Crystals Cd₁₋x ZnxTe – a promising material for non-cryogenic semiconductor detectors: preparations, structure defectness and electrophysical properties

Relationship between preparation conditions of the raw charge, crucible material, growth regimes and structure defectness and electrophysical properties of crystals Cd₁₋x ZnxTe has been studied. The crystals were grown both from the raw material which had been pre-synthesized in quartz ampoules and...

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Дата:1999
Автори: Atroshchenko, L.V., Galkin, S.N., Galchinetskii, L.P., Lalayants, A.I., Rybalka, I.A., Ryzhikov, V.D., Silin, V.I., Starzhinskii, N.G.
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Мова:English
Опубліковано: Інститут фізики напівпровідників імені В.Є. Лашкарьова НАН України 1999
Назва видання:Semiconductor Physics Quantum Electronics & Optoelectronics
Онлайн доступ:http://dspace.nbuv.gov.ua/handle/123456789/120259
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Цитувати:Crystals Cd₁₋x ZnxTe – a promising material for non-cryogenic semiconductor detectors: preparations, structure defectness and electrophysical properties / L.V. Atroshchenko, S.N. Galkin, L.P. Gal’chinetskii, A.I. Lalayants, I.A. Rybalka, V.D. Ryzhikov, V.I. Silin, N.G. Starzhinskii // Semiconductor Physics Quantum Electronics & Optoelectronics. — 1999. — Т. 2, № 4. — С. 81-85. — Бібліогр.: 5 назв. — англ.

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spelling irk-123456789-1202592017-06-12T03:04:34Z Crystals Cd₁₋x ZnxTe – a promising material for non-cryogenic semiconductor detectors: preparations, structure defectness and electrophysical properties Atroshchenko, L.V. Galkin, S.N. Galchinetskii, L.P. Lalayants, A.I. Rybalka, I.A. Ryzhikov, V.D. Silin, V.I. Starzhinskii, N.G. Relationship between preparation conditions of the raw charge, crucible material, growth regimes and structure defectness and electrophysical properties of crystals Cd₁₋x ZnxTe has been studied. The crystals were grown both from the raw material which had been pre-synthesized in quartz ampoules and from the raw material synthesized from the elements directly in the growth furnace. It is shown that the best values of electric resistivity ρ (up to 10¹¹ Ohm⋅cm) and sensitivity to X-ray and gamma-radiation are obtained for crystals grown in crucibles of highly pure coal-graphite material from the pre-synthesized raw charge. Correlation has been established between values of ρ and crystal defectness: decrease of dislocation density by 10⁴ times led to 10⁷ times higher values of resistivity. Concentration of dislocation etching pits regularly decreased with higher purity of the raw material and optimization of crystal preparation technology. 1999 Article Crystals Cd₁₋x ZnxTe – a promising material for non-cryogenic semiconductor detectors: preparations, structure defectness and electrophysical properties / L.V. Atroshchenko, S.N. Galkin, L.P. Gal’chinetskii, A.I. Lalayants, I.A. Rybalka, V.D. Ryzhikov, V.I. Silin, N.G. Starzhinskii // Semiconductor Physics Quantum Electronics & Optoelectronics. — 1999. — Т. 2, № 4. — С. 81-85. — Бібліогр.: 5 назв. — англ. 1560-8034 PACS: 72.20, 78.30.A, F, 81.05.C, D, E, G, H http://dspace.nbuv.gov.ua/handle/123456789/120259 en Semiconductor Physics Quantum Electronics & Optoelectronics Інститут фізики напівпровідників імені В.Є. Лашкарьова НАН України
institution Digital Library of Periodicals of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
collection DSpace DC
language English
description Relationship between preparation conditions of the raw charge, crucible material, growth regimes and structure defectness and electrophysical properties of crystals Cd₁₋x ZnxTe has been studied. The crystals were grown both from the raw material which had been pre-synthesized in quartz ampoules and from the raw material synthesized from the elements directly in the growth furnace. It is shown that the best values of electric resistivity ρ (up to 10¹¹ Ohm⋅cm) and sensitivity to X-ray and gamma-radiation are obtained for crystals grown in crucibles of highly pure coal-graphite material from the pre-synthesized raw charge. Correlation has been established between values of ρ and crystal defectness: decrease of dislocation density by 10⁴ times led to 10⁷ times higher values of resistivity. Concentration of dislocation etching pits regularly decreased with higher purity of the raw material and optimization of crystal preparation technology.
format Article
author Atroshchenko, L.V.
Galkin, S.N.
Galchinetskii, L.P.
Lalayants, A.I.
Rybalka, I.A.
Ryzhikov, V.D.
Silin, V.I.
Starzhinskii, N.G.
spellingShingle Atroshchenko, L.V.
Galkin, S.N.
Galchinetskii, L.P.
Lalayants, A.I.
Rybalka, I.A.
Ryzhikov, V.D.
Silin, V.I.
Starzhinskii, N.G.
Crystals Cd₁₋x ZnxTe – a promising material for non-cryogenic semiconductor detectors: preparations, structure defectness and electrophysical properties
Semiconductor Physics Quantum Electronics & Optoelectronics
author_facet Atroshchenko, L.V.
Galkin, S.N.
Galchinetskii, L.P.
Lalayants, A.I.
Rybalka, I.A.
Ryzhikov, V.D.
Silin, V.I.
Starzhinskii, N.G.
author_sort Atroshchenko, L.V.
title Crystals Cd₁₋x ZnxTe – a promising material for non-cryogenic semiconductor detectors: preparations, structure defectness and electrophysical properties
title_short Crystals Cd₁₋x ZnxTe – a promising material for non-cryogenic semiconductor detectors: preparations, structure defectness and electrophysical properties
title_full Crystals Cd₁₋x ZnxTe – a promising material for non-cryogenic semiconductor detectors: preparations, structure defectness and electrophysical properties
title_fullStr Crystals Cd₁₋x ZnxTe – a promising material for non-cryogenic semiconductor detectors: preparations, structure defectness and electrophysical properties
title_full_unstemmed Crystals Cd₁₋x ZnxTe – a promising material for non-cryogenic semiconductor detectors: preparations, structure defectness and electrophysical properties
title_sort crystals cd₁₋x znxte – a promising material for non-cryogenic semiconductor detectors: preparations, structure defectness and electrophysical properties
publisher Інститут фізики напівпровідників імені В.Є. Лашкарьова НАН України
publishDate 1999
url http://dspace.nbuv.gov.ua/handle/123456789/120259
citation_txt Crystals Cd₁₋x ZnxTe – a promising material for non-cryogenic semiconductor detectors: preparations, structure defectness and electrophysical properties / L.V. Atroshchenko, S.N. Galkin, L.P. Gal’chinetskii, A.I. Lalayants, I.A. Rybalka, V.D. Ryzhikov, V.I. Silin, N.G. Starzhinskii // Semiconductor Physics Quantum Electronics & Optoelectronics. — 1999. — Т. 2, № 4. — С. 81-85. — Бібліогр.: 5 назв. — англ.
series Semiconductor Physics Quantum Electronics & Optoelectronics
work_keys_str_mv AT atroshchenkolv crystalscd1xznxteapromisingmaterialfornoncryogenicsemiconductordetectorspreparationsstructuredefectnessandelectrophysicalproperties
AT galkinsn crystalscd1xznxteapromisingmaterialfornoncryogenicsemiconductordetectorspreparationsstructuredefectnessandelectrophysicalproperties
AT galchinetskiilp crystalscd1xznxteapromisingmaterialfornoncryogenicsemiconductordetectorspreparationsstructuredefectnessandelectrophysicalproperties
AT lalayantsai crystalscd1xznxteapromisingmaterialfornoncryogenicsemiconductordetectorspreparationsstructuredefectnessandelectrophysicalproperties
AT rybalkaia crystalscd1xznxteapromisingmaterialfornoncryogenicsemiconductordetectorspreparationsstructuredefectnessandelectrophysicalproperties
AT ryzhikovvd crystalscd1xznxteapromisingmaterialfornoncryogenicsemiconductordetectorspreparationsstructuredefectnessandelectrophysicalproperties
AT silinvi crystalscd1xznxteapromisingmaterialfornoncryogenicsemiconductordetectorspreparationsstructuredefectnessandelectrophysicalproperties
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first_indexed 2025-07-08T17:33:20Z
last_indexed 2025-07-08T17:33:20Z
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fulltext 81© 1999, Institute of Semiconductor Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Semiconductor Physics, Quantum Electronics & Optoelectronics. 1999. V. 2, N 4. P. 81-85. 1. Introduction Among semiconductor materials with wide band gap, much attention has been paid to CdTe and Cd1-xZnxTe as room- temperature detectors of X-ray and gamma-radiation. They have high atomic number (~ 50), high density (> 6 g/cm3) and relatively high carrier mobility. It has been shown that formation of solid solutions CdTe-ZnTe is accompanied by broadening of the band gap, increase of resistivity (by more than an order of magnitude), and improved stability of spectral characteristics as compared with CdTe [1]. A general problem for semiconductor materials based on AIIBVI compounds is the difficulty of growing structurally perfect crystals charac- terized by high degree of chemical purity and stoichiometry. Requirements to the structural perfectness of crystals Cd1-xZnxTe are very high, because practically all their princi- pal electrophysical and optical characteristics are strongly structure-dependent. The present work was focussed on studying effects of preparation conditions of crystals Cd1-xZnxTe upon concen- tration of electrically active structural defects in this material and X-ray sensitivity of detectors made on its base. 2. Experimental procedure We studied a set of crystals Cd1-xZnxTe (32 mm in diameter) grown by Bridgman method in vertical compression furnaces under inert gas (argon) pressure from 3.5 to 5.5 MPa. Crystal growth regimes are presented in Table 1. In this work, crystals Cd1-xZnxTe were grown using raw materials pre-synthesized in a quartz ampoule, as well as those synthesized from elements (Cd,Zn,Te) directly in the growth equipment. During growth of certain crystals (No. 9-12) gas samples were taken to analyze concentration of oxygen-containing impurities in the atmosphere of the growth furnace. Carbon oxide content at different growth stages varied from 0.1 to 3 vol. %. Concentration of oxygen and water vapor in the initial argon did not exceed 1⋅10-3 vol. %. It could be con- cluded that in the growth furnace carbon oxide was formed from the air desorbed from the construction material, and its removal was necessary. Quality and uniformity of the properties and structure of the grown crystals was determined by several independent PACS: 72.20, 78.30.A, F, 81.05.C, D, E, G, H Crystals Cd1-xZnxTe – a promising material for non-cryogenic semiconductor detectors: preparations, structure defectness and electrophysical properties L.V. Atroshchenko, S.N. Galkin, L.P. Gal’chinetskii, A.I. Lalayants, I.A. Rybalka, V.D. Ryzhikov, V.I. Silin, N.G. Starzhinskii STC for Radiation Instruments, Concern «Institute for Single Crystals», NAS of Ukraine, 60 Lenin Ave.,310001 Kharkov, Ukraine. Tel. (0572) 321379 fax (0572) 32130, E-mail:root@stcri.kharkov.ua Abstract. Relationship between preparation conditions of the raw charge, crucible material, growth regimes and structure defectness and electrophysical properties of crystals Cd1-xZnxTe has been studied. The crystals were grown both from the raw material which had been pre-synthesized in quartz ampoules and from the raw material synthesized from the elements directly in the growth furnace. It is shown that the best values of electric resistivity ρ (up to 1011 Ohm⋅cm) and sensitivity to X-ray and gamma- radiation are obtained for crystals grown in crucibles of highly pure coal-graphite material from the pre- synthesized raw charge. Correlation has been established between values of ρ and crystal defectness: decrease of dislocation density by 104 times led to 107 times higher values of resistivity. Concentration of dislocation etching pits regularly decreased with higher purity of the raw material and optimization of crystal preparation technology. Keywords: preparation conditions, structure defectness, electric resistivity, dislocation density, semi- conductor detectors. Paper received 19.10.99; revised manuscript received 15.12.99; accepted for publication 17.12.99. L.V. Atroshchenko et al.: Crystals Cd1-xZnxTe – a promising material for... 82 SQO, 2(4), 1999 methods: selective chemical etching on dislocations, IR microscopy, IR spectroscopy, measurements of resistivity and gamma-sensitivity. The etching agent used for detec- tion of dislocations in crystals Cd1-xZnxTe was the same as that commonly used for CdTe crystals and had the following composition [2]: 10 ml (10 ml of conc. HNO3 + 20 ml H2O + 4g K2Cr2O7) + 10 mg AgNO3. Studies of crystals in IR spectral region (0.75-1.2 µm) were carried out in transmitted light using a MIK-4 micro- scope (amplifications from 44x to 1200x). Measurements of resistivity ρ were carried out using samples of 5×5×2 mm3 after chemical etching and application of contacts on the 5x5 mm2 area. Gamma- and X-ray sensitivity of detectors based on crystals Cd1-xZnxTe were studied using radionuc- lides Cs-137 and Am-241, as well as X-ray sources IRI and RAPAN-200 (U = 20-200 kV, I ≤ 5 µA). Elemental analysis of the raw material and crystals grown from it was carried out using a VRA-30 X-ray fluorescent spectrometer with accuracy of ± 0.4 at.%. 3. Results and discussion To obtain structurally perfect crystals by Bridgman method, one should minimize negative effects of the atmosphere in the growth furnace, crucible material, variations of the el- emental composition due to thermal dissociation, as well as of possible contamination of the crystal by construction materials. Accounting for peculiar features of the AIIBVI crystal growth by this method, the crucible material should meet the following requirements: - thermal stability up to 1500 K; - non-wettability by the Cd1-xZnxTe melt; - chemical inertness with respect to Cd1-xZnxTe and the initial elemental components; - thermal expansion coefficient of the crucible material should be lower than that of the crystal; - low gas penetrability; - high mechanical strength. Table 1. Conditions and results of experiments of Cd1-xZnxTe crystal growth Experi- Raw charge Material of crucible Growth rate, Melt eva- R,Ohm⋅cm ment № mm/hour poration, % 1 3N Graphite 5 7.5 - 2 - // - - // - 3 9 - 3 - // - - // - 3 9 - 4 - // - - // - 2.8 4.5 - 5 - // - Pyrographite, thermal expansion coefficient 2.8 - - < 5⋅10-6 К-1 6 Cd+Zn+Te - // - 1.54 0.7 103 Qualification 6N, synthesis in autoclave 7 - // - - // - 1.54 0.9 103 8 - // - - // - 1.35 1 104 9 - // - - // - 1.35 1 104 10 Cd0.8Zn0.2Te - // - 2.6 1 105 Qualification 6N, synthesis in quartz ampoule 11 - // - - // - 3 1.9 109 12 - // - - // - 2.6 0.7 1010 13 Cuts of 1-5 crystals - // - 2.6 3.5 1010 14 Cd0.8Zn0.2Te - // - 2.6 - 5⋅1010 Qualification 6N, synthesis in quartz ampoule L.V. Atroshchenko et al.: Crystals Cd1-xZnxTe – a promising material for... 83SQO, 2(4), 1999 At present, boron nitride is often considered as a prom- ising material in this respect [3]; however, the use of this material is limited by its high cost. To work out the main technological regimes, we carried out a set of crystal growth experiments in graphite crucibles 25 mm in diameter (No. 1-5, Table 1). For growth of crystals No. 6-14 32 mm in diameter (Table 1) we used crucibles of highly pure coal-graphite material with thermal expansion coefficient not more than 5.7⋅10-6 K-1. The use of such material allowed to decrease the carry-over of the raw charge due to melt evaporation from 9% to 0.7% as compared with the graphite crucibles. It was also possi- ble to avoid crystal deformation during cooling, and the crystal could be easily removed from the crucible. To study the effects of the raw charge composition upon composition and electrophysical properties of crystals Cd1-xZnxTe, three kinds of raw materials for charge were used. At the first stage of working out of the growth regimes (crystals No. 1-5) raw material of 3N qualification was used. In this crystals, we analyzed only the melt evaporation and the degree of structural perfection, which was not high. At the second stage (crystals No. 6-9) elementary Cd, Zn, Te of 6N qualification were used as raw charge after appropriate purification. It was established that, during syn- thesis of the charge from elements directly in the growth furnace, there was chemical interaction with the crucible and other construction parts made of carbon, yielding CTe, CTe2, CdC, ZnC and similar compounds. These caused con- tamination of the melt by reaction products and to the pres- ence of carbon-containing inclusions in the crystal struc- ture, as well as to high concentration of growth disloca- tions, low optical uniformity and decreased values of ρ (Table 1). Typical microstructure of crystals grown from the raw charge synthesized from the elements directly in the growth furnace is shown in Fig. 1a. On the cross-section normal to the growth direction (orientation is arbitrary) there are non- uniformly distributed dark etching figures in the shape of isoscales triangle or trapezium. This is in full agreement with the scheme of theoretically constructed configuration of dislocation etching pits in crystals CdTe [2]. Purity of the material (nature and amount of admixtures) has a decisive influence upon formation of etching figures, i.e., the proc- ess of selective etching of the surfaces of the studied crys- tals is related to segregation of admixtures or the Cottrell atmosphere on dislocations. The obtained etching figures appear to be growth dislocations decorated with admixtures. In areas of their highest concentration, density of etching figures reached ~ 4⋅105 cm-2. We also observed small inclu- sions of spherical shape, concentration of which reached ~ 5⋅106 cm-2; their nature remained unclear. By means of IR microscopy, in such crystals Cd1-xZnxTe inclusions of elongated shape were detected, which were orientated along the growth direction. Their size could reach 0.8-1 mm. We have determined that the best values of resistivity (up to 1011 Ohm⋅cm) and sensitivity to X-ray and gamma- radiation are obtained in crystals grown from the raw charge which had been pre-synthesized in quartz ampoules. Typical microstructure of crystals grown from the raw charge which had been pre-synthesized in quartz ampoules is shown in Fig. 1b. Large ρ values allow to increase the electric field and to decrease charge collection time, or to decrease the leak- age current and the accompanying noise. Fig. 2 shows the output signal of the Cd1-xZnxTe based detectors as a function of the dose rate of X-ray radia- tion (E ~ 100 keV) and the bias voltage Ub (curves 1-3). It was found that X-ray sensitivity of detectors of this type are proportional to ρ and Ub , and at Ub = 200 V X-ray sensi- tivity is by an order of magnitude higher as compared with scintielectronic detectors based on ZnSe(Te) that is one of the best scintillators (curve 4). These data show that detec- tors based on Cd1-xZnxTe are very promising for their cur- rent mode applications in introscopic and dosimetric sys- tems of high sensitivity. Average growth dislocation density in these crystals did Fig. 1a. Cross-section microstructure for a crystal grown from the raw materials synthesized from the elements directly in the growth furnace. Fig. 1b. Cross-section microstructure for a crystal grown from the raw charge which had been pre-synthesized in quartz ampoules. 100 µµµµµm L.V. Atroshchenko et al.: Crystals Cd1-xZnxTe – a promising material for... 84 SQO, 2(4), 1999 not exceed 2⋅10-2 cm-2, and inclusions of extra phases were not observed. A correlation was found between values of ρ and defectness of the crystals. When growth dislocation density decreased by 104 times, ρ became 107 times higher. Dislocations in all studied crystals detected by selective chemical etching were decorated, which suggested that these were due to the presence of admixtures. Concentration of dislocation etching pits regularly decreased with higher purity of the raw material and optimization of the growth technology. The composition of crystals was uniform up to 0.4-0.5 from the ingot «nose». Zn content in the «nose» part of the ingot was 5-12% higher than in the initial mixture of the components. Similar deviations of composition of crystals Cd1-xZnxTe were observed in [4,5]. Besides, X-ray fluorescent analysis data (Table 2 and Fig. 3) show that only composition from the «nose» part of the ingots belongs to the quasibinary section CdTe – ZnTe of the ternary diagram of state. IR transmission spectra of some of the studied crystals are presented in Fig. 3. It is shown that for crystals of high electric conductivity absorption by the free carriers can be observed, which is characterized by a featureless spectrum described by the λ p law (1.5 < p < 3.5). For crystals of low electrical conductivity absorption on the free carriers is not observed. Absorption in the 2000- 3800 cm-1 region can ap- parently be ascribed to the valence vibrations of hydroxyl groups as well as to CO– groups. For crystals grown from the raw material that had been pre-synthesized in quartz ampoules, optical transmittance in the 500-1500 cm-1 region was not less than 66%. Our studies have shown that, for 60 keV gamma-radia- tion (Am-241), the signal-to-noise ratio in these crystals was 1/3-1/4 at the bias voltage of 200 V. The lifetime of carriers multiplied by their mobility (a value that determines, along- side with the resistivity, the ability of the detector material to maintain and to enable the detection of ionizing charges) was not less than 8⋅10-5 cm2/V. Fig. 2. Output signal, A, as function of dose rate, P, of X-ray radiation for detectors based on Cd1-xZnxTe (1-3) and a scintielectronic detec- tor of «scintillator-photodiode» type (4). No. 13 No. 14 Te Cd Zn 50 40 50 60 n n t t Fig. 3. Composition of the grown crystals Сd1-xZnxTe (No. 13 and No. 14) on the ternary diagram of state Zn-Cd-Te. Fig. 4. IR transmission spectra of crystals Cd1-xZnxTe. 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.0 (1) U =50 V (2) U =100 V (3) U =200 V (4) PD+ZnSe(Te) P, R/h A , a. u. Table 2. Results of chemical analysis of content of the main components in crystals Cd1-xZnxTe over the ingot length. N Number Content of element,at. % of crystal Cd Zn Te 1. 13 (nose) 46.97 2.99 50.04 2. 13 (2) 46.32 3.00 50.68 3. 13 (3) 46.58 2.92 50.50 4. 13 (tail) 40.80 2.81 56.39 5. 14 (nose) 40.74 8.98 50.28 6. 14 (2) 38.52 8.74 52.74 7. 14 (tail) 41.92 5.64 52.44 70 70 60 60 50 50 40 40 30 30 20 20 10 10 0 0 11 7 14 6 4000 3000 2000 1000 Wave number, cm Tr an sm is si on , % -1 L.V. Atroshchenko et al.: Crystals Cd1-xZnxTe – a promising material for... 85SQO, 2(4), 1999 Conclusions Results of our studies show that the use of Bridgman method under pressure is a promising way to obtain crystals Cd1- xZnxTe with high values of electrophysical parameters and high sensitivity to ionizing radiation, even for crystals of small diameter. Synthesis of raw charge in this case should be carried out in quartz ampoules under vacuum. Acknowledgments The authors are grateful to Dr.V. Kutniy and Dr.A. Rybka for their having taken part in discussion of the results of this work. This work was carried out with financial support of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. References 1. F.P. Doty, J.E. Butler et al.Properties of CdZnTe crystals grown by a high pressure Bridgman method// J. Vac. Sci. Technol. 10. N4, pp.358-363, 1992. 2. M. Jnoue, J. Teramoto, S. Takayanagi. Etch pits and polarity in CdTe crystals// J. Appl. Phys. 33. N8, pp.2578-2582, 1962. 3. H.F. Glass, A.J. Socha, C.L. Parfeniuk, D.W. Baccen. Improve- ments in production of CdZnTe crystals grown by the Bridgman method // J. Crystal Growth. 184/185, p.1035, 1998. 4. Atsuko Ebina, Kasuyuki Saito, Tadashi Tacahashi. Crystals grown of ZnCd1-x Te solid solution and their optical properties at the photon energies of the lowest band-gap region// J. Appl. Phys. 44. N 8(2), pp.3659-3662, 1973. 5. J. Karniewich, T. Majchrak. The directional solidification of ZnxСd1-xTe from tellurium solvent// In book: 6 Int. Conf. for Crystal Growth, Moscow, B 3, p.311, 1980.