Phenomenon of the inverse adsorption piezoelectric effect in CdTe and CdHgTe semiconductors

The structure and chemical composition, and also the adsorption, electrical, and optical properties of the surface of Cd _x Hg_{1 − x} Te system solid solutions have been studied; the existence of the previously unknown phenomenon of the inverse adsorption piezoelectric effect has been established. Using the semiconductor compounds CdTe and Cd_0.2Hg_0.2Te as an example, it is shown that adsorption-induced charging of the surface causes the relaxation of charges localized at slow surface states which manifests itself in the form of voltage pulses and governs structural reconstructions and surface relaxation.