Hydrogenation of HgCdTe epilayers on Si substrates using glow discharge plasma

Preliminary results of a study of the hydrogenation of HgCdTe epilayers grown by molecular beam epitaxy on Si substrates using a glow-discharge plasma are presented. The aim of the program is to employ H to passivate the detrimental opto-electronic effects of threading dislocations present in the HgCdTe epilayers. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy depth profiling has been performed to characterize ¹H and ²H incorporation. It has been found that H can be controllably incorporated in HgCdTe epilayers to levels in the 10¹⁴ cm⁻³ to 10¹⁸ cm⁻³ range while maintaining the sample at temperatures lower than 60°C. Profiles indicate that H accumulates in regions of known high defect density or in highly strained regions. Analysis of the H depth profile data indicates that the current density-time product is a good figure of merit to predict the H levels in the HgCdTe epilayer. There are progressive differences in the ¹H and ²H uptake efficiencies as a function of depth. Magneto-Hall measurements show consistently higher mobilities at low temperatures for majority carriers in hydrogenated samples.