TEM Characterization of HgCdTe/CdTe Grown on GaAs(211)B Substrates

A microstructural study of HgCdTe/CdTe/GaAs(211)B and CdTe/GaAs(211)B heterostructures grown using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) was carried out using transmission electron microscopy and small-probe microanalysis. High-quality MBE-grown CdTe on GaAs(211)B substrates was demonstrated to be a viable composite substrate platform for HgCdTe growth. In addition, analysis of interfacial misfit dislocations and residual strain showed that the CdTe/GaAs interface was fully relaxed except in localized regions where GaAs surface polishing had caused small pits. In the case of HgCdTe/CdTe/GaAs(211)B, the use of thin HgTe buffer layers between HgCdTe and CdTe for improving the HgCdTe crystal quality was also investigated.     

分子束外延CdTe（211）B／GaAs（211）B的特性研究

ＣｄＴｅ／ＧａＡｓ是ＨｇＣｄＴｅ分子束外延的重要替代衬底材料。用Ｘ双晶衍射和光致发光测试研究了分子束外延生长的ＣｄＴｅ（２１１）Ｂ／ＧａＡｓ（２１１）Ｂ的晶体结构质量，表明外延膜晶体结构完整，具有很高的质量。用高分辨率的透射电镜研究其界面特性，观察到ＣｄＴｅ（２１１）Ｂ相对于ＧａＡｓ（２１１）Ｂ向着［１１１］方向倾斜一个小角度（约３°），界面的四面体键网发生扭曲，由于晶格失配，在界面存在很高的失配位错密度。用二次离子质谱分析仪分析了ＧａＡｓ衬底中的Ｇａ和Ａｓ向ＣｄＴｅ外扩散的情况。结果表明：如果要在ＧａＡｓ衬底上生长ＨｇＣｄＴｅ外延膜，必须先生长一层具有一定厚度的ＣｄＴｅ来阻止Ｇａ和Ａｓ向ＨｇＣｄＴｅ的外扩散和失配位错的延伸。     

在Si(211)衬底上分子束外延CdTe的晶格应变

文章利用高分辨率X射线衍射技术对分子束外延CdTe（211）B/Si（211）材料的CdTe外延薄膜进行了倒易点二维扫描,并通过获得的对称衍射面和非对称衍射面的倒易空间图,对CdTe外延层的剪切应变和正应变状况进行了分析.研究发现,对于CdTe/Si结构,随着CdTe厚度的增加,[1-1-1]、[01-1]两个方向的剪切角γ[1-1-1]和λ[01-1]都有变小的趋势,且γ[1-1-1]的大小约为γ[01-1]的两倍;对于CdTe/ZnTe/Si,ZnTe缓冲层的引入可以有效地降低CdTe层的剪切应变.CdTe层的正应变表现为张应变,主要来源于CdTe和Si的热膨胀系数存在差异,而在从生长温度280℃降至室温20℃的过程产生的热应变.     

Cyclic Annealing During Metalorganic Vapor-Phase Epitaxial Growth of (211)B CdTe on (211) Si Substrates

High-quality (211)B CdTe buffer layers on Si substrates are required to enable Hg_1–x Cd _x Te growth and device fabrication on lattice-mismatched Si substrates. Metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE) of (211)B CdTe on Si substrates using Ge and ZnTe interlayers has been achieved. Cyclic annealing has been used during growth of thick CdTe layers in order to improve crystal quality. The best (211)B CdTe/Si films grown in this study display a low x-ray diffraction (XRD) rocking-curve full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of 85 arcsec and etch pit density (EPD) of 2 × 10⁶ cm⁻². These values are the best reported for MOVPE-grown (211) CdTe/Si and are comparable to those for state-of-the-art molecular beam epitaxy (MBE)-grown CdTe/Si.     

分子束外延用碲锌镉(211)B衬底表面预处理技术

本文主要分析了作为分子束外延碲镉汞的碲锌镉衬底的表面预处理工艺.湿化学处理工艺主要目的是去除衬底表面损伤层,0.5%溴甲醇溶液的腐蚀速率为7 nm/s,但腐蚀的同时会形成表面富Te层和氧化层,氧化层的厚度随溴甲醇的浓度增加而增加;高温热处理工艺主要是消除湿化学腐蚀形成的富Te层和氧化层,340℃的高温处理可去除表面氧化层;也可以直接通过回旋共振等离子体处理衬底表面,形成化学计量比正常的干净表面.     

Lattice Relaxation and Dislocation Reduction in MBE CdTe(211)B/Ge(211)

We have used x-ray diffraction to assess the thickness dependence of strain in molecular-beam epitaxial (MBE) CdTe(211)/Ge(211). For 25-nm-thick layers, we find tensile stress of 100 MPa and in-plane strain of ~1.5 × 10⁻³. This stress relaxes during growth and becomes zero beyond 1 μm. We use the Dunn and Koch formula to estimate the threading dislocation density from the full-width at half-maximum of the (224) rocking curve. We then estimate the annihilation radius of MBE-grown CdTe(211)B/Ge(211) to be ~10 nm. Our layers have etch pit densities between 5 × 10⁷ cm⁻² and 5 × 10⁶ cm⁻² for a thickness of 10 μm. The lowest densities were obtained by periodic annealing epitaxy. We discuss mechanisms for the saturation of the dislocation density.     

CdTe/GaAs(111)B薄膜的MBE生长研究

采用分子束外延方法,在GaAs(111)B衬底上,生长CdTe薄膜,以求研制出用于液相外延生长碲镉汞(HgCdTe)薄膜的CdTe/GaAs(111)B复合衬底.通过理论分析和实验探索,优化了生长温度和Te/Cd束流比等重要生长参数,获得了质量较好的CdTe薄膜,再通过循环热处理,使CdTe/GaAs(111)B复合衬底的质量得到进一步的提高,X-射线回摆曲线半峰宽(FWHM)有明显的降低.为LPE-HgCdTe薄膜的生长打下了较好基础.     

High-Quality (211)B CdTe on (211)Si Substrates Using Metalorganic Vapor-Phase Epitaxy

High-quality (211)B CdTe buffer layers are required during Hg_1−x Cd _x Te heteroepitaxy on Si substrates. In this study, direct metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE) of (211)B CdTe on Si, as well as CdTe on Si using intermediate Ge and ZnTe layers, has been achieved. Tertiary butyl arsine was used as a precursor to enable As surfactant action during CdTe MOVPE on Si. The grown CdTe/Si films display a best x-ray diffraction rocking-curve full-width at half-maximum of 64 arc-s and a best Everson etch pit density of 3 × 10⁵ cm⁻². These values are the best reported for MOVPE-grown (211)B CdTe/Si and match state-of-the-art material grown using molecular-beam epitaxy.     

P-Type doping with arsenic in (211)B HgCdTe grown by MBE

Arsenic incorporation and doping in HgCdTe layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) were examined in this paper. Arsenic incorporation into MBE-HgCdTe was carried out in two different ways: (1)ex-situ arsenic ion-implantation on indium-doped n-type HgCdTe layers, and (2) through a new approach called arsenic planar doping. We report onex-situ arsenic diffusion on indiumdoped MBE-HgCdTe layers at 450°C. In the investigated layers, arsenic redistribution occurs with a multi-component character. We obtained a diffusion coefficient of D_As = (1-3) × 10⁻¹³ cm²/s at 450°C. Results of differential Hall and fabricated p-n junctions suggest that during high temperature annealing, arsenic preferentially substitutes into Te sublattices and acts as acceptor impurities. In the second case, arsenic has been successfully incorporated during the MBE growth as an acceptor in the planar doping approach. Withoutex-situ annealing, as-grown layers show up to 50% activation of arsenic during the growth. These results are very promising forin-situ fabrication of infrared devices using HgCdTe material.     

Si基CdTe复合衬底分子束外延研究

文章引入晶格过渡的Si/ZnTe /CdTe作为复合外延基底材料,以阻挡Si/HgCdTe之间大晶格失配产生的高密度位错。通过对低温表面清洁化、面极性控制和孪晶抑制等的研究,解决了Si基CdTe分子束外延生长中诸多的技术难题。在国内首次采用分子束外延(MBE)的方法获得了大面积的Si基CdTe复合衬底材料,对应厚度为4～4. 4μm Si/CdTe (211)样品双晶半峰宽的统计平均结果为83弧秒,与相同厚度的GaAs/CdTe (211)双晶平均水平相当。     

分子束外延HgCdTe/CdZnTe(211)B表面缺陷研究

HgCdTe材料的表面缺陷是造成探测器性能下降的主要原因之一。采用聚焦离子束（Focused Ion Beam, FIB）、扫描电子显微镜（Scanning Electron Microscope, SEM）和能量色散X射线光谱仪（Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometer, EDX）研究了碲锌镉（CdZnTe)基HgCdTe外延层的表面缺陷。通过分析不同类型缺陷形成的原因,确定缺陷起源于HgCdTe材料生长过程。缺陷的形状与生长条件关系密切。凹坑及火山口状缺陷与Hg缺乏/稍高生长温度、分子束源坩埚中材料形状变化造成的不稳定束流有关。金刚石状缺陷和火山口状/金刚石状复合缺陷的产生与Hg/Te高束流比、低生长温度相关。在5 cm×5 cm大小的CdZnTe(211)B衬底表面上生长出了组分为0.216、厚度约为6.06~7 μm的高质量HgCdTe外延层。同时还建立了缺陷类型与HgCdTe薄膜生长工艺的关系。该研究对于制备高质量HgCdTe/CdZnTe外延层具有参考意义。     

Characterization of cross-hatch morphology of MBE (211) HgCdTe

We present the results of a detailed study of the nature and origin of cross-hatch patterns commonly observed on (211) HgCdTe epilayers deposited by molecular beam epitaxy. Cross-hatch patterns were examined using x-ray topography as well as Nomarski, interferometric, and atomic force microscopies. Cross-hatch patterns were generally comprised of three sets of lines, parallel to the [231],, [213], and [011] directions. The lines parallel to the [011] direction exhibited distinct properties compared to the two sets of lines parallel to [231] and [213]. Under growth conditions characterized by excessive Hg flux (low temperature), lines parallel to [011] were periodic and tended to dominate the cross-hatch pattern. In some cases, bands of dislocations, 10–100 m in width, formed parallel to [011]. Under optimized growth conditions, on very closely lattice-matched substrates, (dislocation densities <10⁵ cm⁻²) lines parallel to [011] vanished entirely, and lines parallel to [231] and [213] became sparse. The remaining lines were typically fragments terminated by either a single dislocation, a cluster of dislocations (micro-void), or the wafer's edge. The density of these line fragments tended to decrease as the dislocation density decreased. Under the best growth conditions on very closely lattice-matched substrates we have achieved dislocation densities of 5 10⁴ cm⁻², which is comparable to the dislocation density of the CdZnTe substrate.     

CdZnTe(211)B衬底对MBE外延碲镉汞材料的影响分析

碲锌镉 CdZnTe（211）B 衬底广泛应用于碲镉汞（HgCdTe）分子束外延生长,其性能参数在很大程度上决定了碲镉汞分子束外延材料的质量。主要讨论了 CdZnTe（211）B 衬底几个关键性能参数对碲镉汞外延材料的影响,包括 Zn 组分及均匀性、缺陷（位错、孪晶及晶界和碲沉淀）以及表面状态（粗糙度和化学组成）,并且分析了对 CdZnTe（211）B 衬底进行筛分时各性能参数的评价方法和指标。     

Impurity Gettering in (112)B HgCdTe/CdTe/Alternate Substrates

The crystalline structure and impurity profiles of HgCdTe/CdTe/alternate substrate (AS; Si and GaAs are possibilities) and CdTe/AS were analyzed by secondary-ion mass spectrometry, atomic force microscopy, etch pit density analysis, and scanning transmission electron microscopy. Impurities (Li, Na, and K) were shown to getter in as-grown CdTe/Si epilayers at in situ Te-stabilized thermal anneal (~500°C) interfaces. In HgCdTe/CdTe/Si epilayers, indium accumulation was observed at Te-stabilized thermal anneal interfaces. Impurity accumulation was measured at HgCdTe/CdTe and CdTe/ZnTe interfaces. Processing anneals were found to nearly eliminate the gettering effect at the in situ Te-stabilized thermal anneal interfaces. Impurities were found to redistribute to the front HgCdTe/CdTe/Si surface and p–n junction interfaces during annealing steps. We also investigated altering the in situ Te-stabilized thermal anneal process to enhance the gettering effect.     

In-situ ellipsometry studies of adsorption of Hg on CdTe(211)B/Si(211) and molecular beam epitaxy growth of HgCdTe(211)B

We study the adsorption of Hg on CdTe(211)B using an 88-wavelength spectroscopic ellipsometer mounted on a commercial, molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) chamber. A detailed analysis of the pseudo-dielectric function shows that Hg is present at the surface both in chemisorbed and physisorbed form. Effective medium models for a mixture of chemisorbed and physisorbed Hg on the microscopically rough CdTe surface could not fit our data. However, a proposed model in which a partial layer of physisorbed Hg sits on top of a partial layer of chemisorbed Hg fits the measured pseudo-dielectric function well and yields precise values for the thicknesses of the chemisorbed and the physisorbed Hg layers. These values change in the expected manner as a function of Hg flux, temperature, and Te coverage. An analysis of the uncertainty in the measured thicknesses is carried out in detail, and a study of the limitations of the ellipsometer used for this study is presented. The effects of these limitations on the precision and accuracy of in-situ data are enumerated.     

异质衬底外延碲镉汞薄膜位错抑制技术进展

分子束外延碲镉汞技术是制备第三代红外焦平面探测器的重要手段,基于异质衬底的碲镉汞材料具有尺寸大、成本低、与常规半导体设备兼容等优点,是目前低成本高性能红外探测器发展中的研究重点。对异质衬底上碲镉汞薄膜位错密度随厚度的变化规律进行了建模计算,结果显示ρ～1/h 模型与实验结果吻合度好,异质衬底上原生碲镉汞薄膜受位错反应半径制约,其位错密度无法降低至 5×10⁶cm^-2以下,难以满足长波、甚长波器件的应用需求。为了有效降低异质外延的碲镉汞材料位错密度,近年来出现了循环退火、位错阻挡和台面位错吸除等位错抑制技术,本文介绍了各技术的原理及进展,分析了后续发展趋势及重点。循环退火和位错阻挡技术突破难度大,发展潜力小,难以将碲镉汞位错密度控制在 5×10⁵cm^-2以内。台面位错吸除技术目前已经显示出了巨大的发展潜力和价值,后续与芯片工艺融合后,有望大幅促进低成本长波、中长波、甚长波器件的发展。     

在Si(211)衬底上分子束外延CdTe的剪切应变

利用高分辨率X射线衍射技术对分子束外延CdTe（211）B/Si（211）材料的CdTe外延薄膜进行了倒易点二维扫描,并通过获得的对称衍射面和非对称衍射面的倒易空间图,对CdTe缓冲层的剪切应变状况进行了分析.研究发现,对于CdTe/Si结构,随着CdTe厚度的增加,[1-1-1]、[01-1]两个方向的剪切角γ[1-1-1]和γ[01-1]都有变小的趋势,且γ[1-1-1]的大小约为γ[01-1]的两倍;对于CdTe/ZnTe/Si结构,ZnTe缓冲层的引入可以有效地降低CdTe层的剪切应变.     

Recent Results on Growth of (211)B CdTe on (211)Si with Intermediate Ge and ZnTe Buffer Layers by Metalorganic Vapor-Phase Epitaxy

We report on the investigation of epitaxial cadmium telluride grown by metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE) on (211)Si, with particular emphasis on studying the effect of changing the reactor parameters and thermal annealing conditions on the epilayer quality. The CdTe films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and x-ray diffraction (XRD). The best CdTe films were observed when the Te/Cd precursor partial pressure ratio was close to 3.1. It was also observed that, though annealing improved the crystal quality, a slight increase in surface roughness was observed. Similar attempts were made to improve the growth conditions of ZnTe intermediate buffer layer, which showed similar trends with changes in precursor flows.