Photo-enhanced native oxidation process forHg0.8Cd0.2Te photoconductors

Proposes an easy and reproducible vapor-phase photo surface treatment method to improve the device performance of the Hg_0.8 Cd_0.2Te photoconductive detector. We explore the effect of surface passivation on the electrical and optical properties of the HgCdTe photoconductor. Experimental results, including surface mobility, surface carrier concentration, metal-insulator-semiconductor leakage current, 1/f noise voltage spectrum, the 1/f knee frequency, responsivity R_λ, and specific detectivity D* for stacked photo surface treatment and ZnS or CdTe passivation layers are presented. These data are all directly related to the quality of the interface between the passivation layer and the HgCdTe substrate. We found that, by inserting a photo native oxide layer, we can shift the 1/f knee frequency, reduce the noise power spectrum, and achieve a lower surface recombination velocity S. A higher D* can also be achieved. It was also found that HgCdTe photoconductors passivated with stacked layers show improved interface properties compared to the photoconductors passivated only with a single ZnS or CdTe layer     

A Study of Sidewall Effects in HgCdTe Photoconductors Passivated with MBE-Grown CdTe

In order to evaluate the effectiveness of CdTe surface passivating layers, HgCdTe photoconductors with and without CdTe sidewall passivation were fabricated. As expected, photoconductors with CdTe sidewall passivation demonstrated significantly higher responsivity in comparison with those without sidewall passivation, indicating the effectiveness of molecular-beam epitaxially (MBE)-grown CdTe as a passivation layer in reducing surface recombination velocity. Characterization of the responsivity differences between photoconductors with and without sidewall CdTe passivation offers a potential method for measuring the interface/surface recombination velocity. This has been demonstrated in this paper by extracting the value of the surface recombination velocity using the Synopsys Sentaurus commercial modeling package to fit experimental responsivity data for fully and partially passivated devices.     

MBE原位碲化镉钝化的碲镉汞长波光电二极管列阵

采用分子束外延(MBE)技术在表面生长碲化镉(CdTe)介质膜的p型碲镉汞(HgCdTe)材料,并通过离子注入区的光刻、暴露HgCdTe表面的窗口腐蚀、注入阻挡层硫化锌(ZnS)的生长、形成p-n结的B+注入、注入阻挡层的去除、绝缘介质膜ZnS的生长、金属化和铟柱列阵的制备等工艺,得到了原位CdTe钝化的n+-on-p...     

Compositionally graded interface for passivation of HgCdTe photodiodes

A compositionally graded CdTe-Hg_1−xCd_xTe interface was created by deposition of CdTe on p-HgCdTe and subsequent annealing. The compositionally graded layer between CdTe and HgCdTe was formed by an interdiffusion process and was used for passivation. The composition gradient (Δx) in the interfacial region and the width of the graded region were tailored by adopting a suitable annealing procedure. The effect of process conditions on the interfacial profile and photoelectric properties such as lifetime and surface recombination velocity was studied in detail. Surface recombination velocity of the p-HgCdTe could be reduced to the level of 3,000 cm/s at 77 K, which represents very good passivation characteristics. The passivation layer formed by this method can be used for the fabrication of high performance and stable modern infrared detectors. Thus, a passivation process is developed, which is simple, effective, reproducible, and compatible with the HgCdTe device fabrication and packaging processes.     

The role of drift,diffusion, and recombination in time‐resolved photoluminescence of CdTe solar cells determined through numerical simulation

Time‐resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) measurements are one of the key metrics available to determine the minority‐carrier lifetime in the absorber layer of direct band gap photovoltaic devices. Direct measurement of the minority‐carrier lifetime is essential to understanding the impact of changes in deposition and processing on material quality. Unfortunately, the TRPL signal is determined by a complex convolution of multiple physical factors including bulk carrier lifetime, interface recombination velocity, electric field, doping density, photo‐excited carrier density, and carrier mobility. To gain clarity, we have used numerical simulations to analyze the carrier dynamics after a CdTe device is illuminated with a short light pulse. After the light pulse, the photo‐generated carriers undergo complex dynamics including drift, diffusion, interface, and bulk recombination. In this work, we develop a new formalism that enables much greater insight into which factors dominate the TRPL decay dynamics. By breaking down the carrier dynamics into drift, diffusion, and recombination terms, we have developed six‐factor, four‐factor, and two‐factor analyses that provide clear understanding of which physical factors dominate the decay dynamics under various conditions and at different times during the decay. We show that in a typical CdTe device under the typical experimental conditions used in our laboratories, the faster part of the decay is dominated by charge separation, whereas the slower part is dominated by carrier recombination. Therefore, under the conditions investigated in this study, the slower part of the decay is a better parameter to explain the defect density in the CdTe layer. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

PC1D方法对铝背场钝化技术的分析

降低单晶硅原材料成本,采用更薄的硅片作为太阳电池的原料是晶体硅太阳电池产业发展的趋势之一。对薄片化的太阳电池,铝背场的背表面钝化工艺显得愈加重要。采用PC1D太阳电池软件模拟的方法,对以商业用p型硅为衬底的单晶硅125×125太阳电池的铝背场的背表面钝化技术进行了模拟,分析得出,对一定厚度的电池片来说,尤其是当少数载流...     

Reliability characteristics of GaAs and InP-based heterojunction bipolar transistors

The reliability characteristics of Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor made on GaAs and InP substrates are reviewed and ways of improving them by design, growth and processing are described. Materials for HBTs are grown by a variety of techniques (MBE, MOCVD, CBE). Their choice is made based on considerations such as satisfaction of design requirements and manufacturing but also dopant incorporation without risk of diffusion, as well as, minimization of hydrogen incorporation which may result in device degradation. The minority carrier lifetime in the base is influenced by hydrogen incorporation in C-InGaAs. Conventional alloyed and non-alloyed, as well as, refractory metallization schemes are considered for best reliability performance. The dielectric deposition scheme used for passivation plays a major role on device reliability. Good reliability performance is reported for GaAs but also for InP-based HBTs. A correlation is finally reported to exist between the low-frequency noise properties of HBTs and their reliability characteristics.     

Au／CdTe＋ZnS／HgCdTe双层介质膜MIS器件的制备及研究

通过介质膜ZnS、CdTe薄膜材料的Ar^ 束溅射沉积研究,结合HgCdTe器件工艺,成功制备了以ZnS、CdTe双层介质膜为绝缘层的HgCdTe MIS器件;通过对器件的C－V特性实验分析,获得了CdTe/HgCdTe界面电学特性参数。实验表明：溅射沉积介质膜CdTe ZnS对HgCdTe的表面钝化已经可以满足HgCdTe红外焦麦面器件表面钝化的各项要求。     

有相异表面复合速度时半导体薄片少子连续方程的解及应用

本文给出了有相异表面复合速度时半导体薄片少子连续方程的一种新解法。数值计算结果表明,薄片的少子光电导衰退曲线可以用这种解的一次模和二次模之和来表示。可以使用这些结果讨论一些薄片的少子寿命和表面复合速度。     

CaF2 surface passivation of lead selenide grown on BaF2

A new method of surface passivation of PbSe epitaxial layers by growing a thin epitaxial CaF₂ layer is proposed. Improvement in photoluminescence (PL) intensity is observed when the PbSe layer is passivated. The minority carrier lifetime (τ), measured by photo-current decay method corroborates PL measurements and shows a consistent, albeit not considerable, improvement in the lifetime of PbSe samples after surface passivation. The positive effect of surface passivation, especially at low heat-sink temperature, offered by a new passivating material is critically important for IV-VI material-based infrared detector and sensor applications.     

Comparative Study of HgCdTe Etchants: An Electrical Characterization

A comparative study of wet etchants for both molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) grown n- and p-type samples was performed using capacitance–voltage (C–V) characteristics and surface recombination velocity (SRV) extracted from photoconductive decay (PCD) measurements. Different wet etchants were divided in two categories, (i) where bromine is a direct reagent in the etching solution and (ii) where bromine is a byproduct after reaction among different reagents. Negative shift of the flat-band voltages were observed for both n- and p-type samples treated with second category of etchants. A decrease in minority carrier lifetimes and an increase in the surface recombination velocities were also observed for the n-type samples treated with second category of etchants.     

瞬态光响应法测试中波碲镉汞器件少子寿命的新方法

在测试中波碲镉汞光伏器件的瞬态响应时,当激光光斑照射器件表面位置距离光敏面较远时,器件表现为特殊的双峰脉冲响应现象,分析表明出现这种异常双脉冲现象的原因是光敏区内的少子漂移和光敏区外侧向收集的少子扩散有时间上的差异。通过对器件施加反向偏压,脉冲响应随反向偏压的增大由双峰变成单峰的实验结果,验证了少子侧向收集是导致器件形成双峰的主要原因。对第二个峰拟合得到p区的少数载流子寿命。将瞬态响应获得的少子寿命与该p型中波碲镉汞材料的理论计算和光电导衰退法得到的少子寿命相对比,发现三种方式得到的少子寿命随温度的变化趋势基本一致,这说明了可以通过瞬态光响应得到中波碲镉汞器件的少子寿命。     

A CdTe passivation process for long wavelength infrared HgCdTe photo-detectors

Passivant-Hg_1−xCd_xTe interface has been studied for the CdTe and anodic oxide (AO) passivants. The former passivation process yields five times lower surface recombination velocity than the latter process. Temperature dependence of surface recombination velocity of the CdTe/n-HgCdTe and AO/n-HgCdTe interface is analyzed. Activation energy of the surface traps for CdTe and AO-passivated wafers are estimated to be in the range of 7–10 meV. These levels are understood to be arising from Hg vacancies at the HgCdTe surface. Fixed charge density for CdTe/n-HgCdTe interface measured by CV technique is 5×10¹⁰ cm⁻², which is comparable to the epitaxially grown CdTe films. An order of magnitude improvement in responsivity and a factor of 4 increase in specific detectivity (D*) is achieved by CdTe passivation over AO passivation. This study has been conducted on photoconductive detectors to qualify the CdTe passivation process, with an ultimate aim to use it for the passivation of p-on-n and n-on-p HgCdTe photodiodes.     

Accurate measurement of composition, carrier concentration, and photoconductive lifetime in Hg1−xCdxTe grown by molecular beam epitaxy

Variable magnetic field Hall and transient photoconductance lifetime measurements were performed on a series of undoped, In-doped, and As-doped HgCdTe samples grown by molecular beam epitaxy and metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. Temperature variation and, in the case of Hall, magnetic-field variation are needed to give a more complete picture of the mechanisms that control lifetimes in HgCdTe samples. Recent predictions of recombination lifetimes from full band structure calculations were compared to experimental lifetimes at various doping levels at long-wave infrared (LWIR) and mid-wave infrared (MWIR) compositions. For n-type material, lifetimes from low doping levels fall well below the predictions, implying that Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) recombination is still dominant. MWIR samples have a lifetime that increases somewhat with carrier concentration, suggesting that In doping passivates the SRH defects for that composition. Lifetimes in p-type MWIR material appear to be well-explained by recent theoretical calculations. In p-type material, trapping states may be introduced during the incorporation and activation of As, since some samples with unusually long lifetimes had a distinctly different type of temperature dependence.     

Determination of the minority carrier lifetime in crystalline silicon thin‐film material

The effective minority carrier lifetimes on epitaxial silicon thin‐film material have been measured successfully using two independent microwave‐detected photoconductivity decay setups. Both measurement setups are found to be equally suited to determine the minority carrier lifetime of crystalline silicon thin‐film (cSiTF) material. The different measurement conditions to which the sample under investigation is exposed are critically analyzed by both simulations and measurements on a large number of lifetime samples. No systematic deviation between the lifetime results from different measurement setups could be observed, underlining the accuracy of the determined lifetime value. Subsequently, a method to separate the epitaxial bulk lifetime and the total recombination velocity, consisting of front surface and interface recombination between the epitaxial layer and the substrate, is presented. The method, based on different thicknesses of the epitaxial layer, is applied to all batches of this investigation. Each batch consists of samples with the same material quality but different epitaxial layer thicknesses whereas different batches differ in their material quality. In addition, the same method is also successfully applied on individual cSiTF samples. From the results, it can be concluded that the limiting factor of the effective minority carrier lifetime for the investigated solar‐grade cSiTF material is the elevated recombination velocity at the interface between epitaxial layer and the substrate compared with microelectronic‐grade material. In contrast, the samples cannot be classified into different material qualities by their epitaxial bulk lifetimes. Even on multicrystalline substrate, solar‐grade material can exhibit high epitaxial bulk lifetimes comparable to microelectronic‐grade material. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Recombination and trapping in multicrystalline silicon

Minority carrier recombination and trapping frequently coexist in multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si), with the latter effect obscuring both transient and steady-state measurements of the photoconductance. In this paper, the injection dependence of the measured lifetime is studied to gain insight into these physical mechanisms. A theoretical model for minority carrier trapping is shown to explain the anomalous dependence of the apparent lifetime with injection level and allow the evaluation of the density of trapping centers. The main causes for volume recombination in mc-Si, impurities and crystallographic defects, are separately investigated by means of cross-contamination and gettering experiments. Metallic impurities produce a dependence of the bulk minority carrier lifetime with injection level that follows the Shockley-Read-Hall recombination theory. Modeling of this dependence gives information on the fundamental electron and hole lifetimes, with the former typically being considerably smaller than the latter, in p-type silicon, Phosphorus gettering is used to remove most of the impurities and reveal the crystallographic limits on the lifetime, which can reach 600 μs for 1.5 Ωcm mc-Si. Measurements of the lifetime at very high injection levels show evidence of the Auger recombination mechanism in mc-Si. Finally, the surface recombination velocity of the interface between mc-Si and thermally grown SiO₂ is measured and found to be as low as 70 cm/s for 1.5 Ωcm material after a forming gas anneal and 40 cm/s after an anneal. These high bulk lifetimes and excellent surface passivation prove that mc-Si can have an electronic quality similar to that of single-crystalline silicon     

不同介质层钝化的碲镉汞光导型探测器的氢化研究

利用氢等离子体对阳极氧化层和ZnS钝化的碲镉汞光导型探测器进行了氢化处理,发现对于阳极氧化层钝化的器件,氢化处理后性能衰退,表现在信号的降低和噪声的增加,从表面形貌的观察,发现原来呈蓝色的阳极氧化层在氢化处理后几乎完全消失,从光谱响应上表现为短波方向的响应下降,认为由于氢化过程中介质层的消失使得氢离子直接轰击碲镉汞表面,造成少子表面复合速度增加.对ZnS钝化的器件氢化处理后性能改善,表现为信号的提高和噪声的下降,从光谱响应上表现为短波方向的响应抬高,从表面形貌观察发现ZnS的颜色略有变化,台阶仪测试表明氢化后ZnS的厚度减薄了约70nm,通过SIMS测试分析发现氢化过程中H离子可以穿过ZnS层到达ZnS与碲镉汞的界面处,认为氢离子对界面态起到了钝化作用,降低了界面态密度从而提高了器件的性能.     

Inductively coupled plasma etching for large format HgCdTe focal plane array fabrication

Inductively coupled plasma (ICP) using hydrogen-based gas chemistry has been developed to meet requirements for deep HgCdTe mesa etching and shallow CdTe passivation etching in large format HgCdTe infrared focal plane array (FPA) fabrication. Large format 2048×2048, 20-μm unit-cell short wavelength infrared (SWIR) and 2560×512, 25-μm unit-cell midwavelength infrared (MWIR) double-layer heterojunction (DLHJ) p-on-n HgCdTe FPAs fabricated using ICP processing exhibit >99% pixel operability. The HgCdTe FPAs are grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on Si substrates with suitable buffer layers. Midwavelength infrared detectors fabricated from 4-in. MBE-grown HgCdTe/Si substrates using ICP for mesa delineation and CdTe passivation etching demonstrate measured spectral characteristics, RoA product, and quantum efficiency comparable to detectors fabricated using wet chemical processes. Mechanical samples prepared to examine physical characteristics of ICP reveal plasma with high energy and low ion angle distribution, which is necessary for fine definition, high-aspect ratio mesa etching with accurate replication of photolithographic mask dimensions.     

CdTe/CdS、CdTe/ZnS核壳结构半导体量子点制备及荧光特性

核壳半导体量子点材料因其在修复单量子点表面缺陷方面的特殊性能,极大地提高了量子点的光学性能而受到人们的研究。改进了CdTe核心的制作方法,使用小型三口瓶替代传统的小烧瓶作为反应容器,制备碲氢化钠,合成了不同核心尺寸、不同壳层厚度与不同壳层材料的10种CdTe/CdS、CdTe/ZnS核壳结构半导体量子点。对10种核壳结构半导体量子点材料进行紫外可见吸收光谱及荧光光谱测试,并分析其荧光特性。量子点在紫外可见波段的吸收光谱表明随着量子点尺寸的增大,吸收峰发生红移。通过实验结果与分析可推断出CdTe/CdS量子点荧光寿命和强度的不同是由于核心和壳层尺寸的不同量子点在I型和II型中相互转换;CdTe/ZnS的壳层厚度增加时,由于ZnS的壳层降低了核心外表的悬空键和表面缺陷态的数量,使电子空穴对复合机率加大,使得荧光峰位产生了红移。     

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.