Dark currents in long wavelength infrared HgCdTe gated photodiodes

The fabrication of HgCdTe photodiodes using plasma-induced p-to-n type conversion for junction formation shows promise in improving array uniformity and device yields in comparison to more traditional fabrication technologies. Previously, characterization and analysis of the diode current-voltage (I–V) characteristics of fabricated devices have given indications that surface-leakage current mechanisms are limiting device performance. To further investigate the effectiveness of the surface passivation employed in the fabrication process, gated-diode structures have been fabricated. The gated-diode structure enables the semiconductor surface potential to be varied, thus allowing the characteristics of surface-leakage currents and their effect on device performance to be evaluated. The long wavelength infrared (LWIR) HgCdTe gated photodiodes used in this study have been characterized using I–V measurements for variable gate-bias voltage and variable temperature. Analysis of the experimental results indicates that plasma-induced type conversion produces an n (lightly doped)-on-p junction that is highly susceptible to a trapped positive charge in the passivation layer, which results in increased surface-tunneling currents. Modeling of the various dark-current mechanisms is used to show the effect on dark-current generation of the surface band bending induced by variations in surface potential. In addition, temperature-dependent I–V measurements and analysis have also been conducted.     

LWIR HgCdTe on Si detector performance and analysis

We have fabricated a series of 256 pixel×256 pixel, 40 μm pitch LWIR focal plane arrays (FPAs) with HgCdTe grown on (211) silicon substrates using MBE grown CdTe and CdSeTe buffer layers. The detector arrays were fabricated using Rockwell Scientific’s double layer planar heterostructure (DLPH) diode architecture. The 78 K detector and focal plane array (FPA) performance are discussed in terms of quantum efficiency (QE), diode dark current and dark current operability. The FPA dark current and the tail in the FPA dark current operability histograms are discussed in terms of the HgCdTe epitaxial layer defect density and the dislocation density of the individual diode junctions. Individual diode zero bias impedance and reverse bias current-voltage (I-V) characteristics vs. temperature are discussed in terms of the dislocation density of the epitaxial layer, and the misfit stress in the epitaxial multilayer structure, and the thermal expansion mismatch in the composite substrate. The fundamental FPA performance limitations and possible FPA performance improvements are discussed in terms of basic device physics and material properties.     

离子束刻蚀HgCdTe环孔pn结I—V、RD—V特性的研究（上）

本文推导了一种可简便、准确、直观计算和分析pn结I-V特性的公式和方法,并应用该方法对两类典型HgCdTe环孔pn结的I-V、RD-V特性进行了计算和拟合;得到了表面欧姆(反型沟道)漏电导、二极管理想因子n随电压的分布等反映二极管结特性的重要参数.计算结果表明,对于长波HgCdTe光伏器件而言,表面漏电流在整个暗电流中所占的比重相当大,表面漏电流严重地制约着器件性能.HgCdTe材料的晶体缺陷会使二极管的理想因子n增大,从而使产生-复合电流及陷阱辅助隧穿电流增加.     

Planar p-on-n HgCdTe heterojunction mid-wavelength infrared photodiodes formed using plasma-induced junction isolation

Planar p-on-n HgCdTe heterojunction photodiodes have been fabricated using a plasma-induced type conversion process for device junction isolation. The technique is presented as a fully planar alternative technology to the commonly used mesa isolation structure. The starting material consisted of an indium-doped n-type mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR) HgCdTe absorbing layer that was capped by a 1-μm-thick wider bandgap arsenic-doped p-type layer. Junction-isolated p-on-n diodes were formed by selectively p-to-n type converting the p-type cap layer using a plasma process. Photodiode dark current-voltage measurements were performed as a function of temperature, along with noise and responsivity. The devices have cut-off wavelengths between 4.8 μm and 5.0 μm, exhibit diffusion-limited dark currents down to 145 K, give R₀A values greater than 1 × 10⁷Ω·cm² at 80 K and greater than 1 × 10⁵Ω·cm² at 120 K, and have negligible 1/f noise current at zero applied bias.     

不同钝化结构的HgCdTe光伏探测器暗电流机制

在同一HgCdTe晶片上制备了单层ZnS钝化和双层（CdTe+ZnS）钝化的两种光伏探测器,对器件的性能进行了测试,发现双层钝化的器件具有较好的性能．通过理论计算,分析了器件的暗电流机制,发现单层钝化具有较高的表面隧道电流．通过高分辨X射线衍射中的倒易点阵技术研究了单双层钝化对HgCdTe外延层晶格完整性的影响,发现单层ZnS钝化的HgCdTe外延层产生了大量缺陷,而这些缺陷正是单层钝化器件具有较高表面隧道电流的原因．     

Electrical effects of dislocations and other crystallographic defects in Hg0.78Cd0.22Te n-on-p photodiodes

An understanding of the effects of dislocations in HgCdTe diodes is complicated by several issues such as the diode architecture, diode formation process, and the thermal history and location of the dislocations. To help decouple the effects of these factors, high stress films were used to lithographically introduce dislocations with different densities and locations during the fabrication process of ion implanted, n-on-p diodes. Both array and diode test structures were studied. After fabrication, the diodes were characterized with variable temperature I–V measurements and noise measurements. The diodes were then stripped and defect etched to quantify the density and distribution of the dislocations. The effects of these process-induced dislocations were analyzed and compared to the effects of as grown dislocations, subgrain boundaries and dislocations in other device architectures reported in the literature.^1,2 In general, high densities of either as grown or process-induced dislocations in n-on-p, ion implanted diodes severely degrade device performance by producing field dependent dark current At 77K, dislocation densities greater than the mid 10⁶ cm⁻² can produce dark current densities in excess of the diode diffusion current. Dislocations located near the outer periphery of the diode produce approximately ten times the dark current of interior dislocations. Grain boundaries, sub-grain boundaries, and twins also produce sufficient field dependent dark current to limit diode performance at 77K. The dark current produced by dislocations is nearly temperature in dependent, suggesting rather severe limitations on dislocation densities for low temperature diode operation.     

离子束刻蚀HgCdTe环孔pn结I–V、RD–V特性的研究（下）

本文推导了一种可简便、准确、直观计算和分析pn结I–V特性的公式和方法,并应 用该方法对两类典型HgCdTe环孔pn结的I–V、RD–V特性进行了计算和拟合;得到了表面欧姆(反型沟道)漏 电导、二极管理想因子n随电压的分布等反映二极管结特性的重要参数。计算结果表明,对于长波HgCdTe 光伏器件而言,表面漏电流在整个暗电流中所占的比重相当大,表面漏电流严重地制约着器件性能。HgCdTe 材料的晶体缺陷会使二极管的理想因子n增大,从而使产生–复合电流及陷阱辅助隧穿电流增加。     

Mid-wavelength infrared p-on-n Hg1−xCdxTe heterostructure detectors: 30–120 kelvin state-of-the-Art performance

We report on Hg_1−xCd_xTe mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR) detectors grown by molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) on CdZnTe substrates. Current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of HgCdTe-MWIR devices and temperature dependence of focal-plane array (FPA) dark current have been investigated and compared with the most recent InSb published data. These MWIR p-on-n Hg_1−xCd_xTe/CdZnTe heterostructure detectors give outstanding performance, and at 68 K, they are limited by diffusion currents. For temperatures lower than 68 K, in the near small-bias region, another current is dominant. This current has lower sensitivity to temperature and most likely is of tunneling origin. High-performance MWIR devices and arrays were fabricated with median R_oA values of 3.96 × 10¹⁰ Ω-cm² at 78 K and 1.27 × 10¹² Ω-cm² at 60 K; the quantum efficiency (QE) without an antireflection (AR) coating was 73% for a cutoff wavelength of 5.3 μm at 78 K. The QE measurement was performed with a narrow pass filter centered at 3.5 μm. Many large-format MWIR 1024 × 1024 FPAs were fabricated and tested as a function of temperature to confirm the ultra-low dark currents observed in individual devices. For these MWIR FPAs, dark current as low as 0.01 e⁻/pixel/sec at 58 K for 18 × 18 μm pixels was measured. The 1024 × 1024 array operability and AR-coated QE at 78 K were 99.48% and 88.3%, respectively. A comparison of these results with the state-of-the-art InSb-detector data suggests MWIR-HgCdTe devices have significantly higher performance in the 30–120 K temperature range. The InSb detectors are dominated by generation-recombination (G-R) currents in the 60–120 K temperature range because of a defect center in the energy gap, whereas MWIR-HgCdTe detectors do not exhibit G-R-type currents in this temperature range and are limited by diffusion currents.     

Performance characteristics of planar ion-implantation isolated heterojunction,near-infrared,and short-wave infrared HgCdTe devices

Two-dimensional near-infrared (NIR) and short-wave infrared (SWIR) HgCdTe arrays have been produced using planar ion-implantation isolated heterojunction (PI3H) device technology. This paper is an extension of an earlier study in which focal plane arrays (FPAs) were fabricated based on heterojunction-mesa and ion-implanted planar device structures. The PI3H device structure is pursued in order to verify whether it can encompass both the superb multilayer characteristics of heterojunction detectors as well as the planar integrity of ion-implanted devices. The PI3H devices are characterized, and R₀A measurements are carried out at different temperatures and compared to those obtained from heterojunction-mesa and ion-implanted device structures. Data shows the PI3H devices to be superior to both heterojunctionmesa and ion-implanted detectors at temperatures between 130 K and 300 K. Performance characteristics of the thermoelectric (TE) cooled SWIR FPAs with 320 × 256 format, as well as NIR FPAs with 640×512 format based on the PI3H device structure are also discussed.     

Piezoelectric effects in HgCdTe devices

Piezoelectric effect in long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) HgCdTe has been studied using metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) and p-n homojunction devices. A cantilever beam technique was used to measure the shift in flatband voltage in the MIS devices as a function of applied strain, from which piezoelectric constant was derived. This is the first time such a value has been reported in the literature. Subsequent calculation showed that the thermal stress from cryogenic cool (from 300 to 77K) of hybridized infrared devices fabricated on (111) HgCdTe surfaces induced a piezoelectric field of∼1840 V/cm. This field is present in the space charge regions in the semiconductor where there is no free carrier. It reinforces the built-field in an n-on-p diode fabricated on the (111)A HgCdTe surface. Thus, the diode is more prone to the thermal stress than one fabricated on the (lll)B surface. Electrical measurement of reverse-bias dark currents in HgCdTe photodiodes under applied compressive and tensile stress confirmed the existence of a strain-induced field in the junction.     

Minority carrier lifetime in p-HgCdTe

High operating temperature (HOT) detector concepts using midwave infrared (MWIR) (x∼0.3) p-type HgCdTe operating at temperatures within the thermoelectric cooler range are of significant interest at the present time. However, it is apparent that much work remains to be done in the areas of material, diode passivation, and diode formation technologies before the “holy grail” of photon detection at room temperature for all infrared wavelengths is achieved. Over the years, at DRS, we have developed a technology base for both n- and p-type HgCdTe materials parameters that are relevant to photodiode design and fabrication. This paper will discuss data that we have taken recently on minority carrier lifetime in MWIR and long wave infrared (LWIR) HgCdTe, particularly p type, and how it compares to current theories of Auger 7, radiative, and Shockley-Read recombination in this material. Extrinsic group IB (Cu, Au) and group V (arsenic) p-type dopants were used, together with group III (In) for n-type. The impact of the data on future HOT detector work is discussed.     

Fabrication and characterization of two-color midwavelength/long wavelength HgCdTe infrared detectors

High-performance 20-μm unit-cell two-color detectors using an n-p⁺-n HgCdTe triple-layer heterojunction (TLHJ) device architecture grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on (211)-oriented CdZnTe substrates with midwavelength (MW) infrared and long wavelength (LW) infrared spectral bands have been demonstrated. Detectors with nominal MW and LW cut-off wavelengths of 5.5 μm and 10.5 μm, respectively, exhibit 78 K LW performance with >70 % quantum efficiency, reverse bias dark currents below 300 pA, and RA products (zero field of view, 150-mV bias) in excess of 1×10³ Ωcm². Temperature-dependent current-voltage (I–V) detector measurements show diffusion-limited LW dark current performance extending to temperatures below 70 K with good operating bias stability (150 mV ± 50 mV). These results reflect the successful implementation of MBE-grown TLHJ detector designs and the introduction of advanced photolithography techniques with inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching to achieve high aspect ratio mesa delineation of individual detector elements with benefits to detector performance. These detector improvements complement the development of high operability large format 640×480 and 1280×720 two-color HgCdTe infrared focal plane arrays (FPAs) to support third generation forward looking infrared (FLIR) systems.     

HgCdTe detectors operating above 200 K

This paper reports progress with work aimed at using HgCdTe detector arrays at temperatures above 200 K where cooling is possible with thermo-electric coolers. Both theoretical analysis and calculations based on the detector dark currents indicate that useful performance should be obtainable in this temperature range. However, measurements on the performance of two-dimensional arrays show that the thermal sensitivity degrades rapidly for temperatures above 200 K. The reduction in performance at higher temperatures is shown to be mainly due to increasing 1/f noise as the temperature increases. The noise is characterized as a function of bias and temperature and this is used to predict the noise equivalent temperature difference (NETD) as a function of temperature. We describe an approach for producing two-dimensional arrays based on biasing the detector elements at close to zero bias so that the 1/f noise is minimized. A camera based on this concept is described and an example of the imaging performance is shown.     

HgCdTe/CdZnTe P-I-N high-energy photon detectors

Classical solid-state detection of x-ray and gamma-ray radiation consists of a high voltage applied between two metallic contacts sandwiching a high resistivity, high dielectric strength material; high voltage and high resistivity are required to enable complete charge collection while minimizing the resolution-degrading leakage current (dark current). We report here the conception and successful fabrication and test of a new device construct which changes this paradigm. P-type and n-type layers are fabricated by mercury cadmium telluride (HC.T) liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) on opposite sides of a high-quality wafer of CdZnTe (CZT) in order to construct a p-i-n diode structure. Wafers up to 9 cm² area have been grown. This diode structure provides an extremely high effective resistivity and barrier to the flow of dark current in the device. Several wafer lots have repeatably yielded p-i-n detectors which exhibit typical diode current-voltage (I-V) curves with very low dark currents at very high bias voltages. Spectra obtained from these detectors produce exceptionally sharp photopeaks which exhibit very little low-energy tailing.     

Effects of Inductively Coupled Plasma Hydrogen on Long-Wavelength Infrared HgCdTe Photodiodes

Bulk passivation of semiconductors with hydrogen continues to be investigated for its potential to improve device performance. In this work, hydrogen-only inductively coupled plasma (ICP) was used to incorporate hydrogen into long-wavelength infrared HgCdTe photodiodes grown by molecular-beam epitaxy. Fully fabricated devices exposed to ICP showed statistically significant increases in zero-bias impedance values, improved uniformity, and decreased dark currents. HgCdTe photodiodes on Si substrates passivated with amorphous ZnS exhibited reductions in shunt currents, whereas devices on CdZnTe substrates passivated with polycrystalline CdTe exhibited reduced surface leakage, suggesting that hydrogen passivates defects in bulk HgCdTe and in CdTe.     

高工作温度p-on-n中波碲镉汞红外焦平面器件研究

As注入掺杂的p-on-n结构碲镉汞红外探测器件具有少子寿命长、暗电流低、R₀A值高等优点,是高温器件研究的重要技术路线之一。针对阵列规模640×512、像元中心距15 μm 的As掺杂工艺制备的p-on-n中波碲镉汞焦平面器件,测试了不同工作温度下的性能和暗电流。研究结果表明,在80 K工作温度下,器件响应表现出高响应均匀性,有效像元率达99.98%;随着工作温度升高,器件盲元增多,当工作温度为150 K和180 K时,有效像元率降低至99.92%和99.32%。由于对器件扩散电流更好的抑制,器件在160~200 K温度范围内的暗电流低于Rule-07。并且当工作温度在150~180 K时（300 K的背景下）,器件具有较好的信噪比,极大程度地体现了高温工作的可行性。     

Hg1-xCdxTe长波光伏探测器的低频噪声研究

在同一Hg1-xCdxTe晶片上（x=0．217）制备了单层ZnS钝化和双层（CdTe＋ZnS）钝化的两种器件,对器件的低频噪声和暗电流进行了测试．发现单层钝化的器件在反偏较高时具有较高的低频噪声,在对器件的暗电流拟合计算中发现,单层钝化的器件具有较大的表面隧道电流,而这正是单层钝化器件具有较高低频噪声的原因．并通过高分辨X射线衍射中的倒易点阵技术RSM（reciprocal space mapping）研究了两种钝化对HgCdTe外延层晶格完整性的影响,发现单层ZnS钝化的HgCdTe外延层产生了大量缺陷,而这些缺陷正是单层钝化器件具有较高的低频噪声和表面隧道电流的原因．     

Au掺杂碲镉汞长波探测器技术研究

昆明物理研究所多年来持续开展了对Au掺杂碲镉汞材料、器件结构设计、可重复的工艺开发等研究,突破了Au掺杂碲镉汞材料电学可控掺杂、器件暗电流控制等关键技术,将n-on-p型碲镉汞长波器件品质因子(R₀A)从31.3Ω·cm²提升到了363Ω·cm²(λcutoff=10.5μm@80 K),器件暗电流较本征汞空位n-on-p型器件降低了一个数量级以上。研制的非本征Au掺杂长波探测器经历了超过7年的时间贮存,性能无明显变化,显示了良好的长期稳定性。基于Au掺杂碲镉汞探测器技术,昆明物理研究所实现了256×256 (30μm pitch)、640×512 (25μm pitch)、640×512 (15μm pitch)、1 024×768 (10μm pitch)等规格的长波探测器研制和批量能力,实现了非本征Au掺杂长波碲镉汞器件系列化发展。     

碲镉汞离子注入温度研究

作为pn结成型的重要参数,离子注入温度对晶格缺陷和材料扩散的影响较大。在碲镉汞的离子注入过程中,注入温度很大程度上影响着注入区的尺寸与光刻掩膜的形貌。从离子注入工艺的温度控制出发,研究了该工艺中的束流、注入能量、接触面粗糙度等因素;结合器件的I-V曲线,探究了注入温度对碲镉汞红外探测器性能的影响。结果表明,较低的注入束流、冷却温度以及良好的导热面,可以保证实际注入温度低于光刻胶的耐受温度,从而提高工艺过程的成品率。同时,较低的注入温度对于减小暗电流及注入区扩散面积起到了一定的作用,提高了碲镉汞红外探测器光敏元的性能。     

硅基HgCdTe光伏器件的暗电流特性分析

对硅基HgCdTe中波器件进行了变温电流电压特性的测试和分析。测量温度从30K到240K，得到R0对数与温度的1000／T的实验曲线及拟合结果。同时选取60K、80K及110K下动态阻抗尺与电压V的曲线进行拟合分析。研究表明在我们器件工作的温度点80K，零偏压附近主要的电流机制是产生复合电流和陷阱辅助隧穿电流。要提高器件的水平，必须降低陷阱辅助隧穿电流和产生复合电流对暗电流的贡献。