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The Effect of Wet Etching on Surface Properties of HgCdTe

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The surface of HgCdTe, grown by molecular-beam epitaxy and liquid-phase epitaxy, was studied by atomic force microscopy and x-ray photoelectron microscopy after etching in different solutions such as Br:methanol and HBr:H2O2:H2O. Minority-carrier lifetime and surface recombination velocity were measured by photoelectron decay spectroscopy. The same measurements were repeated after exposure to air for periods from 2 h to 2 days. Although these surfaces are rather complicated, the main feature is that Br-based etchants produce elemental Te at the surface, which oxidizes rapidly in air. Without elemental Te, there is less Te oxide, even after longer exposure to air. The existence of elemental Te is correlated with higher surface recombination velocity. This can be explained in terms of band bending and band offsets at Te/HgCdTe and TeO2/HgCdTe interfaces.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Research in Matter and Radiation, University of Namur (FUNDP), Rue de Bruxelles 61, B-5000, Namur, Belgium

    R. Sporken

  2. Microphysics Laboratory, University of Illinois at Chicago, 845W. Taylor Street, Chicago, IL, 60607, USA

    R. Sporken, R. Kiran, Yong Chang & S. Sivananthan

  3. EPIR Technologies Inc., 590 Territorial Drive, Bolingbrook, IL, 60440, USA

    T. Casselman, F. Aqariden & S. Velicu

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  1. R. Sporken
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  2. R. Kiran
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  3. T. Casselman
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  4. F. Aqariden
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  5. S. Velicu
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  6. Yong Chang
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  7. S. Sivananthan
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Correspondence to R. Sporken.

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Sporken, R., Kiran, R., Casselman, T. et al. The Effect of Wet Etching on Surface Properties of HgCdTe. J. Electron. Mater. 38, 1781–1789 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-009-0844-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-009-0844-x

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