibrium detectors 473

20.2.3 Emitters and other uses 476

20.3 Dual-band devices 476

20.3.1 Introduction 476

20.3.2 Mesa diodes 477

20.3.3 Planar diodes 482

20.3.4 Stacked loophole 483

20.4 Emission devices 484

20.5 Conclusions 489

References 489

21 HgCdTe Electron Avalanche Photodiodes (EAPDs) 493
I. Baker and M. Kinch

21.1 Introduction and applications 493

21.2 The avalanche multiplication effect 494

21.3 Physics of MCT EAPDs 495

21.3.1 Phenomenological model for EAPDs 496

21.3.2 Energy dispersion factor, α(E) 497

21.3.3 Impact ionization threshold energy 499

21.3.4 EAPD diodes at room temperature 501

21.3.5 MCT EAPD dark currents 503

21.3.6 MCT EAPD excess noise 504

21.4 Technology of MCT EAPDs 504

21.4.1 Theoretical foundations for the EAPD device technology 504

21.4.2 Via-hole technology 505

21.4.3 Planar and advanced structures 506

21.5 Reported performance of arrays of MCT EAPDs 506

21.5.1 Avalanche gain 506

21.5.2 Noise figure 507

21.5.3 Dark current 507

21.6 LGI as a practical example of MCT EAPDs 510

21.7 Conclusions and future developments 511

References 511

22 Room Temperature IR Photodetectors 513
J. Piotrowski and A. Piotrowski

22.1 Introduction 513

22.2 Performance of room temperature infrared photodetectors 514

22.2.1 Generalized model 514

22.2.2 Reduced volume devices 517

22.2.3 Design of high temperature photodetectors 518

22.3 HgCdTe as a material for room temperature photodetectors 519

22.3.1 Ultimate performance of HgCdTe devices 519

22.3.2 Non-equilibrium devices 521

22.3.3 3D high-temperature photodetector concept 522

22.4 Photoconductive devices 522

22.5 PEM, magnetoconcentration, and Dember IR detectors 524

22.5.1 PEM detectors 524

22.5.2 Magnetoconcentration detectors 525

22.5.3 Dember detectors 526

22.6 Photodiodes 526

22.6.1 Dark current and resistance of near room temperature photodiodes 527

22.6.2 Practical HgCdTe photodiodes 527

22.7 Conclusions 535

References 535

Index 539

Subject Areas: Mechanical engineering & materials [TG]

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