ANNEALING EFFECTS ON CdHgTe THIN FILMS: ADJUSTING Hg CONTENT AND ENHANCING CRYSTAL QUALITY
Main Article Content
Abstract
This study explores the electrodeposition of CdHgTe thin films using a complex electrochemical bath comprising CdCl2, HgCl2, and pre-reacted metallic tellurium in concentrated nitric acid, with acetonitrile as a complexing agent. The films are deposited on SnO2 coated glass substrates using a three-electrode system, where deposition potentials are adjusted to vary Hg content without altering bath composition. After deposition, films undergo annealing at 300°C under rough vacuum conditions, enhancing crystalline quality and X-ray diffraction peak intensity. Results show that deposition at different potentials affects film quality, with annealing mitigating deterioration observed at more negative potentials. Structural analysis reveals cubic (fcc) crystal structure with predominant (111) orientation, unaffected by annealing temperature up to 300°C. This approach offers a novel, cost- effective method to tailor CdHgTe film properties, crucial for various optoelectronic applications.
Downloads
Metrics
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially.
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
- The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit , provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made . You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
Notices:
You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation .
No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.
References
Basol BM, Electrodeposited CdTe and HgCdTe solar cells, Sol Cells, 23 (1988) 69.
Basol B M & Tseng E S, Mercury Cadmium Telluride Solar Cells with 10.6% efficiency, Appl Phys Lett, 48 (1986) 946.
Fulop G, Doty M, Meyers P, Betz J, Liu CH, High‐efficiency electrodeposited cadmium telluride solar cells, Appl Phys Lett, 40 (1982) 327
Rajeshwar K, Electrosynthesized thin films of group II–VI compound semiconductors, alloys and superstructures, Adv Mater, 4 (1992) 23.
Voitsekhovskii A V, Nesmelov S N, Dzyadukh S M, Varavin V S, Dvoretsky S A, Mikhailov N N, Yakushev M V, Sidorov G Y, Electrical characterization of insulator-semiconductor systems based on graded band gap MBE HgCdTe with atomic layer deposited Al2O3 films for infrared detector passivation, Vacuum, 158 (2018) 136
Brill G, Velicu S, Boieriu P et al., MBE growth and device processing of MWIR HgCdTe on large area Si substrates, J Electron Mater, 30 (2001),717–722.
Kraus H, Parker SG, Cdx Hg1 − x Te Films by Cathodic Sputtering, J Electrochem Soc, 114 (1967) 616.
Zozime A, Sella C, Cohen-Solal G, Sputtering of CdxHg1−xTe films in mercury vapour plasma, Thin Solid Films, 13 (1972) 373.
S L, Drayton J, Parikh V, Vasko A, Gupta A, Wang Compaan A D, Preparation and characterization of monolithic HgCdTe/CdTe tandem cells, MRS Online Proc Libr, 836 (2005) L7.5.
Herman M A & Pessa M, Hg1−xCdxTe‐Hg1−yCdyTe (0≤x, y≤1) heterostructures: Properties, epitaxy, and applications, J App. Phys, 57 (1985) 2671.
Mane S H, In Techno-Societal 2018; Pawar, P. M., Ronge, B. P., Balasubramaniam, R., Vibhute, A. S., Apte, S. S.,Eds.; Springer International Publishing: Cham, 2020; pp. 635–644.
Basharat M, Hannan M A, Shah N A, Ali A, Arif M, Maqsood A, Structural, optical and electrical characterization of HgxCd1-xTe polycrystalline films fabricated by two-source evaporation technique Cryst Res Technol, 42 (2007) 817.
Fu R & Pattison J, Advanced thin conformal Al2O3 films for high aspect ratio mercury cadmium telluride growth, Opt Eng, 51 (2012) 104003
Pathan M A K, Siddiquee K, Alam S, Islam O, Gafur M A, Structural and optical characterization of CdS and CdHgTe thin films for the fabrication of CdHgTe/CdS structure, J Mater Sci Mater Electron, 24(2013) 745
Rajeshwar K, Adv Mater, Electrosynthesized thin films of group II–VI compound semiconductors, alloys and superstructures 4 (1992) 23
Kumaresan R, Ichimura M, Babu S M, Ramasamy P, Novel ‘Photochemical deposition’ and conventional ‘Electrochemical deposition’ of CdS and HgxCd1−xTe thin films and their characterization for solar cell device applications, MRS Online Proc Libr OPL, (2001) 668
Neumann-Spallart M, Tamizhmani G, Boutry-Forveille A, Levy-Clement C, Physical properties of electrochemically deposited cadmium mercury telluride films, Thin Solid Films, 169 (1989) 315.
Ramiro J & Camarero E G, J Mater Sci, 31 Influence of deposition potential and electrolyte composition on the structural and photoelectrochemical properties of electrodeposited mercury cadmium telluride, (1996) 2047.
Mori E, Mishra KK, Rajeshwar K, A Voltammetric Study of Compound Formation in the Hg‐Cd‐Te System, J Electrochem Soc, 137 (1990), 1100
Colyer C L, Cocivera M, Thin‐Film Cadmium Mercury Telluride Prepared by Nonaqueous Electrodeposition, J. Electrochem Soc, 139 (1992) 406.
Ramiro J, Galán L, Camarero E G, Montero I, Laaziz Y, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of electrodeposited cadmium mercury telluride thin films and their native surface oxides, J Mater Res, 16 (2001)1942
Chauhan S & Rajaram P, Electrodeposition of HgCdTe thin films, Sol Energy Mater Sol Cells, 92(2008) 550.
Rajaram P, Goswami Y C, Rajagopalan S, Gupta V K, Optical and structural properties of SnO2 films grown by a low-cost CVD technique and device processing Mater Lett, 54 (2002) 158.