Growth and properties of CdxHg1?xTe crystals

It has been found that there are two main factors complicating the preparation of Cd_xHg_1–xTe. The marked difference between the liquidus and solidus curves of the CdTe-HgTe pseudo-binary system gives the expected problems of segregation of CdTe with respect to HgTe during growth but there are also problems due to the segregation of any excess Te in the melt. A 2% excess of Te can give rise to pronounced constitutional supercooling effects. To avoid this, careful control of melt stoichiometry is required. This is made difficult by the high vapour pressure of mercury over the melt, the value of which is not known with great accuracy.The conditions of melt stoichiometry required for crystal growth do not necessarily give material of the required type and resistivity and this must be adjusted after growth by annealing at a controlled mercury pressure at a fixed temperature.