Influence of Cd-rich Annealing on Defects in Te-rich CdZnTe Materials

The influence of Cd-rich annealing at temperatures of 440–900 °C on the defect properties of Te-rich CdZnTe materials was studied. Cd-rich annealing at temperatures above the melting point of Te was confirmed to effectively reduce the size of Te-rich inclusions in the materials. However, dislocation multiplication occurred in the regions near Te-rich inclusions. Etch pit clusters were observed on the surfaces of annealed materials etched with Everson etchant. The etch pit clusters were much larger than the as-grown Te-rich inclusions. The dependence of the cluster size on that of the Te-rich inclusions and the annealing conditions was investigated. The density of etch pits in the normal region increased when the annealing temperature exceeded 750 °C. The mechanisms of the evolution of the Te-rich inclusions and the formation of new defects during the Cd-rich annealing are discussed.