Effects of surface preparation on the properties of metal/CdTe junctions

Abstract

The effects of surface preparation on the properties of single crystal CdTe junctions have been investigated through characterization of metal/CdTe junctions. Oriented surfaces include air-cleaved (110) surfaces, bromine-in-methanol etched (110) and (111) surfaces, and bromine-in-methanol etched surfaces subjected to a hydrogen heat treatment. Surface photovoltage measurements of the surfaces indicate larger band bending on the etched surfaces than on the cleaved and heat treated surfaces. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis verifies that excess Te remains after bromine-in-methanol etching and that cleaving leaves a stoichiometric surface. Hydrogen heat treatment of an etched CdTe surface restores a stoichiometric cleaved-like surface from that altered by the etching process. The barrier height for metal/CdTe junctions formed on cleaved surfaces depends on metal work function and reaches 0.99 V in an Al/CdTe junction and 0.87 V in a Cr/CdTe junction. Junctions formed with different metals on etched (110) surfaces result in barrier heights of 0.55–0.65 V with no dependence of the barrier height on the metal work function being observed, due to the presence of an etch-induced layer that partially governs the properties the surface. Heat treatment of an etched surface results in metal/CdTe junctions with characteristics similar to those of junctions formed on cleaved surfaces, and dependence of barrier height on metal work function is again observed, indicating the removal of an etch-induced layer by the heat treatment and the production of a junction similar to that on the cleaved surface.